Cohort 1 - Research Posters

The human milk microbiome: Implications on infant health​

Observing Fatty Acid Synthase as part of the Dalotia beetle Defense System​

Electrolytes for Next-Gen Magnesium-Ion Batteries​

Advanced Materials Engineering: Ionotronic Nanocomposite Thread

​Investigating the binding affinity between the A2AR receptor and its ligand to produce potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease through computational molecular docking

Detection of Zooplankton on Europa​

Heterozygosity of Pisaster ochraceus in Association with Sea Star Wasting Disease

Cryo-Electron Microscopy Microfluidic Mixers A Comsol Simulation

Spectroscopy Application on Connective Tissue and Prostate Cancer

Identifying hexamer structures in alcohol:water mixes​

Clinical Application of Probiotics as H. pylori Treatment ​

Single crystal NaCl for modular substrate holders​

Increasing Minority Participation in Clinical Trials: Understanding Clinical Design and Researcher Decision-Making Under Constraint​

The Use of Additive Printing to Develop Optimal Substrates for Regenerative Medicine ​

Meet the Students

MNT-CURN Cohort 1 Student Participants

MNT-EC

Benjamin Bekey

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Benjamin Bekey is a non-traditional student taking STEM classes at Pasadena City College to explore possible fields of study for graduate school. His academic interests include biotechnology and materials science, especially using informatics and computational approaches. He is interested in the relationship between structure and function, and how interactions at the micro level affect systems at the macro level.

Henry Brezzard

Henry Brezzard

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Henry Brezzard is Chemical Engineering  major at Pasadena City College.

Research Activities, Interest, and Experiences:

My goal is to get involved in the production of renewable energy, in particular, solar power. It is a branch that encompasses math, physics, chemistry, and biology. Renewable energy is a field with promising benefits for sustainability to present and future generations. An opportunity to grow in the clean energy field presents me with a platform to better my society through technology, innovation, and invention. I intend to undertake a green energy project that incorporates artificial intelligence to control solar panels and batteries.

Current Job/Career Activities

Blink Charging operates a network of electric vehicle automotive charging stations primarily located in the United States. I am a bilingual support agent. I assist customers in troubleshooting and resolving common issues encountered while using EV charging stations. My position shows me the necessity of a strong and reliable energy grid.

Kyaw Ya

Kyaw Ya

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Kyaw Ya is an electrical engineering technology major, having completed his associates at Ivy-tech Community College, Fort Wayne. Kyaw is currently researching packaging kits to be used for storing and micro pressure sensors. He hopes to pursue his bachelor’s degree to be able to gain enough experience to get a career in the field. 

Brandon Wong

Brandon Wong

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Hello everyone, my name is Brandon Wong. I graduated high school in 2021, then applied to the Community College of Philadelphia. I am a double major in Criminal Justice and Biological Sciences. Criminal justice was my first major. In 2022 I just added Biological Sciences. Right now, I have known research activities or experiences. But doing the MNT-CURN Student every Friday on zoom seems very interesting. 

MNT-EC

Jade Roman

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Jade Roman is a biochemistry major at Pasadena Community College. Jade is interested in nanotechnology, specifically the role of nanotechnology in bioconjugation. She conducts research on gold and silver nanoparticles and their ability to act as a novel cancer therapeutic. Jade hopes to pursue a career in biomedical research.

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Mannie Lopez

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Mannie Lopez

I am currently a student at Alamo Colleges in San Antonio, TX finishing up my internship class currently to obtain my Nanobiotechnology Level 1 certificate.  While I continue to work on my core science classes to transfer to University I will also be working on the Nanoengineering and Nanobiotechnology A.A.S. My research is creating nano-vessels as drug delivery/removal tools to pick away and dissolve plaque inside of the human body to prevent stroke and heart attacks.  I hope through this website and program to meet those like-minded individuals to accomplish this goal.

Dave Emdine

Dave Emdin

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My name is Dave Emdin. I am enrolled in Community College of Philadelphia, and I will graduate with an Associate’s Degree in Biology by 2023. I hope to gain professional experience to help with a career in biomedical science.

Research Activities, Interest, and Experiences: I am working on a blockchain research project related to molecular dynamic simulations chaired by Professor Strachan of Purdue University

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Janet Teng

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Janet Teng is a Chemical Engineering major at Pasadena City College. Janet is interested in understanding the relationship between a material and its underlying chemical and physical properties for real life applications. Janet is currently working with polymer chemistry at Caltech and plans to pursue research in the future. 

Mark Conteh

Mark Conteh

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Hello, my name is Mark Conteh. My major is Computer Information - Systems Information Technology at the Community college of Philadelphia I am interested in Cyber security or anything that has to deal with computers. I work for UPS right now because they help pay for school. Right now I’m open minded, for anything that deals with computers.

MNT-EC

Demi Garcia

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Demi Garcia is a recent Biotechnology graduate from Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, NY. Demi is currently enrolled as a biology major at SUNY Empire College to earn a bachelor’s in their Science, Math, and Technology degree program. At this time Demi is involved in a submerged fermentation of two strains of “Rishi” mushrooms; Ganoderma lucidum and Ganoderma tsugae. The goal of the research project is to produce exopolysaccharides into a powder for multiple supplemental uses. Currently Demi is an access associate in the emergency department at one of the local hospitals after 7 years as a phlebotomist and specimen management tech. After earning her bachelor’s degree Demi wants to work in research as a lab analyst.

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Kahneef Martin

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Hello, my name is Kahneef Martin. I currently hold a degree in Health Care and only have four courses left to complete a Nursing degree. I am a preschool teacher and I seek to learn more about Nano technology. I know that the knowledge I obtain from my internship will help me be more successful on my career path.

Melemoala Tuifua

Melemoala Tuifua

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My name is Melemoala Tuifua and I currently attend El Camino College, majoring in Biology. Despite the challenges that online school brings, I continue to stay involved in school programs such as MESA and the Honors Transfer Program. I am grateful to be currently involved in the Micro-nano technology program.

Frank Alas

Frank Alas

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Frank Alas is an Aerospace Engineering major at Pasadena City College. He is interested in conducting research in crop production using nanotechnology to improve its efficiency and adaptability in today’s climate crisis, as well as its application for long-distance space travel. He is currently involved with the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Competition in building an underwater robotic submarine to help understand and create a more sustainable future for our oceans.

Keon Hayes

Keon Hayes

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Keon Hayes is a computer science major at Penn State.

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Nathan Antwi

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Nathan Antwi is a junior attending Rutgers University-Camden studying computer science. Hailing from Irvington, New Jersey, Nathan has a strong interest in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence as he is studying for her Comptia Net+ Certification. He is a proud fellowman of Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship Incorporated as he is an avid volunteer at community service organizations such as Chosen300 where he helps serve the homeless community of Philadelphia. Although Nathan has a strong technical background, he actually is an intern for a political organization named the Working Families Party as he works to make Philadelphia a more progressive city. His hobbies include learning about Ancient African Civilizations, watching anime, going out for runs, and volunteering. 

Nathan Reid

Nathan Reid

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Nathan Reid is a Liberal Arts major at Community College of Philadelphia

I was born in west Philly but growing up I moved around a lot to places like New York, California, and Atlanta. I'm a very open-minded person when it comes to careers/jobs. The 2 quotes that I Live by are "life is what you make it" and "you only got 1 life to live so do what you want and not what somebody makes you do" both quotes are self-explanatory. 

Research Activities, Interest, and Experiences:

Giving back, being a light for people, writing poetry.

Connection to Personal Interests or Passions; and Current Job/Career Activities:

I'm a part of an organization called Center for Male Engagement (CME) and they help young minorities with life goals.

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Oneal Douglin 

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I am a student at Pasadena City College studying Computer Science and transferring to UCLA. In Fall 2021, I worked on a blockchain research project chaired by Professor Strachan of Purdue University. I also learned how to use Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS) to run molecular dynamics simulations.

Pascal Kanyanduga

Pascal Kanyanduga

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My name is Pascal Kanyanduga. I am currently a sophomore pursuing an Associate of Science degree in Engineering. I will be graduating in December 2022, and I am planning to transfer to Purdue Fort Wayne University to pursue a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. I am currently conducting a research project about protecting microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices from the environment through physical enclosures, which is also known as MEMS packaging, my goal is to find the most suitable package for MEMS pressure sensors. I plan to pursue a career in the automotive engineering industry to contribute to the availability and adoption of advanced technology solutions in the auto industry.

Phil Simmons

Phil Simmons

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Phil Simmons is a Viticulture and Enology major at Cornell University. Phil is an alumni of Finger Lakes Community (FLCC), receiving an associate's degree in Viticulture and Wine Technology and Biotechnology in 2020. Phil is currently using submerged fermentation at FLCC to research ways of optimizing production and extraction of beta-glucans from Ganoderma lucidum fungus.

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Rachael Orkin

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Rachael is a microbiology major at Los Angeles Pierce College. She is interested in researching infectious diseases, particularly their structural biology, genetics, and its applications to clinical treatment. Rachael plans to attend medical school to become a pathologist or clinical geneticist.

Skor Campbell

Skor Campbell

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Hello my name is Skor Campbell whose academic goals are to complete my BS for computer science at Temple University or another accredited university with a warmer climate. I am from Philadelphia and previously attended Temple for Engineering directly out of High School and therefore would see it as a great accomplishment to complete a degree there. I see myself studying quantum physics, astrophysics, thoroughly diving into electromagnetism to fit my personal endeavors. I feel as though the sky is the limit and would like to be able evaluate the emerging forms of technology. I plan to continue with MNT-CURN Nanotechnology internship and work with some professors on their procedures. My high school project was about Cryonics. The issue with this, is it is still theoretical physics, I say that in the sense that the process for cryogenically preserving a human is more or less understood, but the process for revitalizing one back to the traditional state is somewhat lost to the current pace of technology. There are searches into Nanotechnology for the answer and I presume thorough research into human biology, nanotechnology and computer science would be required to complete this. If someone's gotta do it, why not me. "

Tajanna Mosley

Tajanna Mosley

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My name is Tajanna Mosley, I attend Community College of Philadelphia. My Major is Digital Video Production.  I became Interested in learning about research, what I can do with it and what it is. Since I am a digital video production major I never really got a chance to learn about different forms of research and nanotechnology. Since I joined this STEM program It has opened up my mind to so much. I have become more interested in the different subjects they've been discussing about. I know some of these topics  have nothing to do with my major but I wanna find a way where I can incorporate them in some way. It’s such a big topic and there is so much you can learn about. I am ready to soak up as much as I can.

Trinity Chung

Trinity Chung

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Trinity Chung is a data science major at Pasadena City College. She is collaborating with the Biocomplexity Institute at Indiana University aiding the development of cell simulation software. Trinity hopes to pursue a career in biotechnology or space exploration.

Xiaoyun Sun

Xiaoyun Sun

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Xiaoyun Sun is a Biology major at Pasadena City College, expecting transfer to a University of California for Bachelor of Science in Human Biology and Clinical Nutrition and graduation in 2025. Xiaoyun Sun is currently participating in a nonprofit organization as a Heath Science articles writer, intending to raise awareness for global health issues. 

Meet the Mentors

MNT-CURN Cohort 1 Mentors

Student Mentors

BrianLeff

Brian Lee

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Dr. Brian Lee works as a postdoctoral researcher with Professor Strachan at Purdue University. I am currently working on investigating explosive materials using computer simulations. I have majored mechanical engineering for my PhD degree and chemistry for my bachelor’s degree.

Justice robinson

Justice Robinson

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Justice Robinson is a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pursuing a B.S. in Neuroscience with minors in Chemistry and Biology. She graduated with an Associate degree in Biology from Tulsa Community College in Tulsa, Oklahoma as an Honors Scholar and Barry Goldwater Scholarship recipient. She holds a current position as a Research Assistant with the Frohlich Lab at UNC School of Medicine where she assists in studying neural oscillations and psychiatric illnesses. 

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Paula Kirya

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Paula Kirya is an undergraduate bioengineering student at UC San Diego. She transferred to UCSD in Fall 2020 from Pasadena City College. There under Dr. Ashcroft, she engaged in a research project studying the interdisciplinary applications of structural color in Morpho wing nanostructures to develop an educational module that can be incorporated into classrooms. Paula’s interest in biomimicry and nanotechnology prompted her to pursue a summer research internship at Penn State University in 2019, in which she aided in research developing a self-healing material from squid ring teeth proteins. Her previous research experiences led to her acceptance as an undergraduate representative at the 2021 Posters on the Hill Conference. Paula joined the Nanophotonics for Global Health lab at UCSD in August 2021 and is working on characterizing and quantifying the optical behavior of nanostructures and developing new applications of structural color in colorimetric metasurfaces to detect disease in biological tissue. 

Shivam Tripathi

Shivam Tripathi

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Shivam Tripathi is a post-doctoral fellow in the School of Materials Engineering at Purdue University. My research interests are atomistic and molecular simulations, machine learning, shape memory alloys, and thermal transport.