The following MCB undergraduates were named 2022 University Scholars (of 17). University Scholars is a prestigious UConn undergraduate program in which students design and pursue in-depth research or a creative project and craft a learning plan that supports their interests and academic goals during their final 3 semesters.
Awardee projects demonstrate exceptional breadth and/or depth and bring together multiple fields of study, methodologies, and/or points of view. Graduation as a University Scholar recognizes a student's extraordinary engagement with self-reflective learning and research or creative endeavors.
Michelle Antony
Major: Molecular and Cell Biology and Individualized: Community Health
Project Title: Determining Growth Factor Properties Required to Promote Articular Cartilage Healing
Committee: Caroline Dealy, Craniofacial Sciences, UCHC; Rachel O’Neill, Molecular and Cell Biology; and Debarchana Ghosh, Geography.
Poorna Balakumar
Major: Molecular and Cell Biology
Project Title: Gender and Transnationalism in Kuchipudi Dance
Committee: Matthew Cohen, Dramatic Arts; Bandana Purkayastha, Sociology; Elizabeth Kline, Molecular and Cell Biology; and Lindsay Cummings, Dramatic Arts.
Ashiti Damania
Major: Molecular and Cell Biology
Project Title: Validation of RGC Subtype Markers Across Development to Understand Axon Regeneration
Committee: Feliks Trakhtenberg, Neuroscience, UCHC; Leighton Core, Molecular and Cell Biology; and Akiko Nishiyama, Physiology and Neurobiology.
Rayna Esch
Major: Molecular and Cell Biology
Project Title: Role of Perimuscular Connective Tissue Injury and Repair in FOP
Committee: David Goldhamer, Molecular and Cell Biology; John Redden, Physiology and Neurobiology; and David Knecht, Molecular and Cell Biology.
Alexandra Goldhamer
Major: Molecular and Cell Biology and Human Rights
Project Title: Exploring the Neural Circuits of Diet-Induced Obesity
Committee: Natalie Sciolino, Physiology and Neurobiology; Amy Howell, Chemistry; Kathryn Libal, Human Rights; and David Daggett, Molecular and Cell Biology.
Paul Isaac
Major: Molecular and Cell Biology and Diagnostic Genetic Sciences
Project Title: To “B” or not to “B”: An Investigation of B and Sex Chromosomes in L. polyphemus and Their Role in the Immune Response
Committee: Rachel O’Neill, Molecular and Cell Biology; Denise Anamani, Allied Health Sciences; Jonathan Klassen, Molecular and Cell Biology; and Stacey Hanlon, Molecular and Cell Biology.
Sarah San Vicente
Major: Molecular and Cell Biology
Project Title: Defining the Role of TIGIT as an Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor in Ovarian Cancer
Committee: Andrew Wiemer, Pharmaceutical Sciences; Patricia Rossi, Molecular and Cell Biology; and Xiuling Lu, Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Joshua Yu
Major: Molecular and Cell Biology
Project Title: Nanoparticle-Mediated Inhibition of Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Committee: Xiuling Lu, Pharmaceutical Sciences; David Knecht, Molecular and Cell Biology; and Theodore Rasmussen, Pharmaceutical Sciences.