The 2025 Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF) Awards were announced and 15 out of 46 awardees are MCB students! These UConn students were selected from a strong
group of applicants representing diverse areas of academic inquiry. Thank you to the research advisors and other faculty members who supported SURF applicants, to the faculty who served on the selection committee, and to the many generous supporters who make this program possible.
Congratulations to these MCB Student Awardees:
Ava Anderson ’26 (Mathematics-Statistics & Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Expanding Intron Classification: Insights into Splice Variation and Evolution
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rahul Kanadia, Physiology and Neurobiology
Andrew Deierlein ’26 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS & Pathobiology, CAHNR)
Project Title: Let’s Move In! - Gene Families and the Transition to Endosymbiosis
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jill Wegrzyn, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Muhammad Faisal ’26 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Effect of Membrane Composition on the Binding of Certain Ligands to the 5-HT2A Receptor
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eric May, Molecular and Cell Biology
Abigail Goldhamer ’27 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Investigating the Effects of Matrimony and Polo Kinase Localization on B Chromosome
Transmission
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Stacey Hanlon, Molecular and Cell Biology
Noen Jian ’26 (Molecular and Cell Biology & Chemistry, CLAS)
Project Title: Synthetic Tuning to Achieve Air-Stable Molecular Qubits
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Tomoyasu Mani, Chemistry
Ruupala Kalaiarasu ’27 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: The Role(s) for Hox11 Genes in Expression of Prg4/lubricin by Articular Cartilage Progenitors
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Danielle Rux, Orthopedic Surgery
Irena Komninakas ’26 (Molecular and Cell Biology & Spanish, CLAS)
Project Title: Information Seeking Behavior of Pediatric Patients in the CT Children's Emergency Department
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sharon Smith, Pediatrics, School of Medicine
Aditi Malpure ’27 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Contribution of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis to Fear Generalization and Discrimination
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sebnem Nur Tuncdemir, Neuroscience
Abigail Messina ’26 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Cartilage Regenerative Approach for TMJ-Osteoarthritis in an In Vitro Model
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Caroline Dealy, Orthodontics, Orthopedic Surgery & Cell Biology
Liv Nevo ’26 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Investing the Role of Activin A in Muscle Degeneration Caused in Fibrodysplasia Ossificans
Progressiva
Faculty Mentor: Dr. David Goldhamer, Molecular and Cell Biology
Vedansh Patel, Dec. ’25 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Investigating the Roles of Histone Modifications in Stem Cell Differentiation
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mayu Inaba-Oguro, Cell Biology
Luke Pratley ’26 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Sustained Release of Azobenzene Derivatives from Selectively Permeable Nanocapsules
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eugene Pinkhassik, Chemistry
Mackenzie Robillard ’27 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Investigating the Connection Between LINE1 Transposable Elements and Neocentromere
Formation and Stability
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rachel O'Neill, Molecular and Cell Biology
Melissa Sabatella ’26 (Physiology and Neurobiology & Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Impact of Polymer Source Variation on the Properties and Performance of Long-Acting Injectable
Suspensions
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Diane Burgess, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Alexandra Salem ’26 (Structural Biology/Biophysics, CLAS)
Project Title: Characterize Anesthetic Sensitivity of a Mouse Model of Rett Syndrome
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Daniel Mulkey, Physiology and Neurobiology
See full list of 2025 awardees