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RISE 2024

RISE: Research Intensive Summer Experience 2024

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RISE 2024 Symposium

Join us at our 2024 Symposium and Poster Session to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of our Summer Scholars. Following an inspirational plenary speaker, meet the students at their posters and learn about the research they have done under the guidance of carefully-matched Rutgers faculty mentors. Our 43 participants represent 37 sending schools from 15 U.S. states and territories. 

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Date: Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Time: 9am - 2pm
Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering, Busch Campus

Agenda

Time Program Name Presenter
9 - 9:30 AM Coffee and registration  
9:30 - 9:40 AM Welcome

Dr. Evelyn Erenrich
Associate Dean, School of Graduate Studies

Director, RISE at Rutgers
9:40 - 9:52 AM Presentations by Gold medalists, 5 Minute Presentation (5MP) Competition

Kelsie Bouyer

Faculty Mentors: Dr. Andrea Gallavotti & Dr. Zongliang Chen

Genetic Dissection of Cis-Regulatory Control of TEOSINTE BRANCHED1 Expression in Maize

 

Destiny McWilliams

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Phoebe Stapleton

Impact of Nanoparticle Inhalation on Term Rat Placental Structure
9:52 – 9:55 Brief remarks by 5MP Silver Medalists

Brayden Messinger

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kate Waldie

Pursuing a First-Row Transition Metal Catalyst Capable of Oxidizing Complex Alcohols

 

Karolina Wielowski

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Richard Remsing

Investigating Solid-state Electrolytes ~ An Opportunity for Enhanced Battery Performance
9:55 AM Introduction of Keynote Speaker

Dr. Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke

Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor

Rutgers-New Brunswick
10 - 10:50 AM

Keynote Address

Regenerative Engineering: My Pioneering Journey

Dr. Cato T. Laurencin, MD, PhD

University Professor 
Albert & Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor, Othopaedic Surgery

University of Connecticut 
10:50 AM Concluding remarks to Plenary Dr. Evelyn Erenrich
11 - 11:55 AM Scholar Research Posters - Odd numbers  
     
12-12:55 PM Scholar Research Posters - Even numbers  
     
1:00 PM Networking Buffet Luncheon in Busch Student Center  

Event Parking for the RISE/REU Symposium

All guests must register their vehicles. Visitors may park in Lots 51, 59, 60B & 67. Guests must use this link to register for the event. You will need enter an email address to receive a parking confirmation.  Vehicles not registered may receive a citation. Special Event parking does not include metered parking or allow free parking to faculty, staff, or students. Rutgers affiliated Faculty, Staff and Students must have a Rutgers parking permit (Semester, Daily, or Event) and park accordingly. Faculty, Staff, and Students parking without a parking permit or outside their parking permit assignment will be subjected to ticketing and/or towing.

Poster Locations and Project Abstracts

Presenter titles, abstracts and biographies can be found here.

11:00-11:55 AM Session 1: Odd Number Poster Presentation                                                                                                                                                                                                                         12:00-12:55 PM Session 2: Even Number Poster Presentation          
                     
Poster Number Last Name First Name + MI Summer Scholar's Home Institution Program Affiliation Title          
1 Afzal Sahrish New Jersey Institute of Technology Advanced Materials Insights into colloidal rheology from molecular dynamics simulations          
2 Astacio-Berrios Keryan A. Uuniversity of Puerto Rico at Humacao RISE Identifying recombination in CBSD-causing viruses          
3 Blach Thomas A. The College of New Jersey Advanced Materials Improving acid digestion methodologies of sulfur containing aluminoborosilicates using ICP-OES          
4 Bouyer Kelsie S. Lafayette College RISE/Waksman Institute of Microbiology

Genetic dissection of cis-regulatory control of TEOSINTE BRANCHED1 expression in maize

 

          
5 Brandstadter Henry S. Emory University RISE/Cyberinfrastrurcture for AI for Science& Society (CASS) Computational design of alpha-synuclein degradation capable proteins          
6 Bush Joe K. Reed College Advanced Materials Investigation of the Electronic Properties of Cr-based Oligomers for the Development of Functional Materials          
7 Calbert Latherial R. College of Charleston Cellular Bioengineering Deep learning meets sleep medicine: clustering cpap adherence data for enhanced osa management          
8 Carver Monique H. Navajo Technical University RISE Predicting metal contamination in the Newark Basin using a composite stratigraphic record          
9 de Guzman Joshua Rowan University Cellular Bioengineering Assessing the impact of blood plasma components on clot mechanical properties          
10 Fulford Kristen S. Commonwealth University of PA - Mansfield RISE/Waksman Institute of Microbiology Screening for genes involved in meiosis and fertility in the Drosophila ovary          
11 Gallo Michael C The College of New Jersey RISE Synthesis of (pybox)osmium complexes for C-H activation and related reactions          
12 García Quiñones Ian M. University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras RISE Development of a molecular glue to recruit E3 ligases for the degradation of Alpha-synuclein          
13 Garcia Albert Caldwell University RISE Glutamatergic signaling in acral and mucosal melanoma          
14 Gilbert Ashley P. Michigan State University RISE/SURF Liver toxicity of immune checkpoint inhibitor drugs in mice with a humanized immune system          
15 Guerra Hernandez Yaneli Duke University RISE/Waksman Institute of Microbiology Role of QueE enzyme in metal stress response and growth phenotypes in E. coli          
16 Gushikem Rachel Montclair State University RISE Enhancing tamoxifen's drug-like properties through the incorporation of isosorbide units          
17 Herrera Villavicencio Kelly L. Rutgers University Newark RISE Determining the Effect of Ag270 on the Metastasis of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells          
18 Hoyt David S. Drew University Cellular Bioengineering Impact of Gsx1 Gene Therapy on Microglia after Acute Spinal Cord Injury          
19 Jiang Judy CUNY Hunter College RISE Examining the neuroanatomical effects of Insomniac C-terminal mutants          
20 Kwak Hwa-Jin P. University of Hawaii at Manoa Cellular Bioengineering Short-wave infrared emitting rare earth doped nanoparticles for metastasis surveillance          
21 Laghzizal Hiba California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Advanced Materials Techno-economic analysis of power generation cycles for waste plastic via integrated gasification combined cycle compared to coal and natural gas          
22 Li Emily A. Rutgers University - New Brunswick Advanced Materials Controlling porosity of electrosprayed polyimide films through co-solvent blending          
23 Lopez-Rodriguez Andrea Interamerican University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla RISE/SURF The role of the integrated stress response in alveolar epithelial injury following acute ozone exposure in mice.          
24 Luengo Martinez Andres D. The University of Texas at Austin Cellular Bioengineering Modeling acupuncture needling using in vitro collagen gels with varying collagen concentration          
25 McGovern Cameron C. The College of New Jersey RISE Utilizing synthetic motors to alter DNA conformation for advancements in therapeutic delivery          
26 McWilliams Destiny N. Villanova University RISE/SURF Impact of nanoparticle inhalation on term rat placental structure          
27 Messinger Brayden M. The College of New Jersey RISE Exploring metal-ligand catalyst structures capable of oxidize complex alcohols          
28 Miller Dylan M. East Carolina University Cellular Bioengineering Machine learning approach to quantifying influences on trauma mortality          
29 Morsy Habiba H. Kean University RISE/Protein Data Bank Streamlining programmatic access to structural biology data with Python          
30 Ortiz Roselyn S. Syracuse University RISE Harnessing cognitive science discoveries to combat parents' and children's biases against math learning          
31 Padilla López Amanda University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Cellular Bioengineering The effect of nebulization on novel polyelectrolyte surfactant nanoparticles to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections          
32 Palade Diana J. West Chester University of Pennsylvania Cellular Bioengineering Modeling the effects of skin pigmentation on light transmittance during photodynamic therapy: Implications for a novel drug targeting and delivery system          
33 Quysbertf Helberth M. Saint Peter’s University Cellular Bioengineering Microenvironment Stiffness Role on Triple-negative Breast Cancer Metastasis: Local Infiltration and Distant Proliferation          
34 Reyes Samantha Saint Elizabeth University Advanced Materials How salt concentration affects phase separation of cationic intrinsically disordered protein          
35 Riley Kaylin University of Georgia Cellular Bioengineering Investigating the efficacy and stability of nanotechnology for alzheimer's treatments          
36 Romero David E. Ramapo College of New Jersey RISE Stabilizing Lipase Under Extreme Conditions: A Machine Learning Approach to Polymer Design          
37 Rund Sophie M. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Cellular Bioengineering Using machine-learning to observe and record spinal cord injury progress in mice          
38 Schreiber Maya R University of Maryland, Baltimore County Cellular Bioengineering Measuring oxygen consumption rate to understand optimal chronic wound healing environments          
39 Trivella Edward A New Jersey Instiute of Technology Advanced Materials Carbon Modified Phase Change Materials          
40 Truong Ivana University of Minnesota Twin Cities RISE/Protein Data Bank Developing computational toolkits for facilitating structural bioinformatics research          
41 Wielowski Karolina The College of New Jersey Advanced Materials Investigating solid-state electrolyte through Molecular Dynamics Simulations – An opportunity for enhanced battery performance          
42 Wong Kevin Rutgers University-New Brunswick RISE/Cyberinfrastrurcture for AI for Science& Society (CASS) Classification and Extraction of Synoptic Weather Features using Neural Networks          

More About RISE

RISE Group Photo 2024

RISE (Research Intensive Summer Experience) at Rutgers seeks to pave the pathway to graduate study and research careers. We particularly encourage participation by underrepresented minority, disadvantaged, and first-generation college students, individuals with disabilities and who have faced life challenges, as well as students from Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions.

2024 marks our 24th anniversary! RISE and its partners are hosting 43 Scholars, selected from over 1100 applicants nationwide. They have spent 10 weeks actively engaged in research and scholarship under the guidance of matched Rutgers faculty mentors and graduate student or postdoctoral near-peers.  A rigorous suite of professional development activities complements the research, including scholarly writing and speaking, preparation for graduate school, responsible conduct of research and ethics, field trips, and GRE preparation. Lunch and Learn seminars spotlight a broad scope of research at Rutgerss.

To learn more, visit https://rise.rutgers.edu

RISE Partner Programs at Rutgers:

  • REU in Cellular Bioengineering
  • REU in Advanced Materials
  • Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)

School/Unit Collaborators:

  • School of Arts and Sciences
  • School of Engineering
  • School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
  • Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
  • Biomedical & Health Sciences – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
  • RCSB Protein Data Bank
  • Waksman Institute of Microbiology

RISE Poster Session

Meet our distinguished Symposium Keynote Speaker, Dr. Cato T. Laurencin

Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. is the University Professor at the University of Connecticut (one of only two at the school). He is Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at UConn. He is also the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is the Chief Executive Officer of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, an Institute named in his honor. 

Dr. Laurencin is the emeritus University Professor, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and Lillian T. Pratt Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Virginia. He was the inaugural recipient of the Bland Award which recognizes extraordinary contributions to the field of engineering by an African American at UVA.
 
Dr. Laurencin earned his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was a Hugh Hampton Young Fellow, and his M.D., from the Harvard Medical School, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.
 
Dr. Laurencin is the pioneer of the field of Regenerative Engineering. He is an expert in biomaterials science, stem cell technology, biophysics and nanotechnology and has worked at the Convergence of these areas of research. In receiving the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP, he was named as the world’s foremost engineer-physician-scientist. He is the first individual to receive both the Simon Ramo Founders’ Award (highest honor) of the National Academy of Engineering and the Walsh McDermott Medal from the National Academy of Medicine. The American Association for the Advancement of Science awarded Dr. Laurencin the Philip Hauge Abelson Prize given ‘for signal contributions to the advancement of science in the United States.’ In recognition of his breakthrough achievements in Regenerative Engineering worldwide, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers created the Cato T. Laurencin Regenerative Engineering Founder’s Award.
 
Dr. Laurencin is an inventor. He was named 2023 Inventor of the Year by the Intellectual Property Owners Foundation. He received the 2024 Kathryn S. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success from the American Chemical Society. He is the recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, America’s highest honor for technical achievement, awarded by President Barack Obama in ceremonies at the White House.
 
Dr. Laurencin is one of very few who is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.. Learn more about Dr. Laurencin here.

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge financial support from:


Institutional sources:
Chancellor Challenge: Cyberinfrastructure for AI for Science and Society (CASS)
School of Graduate Studies
Waksman Institute of Microbiology
RCSB Protein Data Bank

External:
Aman Armaan Ahmed Family
Gerald B. Shreiber Foundation
NASA New Jersey Space Grant Consortium
National Institutes of Health
NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program
Faculty cost-share from NSF CAREER Awards, REU supplements, and other research grants.
Society of Toxicology
ASPET

Our research program would not be possible without the support of the dedicated faculty members who have donated their time, energy, and laboratory supplies and space. We are also grateful for the financial support that some faculty mentors provided through research grants or supplements. In addition, we thank the graduate students and postdoctoral near-peer mentors for their invaluable guidance and commitment.

Our program comes together only through the dedication and countless hours of hard work on the part of the Program Directors and staff, acknowledged with deep gratitude.

We thank University Libraries for their help designing and hosting this site and for maintaining a digital archive of posters and video presentations.

Past years' exhibits

To visit the 2022, 2021 and 2020 Symposia pages, please select from the links below: