We are pleased to announce the creation of the CURF Undergraduate Advisory Board. This diverse group of students will enhance communication and awareness of the opportunities that CURF provides to the Penn student body. In its pilot year, the board aims to reach out to the student community through various events and research fairs, promoting CURF and its programs. By working with students, faculty, and alumni, their goal is to promote the research interests of the student body and also connect students with research opportunities in their given fields.
Anthony Schuller
President
COL ’11, Biochemistry
My research concerns structural and biochemical studies of telomerase, an enzyme whose over-expression is linked with over 90% of human tumorogenic cancers.
Christine Nieves Rodriguez
Vice President
COL ’10, Communication and Public Service
As a result of Dr. Amy Jordan’s class in Children & Media I extended my academic research beyond the classroom to seek answers to the following question: Can the development of a successful educational TV show for children stop the vicious cycle of current threats affecting the Latino community? My hypothesis is that by developing a show based on evaluation of communication scholars’ peer-reviewed articles on media effects in children’s development and behavior (with particular attention to studies directed at the Latino community) I can merge scholarly research, theories of cognitive and social development, and marketing principles in order to create a financially successful educational media product for Hispanic children. Currently, I am co-hosting a public-affairs TV show for Telemundo in the interest of leading to the development of a pilot.
Benny Laitman
Secretary
COL ’10, Biological Basis of Behavior, Anthropology
Interested in how PTSD affects sleep, specifically focusing on the brain waves, autonomic responses, and pharmacological interventions.
Arden Rienas
Treasurer
COL/WH ’11, Chemistry, Business and Public Policy
I have done research on monogamous primates in Ecuador with a professor in the Anthropology department and am currently doing research in the Neuroscience department on the neural basis of decision making.
Phillip Benedetti
COL ’10, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Economics
My research concerns the synthesis of novel biologically active molecules. Additionally, I am working towards my first small molecule total synthesis.
Chen Ding
COL ’12, Biochemistry
Molecular Biology, Genetics, etc. Current-Neurobiology
Grace Ha
COL ’12, Undecided
As a pre-med student, I am mainly interested in research in the fields of neuroscience and medicine. Currently, I am assisting with research in the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania in the Clinical Microbiology, Molecular Microbiology and Bacterial Pathogenesis Laboratory.
Daniella Mak
COL ’10, Diplomatic History
JFK’s Policy on Portuguese Decolonization of Angola 1961-3 (Thesis); sociolinguistics and nationalism, identity construction and refugee studies.
GJ Melendez-Torres
NUR/WH ’11, Health Care Policy, Statistics
Healthcare policy and utilization, particularly in ERs
Mike Radocchia
COL ’11, Biology – Molecular Biology Concentration
Pharmacologic repair of mutant CFTR function in Cystic Fibrosis
Stefan Sabo
COL ’10, Mathematics
Geometry, algebraic geometry, elliptic curves and algebraic number theory
Priya Sehgal
COL ’12, Undeclared
During high school, I researched in a biochemistry lab at Temple, and in a neurology lab at the NIH. This past summer I worked with Dr. Kirkpatrick in the Cardiology Department at HUP through Penn’s PURM program. My focus was on advanced directives for cardiac patients with internal defibrillators. I am currently interested in pursuing neurobiology research at Penn.