Current Program Participants

Maya Abdalla is a senior at Emmanuel College majoring in Biology and double minoring in Data Analytics and Global and Public Health. Maya plans to continue her studies and obtain a Ph.D. in Computational Biology following a gap year to gain work and research experience. Maya’s current interests lie in nanodisc research and software engineering. Her goal is to pursue a career in biotechnological research focused on protein modeling to aid in drug discovery and development.

 

 

 


Luis Bonilla is a 3rd year Mathematics student at Salem State University with a minor in Sustainability. Luis is an immigrant from El Salvador and was the first in his family to graduate from high school and will soon be the first to earn a college degree. Luis aspires to continue his education by attending graduate school, with a focus on Computational Mathematics to help model the world through scientific methods utilizing both math and computer science. Luis hopes to meld his passion for environmental justice with his Computational Mathematics studies to help create a planet that is a safe and just place for future generations.

 


Jaiann Caton is from Brooklyn, New York City, and recently graduated from Spelman College at the age of 20, where she majored in Health Sciences. Jaiann plans to pursue her M.D./Ph.D. at New York University and aspires to become a Double Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon specializing in reconstructive and cosmetic surgical procedures. Jaiann aims to continue making a difference in the world by educating the public on the importance of their health and improve the lives of underrepresented and under-resourced communities by minimizing the spread of infectious diseases. She also seeks to improve health trends within populations and implement better quality healthcare for patients. Jaiann is very enthusiastic about participating in the summer program.


Brandon Causing graduated in May 2023 from the University of Florida as a triple major in Mathematics, Statistics, and Economics. He hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Biostatistics and apply his love for the mathematical sciences to issues in public health and medicine. Furthermore, he aims to support fellow first-generation college students in navigating their interests in graduate studies and biomedical research. Brandon’s current research interests lie in enhancing the statistical methods behind predictive modeling, population genomics, and clinical trials, especially in HIV/AIDS and cancer research. Ultimately, he aspires to help eliminate health disparities through work with federal health agencies and academic medical centers as a biostatistician.


Selma Chamime completed an Information Technology degree at Simmons University with a focus in business management. Selma had research opportunities that helped her develop skills in leadership and teamwork. Her previous experiences have supported the development of her data analysis and research. She has gained diverse and valuable experiences through her various roles and internships. These experiences have shaped her both personally and professionally, fostering a multidisciplinary approach and a passion for making a meaningful impact in various fields. She would like to begin a career in Big Data and Usability and hope to exercise the skills that she has acquired, specifically the use of biotechnology, an industry that experiences a great deal of change and evokes important questions and research about improving healthcare. Her current focus is to use her skills to make a positive impact on public health and innovative research.


Sophia C. Delgado Astacio is a fourth-year student at the University of Puerto Rico, Humacao Campus (UPRH), where she is completing a double major in General Biology and Microbiology. Sophia leads her own Biomedical research with a focus on Epidemiology, in which she applies statistical resources to identify the prevalence of endocrinological diseases present in Puerto Rican women. One of Sophia’s academic goals after she graduates in 2024, is to be accepted into medical school and obtain her M.D. in the field of Endocrinology. She is passionate about incorporating medicine and her background in biostatistics, with her community.

 

 


Adam Genda is a first-generation college student in his third year at the University of Northwestern – St. Paul (MN). He is majoring in Biology, and is dedicated to integrating concepts in biology, mathematics, and statistics. He plans to earn a Ph.D. in Biostatistics to fulfill his missions, which are to simplify complicated data, find new meaning in patterns, and communicate those insights to others. Adam hopes to achieve many milestones in his career including directing study designs, implementing novel statistical methods, and developing programs to work more effectively with biological data. Additionally, he aspires to one day serve as a director of a computational biology lab or as an analyst in a research laboratory.


Cade McManus is a rising Junior at Harvard College pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Statistics. He is considering pursuing a Ph.D. in pure Statistics or Biostatistics after graduating. Cade is currently interested in causal inference, and how to incorporate mathematical rigor into experimental design. He believes that using statistics to study causation is critical for advancing scientific knowledge and making informed decisions.

In the future, Cade hopes to have the opportunity to apply statistical methods to a wide range of biological problems – both in academia and in industry.