Project Title: The Effects of Protein Phosphorylation

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Recipient of 2005 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, Quaesita Drake Scholarship 2005, Alpha Lambda Delta. Dean's Special Scholars Award Summer 2004, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi,   PLTL Leader in Chemistry, Frank W. Collins Undergraduate Award in Biochemistry, Gene J. and Frances E. Schiavelli Undergraduate Research Fellowship.

Presentations: Summer 2004 Symposium,  "Conformational Effects of Protein Phosphorylation",  ASBMB Undergraduate Poster Competition, Experimental Biology Meetings, San Diego, April 2005. Summer 2005 Symposium. Winner of 2005 Sigma Xi First Prize for the best talk at the Summer Symposium. Honorable Mention, ASBMB Undergraduate Poster Competition, April 1, 2006, San Francisco.

Project Title: Bone Cell Secretions and Prostate Cancer Metastasis

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Beta Beta Biology Honor Society

Presentations: Summer 2005 Symposium,

Project Title: Role of Arg-181 of the E. coli Pseudouridine Synthase TruB

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Women's Ice Hockey Club Team

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Fall 2006 : PharmD Program, University at Buffalo, NY

Project Title: Developmental Expression Pattern of Calcium and Integrin Binding Protein 1 (CIB-1)

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Alpha Lambda Delta First Year Honor Society

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Project Title: Kinetics and Thermodynamic Equilibria of Precipitation and Crystalization of Lysozyme

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Chemical Engineering Class of 1950 Scholarship.

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Project Title: Physiological and molecular characterization of tellurite resistant marine microbes

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium. 

Project Title: The Role of BetaB2-Crystallin in the Retina

Awards, Honors, and Activities: Thomas Jefferson University Sigma Xi Research Day Award Winner, Cross Country/Track and Field Co-Captain, Alpha Lambda Delta, Beta Beta Beta, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappi Phi, Charles Peter White Fellow 2004, HHMI Summer Scholar 2005

Project Title: Polymer development for a glucose magnetoelastic sensor

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Charles S. Joanedis Scholarship for academic merit in Chemical Engineering, Alpha Lambda Delta community service honor society, AiChe, Alpha Sigma Alpha social & community service sorority, Tau Beta Pi honors engineering society, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Chemical Engineering Class of 1953 scholarship, Chemical Engineering Industrial Sponsors Scholarship award, Ameranda Hess Corporation Award to Jr. Chemical Engineering major, Stanley Jacob Schechter Award for scholarship by chemical engineering student in challenging non-engineering curricula, Phi Kappa Phi.

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Project Title: Characterization of Polyoxometalates in Thin Films

Honors, Awards, and Acitivities: Beall Award for outstanding freshman Chemistry major in 2004, American Chemical Society Award in Analytical Chemistry 2006, Quaesita Drake Scholarship 2006.

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Project Title: The Viscoelastic Properties of Hairpin Hydrogels

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Summer 2004 HHMI Scholar, Chemical Engineering Alumni Laboratory Award, Sigma Xi Undergraduate Thesis Award 2006.

Presentations: Summer 2004 Symposium,  Summer 2005 Symposium.

Project Title: Bimetallic Complexes as Bifunctional Lewis Acid-Base RxnSite

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Project Title: Modeling Cancer Metastasis to Bone Using Hindlimb Unloading

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, University Honors Program, University Scholar Award, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Summer Scholar 2004, University of Delaware Research Foundation Award, Blue Hen Ambassador, PLTL Chemistry Peer Facilitator.

Presentations:  Effects of Hindlimb Suspension on CB. 17 SCIB/beige Mice, ASBMB Undergraduate Poster Competition, San Diego, CA April 2005. Summer 2004 Symposium, Summer 2005 Symposium. ASBMB Undergraduate Poster Competition, San Francisco, CA April 2006.

Fall 2006: MD program at the Penn State University School of Medicine, Hershey, PA

Project Title:  Breast Cancer Cell Targeting to Brain in a New In Vivo Model.

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Alpha Lamda Delta, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, UD Scholar Award Recipient, Governor's Award Recipient. Summer 2004 HHMI Scholar.

Presentations: Summer 2004 Symposium, Summer 2005 Symposium, ASBMB Undergraduate Poster Competition, San Francisco, CA April 2006.

Project Title: Investigation of Spectroscopic Characteristics of B-Turns

Presentations: Summer 2005 Symposium, Honorable Mention at the  ASBMB Undergraduate Poster Competition, San Francisco, CA April 2006.

Project Title:  Effect of Bcl-2 in an Early Developing Brain

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Alpha Lambda Delta, NSCS, and Kappa Alpha Theta.

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Project Title: Inference of viral genome size by epifluroescence microscopy

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Project Title: Heparanase Knockdown in ATDC5 cells

Honors and Awards: Alpha Lambda Delta, Summer 2004 HHMI Scholar, Summer 2005 HHMI Scholar, Sigma Xi Undergraduate Thesis Award 2006.

Presentations: Summer 2004 Symposium,  Summer 2005 Symposium.

Publication: Gomes, R.R., Joshi, S.S., Farach-Carson, M.C. (2006) Ribozyme-Mediated Perlecan Knockdown Impairs Chondrogenic Differentiation of C3H10T1/2 Fibroblasts. Differentiation, 74(1):53-63.

Project Title: Chiral Metallofoldamers as Enantioselective Catalysts

Honors and Awards: Pfizer Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Synthetic Organic Chemistry 2006, President ACS Student Affilaites.

Presentations: Summer 2005 Symposium, 70th Intercollegiate Student Chemists' Conference at Ursinus College, April 22, 2006.

Project Title:  The function of Spot 14 in Adipocytes

Presentations: Summer 2005 Symposium. ASBMB Undergraduate Poster Competition, San Francisco, CA April 2006.

Project Title: Study of Transmembrane Helices Four and Five in the Adenosine A2a Receptor

Project Title: Characterization of Calcium Integrin Binding Proteins

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Co-VP of Community Service for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars,President of Campus Girl Scouts, Associate Member of Beta Beta Beta , Member of Phi Sigma Omega National Honor Society.

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Fall 2006: PhD Program in Chemistry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Research Mentor: Mary E. Miele, Department of Medical Technology

Project Title: Search for Metastasis Suppressor Genes in Malignant Melanoma

Project Title: Synthesis of Protected Gamma-Carboxyglutamic Acid

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Research Mentor: Diane Herson, Biological Sciences

Project Title: The Role of luxS  in Helicobacter pylori Biofilm Formation

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society, University Honors Program, Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society, Beta Beta Beta Biological Honors Society Vice President, Microbiology Journal Club, Study Abroad - Bond University  Australia 2004 Spring, CIS Global Essay Scholarship, Dept. of State Gilman International Scholarship, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi.

Presentations: Summer 2004 Symposium, Summer 2005 Symposium.

Fall 2006: PhD program in Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Research Mentor: Louis Kunkel, HHMI Investigator, Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

Project Title: "Adult Muscle Stem Cells in Therapy of Muscular Dystrophy"

Honors and Awards: Recipient of a 2005 HHMI Exceptional Research Opportunities (EXROP) Award

Project Title: "The role of JAM-A in Breast Cancer Tumor Growth and Metastasis."

Awards: Kevin Scott Beall Memorial Award, Summer 2003 HHMI Undergraduate Research Scholar, Alpha Lambda Delta. Dean's Special Scholars Award Summer 2004. Summer 2005 HHMI Undergraduate Research Scholar, Recipient of 2005 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, 2006 Marshall Scholarship, Elizabeth Dyer Award for Excellence in Chemistry and Biochemistry 2006, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi., Sigma Xi Undergraduate Thesis Award 2006.

Presentations: "Developmental Expression Pattern of Junctional Adhesion Molecule-1 (JAM-1): Expression during Early Organogenesis" J. J. Parris, P. B. Kelley, M. K. Duncan, U. P. Naik at the American Society for Cell Biology Meetings, San Francisco, December 12-17, 2003. Summer 2004 Symposium,  Summer 2005 Symposium. Second Place in Biochemical Sciences Division 2004 UMBC Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Publication:  James J Parris, Vesselina G Cooke, Willian C Skarnes, Melinda K Dunan, Ulhas P Naik (2005) "JAM-A Expression during Embryonic Development", Developmental Dynamics 233, 1517-1524.

Fall 2006: MPhil and possibly PhD in Human Genetics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

Project Title: Role of SV40 Large T Antigen in DNA Binding and Unwinding

Honors, Awards, and Activities: HHMI PBL Peer tutor faciltator, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Lambda Delta, and Beta Beta Beta Honor Societies, Pi Delta Phi Honor Society in French Studies, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity Balanced Man Scholar.

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Project Title: Kinetics and Thermodynamics of Recombinant bG-CSF Aggregation

Honors, Awards, and Activities: American Institute of Chemical Engineers Sophomore Award 2005, American Institute of Chemical Engineers Junior Award 2006, National Starch and Chemical Company Undergraduate Scholarship 2005, Merck Engineering & Technology Scholar 2006, Donald Othmar Sophomore Academic Excellence Award, Tau Beta Pi Honor Society in Chemical Engineering.

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Project Title: The Expression of Hyal 3 in the Murine Testicular Cells

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Alpha Lambda Delta, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Phi Kappa Phi, Club Field Hockey, Delaware Repertoire Dance Company. Summer 2004 HHMI Scholar

Presentations: "The Characterization of Hyal3 in Murine Testicular Cells", poster at the Experimental Biology Meetings, San Diego, April 2005, Summer 2004 Symposium, Summer 2005 Symposium. ASBMB Undergraduate Poster Competition, San Francisco, CA April 2006.

Fall 2006: Medical School

Project Title: Synthesis of asymmetrical pyrazine compounds

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Sophomore class representative to the  Chemistry and Biochemistry Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. 

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.

Project Title: Synthesis of Polyguanidiniums via Alpha Guanidino Acids

Honors, Awards, and Activities: PLTL Peer-facilitator in Chemistry

Presentations: Summer 2005 Symposium. ASBMB Undergraduate Poster Competition, San Francisco, CA April 2006.

Project Title: The Study of Protein Assemblies and Protein Interfaces

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.  

Project Title: Thyroid Hormone Receptor M310T rescue via new GC-1 analogs

Honors, Awards, and Activities: Quaesita Drake Scholarship 2006

Presentation: Summer 2005 Symposium.