Bridge to Ph.D. Program in the Natural Sciences Participants

Through their employment as Research Assistants (RAs), Bridge Program participants are actively engaged in hands-on investigative work in laboratories in the natural sciences at Columbia. Below is some information about our current participants and alumni and the exciting projects on which they are currently working or worked.

Current Participant Biographies

Cohort 4 (2011-2013) full biographies to come!

Juliana Agudelo (Chemistry), Advisor: Nick Turro

Erick Andrade (Physics), Advisor: Abhay Pasupathy

Carlos Garcia (Biology), Advisor: John Hunt

Evan Hamilton (Earth Science), Advisor: Peter deMenocal

Steven Mohammad (Astronomy), Advisor: David Schiminovich

Cohort 3 (2010-2012) 

Brian Colar (Psychology)
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Brian is the laboratory coordinator in the Interracial Diversity laboratory, working with Valerie Purdie-Vaughns to examine the relationship between race and self-affirmation in the political support of President Barack Obama. In addition, he is examining the correlation between race and masculinity and their affiliation to stereotype threat. His other research passions include gender roles, cultural identity, resiliency, and aggression. Brian received his B.A. in psychology from Argosy University in Chicago, Illinois, in the spring of 2010. Before graduating, Brian was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar at Michigan State University. There he investigated the impact of race and rank in sexual harassment in men in the military and the sexual harassment of working women with Isis Settles and NiCole Buchanan. In addition, Brian founded a nonprofit organization that works with at-risk youths and is dedicated to bridging educational gaps and assisting minority males in the transition to adulthood. Brian plans on obtaining his Ph.D. in clinical psychology.

Kirsten Frazer (Psychology)
Kirsten is from Pelham, New York, and received her B.A. in psychology from Connecticut College in May 2010. As an undergraduate, she did research under the mentorship of Emery Brown at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she examined the actions of general anesthetic drugs and how they induce loss of consciousness. It was this experience that ignited Kirsten's interest in pharmacology. At Columbia, Kirsten has worked with Kevin Ochsner studying the regulation of craving in methamphetamine users, and is currently investigating how ketamine affects cocaine users with Carl Hart. In particular, Kirsten is looking at whether ketamine reduces cue reactivity (the intensity of response to drug cues), and whether it enhances motivation to change patterns of drug use. This may help determine whether ketamine can be used in treatments for cocaine dependence. Kirsten plans to pursue a Ph.D. in neuropsychology.

Raven Harris (Neuroscience)
Raven is from New Castle, Delaware, and graduated from Haverford College, where she earned a B.S. in Biology in 2010. While at Haverford, she received several summer research fellowships from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and completed a senior thesis with Andrea Morris on axon guidance in the developing visual system. In the summer of 2009, as part of Columbia University's Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GSAS) Summer Research Program, Raven furthered her interest in axon guidance working with Carol Mason. In 2010, Raven returned to the Mason laboratory as an RA in the Bridge Program. The Mason laboratory investigates molecules important for the formation of neuronal connections in the developing visual system. Raven's current project identifies genes important for retinal axons to recognize targets in the brain. She plans to obtain an M.D. /Ph.D. with a research focus on the visual system.

Claribel Nuñez (Chemistry)
Claribel is a New York native and earned a B.S. in chemistry from Brooklyn College in 2010. There she was a Minority Access to Research and Career (MARC) scholar, and worked with Maria Contel on the synthesis of iminophsophines with gold to improve cancer therapy. In the summer of 2009, Claribel conducted research with Nina Berova at Columbia as part of the GSAS Summer Research Program. She worked on three zinc "tweezers" to determine their usefulness for finding the absolute configuration of chiral molecules, which will help in developing efficient pharmaceuticals. Currently, Claribel is working as a research assistant in Ann McDermott's laboratory, studying the interaction of cytochrome P450, an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of organic substances in the body, with N-Palmitoylglycine, a fatty acid. Claribel plans to pursue a Ph.D. in biochemistry.

John Pamplin II (Psychology)
John is a research assistant in Rae Silver's neuroscience laboratory, where he studies circadian rhythms. His current work focuses on the role of the Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the regulation of sex hormones. Specifically, he is looking for sex differences in the circadian regulation of the endocrine pathway responsible for sex hormone release in hamsters. John is originally from Yellow Springs, Ohio. He attended Morehouse College, in Atlanta, Georgia, where he received his B.S. in biology in 2010. As a member of the John H. Hopps Jr. Research Scholars Program, which is funded by the Department of Defense, John worked with Daniel Hummer at Morehouse, investigating the role of gama aminobutyric acid (GABA) in light-induced phase shifts in hamsters. Additionally, John spent the summer of 2009 in the laboratory of Ted Garland Jr. at the University of California, Riverside, studying sexual dimorphism in the pelves of a group of mice selectively bred for voluntary wheel running. John is generally interested in neural-communication of the SCN. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience.

Corey Perez (Chemistry)
Corey was born and raised in Miami, Florida. After receiving his B.A. in biochemistry from Columbia in May 2010, Corey began working as a joint research assistant under the supervision of Virginia Cornish and Ruben Gonzalez. He is currently involved in a research project investigating the detailed functioning of the ribosome, the critical piece of cellular machinery responsible for the synthesis of proteins. His research employs single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) to explore the complex dynamics involved in protein formation. With a wider interest in bioinorganic chemistry and cellular engineering, Corey ultimately plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry.

Alumni Biographies

Cohort 2 (2009-2011)

Shaness Grenald (Psychology)
Originally from New York, Shaness received her B.A. in psychology from St. John's University in May 2009. A McNair Scholar at St. John's, Shaness conducted research with Alice Powers, examining the behavior of turtles in order to uncover distinct personality traits. Shaness also participated in a summer REU at Northern Arizona University with Melissa Birkett. There she examined cinnamon's ability to attenuate stress in male undergraduates. It was during this experience that Shaness bridged her interest in psychology with her current interest in neuroscience. At Columbia, she has worked with Niall Bolger investigating dyadic interactions and models of social support in Hispanic populations with Type II diabetes. Shaness currently works with Frances Champagne researching how early life experiences, in particular maternal care, programs behavioral and neuroendocrine outcomes in rodents. Shaness is interested in studying the biological mechanisms that drive persistent pain conditions. Later this year, she will start working on a Ph.D. in medical pharmacology at the University of Arizona.

Richard Lopez (Psychology)
Rich is an RA in Kevin Ochsner's Social Cognitive Neuroscience laboratory. His research interests include social cognition, emotion regulation, and person perception. Rich is working on projects investigating the neural and behavioral bases of craving regulation in substance-using populations. He is currently studying craving regulation in cigarette smokers. Rich is from Rockaway, New Jersey, and graduated from Princeton University in 2009 with a B.A. in psychology. While at Princeton, he investigated social cognition and face perception with Alexander Todorov. Later this year, Rich will begin a Ph.D. program in social psychology at Dartmouth. He hopes to study how we perceive and react to various aspects of our social environments, and how our perceptions and reactions can be changed via self-control techniques.

Egberanmwen (Egbe) Ode (Biological Sciences)
Egbe, a native of Edo, Nigeria, moved to the United States in 2003. As an undergraduate at Saint John's University, she became a McNair Scholar, and did research under the mentorship of Richard Lockshin. In the Lockshin laboratory, Egbe worked on zebrafish embryos to better understand the implications of caspase-3 in cell death. Currently, she is working as a research assistant in Brent Stockwell's laboratory. Here, Egbe is trying to detect unknown (non-apoptotic) cell deaths via staining and antibody assays in the developmental stages of mice embryos. This may pave way for a better understanding of the behaviors of cancer cells, asdistortion of/disruption in cell death pathways have been implicated in cancers and other neuronal diseases. In addition, she is working to develop biomarkers for erastin, a potential anti-cancer drug that was discovered in the Stockwell laboratory. Egbe plans to obtain an M.D./Ph.D. with a focus in cancer and pharmacological research.

Angelica Patterson (Biological Sciences)
Angelica has worked at Barnard College with Hilary Callahan since 2004 on research pertaining to plant trait plasticity and evolution. Angelica began by studying the plant Arabidopsis thaliana and its shift in flowering time under varying climate regimes. Her current research examines the influence of mycorrhizal fungi colonization on root morphological traits in a greenhouse and field study. She is also concluding a second project, with Kevin Griffin, on the effect forest disturbance has on the activity in Black Birch of the nitrogen reductase enzyme, which reduces soil nitrogen for use in photosynthesis and other processes. Before coming to Columbia, Angelica studied plant-virus interactions with Alison Power at Cornell University, and the ecological and evolutionary relationship of desert cacti and moths with Nathaniel Holland at Rice University. Originally from Pennsylvania, Angelica earned her B.S. in natural resources from Cornell University in 2003 and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in ecology and environmental sciences, with a focus on plant science, urban ecology, and sustainability.

Nicholas Hunt-Walker (Astronomy)
Nicholas worked with Jules Halpern searching for gamma-ray pulsations from suspected pulsars using data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. His previous research experiences included modeling gamma-ray emission from starburst galaxies with Timothy Paglione of York College, City University of New York (CUNY), and performing X-ray population studies of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local Group, using the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton observatory, with Marina Orio at the University of Wisconsin. A native New Yorker, Nicholas is an alumnus of York College, where he earned his B.S. in physics and mathematics in 2010. In the fall of 2010, Nicholas moved to Seattle and started on a Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of Washington.

Khatera Rahmani (Biological Sciences)
Khatera Rahmani was an RA in J. Chloë Bulinski's laboratory, where she researched a covalent modification of connexin43 (Cx43), a protein subunit of cellular gap junctions, which allow passage of small molecules between adjacent cells. Gap junctions built from Cx43 are required for development and homeostasis of higher organisms, and mutations in the Cx43 gene are known to cause human disease. Like many cytoplasmic proteins, connexins undergo covalent modification of their coded amino acids following protein synthesis. Khatera studied Cx43 post-translational modifications, which may elucidate further required determinants of gap junction structure and function. Khatera was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and grew up in Queens, New York. She received her B.S. in biology and B.A. in environmental studies from Brooklyn College (CUNY). As an undergraduate, Khatera worked with Thomas Lewandowski studying the toxicological effects on a cultured cell line of the combined exposure to lead and mercury. In the fall of 2010, Khatera entered the Ph.D. program in toxicology at the University of Rochester.

Cohort 1 (2008-2010)

María (Ximena) Fernández (Astronomy)

Ximena worked with Jacqueline van Gorkom studying the neutral hydrogen distribution of interacting galaxies in different environments. Her first project involved looking at a gas-rich merger remnant and examining the fate of the gas in the presence of an active black hole and a burst of star formation. She then studied the gas dynamics in interacting galaxies in the Virgo Cluster to understand how they are affected by the intracluster medium. Previously, Ximena had investigated galaxy formation and evolution by analyzing galaxy properties in different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum with Debra Elmegreen at Vassar College and Emmanuel Momjian, Chris Salter, and Tapasi Ghosh at the Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico. Ximena is originally from Colombia, and earned a B.A. from Vassar College in physics and astronomy in 2007 and a B.Eng. from Dartmouth College in 2008. In the fall of 2010, Ximena entered the astronomy Ph.D. program at Columbia.

Tashina Graves (Psychology)
Tashina was an RA in Hakwan Lau's Consciousness and Computation Lab in the Psychology Department. She was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but had lived in New York nearly all her life. Her research interests lie in the area of visual perception, particularly the role of, and interplay between, attention and awareness. At Columbia, she worked on visual attention, confidence ratings, and the integration of perceptual information. She received her B.A. in psychology from Barnard College where she completed her senior project in Lisa Son's laboratory, researching metacognition in children. During her senior year Tashina also worked as a teaching assistant for the Perception and Cognition laboratory courses. In the fall of 2010, Tashina entered the psychology Ph.D. program at Johns Hopkins University.

Charlotte Logan (Biological Sciences)
Charlotte received her B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma. While at Columbia, she worked in James Manley's laboratory studying how gene expression is controlled on a molecular level by mRNA transcript processing. After investigating the role of alternative splicing of the mRNA transcript in difficult-to-treat asthma, Charlotte then worked on the factors involved in polyadenylation of the mRNA transcript. Specifically, she investigated the recruitment of the PAF complex by transcriptional activator VP16 in transcription-coupled polyadenylation. Charlotte is from the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, which spans the borders of Quebec, Ontario, and New York State, and is dedicated to alleviating the health disparities between Native and mainstream communities. In the fall of 2010 she began her Ph.D. at Brandeis University, where Charlotte will continue to develop her interests in gene expression systems and the search for a practical application of molecular genetics to the chronic health concerns of Native American communities.

Vanessa Mondol (Chemistry)
A graduate of Stony Brook University, Vanessa was an RA in the laboratory of Virginia Cornish. In the fall of 2009, Vanessa entered the Ph.D. program in Biological Sciences at the University of California at San Diego.

Chukwudi (Chuk) Onyemekwu (Psychology)
Chuk worked with Kevin Ochsner studying the social cognitive effects of craving. His focus was on researching effective cognitive strategies to regulate cravings in nicotine and methamphetamine-using populations. He also worked on a meta-analysis for cravings linked to various other drugs. Chuk is originally from Nigeria, and graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in psychology. His previous research experiences included two summers shadowing Philip Stieg, chief neurosurgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and working on a case report on the use of an intra-aortic balloon pump to permit resection of a tumor. Chuk plans to obtain an M.D./Ph.D. studying the biochemical effects of substance dependence and elucidating effective treatment to cope with using behavior.

Elizabeth Rodriguez (Psychology)
Elizabeth conducted research for over two years in Rae Silver's neuro-endocrinology laboratory. One of her projects assessed suprachiasmatic nucleus activation by a light-pulse when mice were aroused during their normal resting time. She also mapped distribution of neuro-immune mast cells during brain development in baseline conditions. Elizabeth graduated from Hunter College (CUNY), with a B.A. in psychology. While at Hunter, she was a Minority Access to Research and Career (MARC) and then a Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) scholar. For three years she worked in Cheryl Harding's neuro-endocrinology laboratory studying song-learning and sexual behaviors in zebra finches. While a MARC/MBRS scholar, Elizabeth also participated twice in the Summer Program for Under-Represented Students at Columbia University. Elizabeth has been at the University of Michigan since the fall of 2010, working on her Ph.D. in neuroscience.

Nitza Santiago (Astronomy)
Nitza earned her B.S. in physics and electronics from the University of Puerto Rico, Humacao (UPRH). Her research interests include radio observations of galaxies, galactic structure, and star formation. At Columbia, she worked with Mary Putman studying the HI gas properties of star formation in isolated HII regions. These regions present the opportunity to study the star formation process in environments that differ from the typical environment in a galaxy disk. Originally from Patillas, Puerto Rico, Nitza conducted research as an undergraduate with Juan Cersosimo studying the galactic warp of the Milky Way. Nitza also worked at the Astronomical Observatory at UPRH creating activities for the general public using optical telescopes. At Yale University during the summer of 2008, she examined stars in the background of a star-forming molecular cloud under the mentorship of Héctor Arce. In the fall of 2010, Nitza entered the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program to start her M.S. in physics.

Marlena Watson (Earth and Environmental Sciences)
Marlena graduated with a B.S. in biology from Temple University. At Columbia, she worked under the mentorship of Brian Mailloux on a protocol to determine the radioactive carbon date of microorganisms collected from wells in Bangladesh as part of the Arsenic in Bangladesh project. In her time as an RA, Marlena traveled to Bangladesh to collect samples not only for radioactive carbon dating, but also for determining arsenic concentrations, identifying pathogens present in the groundwater, and measuring overall microbial diversity. In addition to working on radiocarbon dating, she devised a pathogen assay protocol using PCR amplification of environmental samples to determine the presence of pathogenic E.coli in well water. Originally from the Bronx, Marlena entered the CUNY Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Ph.D. program in the fall of 2010.

For any questions about the Bridge Program, please email Summer Ash or Marcel Agüeros. Prof. Agüeros can also be reached at (212) 854-6814.

The Bridge Program is supported by the National Science Foundation through grant AST-1015491. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.