15 Pitt students were named Health Science Research fellows

The David C. Frederick Honors College Health Science Research Fellowships will support 15 students throughout the summer 2024 term as they conduct full-time independent research under the mentorship of faculty members in any of the six schools of Pitt’s Health Sciences.

This summer, the Frederick Honors College awarded 90 fellowship and internship awards — including the prestigious Brackenridge Fellowship as well as opportunities in community research, creative arts, engineering and public service. Students from across all disciplines can apply by proposing a research topic, finding a faculty sponsor and committing to completing and presenting their research by the end of summer.

This year’s fellows and their research projects are:

• Mercy Akanmu, a neuroscience and history and philosophy of science major in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and the Frederick Honors College — “Neurogranin: A Marker for the Future”
• Mara Cicchetti, a neuroscience major in the Dietrich School and the Frederick Honors College — “The Effect of Ultrasound-Targeted Microbubble Cavitation on Microglial Polarization and Amyloid-β Clearance in an In Vitro Alzheimer’s Disease Model of the Blood-Brain Barrier”
• Sanjana Das, a psychology major in the Dietrich School — “Can Improving Alcohol Response Measures Enhance Prediction of Alcohol Problems?”
• Shanmayee Devarapalli, a biological sciences major in the Dietrich School and the Frederick Honors College — “Investigating the Role of GDAP1 in Mitochondrial Calcium Signaling Under Stress Conditions”
• Vignesh Elangovan, a molecular biology major in the Dietrich School and the Frederick Honors College — “Enhancing Therapeutic Efficacy in HPV Head and Neck Cancer through TFAM Downregulation”
• Jessica Knapp, a biochemistry major in the Dietrich School and the Frederick Honors College — “Drug Sensitivity and Resistance to Derived Immortalized Hepatoblastoma Cell Lines”
• Sejal Molakaseema, a computational biology major in the Dietrich School, the School of Computing and Information and the Frederick Honors College — “Evaluating MYBPC3 Post-Translational Protein Modifications”
• Anvith Ramadugu, a molecular biology major in the Dietrich School and the Frederick Honors College — “Modulating Lysosomal Activity: A Novel Approach to Disrupt Immune Checkpoint Evasion in Cancer Cells”
• Allison Redhair, a chemistry major in the Dietrich School and the Frederick Honors College — “Development of a Degradable Hydrogel for Glaucoma Shunts”
• Ria Sai, a chemistry and philosophy major in the Dietrich School and the Frederick Honors College — “Evaluating Congruence Between Cancer Models and Tumor of Origin: A Faster Approach”
• Riya Sharma, a neuroscience major in the Dietrich School and the Frederick Honors College — “Determining the Role of VWF in Platelet-Platelet Interactions, Post Vessel Occlusion”
• Christian Waronsky, a computational biology major in the Dietrich School, the School of Computing and Information and the Frederick Honors College — “Interaction between folic acid and cilia mutation in the development of the face”
• Kylie Wishneski, a bioengineering major in the Swanson School of Engineering and the Frederick Honors College — “Quantifying Neurogenesis in Stroke Cavities”
• Jiaan Xie, a neuroscience major in the Dietrich School and the Frederick Honors College — “Damage-Induced Cytoplasmic DNA in Cells with Implications for Alzheimer’s Disease”
• Lorena Ye, a biochemistry major in the Dietrich School and the Frederick Honors College — “Investigating Renal Magnesium Handling through Examination of Distal Convoluted Tubule Morphology and Transporter Expression”