Students who spent their summer doing high-level research at four-year institutions, and in one case a national laboratory, had the opportunity to share their experiences during Onondaga Community College's Science Symposium. The day-long event was held September 24 at Storer Auditorium. It featured a keynote address from SUNY Binghamton's Dr. Lisa Savage and Dr. Patricia DiLorenzo, student research talks, and poster presentations which gave attendees the opportunity to visit with students individually and learn about their research.
Yesha Patel, a member of OCC's class of 2021, conducted research at SUNY Binghamton where she studied the effects of binge drinking alcohol on anxiety and cognitive function in mice. "I loved the experience. Every single day I was excited about what we would be doing and seeing the results. I enjoyed doing research more than I thought I would." Patel is now enrolled at SUNY Binghamton where she is working toward a Biology degree.
Computer Science major Manu Shergill spent his summer at Syracuse University where he helped build a sensor system that could track how bodies of water expanded or contracted in drought or flood conditions. "We could see how water temperature tracked over time shows how the boundary of water is changing. Areas which do not have levies have a greater degree of flooding than those who do when they are along the same body of water."
OCC class of 2021 member Alexis Riccardo did her research with the Brookhaven National Laboratory which is part of the United States Department of Energy. Her focus was tracking how insulin changes its shape based on the environment it is in. The team she was part of made two discoveries which they hope will help produce a more effective insulin. "The whole process was amazing. Even though my internship ended I'm still doing research with them. I'm studying lysozyme which is in all vaccinations, and thaumatin which is a different type of a biomolecule." Riccardo now attends Syracuse University where she is enrolled in the Chemical Engineering degree program.
All of the summer internships were coordinated through OCC's Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Program (LSAMP), the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), or the Collegiate Science & Technology Entry Program (CSTEP). A complete list of OCC students who did research is below. And the student posters which were displayed during the symposium can be viewed at the bottom of this story.
- Addelis Agosto - SUNY Binghamton Bridges To Baccalaureate with Dr. Anne Clark, Biology
- Lamar Brown - SUNY Binghamton Bridges To Baccalaureate with Dr. David Jentsch, Psychology
- Arianna Cruz Harris - SUNY Binghamton Bridges To Baccalaureate with Dr. Chris Bishop, Psychology
- Silmari Figueroa - SUNY Binghamton Bridges To Baccalaureate with Dr. Anushree Karkhanis, Psychology
- Kiylee Lescenski - SUNY Binghamton Bridges To Baccalaureate with Dr. John Swierk, Chemistry
- Yesha Patel - SUNY Binghamton Bridges To Baccalaureate with Dr. Florence Varodayan, Psychology
- Andrew Waldon - SUNY Binghamton Bridges To Baccalaureate with Dr. David Werner, Psychology
- Everine Mukeshimana - SUNY Binghamton Bridges To Baccalaureate with Dr. Peter Gerhardstein Karkhanis, Psychology
- Alexis Riccardo - Brookhaven National Laboratory, Department of Energy
- Cristian Pompey - Cornell University, Center for High Energy X-Ray Science
- Harrison Spain - Syracuse University, Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Summer Research
- Jennifer Holder - Syracuse University with Dr. Latha Ramalingam, Nutrition
- Evan Zelenz - Syracuse University with Dr. Elizabeth Carter, Department of Civil Engineering & Earth Sciences
- Hatice Baysal - SUNY Upstate Medical University with Dr. Bah
- Mandeep Shergill - Syracuse University, Department of Civil Engineering & Earth Sciences with Dr. Elizabeth Carter
- Mona Osman - Syracuse University, Department of Civil Engineering & Earth Sciences with Dr. Elizabeth Carter
- Arrin Shepp - Syracuse University with Dr. Jason Fridley, Biology
- Aaliyah Nunez - Syracuse University, Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Summer Research, Summer Power Lab
- Tim Brown - Syracuse University, Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Summer Research, Summer Power Lab
