MICDS was well-represented at the Students and Teachers as Research Scientists (STARS) program this summer with 12 seniors. For six weeks, program participants “could be seen in labs working with leading biologists on innovative research while others were busy working on advanced initiatives in different sectors of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.” They all created research papers focused on one of four categories: behavioral science, engineering, life science or physical science. At the conclusion of the six weeks, a confirmation ceremony was held on the campus of UMSL. Read more about the program and experience here.
Congratulations to all of our 2019 STARS scholars!
| Participant | Research Project Title | Top St. Louis Scientist |
| Nischal Ada ’20 | Determining the Most Optimal Alginate Hydrogels as Bone Spacers | Dr. Scott Sell, St. Louis University |
| Megana Atluri ’20 | Metal Uptake on Wetland Soil Sediments | Dr. Jeffrey Catalano, Washington University |
| Nishanth Boppana ’20 | Synergistic Effects of Curcumin and Silibinin B on Cancer Cell Migration | Dr. Uthayashanker Ezekiel, St. Louis University |
| Tanay Chandak ’20 | Improving Ensemble Docking for Drug Discovery by Machine Learning | Dr. Chung Wong, University of Missouri- St. Louis |
| Stanley Ding ’20 | UV Mutagenesis and the Identification of Volvox carteri Developmental Mutants | Dr. James Umen, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center |
| Asha Dundoo ’20 | Role of Autophagy Inducers in Parenteral Nutrition Associated Injury in an Ambulatory Neonatal Piglet Model | Dr. Ajay K. Jain, St. Louis University |
| Boyu Liu ’20 | Preliminary Evaluation of Impacts for Carvedilol and Dexrazoxane in Doxorubicin-Treated Rat Cardiomyoblasts and Human Breast Carcinoma Cells, Using Live-Cell Optical Imaging | Dr. Vijay Sharma, Washington University School of Medicine |
| Aakarsh Rai ’20 | Preliminary Evaluation of Impacts for Carvedilol and Dexrazoxane in Doxorubicin-Treated Rat Cardiomyoblasts and Human Breast Carcinoma Cells, Using Live-Cell Optical Imaging | Dr. Vijay Sharma, Washington University School of Medicine |
| Jude Sorkin ’20 | Investigation of Catalytic Activation of Propargylic Alcohols by Iron Complexes | Dr. Eike Bauer, University of Missouri- St. Louis |
| Grihith Varaday ’20 | Modulation of Nucleus Pulposus Cell Phenotype by Laminin-mimetic Peptide-coupled Alginate Systems | Dr. Lori Setton, Washington University |
| Jonathan Zhang ’20 | The Role of Cognitive Markers in Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease: a Meta-analysis Study | Dr. Julie Bugg, Washington University |
| Aanjaneyaa Venkataraman ’20 | The Characterization of the Enzymatic Reaction between Alcohols and Fluorescent Probes by Peroxidase | Dr. Dana Morrone, St. Louis College of Pharmacy |
Perhaps our newest STARS program graduates are inspired by the program like alumna Gowri Kalugotla ’12 who, earlier this year, was featured here in the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center’s Roots & Shoots Blog. Gowri’s interest in STEM was launched by the STARS program, and she has gone on to earn a B.S. in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from Yale, and she’s currently a research technician at Washington University. Congrats to all of our new and previous STARS graduates!
