Tahir Ahmed

NIH - Cambridge Scholar

Degrees:

New York University, B.S., Neuroscience, 2006

Research Interests:

Clinical Neuroscience and Neurology

A recent graduate of New York University, Tahir Ahmed was awarded a Marshall Scholarship to research clinical neuroscience and neurology at Cambridge University. Tahir was an NYU Presidential Scholar in the College of Arts and Sciences, a Samuel B. Morse Scholar (awarded for excellence in research), took first place for Biochemistry in the 2002 International Science and Engineering Fair, and has co-authored two research articles in Thrombosis and Haemostasis. While maintaining an outstanding academic record, Tahir served as Senior Class President on the NYU Student Council, served as a member of the NYU Undergraduate Science Initiatives Executive Board and the NYU Dean's Advisory Board. For winning the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Ceres Connection's Planet Award, minor planet #16113 has been named "Ahmed" in his honor. In addition to medical research, Tahir has carried out astronomy at the Hawaii telescope at Mauna Kea measuring and analyzing the new infrared continuum to characterize interstellar structures in the sky. He also carried out research in Ecuador on the diminishing sea turtle populations in coastal waters. Most recently, Tahir has been studying the mechanisms of synaptogenesis and synaptic plasticity, focusing on the effect of Alzheimer models on the function of synaptogenic proteins and synapse density in the brain. In the future, Tahir plans to focus on cerebrovascular diseases, specifically with regard to stroke and brain ischemia, with the goal of enhancing the methods through which these disorders of the brain are treated.

Elizabeth Azzato

NIH - Cambridge Scholar

Degrees:

Washington and Jefferson College - B.A., Biology, 2002; University of North Carolina School of Public Health, M.P.H., 2005; Duke University School of Medicine - M.D., 2010

Research Interests:

Epidemiology, Pharmacogenetics and Oncological Sciences

Elizabeth Azzato graduated summa cum laude as the Salutarian of Washington and Jefferson College with a B.A. in Biology in 2002. Because of her outstanding abilities, she had attended college on a full academic scholarship. For her college work, she earned numerous academic awards including membership in Phi Beta Kappa, the Phi Sigma biology honorary society, and the Edwin Scott Linton Prize in Biology for the student with the highest grade-point average. She was on Dean's list throughout her undergraduate career and won the Alpha Scholar award. She also won the Robert Harbison Bible Prize for the student with a minor in religion with the highest grade-point average. She had several outstanding research experiences including a Howard Hughes Medical Institutes summer internship in the Department of Neuroscience at Ohio State University to study neuronal regeneration. She then matriculated to Duke University School of Medicine where she has completed a Masters of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at the same time as her medical training. In these studies, she used biostatistics and clinical knowledge to evaluate the North Carolina State care management program and healthcare delivery to pediatric asthmatics. She then was awarded a fellowship in the National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Training Program to take a year absence from medical school to study pharmacogenetics of drug metabolism using genetic polymorphisms in pregnant women. She is now poised to extend her studies in pharmacogenetics as a doctoral student in which she will earn a combined M.D./Ph.D. degree in the NIH National Medical Scientist Training Program. Outside of the lab, her favorite sport is basketball and she played on the undergraduate varsity squad as well as an intramural team in medical school. She also has a passion for the environment and served as vice president of "Students Active for the Environment" and co-chaired the campus-wide Earth Day celebrations. For the future, Elizabeth is interested in the potential of applying pharmacogenetics to oncology with the hope that genetic differences in the disposition of chemotherapeutic agents might radically change clinical practice.

Elizabeth Crouch

NIH - Cambridge Scholar

Degrees:

DePauw University, B.A., 2004

Research Interests:

Neuroscience

Elizabeth Crouch graduated summa cum laude from DePauw University with a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry in 2004. As an undergraduate Elizabeth won the Percy L. Julian Scholarship from the Department of Chemistry at DePauw and also was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa as a junior in recognition of her academic achievements. Elizabeth's interest in becoming a physician scientist began during the summer of 2002. In the lab of Dr. Karoly Mirnics at the University of Pittsburgh, she worked to clone and sequence over thirty genes to create a specific microarray chip to screen for schizophrenia. In the fall of 2004, Elizabeth began as a postbaccalaureate fellow in the lab of Dr. Rafael Casellas at the National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders (NIAMS). Elizabeth's work in the Casellas lab earned her a scholarship from the Keystone Symposia to present her work on defining the extent of extrafollicular AID expression, which may contribute to disease under autoimmune conditions. Most recently, Elizabeth and her principal investigator completed a manuscript, on which she is first author, proposing that unchecked transcription near damage sites might interfere with DNA end processing during DSB repair. These results help to explain the observed immunodeficiency and high incidence of translocations in ataxia telangiectasia patients. While at DePauw, she served as a Peer Mentor in the Depauw.year1 program, In this position, she trained 12 student mentors for 140 first year students. In collaboration with Companion Community Development Alternatives, an American NGO serving in El Salvador, she served as Chief Project Officer to coordinate a DePauw delegation to El Salvador. On a separate occasion, Elizabeth had the unique opportunity to be an Official Observer to the Salvadoran Presidential Elections in the state of Cabaņas. Together with observers from other states in El Salvador they submitted an official report to the UN, documenting fraudulent and irregular election activities as a tool to strengthen the democratic process. In her free time, Elizabeth serves as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. Elizabeth will enter Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons this fall as a student in the new NIH National Medical Scientist Training Program and will embark on full time PhD work in summer 2008 as a Cambridge Scholar.

Lisa Higgenbotham

NIH - Cambridge Scholar

Degrees:

Brigham Young University, B.S., Molecular Biology and (minor) Chemistry, 2006

Research Interests:

Stem Cell Research, Breast Cancer

Lisa Higginbotham graduated with Honors and a near perfect grade-point average from Brigham Young University in 2006. Her interest in science started early as a student in a special four year high school curriculum at the Monterey Academy of Oceanographic Science. This culminated in a senior internship at Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska in which she worked with marine biologists carrying out population studies of gumboot chitons, a large species of marine mollusk that is part of the diet of local Tlingit Natives. While at BYU, she carried out research in several contexts in microbiology and later in genetically engineered experimental mice. Under the direction of Dr. Robert Seegmiller, she worked to use transgenics to cure a mouse harboring a specific mutation in the Col2a1 collagen gene--a model for the human genetic disorder chondrodysplasia. Also, she did a brief research stint in the summer of 2004 as a SURE research fellow at Emory University studying host-pathogen interactions between intestinal epithelial cells and the Salmonella bacterium. In addition to her academic pursuits, Lisa has carried out volunteer work in mentoring disadvantaged youth in her community and at a women's relief society. In her free time, Lisa enjoys hiking and tennis. As a doctoral student, Lisa is interested in pursuing stem cell research in the hopes of building a bridge from laboratory research to public understanding and, more importantly, to public health and well-being.

Sariah Khormaee

NIH - Cambridge Scholar

Degrees:

University of Washington, B.S., Neuroscience and Biochemistry, 2006

Research Interests:

Neuroscience

Sariah Khormaee is a 2006 summa cum laude graduate of the University of Washington. During her undergraduate education, she received numerous academic awards including the Zahlia-Jencks-Rowe Scholarship, Merck Index Department of Chemistry Award, Phi Beta Kappa Membership, Henley Honors Program Scholarship, Washington Promise Scholarship, Department of Chemistry Freshman Achievement Award, Undergraduate Achievement Award, Greater Vancouver Rotary College Scholarship and Clark County College Scholarship. Upon graduation, Sariah was named the University of Washington President's Medalist, an honor given to the graduating senior with the most outstanding academic record. As an undergraduate, Sariah's research on treatments for corneal blindness in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Bioengineering was supported by a 2005-2006 Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Grant. Prior to her work on the eye, she investigated mathematical models of brain tumor proliferation in the Department of Pathology with support from a 2004-2005 Mary Gates Research Training Grant. Most recently, she has been awarded the Marshall Scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge and a place in the National Medical Scientist Training Program to pursue a combined M.D./Ph.D. degree. Outside of her research activities, Sariah is a talented harpist, performing as a soloist and in the University of Washington Harp Ensemble. In the future, Sariah hopes to conduct interdisciplinary research on the interaction of materials with the nervous system in order to develop more effective and affordable nervous system therapies.

Madhav Sukumaran

NIH - Cambridge Scholar

Degrees:

Columbia University, B.S., Engineering, 2005 and B.A., Humanities and the Arts, 2006

Research Interests:

Biophysics, Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering

Madhav Sukumaran graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, History, and Biophysics. Since the summer of 2003, Madhav has worked independently on numerous projects in the lab of Professor John Hunt at Columbia University. His contribution to one project was the completion of the biophysical characterization of the amino-terminal domain of MEC-4, a mechanosensitive sodium channel in C. elegans, showing that the protein domain is a molten globule in vitro and can be reversibly folded through protein-detergent interactions; this work is being readied for submission. As a Biomedical Engineering senior at Columbia, Madhav worked with a team that developed a prototype system that uses an electrooculogram-based user interface in order to help patients suffering from speech-impeding conditions to communicate with others using solely their eyes. This work shall be presented at the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference 2006 and has been selected as a finalist in the Student Design Competition. Outside of academics, Madhav served as Vice President to the Engineering Student Council in which capacity he managed a $270,000 budget. He helped found and served as the Finance Chair for the first Relay for Life at Columbia, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society which raised over $80,000, and served as an Executive Board Member of the United Students of Color Council. Madhav was a founder and member of the Bhangra team, which introduced an energetic folk dance of Indian origin to the Columbia campus and competed nationally. His involvement and leadership in student activities at Columbia won him the "Leadership Legend" award as a "Bridge Builder" at the King's Crown Leadership Awards. In the future, Madhav hopes to be the bridge that connects basic research and clinical applications and so has joined the National Medical Scientist Training Program at the NIH. He will attend Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York City.

Miriam Udler

NIH - Cambridge Scholar

Degrees:

University of Cambridge, M.Phil., 2004; Harvard University, B.A., Mathematics, 2003

Research Interests:

Genetic Epidemiology

Miriam graduated cum laude from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics in 2003. As an undergraduate she won the Harvard College Scholarship Award for academic achievement. She also won a travel grant from the Harvard/Rockefeller Center for Latin American studies enabling her to undertake volunteer work in Costa Rica in 2001. While at Harvard she carried out research in population genetics as well as in basic drosophila genetics at the Harvard Biological Laboratories. She then completed a one-year Masters of Philosophy course in Epidemiology at University of Cambridge. During that time she examined single nucleotide polymorphisms in a population of women from East Anglia to look for correlations with survival of women with breast cancer. She then matriculated to medical school at the University of Massachusetts where she has completed two years of training. In 2006, the Charles River District of the Massachusetts Medical Society honored Miriam with the George G. Katsas Award for her academic achievement. She will now carry out her research studies in genetics and epidemiology before returning to medical school to complete a combined M.D./Ph.D. with an emphasis on genetic epidemiology. Outside of the laboratory, she enjoys soccer and ultimate frisbee. At Harvard, she was a Co-chair of the Leverett House Committee and participated in the "America Counts Math Tutoring" in which she tutored sixth-graders in mathematics in public schools near the University. At University of Massachusetts, she coordinated the phlebotomy laboratory at the Epworth free medical clinic for underserved patients. In the future, she hopes, as a physician-researcher in genetic epidemiology, to close the gap between research and clinical practice.

Tracy Yuen

NIH - Cambridge Scholar

Degrees:

University of Pennsylvania, B.S.E., Bioengineering, 2004

Research Interests:

Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience

After completing a B.S.E. degree in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, Tracy Yuen worked for two years in the lab of Dr. Douglas Smith in the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at Penn. Tracy served as Associate Secretary General and Director of the International Affairs Association and was elected as the Engineering School Representative on the Senior Class Board while an undergraduate at Penn. As an undergraduate, Tracy moved from analyzing gait data and assisting others in the lab to questioning current methods, to designing a study to compare three widely accepted methods of calculating the length of the gastrocnemius muscle, and to producing a first-author paper. Most recently, Tracy designed a study to investigate a potential mechanism of lowered tolerance to repetitive mild traumatic brain injury. Together, her research experience has yielded 3 publications and 6 abstracts, and she was a recipient of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair Award for Excellence in Research. Tracy is an accomplished violinist and pianist who attributes her creative approach to engineering problems to her love for music. She hopes to pursue clinically relevant research in neurotrauma and orthopaedics in order to contribute to the quality of life of patients.