Page 3 - IBP In Focus Newsletter 2020

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t UNENWDGERRADGURATAEDSUTUADTEENTS f
UNePwD1stAyTearEIBP PhD graduate students
Richard Gonigam
Dr. Vincent BI warans ebtotr,nAasnsdisrtaaisnetdPoruotsfiedsesofrCahnicdago and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
Director of Ugnradeuragtinragdinu2a0te19EwdituhcaaBti.oS.nin Molecular & Cellular Biology. During my undergraduate studies, I com-
pleted research examining the influence of Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone signaling on Pituitary
The IBP Undergraduate Physiology Society
stem cell proliferation and differentiation under the guidance of Lori Raetzman, PhD. I spent the following
(U-Phys) elected a new executive board for the
year working as an Academic Professional in the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology - Undergraduate
2014-2015 school year. I look forward to work-
Instructional Program. In addition to managing teaching laboratories, preparatory staff, and course opera-
ing with Jonathan Murphy, Joshuaw Warneke, Erin
tions, I and a colleague designed, produced, and administered a new introductory microbiology labora-
Poncin, Evan Loukusa, Kseniya Zvereva, Phong Dang and
tory for non-majors. I have enjoyed my work in physiology as well as higher education pedagogy and am
Alexandra Tsai (pictured below).
excited to continue pursuing both of these areas at the University of Minnesota. As a graduate student, I hope to study cardiac physiology, preferably in a context where eventual development of therapeutics are considered.
The U-PHYS continued its tradition of joining the IBP homecom-
ing contingent in the annual U of M homecoming parade (new this
Ingrid Rodriguez Aragon
year, an impromptu reinterpretation of the viral video “What does
I was born and raised in the Twin Cities. I stayed in Minnesota for my undergraduate studies, where I pursued
the Fox say”!). U-Phys again cosponsored a Bioethics week event
a B.A. degree in Physiology at the University of Minnesota. The summer before my senior year, I had an amaz-
with premed AMSA and undergraduate pharmacology groups. They
ing opportunity to participate in the U of M’s Health Disparities and Cancer Research Summer Internship Pro-
invited a speaker from the University Bequest program to discuss
gram. Through this experience, I started working in Dr. Yuk Sham’s computational biology lab where we per-
issues related to the donation of cadavers. Scheduled events during
the year included a wide variety of faculty speakers and was high-
form molecular modeling and computer aided drug design studies. Wanting to learn more about bioinformatic
lighted by the return visit of past-president and founder of U-Phys,
applications, I enrolled in the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology M.S program at the U. My research in-
Amanda Delaney (BA, 2010) during the spring semester. Amanda wentontoacqusirnegasmMalalsmteorle’scudlegs.rTeheisinprpoujebcltichahsemalatdhefmroemretahliezeUthoaftIamalsointerestedintheexperimentalaspect, MwhaenrdeiIscabnegseinentihnegahcteuratlheiffredcytseoafrsomfamll medoilceaclulsecshonotlhaetpthyesiUolnoigvyeor-f cells or animal models. I look forward to applying sictoymopfuWtatiisocnoanlasinndtehxipsefraimlle.ntaltechniquestobetterunderstandhumandiseasesrelatedtothecardiovascularsystem.
volves computational modeling of the GPCR alpha-1a adrenergic receptor and predicting the binding affinity
In the spring sJemenesnteirf,eIrBPMiinkakugiluarated a graduation reception for students and their families preceding the CLA graduation ceremony.
I was born and raised in Connecticut and graduated with a B.S. in Biological Sciences at the University of
Faculty met with students and their guests at the McNamara Alumni
Connecticut. Afterwards, I worked for a year in an industry lab technician job focused on oligonucleotide
center to reflect on the past few years of study and discuss future
synthesis. In 2016, I graduated with a Master’s degree in Stem Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota
plans. The Physiology major had a high profile during the gradu-
and have been working as a researcher under Dr. Joseph Metzger since February of 2017. My research in
ation ceremony as one of our own, Colin Wendt was the student
Dr. Metzger’s lab has mainly been focused around improving the function and maturity of cardiac stem cells
speaker for CLA graduation and ~ 90 physiology majors were listed
through the use of gene editing. I am excited to further pursue my interests as a scientist in the IBP program
in the program.
Arthur de la Cruz-Lynch
I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and attended the University of Cincinnati. Throughout undergrad, I was involved in research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, which served as a challenging outlet to my premed classes. During my third and final year of undergrad, I decided to pursue an MD PhD program. After graduating with a BS in Health Sciences and spending a year doing post-bac research at the same lab, I moved to Minneapolis and became a part of the University of Minnesota MSTP! I joined the Integrative Biology and Physiology program and John Osborn’s lab, where I will explore neuromodulation as a treat- ment for hypertension.
and improve my scientific acumen.
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Back row, left to right: Jonathan Murphy, Evan Loukusa an Warneke. Front row, left to right: Phong Dang, Erin Poncin, Zvereva, Alexandra Tsai
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