Current Fellows
Karam Abilmouna
- 2023 - 2025
- Karam is a Behavioral Neuroscience and Natural & Applied Sciences major within the Honors College at FIU. He is a member of Dr. Tomas Guilarte's Brain, Behavior, and Environment Laboratory within the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work. His project focuses on characterizing neurodegenerative changes within the cerebellum of Slc39a14-KO mice as a model of manganese-induced dystonia-parkinsonism.
Nayeric Cairo
- 2023 - 2025
- Nayeric is double majoring in Behavioral Neuroscience and Biological Sciences and is part of the Honors College at FIU. She is a member of Dr. Tomás Guilarte’s Brain, Behavior, and Environment Laboratory in the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work. Her project focuses on characterizing the behavioral changes across development of Slc39a14-KO mice in a model of childhood-onset dystonia-parkinsonism. In the future, Nayeric plans to pursue an MD-PhD with a focus on neuroscience.
Sofia Agudelo
- 2023 - 2025
- Sofia is a senior biochemistry major with research interests in therapies and genetics. She has been conducting research in Dr. Yuk Ching Tse-Dinh’s lab since May 2022. Her current project focuses on discovering potential inhibitors for human topoisomerase IB, an enzyme involved in the lethal inflammation response. Sofia has accepted a lab technician role at MIT, where she will begin working in the summer.
Daniela Alvarado
- 2023 - 2025
- Daniela Alvarado is an undergraduate senior majoring in Biological Sciences within the College of Arts, Sciences and Education. She currently works in Dr. Joshua Hutcheson’s Cardiovascular Matrix Remodeling Laboratory in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Her research focuses on characterizing resident immune cell populations within the mature mouse aortic valve. Daniela recently participated in the Harvard-Amgen Scholars Program at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School as part of Dr. Ruth Franklin’s Lab, where her project consisted of investigating the role of macrophage driven repair in the respiratory tract after viral infection. She will be attending Vanderbilt University in the Fall as a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical and Biological Sciences with an interest in studying molecular pathology and immunology.
Natasha Silva
- 2024 - 2026
- Natasha Silva is majoring in Biological Sciences and Natural and Applied Sciences with minors in Chemistry and Economics. She’s been in the lab of Dr. Matthew DeGennaro since the summer of 2023 where her project relates to how volatiles produced by bacteria affect mosquito attraction. Natasha’s research interests are genetics and developmental biology, and, in the future, she aims to obtain a PhD and continue doing research in these fields.
Ismaray Govea
- 2024 - 2026
- Ismaray is double majoring in Biological Sciences on the QBIC track as well as Natural and Applied Sciences, with minors in Business and Chemistry. She is passionate about cancer research and is currently studying the role of the pro-melanoma metastasis factor Galectin-8 in promoting melanoma cell adhesion to vascular endothelium under Dr. Charles Dimitroff at FIU HWCOM. Looking ahead, Ismaray aims to pursue an MD-PhD, bridging biomedical research with public health and policy. She is particularly interested in how research can inform policies that impact healthcare access and outcomes, striving to integrate scientific discovery with real-world applications that improve public health.
Alissah Eliacin
- 2024 - 2026
- Alissah is a biomedical engineering student at FIU and a MARC U*STAR scholar. She currently conducts research in the Shandra Lab, studying molecular mechanisms involved in transcranial magnetic brain stimulation following traumatic brain injury. Previously, she worked on diagnostic development in a summer research program, focusing on heart failure detection. Alissah is passionate about learning and exploring how engineering can advance healthcare solutions. In the future, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. and work on innovative technologies that improve patient outcomes.
Polina Evdokimova
- 2024 - 2026
- Polina is a Biochemistry and Human Rights and Political Transitions major within the Honors College here at FIU. She is a member of Dr. Joshua Hutcheson's Cardiovascular Matrix Remodeling Lab within the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Her project focuses on non-canonical relaxin receptor agonist in vascular calcification treatments.
Lucas Menendez
- 2024 - 2026
- Lucas Menendez is an FIU Honors College student majoring in Biomedical Engineering, and works in Dr. Joshua Hutcheson’s Cardiovascular Matrix Remodeling Lab. His research focuses on the effect of minoxidil on aortic valve development and elastogenesis. He plans to pursue an MD/PhD, aiming for a career that combines patient care with clinical research.
Reza Kazemi
- 2024 - 2026
- Reza is a junior Honors College student studying electrical engineering. He is broadly interested in studying biological systems using mathematical and engineering techniques. As a MARC fellow, he is part of the Cardiovascular Matrix Remodeling Laboratory under Dr. Joshua Hutcheson, where he studies vascular calcification. His goal is to use control theory to formalize a mathematical framework to explain why a pathology such as vascular calcification occurs despite various regulatory networks within the cell. He hopes that doing so will shed some light on the complicated nature of vascular calcification that can further be used to develop therapeutics. Reza aspires to be become a physician scientist with the aim of using mathematical language to elucidate on complex biological processes.
Valentina Perez
- 2024 - 2026
- Valentina is a Biological Sciences major with a specialization in Biotechnology, who has a strong interest in bioinformatics and comparative genomics. Under the mentorship of Dr. Jessica Siltberg-Liberles, her research investigates how pathogenicity predictions of missense mutations correlate with evolutionary rates and structural features across homologous proteins implicated in cancer to advance basic science research in protein evolution. This could have further applications in the development of cancer therapies and precision medicine. After graduation, Valentina aims to pursue a PhD in Biomedical Sciences to continue advancing research through computational approaches.
Isabel Trespalacios
- 2024 - 2026
- Isabel Trespalacios is a MARC U*STAR fellow double majoring in Biochemistry and Biological Sciences with a minor in International Relations. She conducts research under Dr. Liu on Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) a neurodegenerative disorder caused by expanded GAA repeats in the FXN gene. Her project explores how DNA base excision repair, histone methylation, and RNA modifications like No-methyladenosine (mºA) influence repeat instability and DNA repair in FRDA models. Isabel plans to pursue an MD-PhD in the future.
Shayir Landers
- 2024 - 2026
- Shayir Landers is an Afro-Panamanian born and raised in South Miami with a passion for scientific research. He recently transferred to Florida International University from Miami-Dade College Homestead campus, where he earned an associate’s degree in biotechnology. He is currently double majoring in Biological Sciences and Natural and Applied Sciences, with minors in Chemistry and Math. In the future, he aspires to become a physician-scientist focused on gene therapy research, particularly in clinical translation for patients. Currently, as a Junior in the MARC U* STAR program, Shayir has had the privilege of working under the mentorship of Dr. Yuan Liu at the College of Health and Nursing. Our research focuses on studying DNA and RNA repair mechanisms in Friedreich’s Ataxia, a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder characterized by GAA repeats at the first intron of the frataxin gene, with potential implications for gene therapy through the use of epigenetic modifications. Before joining the MARC program, he conducted research at Miami-Dade College, the University of Florida, and primarily at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in the Burnett/Pham Lab, where he was trained for a year and a half conducting gene therapy research targeting HIV-1. This upcoming summer, he will join the Raguram Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to work on macromolecular delivery using engineered virus-like particles (eVLPs) for gene therapy. Shayir is very grateful for the opportunities ahead, finding his experience in the program highly rewarding, and looks forward to advancing scientific research and making meaningful contributions to gene therapy for the sake of the people.
Recent MARC U*STAR Graduates
Andrea Rivera
- 2022-2024
Andrea Rivera is a senior studying Biomedical Engineering. As part of Dr. Joshua Hutcheson's Cardiovascular Matrix Remodeling Lab, she investigates aortic valve disease, specifically from a biomechanical standpoint. Her project focuses on optimizing a mouse aortic valve leaflet tensile testing method. Andrea recently participated in the Life Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Program at the University of Minnesota as part of Dr. Robert Tranquillo's lab, where her project consisted of comparing the growth between a tissue-engineered vascular graft and a standard, non-regenerative graft from a preclinical study. She is currently applying to doctoral programs.
Christian Castellanos
- 2022-2024
- Christian is a senior Undergraduate earning a degree in Biological Science. He works in the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine studying small molecule anticancer drug development and treatments for breast cancer under Dr. Alexander Agoulnik and his lab. His research entails the restructuring of stromal barrier of tumors, immune system reprogramming and the reduction of drug resistant cancer subtypes. He hopes that his research highlights the importance of global health issues and that by doing so he may help as many people as he can. Christian was awarded the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship in 2023 for his achievements and intends to pursue a PhD in immunology and infectious disease. Summer Research Experience 2023 Christian was a part of MIT’s Summer Research Program in Biology this past summer in 2023, where he worked in Dr. Sebastian Louridos lab working with Toxoplasma gondii pathogens and developing new methodologies of fixation and visualization for these parasites.
Thomas Silva
- 2022-2024
- Thomas Silva is majoring in Biological Sciences and Natural & Applied Sciences at Florida International University and is currently conducting research for his thesis project in Dr. Liu’s lab, where he focuses on the role of manganese as an environmental toxic metal in RNA synthesis by DNA polymerases. In the summer of 2023, Thomas attended MIT’s Bernard S. and Sophie G. Gould Summer Research Program in Biology and Neuroscience (BSG-MSRP-Bio). After graduation, Thomas plans to pursue a PhD in the biomedical sciences, with a particular interest in neuroscience.
- 2022-2024
Diana Lima
- 2022 - 2024
- Diana Lima is a transfer student from Miami Dade College, where she earned her Associate of Arts in Chemical Engineering. At FIU, she is working towards a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and is a member of the honors college. Currently, Diana is part of Dr. Miksovska’s laboratory in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. Her research focuses on using the application of photoacoustic calorimetry, transient absorption, and autoxidation studies to investigate the effects viscosity would have on the ligand binding and kinetics of the Globin X protein.
Isabella Milanes
- 2022-2024
Isabella Milanes is a senior undergraduate student in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and Minor in Computer Science. She is currently working with Dr. Jessica Liberles and her team on projects involving computational and structural biology that leverage algorithmic capabilities to analyze genomic data. She spent her summer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology working under the guidance of Mehrdad Jazayeri computationally modeling the visual short term and long term memory systems.
Jocelyne Yataco
- 2022-2024
- Jocelyne Yataco is majoring in Electrical Engineering and belongs to the Honors college at Florida International University. She has worked in Dr. Ou Bai’s Human Cyber-Physical Systems Lab since January 2022. Her research focuses on developing an empathetic Socially Assistive Robot for mental health support that performs personality matching with Deep Learning. Jocelyne plans on pursuing an MD/Ph.D in NeuroEngineering after graduating from FIU in 2024 Jocelyne participated in the University of Minnesota’s Life Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Program pre-Medical Scientist Training Program, where she worked at Dr. Alik Widge’s Translational NeuroEngineering Laboratory to understand how to target circuits that are involved in cognitive flexibility by developing a rat model of optogenetic DBS. This study will pave the way to precisely target the circuits involved in OCD.
Past Fellows
- Christina Roca
- 2021-2023 Fellow
- Ph.D Student| Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco.
- Javonte Thelwell
- 2021-2023 Fellow
- Ph.D Student| Biochemistry and Molecular Biologicy Track, Mayo Clinic Graduate
School of Biomedical Science - IMSD Fellow | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science
- Melanie Perez
- 2021-2023 Fellow
- Plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology/Genetics
- Tyler Sanford
- 2021-2023 Fellow
- Ph.D. Student | Florida International University
- Alejandra Ramos
- 2020 -2022
- Ph.D. Student, Biochemistry, MIT
- Ana Ruas
- 2020 - 2022
- Applying to MD/ Ph.D. Programs
- Andy Garcia
- 2020 - 2022
- Ph.D. Student, New York University
- Celeste Marin
- 2020 - 2022 Fellow
- Ph.D. Student, Biochemistry, Duke University
- Ra'Mal Harris
- 2020 - 2022 Fellow
- Post-Baccalaureate Program at MIT
- Sophia Gandarillas
- 2020-2022 Fellow
- Wayne State University
- Amanda Barreto
- 2019 - 2021 Fellow
- Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering, Duke University
- Daniel Cambron
- 2019 - 2021 (Affiliate | Provost Research Scholar)
- IRTA Postbaccalaureate Fellow | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
- MS Student, University of Florida Microbiology and Cell Science
- Nicole Diaz
- 2019 - 2021 Fellow
- IRTA Postbaccalaureate Fellow | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
- Medical Lab Technician | CDR Maguire
- Kaitlyn Alzugaray
- 2019 - 2021 (Affiliate | Provost Research Scholar)
- Alexandra Tchir
- 2018-2020 Fellow
- Ph.D. Student | Medical Engineering and Medical PhysicsHarvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology
- Erika Lozano
- 2018-2020 Fellow
- Admitted to Ph.D. Program | University of Toronto
- Jesenia Perez
- 2018-2020 Fellow
- Ph.D. Student | Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology, University of Minnesota
- Maria Santiago
- 2018-2020 Fellow
- Ph.D. Student | Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University
- NIH T32 Fellow 2020
- Matthew Pasteris
- 2018-2020 Fellow
- Sarah Colon
- 2018-2020 Fellow
- Ph.D. Student | Molecular Cellular & Developmental Biology, University of Colorado Boulder
- Camila Sarcone (Affiliate | Provost Research Scholar)
- 2017-2019
- Joan Glenny-Pescov
- 2017-2018 Fellow
- Ph.D. Student | Biomedical Sciences, University of Miami
- Jovany Betancourt (Affiliate | Provost Research Scholar)
- 2017-2019 Affiliate
- Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) Student | University of Minnesota
- Kiani Oro
- 2017-2018 Fellow
- Graduate Student | New York University (NYU) Steinhardt
- Alexander Durango
- 2016-2018 Fellow
- Ph.D. Student | Neuroscience Stanford University
- Daniela Alvarez
- 2016-2018 Fellow
- EDGE Research Fellow | University of California Irvine Graduate Research Program
- Graduate Research Fellowship Recipient 2019
- Karla Montejo
- 2016-2018 Fellow
- Ph.D. Student | Brain and Cognitive Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Mariluz Soula
- 2016-2018 Fellow
- Graduate Student | David Rockefeller Graduate Program in Bioscience
- HHMI Gilliam Fellowship Recipient 2020
- Haroldo Rodriguez (2015-2016 Affiliate)
- 2016-2017 Fellow
- Ph.D. Student | Molecular Medicine & Mechanisms of Disease, University of Washington
- Joseph Hernandez (2015-2016 Affiliate)
- 2016-2017 Fellow
- Angie Estrada
- 2014-2016 Fellow
- Brian Ho
- 2014-2016 Fellow
- Graduate Student | Stanford University Microbiology & Immunology
- Janiel Ahkin Chin-Tai
- 2014-2016 Fellow
- Ph.D. Candidate | Purdue University
- Jiali Lei
- 2014-2016 Fellow
- Translational Medicine, University of California, Berkley & San Francisco
- Intern | Genentech
- Marisol Soula
- 2014-2016 Fellow
- Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) Student | New York School of Medicine’s Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences
- Ricardo Perez-Dulzaides
- 2014-2016 Fellow
- Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP)| Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- Daniel Gonzalez
- 2013-2014
- Aneysis Gonzalez
- 2012-2014
- Chavely Valdez-Sanchez
- 2012-2014
- Liana Apolis
- 2012-2014
- Patricia Theard
- 2012-2014
- Richard Barrios
- 2012-2014
- Daniel Tapanes
- 2011-2013
- Heysell Ortiz
- 2011-2013
- Ivana Lamboglia
- 2011-2013
- Ivonne Lollet
- 2011-2013
- Ruslan Garcia
- 2011-2013
- Kymberlee Osborne
- 2011-2013
- Alana Van Dervort
- 2010-2012
- Daniel Lumpuy
- 2010-2012
- James Ortega
- 2010-2012
- James Roach
- 2010-2012
- Nathalie Rivero
- 2010-2012
- Abner Murray
- 2009-2011
- Genesis Perez
- 2009-2011
- Jacqueline Zayas
- 2009-2011
- Katherine Leonard
- 2009-2011
- Laura Cabrera
- 2009-2011
- Tram Ta
- 2009-2011
- Ana Pena
- 2008-2010
- Eric Maranda
- 2008-2010
- Jackie Rodriguez
- 2008-2010
- Juan Molina
- 2008-2010
- Laura Florez
- 2008-2010
- Myron Evans
- 2008-2010