As the academic year draws to a close, we thought we might take the time to introduce you to some of our Alumni Association Scholarship recipients. Today, we hear from Cindy Alms ’17, biological sciences.

Name: Cindy Alms

Major/Minor: Biological Sciences/Mathematics

Grad Year: 2017

Extracurriculars: Cross country and track team, Couple and Family Relationships Lab, RAC staff member, Peer Advisor in the Office of Academic and Pre-professional Advising, Scribe at Baltimore Washington Medical Center, SUCCESS Peer Volunteer

Why did you decide to attend UMBC? UMBC is a strong STEM school and I love how students really care about their academic work. I value a quality education, and there are so many other ways to become involved and gain experience on campus.

What’s been the most amazing discovery you’ve made so far as a student here? The most amazing discovery [I’ve made] is the amount of opportunities to get experience and be involved, as well as the amount of people willing to help you reach your goals. I have made close relationships with professors and staff on campus who genuinely want to […] see their students succeed.

What are you most proud of accomplishing in your time at UMBC? My involvement on campus. I feel like I have met so many people and made so many connections from my time here. Some of the relationships are going to last for the rest of my life.

What would you say to the people who provided your scholarship? I cannot begin to explain the gratitude I feel for the people who provided my scholarship. I am very lucky to be a recipient and I will continue to work hard at UMBC.

What do you hope to do after graduation? I am hoping to go to medical school to get a doctorate in medicine.

Give to UMBC today to support scholarships for students like Cindy.

As the academic year draws to a close, we thought we might take the time to introduce you to some of our Alumni Association Scholarship recipients. Let’s hear from Sarah Bach ’16, biological sciences, who received an Alumni Legacy Scholarship for the 2015-16 academic year.

Name: Sarah Bach

Major: Biological Sciences

Grad Year: 2016

Extracurriculars: Global Brigades Dental Program, Pre-Dental Society

Why did you decide to attend UMBC? I chose UMBC because of its strong STEM program. I was also impressed by the amount of undergraduate opportunities in research. At many other schools that I toured, research was limited to graduate students. My dad also attended UMBC!

What’s been the most amazing discovery you’ve made so far as a student here? Joining a club or campus organization can really shape your undergrad experience and help you discover where your passion lies!

What are you most proud of accomplishing in your time at UMBC? During my time at UMBC I have changed so much as a person. The diversity at this school has allowed me to broaden my understanding of other cultures [,and the] opportunities I’ve had here have helped me grow into a more mature and well-rounded individual.

What would you say to the people who provided your scholarship? Thank you! There is so much value in education and I am so glad you have chosen to support mine!

What do you hope to do after graduation? I just got accepted at [the] University of [Maryland] dental school, so for the next four years I’ll be working towards my dream!

Help students like Sarah pursue their dreams by making a gift today.

Every so often, we’ll chat with an alum about what they do and how they got there. Today we’re talking with Nilusha Jayasinghe ’13, biological sciences and Spanish, M.S. ’15 applied molecular biology, about her work as a researcher at the National Institutes of Health.

Name: Nilusha Jayasinghe
Job Title: Intramural Research Fellow, National Institutes of Health
Major/Minor: Undergrad: Biology and Spanish, Grad: Applied Molecular Biology (AMB)
Grad Year: Undergrad: 2013, Grad: 2015

Tell me a little about the research project you’re involved in at NIH. I study the genetics of blood and lymph vessel development and differentiation during vertebrate development using the model organism zebrafish. We look at the genes that are critical in different signaling pathways that dictate proper vessel development, which can also play a role in cancer metastasis since tumors need these vessels to survive. Zebrafish develop rapidly and produce transparent embryos which are fertilized outside of the mother, which enable us to use them to study our topic very easily. Most importantly, development in zebrafish is very similar to human development, so we can translate our findings into the genetics behind circulatory defects in humans which is really interesting and useful!

How did your UMBC experience bring you to your current position in research? I was a pre-med student back then at UMBC (currently I’ll call myself pre-health, since I am also considering [physician assistant] school as well), and one of the things that make a competitive applicant is research experience. I also have skills and interests in the biological sciences which were especially refined during my master’s program, so I thought that I’ll take a few years post-graduation to do more research. I ended up at the NIH because of their amazing research facilities and track record, as well as their extensive pre-health community and resources.

Is there a particular class or professor at UMBC that inspired you? Yes! I’ll have to say that Dr. Richard Wolf (now retired, taught prokaryotic molecular biology and directed the AMB program) and Ms. Julia Wolf (taught the lab part of the AMB program) both inspired and challenged me a lot during my master’s program. They were excellent instructors and mentors, teaching with both care and the necessary challenge[s] to push their students to their [maximum] potential.

Having had the experience, what piece of advice would you give a new UMBC student? There is so much that I learned at UMBC and so many things I can say, but I think one of the most valuable things is to realize the amount of resources and great minds there are [here]. With that said, in order to make the best of your experience I think that getting involved and networking is so important! Tell people about what interests you and what you hope to do short-term or long-term, and I guarantee that they will want to help you! You never know what others may know about or can do for you that might open the doors for some of the best experiences of your life. This happened to me many times at UMBC [,and these experiences] helped me land graduate assistantships, learn about the AMB program, and finally get a spot in the NIH, for some examples. So, put yourself out there and let yourself be known!

UMBC is always full of hard-working people who aspire to do great things, and the class of 2014 is no exception. Today, we wanted to share with you what some of our recent graduates are planning to do with their Retriever education.

For seven of her eight semesters at UMBC, Kat Schuster, theatre, dedicated her time to the costume shop on campus. A Linehan Artist Scholar, she has been recognized by the theatre department, local theatre companies and their audiences. While aiding younger students through UMBC Residential Life and the Wilde Lake High School Theatre Department, Schuster was awarded the Outstanding Departmental Service Award along with the Linehan Summer Award. She now plans to work in theatre administration and technician and costuming positions at Daydreams and Nightmares Aerial Theatre, Historical designs, and the Jim Rouse Theatre.

Mary Hester, dance and interdisciplinary studies, used her love of dance and advocacy to serve as president of the Dance Council of Majors, receive the Linehan Summer Research and Study Award, and perform at the American College Dance Festival. Her project “Arts Advocacy: Promoting Policy Change,” analyzed “the benefits of dance lessons and the political implications for arts education.” She now plans to complete an M.P.P. at UMBC.

A campus leader and driven student, Kwadwo “Kojo” Owusu-Boaitey, philosophy and biological sciences, was a Meyerhoff Scholar, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Scholar, and Salutatorian for the Class of 2014. He was greatly involved as a member of the club soccer team, president of the Meyerhoff Scholars, co-founder and treasurer of the Minority Association of Premedical Students, and vice president of Philosophers Anonymous. Owusu-Boaitey has completed breast cancer research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has done research at MIT labs for two summers, and is now contributing to a research manuscript. He plans to earn his M.D./Ph.D. from Harvard and MIT after graduation.

Miss Baltimore 2014, Miss Maryland 2013 runner-up, and winner of two Miss America Academic Awards, Samantha Hawkins, cultural anthropology and interdisciplinary studies, visual research methodology, was a member of the Honors College and received the Undergraduate Research Award. She has volunteered weekly at St. Francis Neighborhood Center, was a goodwill ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and interned at Maryland State Arts Council and the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Hawkins plans to earn her Ph.D. in socioanthropology with a fully-funded fellowship at Harvard University.

Learn more about the Class of 2014!

Over the next few weeks we’ll be introducing you to this year’s Alumni Award winners. The UMBC Alumni Association proudly honors distinguished alumni and faculty for their accomplishments and dedication to UMBC. Today we’re talking with Isaac Kinde ‘05, biological science, about his research with cancer diagnostics. 

Name: Isaac Kinde ’05, biological science
Title: M.D./Ph.D. Candidate, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Award Category: Rising Star

Q: Please tell us a little about why you chose to attend UMBC and what, if any, involvement you have with the university currently.

The Meyerhoff Program was the most important reason why I chose to attend UMBC as a California native. Its immersive scientific experience was attractive, but I was even more excited about the opportunity to be closely surrounded by like-minded peers. The engagement of the faculty, staff, and administration further inspired confidence in my decision. I now return yearly to help interview candidates for the Meyerhoff Program.

Q: Is there a particular class or professor at UMBC who really inspired you?

Working with my research mentor, Dr. Michael Summers, was transformative. It was then I recognized that the best way to learn science was to do science. Having no prior research experience, I remember his patience and commitment to mentorship being central to my persistence in the lab. Equally memorable was how much fun I had. The group skiing trips, picnics, and mountain biking outings were great ways to bond with my colleagues and blow off steam. As a direct result of his mentorship, I ended up applying to combined M.D. /Ph.D. programs instead of solely pursuing my M.D.

Q: Please tell us a little about the trajectory of your career and what you are working on now:

My doctoral research produced novel cancer diagnostics based on improvements in DNA sequencing technology. Example applications include a prototype screening test for ovarian and endometrial cancer from Pap smear specimens, a noninvasive method of monitoring bladder cancers from urine, and a revelation in the development of treatment resistance from analyzing the blood of patients with colon cancer. With the help of my mentors and collaborators, I have published descriptions of these technologies and applications in leading scientific journals and submitted several patent applications detailing the inventions. Encouragingly, this work has attracted considerable attention from industry, spurring partnerships to facilitate its commercialization. The ultimate goal is to bring meaningful cancer diagnostic tests to the clinic – where the real difference to patients’ lives can be realized.

Q: What has been the greatest success in your career? The greatest challenge?

My greatest challenge led to my greatest success. When I began the graduate school portion of my training program, I joined a team working on applying new technologies to detect cancers at early, highly curable stages. We repeatedly identified the wrong technology to accomplish our goal, but the potential impact of finding the right technology kept us going. Three years later we created the technology we needed – a method that significantly improved the accuracy of commercial next- generation DNA sequencers. It wasn’t an easy process but the benefits of our technology have made the effort worthwhile. We’re now developing this technology for use in the earlier detection and optimal management of several cancers.

Check out the other Alumni Award winners.

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.

• President Hrabowski Participates in Launch of White House Initiative
• Karan Odom and Kevin Omland, Biological Sciences, Make Headlines for Bird Song Research
• Eugene Schaffer and Jonathan Singer, Education, in Capital News Service
• Dave Marcotte, Public Policy, on The Kojo Nnamdi Show
• Dr. Rick Forno discusses data breaches on WEAA

Check out all the other great campus news on Insights Weekly.

Newly published research by former Meyerhoff Scholar Paula Whittington ’01, biological sciences, could help women with breast cancer.
Read more in the Winter 2009 issue of UMBC Magazine…

Newly published research by former Meyerhoff Scholar Paula Whittington ’01, biological sciences, could help women with breast cancer.

Read more in the Winter 2009 issue of UMBC Magazine…