An Invitation to Return...

Artichoke and Onion Appetizer

In his more than a decade of service to UMBC through the Alumni Association Board of Directors, outgoing president John Becker ’01, information systems, has seen a little bit of everything. As he passes the torch of leadership, Becker thinks back to some of the moments—and the people of our community—that have meant the most to him.  

I’m writing this column from my dining room table, while my wife leads my two children in a home-schooling session on peregrine falcons. There are no pressing activities. There is nowhere to be—in fact, we are not allowed to be anywhere else. (I can’t say “gotta run” at the end of phone calls anymore.) This is strange for us, and I’m sure some of you have also felt a sense of surrealism. We’re sheltered in place, waiting for the seemingly inevitable house call we will be receiving from the novel coronavirus.  

While our inability to work during this lock-down is a dark cloud on the horizon, I am finding silver linings. We are spending more time (and more meaningful time) together. We are closer now than ever with our neighbors and we are in touch daily with our out-of-state parents. I have also had time to pause and reflect on the past several years in a way that I rarely can when we are rushing around with daily routines and extra curriculars.

The 10 years that I have served on the UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors have been among the most rewarding years of my life. Some of that reward comes from a sense of debt repayment—a sense of fulfilling an obligation for the many gifts I was given while I was a student here in the late ’90s. But in thinking about it more deeply, I realize it is something else— Retriever pride—that feeds the beast.  

Reaching Together

Our UMBC has been accomplishing great things for decades socially, academically and athletically. There are bread crumbs trailing all the way back to 1966 that a nostalgic alum or prospective Board member could discover or remember that would kindle that fire—that pride—within them. Among my fellow Board members, I found a common interest in recalling formative years, assisting those students we recognize so clearly as a reflection of ourselves, and planning for an enduring legacy.  

The highlights of my time on the Board could fill this magazine, but one thread that shines through is that the alumni have become increasingly involved over time. This truth reflects the hard work of our Director of Alumni Engagement, Stanyell Odom, and her team, the acknowledgement of the role we play in the university by Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Greg Simmons, M.P.P. ’04, and of course the curiosity of our great alumni, which often foments into a desire to return and help in a meaningful way.  

Exceptional by Example

I vividly recall meeting Naomi Mburu ’18, M26, chemical engineering, UMBC’s first Rhodes Scholar at our Annapolis Alumni Reception, learning her story and being inspired by her determination. This reception, held in winter each year and hosted by the Board of Directors has allowed us to meet our state’s leaders who are UMBC alumni themselves, learn their perspectives, and find common interests through our ties to UMBC. 

The growth of the annual Alumni Awards gala has been another source of pride for me.  What began for me as an intimate affair in our library’s gallery has blossomed into a spectacle with hundreds of guests held in the Linehan Concert Hall in the Performing Arts and Humanities Building. I’m stunned every year by the unique, inspirational alumni I meet across all disciplines and from all walks of life. Last year I had a chance to speak with Jerome Adams ’97, M4, biochemistry and molecular biology, the Surgeon General of the United States, who is now at the tip of the spear in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. What struck me about Dr. Adams was how down to earth and family-oriented he was. He demonstrated a sense of perspective that was refreshing to see in a person in his position of national leadership. 

And I am proud of leading the effort to develop and successfully reach an audacious fundraising campaign for the Alumni Endowed Scholarship, doubling our market value in four years and allowing the funds raised by the Board to leave an enduring legacy of scholarship on generations of deserving students. 

A Proud Legacy

The thread linking these events and milestones is the people. UMBC is ripe with talented alumni, faculty, staff and, of course, talented students and student-athletes. My engagement with bright, energetic, and driven individuals is what keeps me coming back for more. If you haven’t been back to campus lately, please accept this invitation. I want you to see the intelligence, diversity, passion, grit, and greatness that I have enjoyed, and maybe in the process find something you left behind. 

Dr. Hrabowski likes to remind us every year at Commencement that “success is never final.” As we embark on a new fundraising campaign for the Alumni Endowed Scholarship and I pass the torch to Brian Frazee ’11, M.P.P. ’12, I am at ease knowing that our success will continue and our future is bright. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.

*****
Learn more about ways of engaging with UMBC at alumni.umbc.edu.

Header image: John Becker with President Hrabowski and the U.S. Surgeon General, Jerome Adams. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11.

When he was 16, Jeremy Rubin ’20, M28, mathematics and statistics, tagged along to one of his sister’s doctor appointments. Six years his senior and a 2014 UMBC alumna, she was recovering from a complete spinal fusion to treat her scoliosis. Doctors had been monitoring her condition for years before the surgery, and she had worn a brace for 18 months in preparation. At the appointment, Rubin’s mother suggested the doctor examine his back as well, just in case.

“And then, right there in the doctor’s office, they said I should have the same surgery in a month,” Rubin recalls. “What’s really fascinating, I think, is that we both needed the surgery, yet we had very different diagnosis and pre-treatment experiences. So it made me think, how can I use my interest in statistics to help the field of precision medicine? How can we tailor diagnoses and treatments to the individual?”

The contrast between Rubin’s and his sister’s experiences with scoliosis, and his skill and passion for statistics, have driven Rubin to success in his UMBC coursework and in several research experiences on and off campus. This year, he applied for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, which he, Danilo Symonette ’20, computer science, and seven UMBC alumni received this year. These prestigious fellowships offer full funding for three years of graduate study at any accredited institution in the U.S.

Piecing it together

Rubin began his research career during his first year at UMBC with Bradford Peercy, professor of mathematics and statistics. They used math to better model cell migration in fruit flies. “That was really exciting,” Rubin says, “because it gave me my first hands-on experience using theoretical math techniques, but applying it to a real-world biological situation.”

That summer, he pursued an internship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. There, he worked to develop better methods to process images generated by virtual reality environments. 

Back at UMBC the next fall, he contributed to efforts using statistical techniques to analyze genetic data related to the structure of DNA. The project was a collaboration between Erin Green, assistant professor of biological sciences, and DoHwan Park, assistant professor of mathematics and statistics.

All of these experiences led Rubin to a project at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perleman School of Medicine in 2018. The project combines his mathematical skill, desire to use math to address biological questions, and image processing background. He’s still working on it today, and plans to continue to pursue it as a Ph.D. student at Penn’s Perleman School this fall. 

“We’re interested in seeing if we can make an association between certain brain regions and the onset of mild cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer’s. That’s the end goal,” Rubin says. “It’s a really nice combination of my previous work with imaging and also looking at biological data.”

Support from every angle

Rubin attributes his success, especially in obtaining research opportunities such as the NSF fellowship, in part to the incredible support he’s received from the Meyerhoff and MARC U*STAR Scholars programs.

“Maybe the single greatest thing I’m thankful for is the individual coaching,” Rubin says. As an example, he was in the Meyerhoff office when he found out that he would have a graduate school interview in less than 72 hours. When he told Jackie King, associate director of the MARC U*STAR program, she gave him a mock interview on the spot. 

The intensive peer mentoring offered through the programs has also had a major impact on Rubin. “I like that I can now pay it forward,” Rubin says, by advising two younger Meyerhoff Scholars.

As his career progresses, Rubin plans to stay connected to teaching and advising. “I really want to combine my passion for teaching with doing research,” he says. As a result, he plans to pursue a path in academia. “I think an academic setting would best balance the ability to teach and mentor students while also doing research.”

Contributions across the country

Even once he’s in Philadelphia, Rubin plans to stay connected to UMBC. “The MARC and Meyerhoff programs encourage you to not just be a good student, but also be an academic leader in any way you can—to give back to your community, and really show excellence in all aspects of your career,” Rubin says.

After four years at UMBC, “I feel well-equipped to go to Penn,” Rubin says. At the same time, his advisor, Elizabeth Stanwyck, senior lecturer in mathematics and statistics, suggested he might give a department seminar back at UMBC sometime during his graduate study. “I want to stay connected and tell the students anything I can to help them out for the future,” he says.

While Rubin is at Penn, UMBC’s other Graduate Research Fellowship recipients will be earning doctorates across the country, including two other alumni at Penn’s Perelman School: Maya Hale ’18, biological sciences and psychology, and Sam Giannakoulias ’18, biochemistry and molecular biology and mathematics. 

The other recipients are also conducting research as Ph.D. students at top-tier institutions. Stephanie Korenic ’12, media and communication studies and psychology, is working to improve the way neuroimaging is used in the study of psychosis at Temple University. Jason Hughes ’18, M26, chemical engineering, and Ann Cirincione ‘18, M26, bioinformatics and computational biology, are studying biological systems using big data. Hughes is pursuing his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University, and Cirincione is at Princeton. Shannon Clancy ‘19, mechanical engineering, is focusing on internal combustion engines at the University of Michigan, and Fatima Touma ’09, anthropology, is at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studying health disparities with a focus on immigrant communities

Whether examining biological systems or human-designed machines, UMBC alumni are making important contributions everywhere they go. Their new NSF Graduate Research Fellowships will help them do even more and go even farther. 

Banner image: Jeremy Rubin with the Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Endeavor (PennSIVE) lab group during his summer internship there in 2018. This fall, he’ll embark on a Ph.D. with the same team.

All photos courtesy of Jeremy Rubin.

Android Ransomware

DomainTools discovered that domain names associated with COVID-19 and Coronavirus have spiked in the past few weeks, and many of those domains are considered malicious. One that caught their eye was a website that offers a real-time coronavirus outbreak tracker as an Android app.

The app says that it offers many features like a heat map and other statistical data about COVID-19, but this app is instead ransomware. When downloading the app, it will ask for administrative access promising that this will allow certain types of information. If the app is given administrative access, it is given the opportunity to lock up all contacts, pictures, videos, and social media accounts unless their ransom is paid in Bitcoin. If the ransom is not paid, the attacker threatens to release all private information publicly and erase the phone's memory.

DomainTools offers tips on how to better protect against ransomware and other malware that tries to capitalize on coronavirus. They first state to be sure to only use trusted information sources from the government and research websites, and not to click on anything health related in your emails. Next they ask Android users to ensure that they download apps from the Google Play store, as third-party stores have a much higher risk of downloading malware.

For more information, please check out:

https://www.domaintools.com/resources/blog/covidlock-mobile-coronavirus-tracking-app-coughs-up-ransomware

https://www.us-cert.gov/Ransomware

Tripwire has released an article warning of these COVID19-related phishing scams. This article can be found at this link: https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-awareness/covid-19-scam-roundup-may-11-2020/

(Fake) Work From Home Offers

PhishLabs discovered a phishing email attack aiming to entice people laid off due to COVID-19 with a work from home opportunity. The one email they found offered $5000 a month for a fake position. If the reader replies, they are asked for personal and financial information and will be given a more detailed job description involving transfering money through the readers accounts. The malicious actors might not only steal money from the readers account, but also could use the reader as a money mule meaning that they could be held liable for the stolen money that passes through their account. 

(Fake) IRS Page

Researchers at SecureWorks discovered malicious actors targeting readers with a phishing page designed to look like a tax form given by the IRS. The attack is believed to be distributed through email attacks, and the goal of this attack is stealing the readers tax information. Once the malicious actor has the information, they can then impersonate the reader on the official IRS tax form meaning that they will collect not only their tax return but their stimulus checks as well.

Impersonating Institute of CPAs

The Microsoft Security Intelligence team discovered that some digital attackers were using COVID-19 themed attack campaigns to distribute malware. One example they found showed a malicious actor impersonating the Institute of CPAs. In their emails they were claiming to be delivering COVID-19 related updates to its members as well as containing a ZIP file. The file is instead an executable that will allow the malicious actor to take control of the affected machine.