2023 SURF Fellows Heading link
2023 SURF fellows at the 8th Annual Mini Symposium held on August 10, 2023. From left to right: Isabelle Lamug, Ram Prajapati, Evelyn Qi, Adam Shaibat, Nora Sypkens.
Click here for photos from the 2023 Mini Symposium
2023 SURF Fellows Heading link
| SURF Fellow | Undergraduate Institution | Mentor | Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isabelle Lamug | University of Michigan | Jimmy Orjala | Genetics-Guided Dereplication of Oscillatoria sp. UIC10842 |
| Ram Prajapati | University of New Hampshire | Zongming Zhao | Evaluating the Influence of Size, Charge, and Amount on Protein Binding Capacity of PLGA Nanoparticles for Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy |
| Evelyn Qi | Williams College | Nancy Freitag | Defining the Key Amino Acid Residues of the pPplA Pheromone that Contributes to Listeria monocytogenes Intracellular Infection |
| Adam Shaibat | UIC | Paul Carlier | Investigation of Simplified Analogs of the Antimalarial Compound PRC1590 |
| Nora Sypkens | University of Kentucky | Andrew Riley | Synthesis and Optimization of Hobartine, an Aristotelia Alkaloid |
2022 SURF Fellows Heading link
2022 SURF fellows at the 7th Annual Mini Symposium held on August 8, 2022. From left to right: Suja Thakali, Erol Ikiz, Marla Gravino, Monse Castillo, Alfredo Lopez.
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2022 SURF Fellows Heading link
| SURF Fellow | Undergraduate Institution | Mentor | Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monsetrratt Castillo | UIC | Andrew Riley | Functionalization of the Akuamma Alkaloids |
| Marla Gravino | Rockford University | Les Hanakahi | Characterizing Cas9 and Human Ku Interactions in Yeast Cells |
| Erol Ikiz | UIS | Zongmin Zhao | Manipulating Different Fabrication Parameters to Control the Size of Polymeric Nanoparticles |
| Alfredo Lopez | UIC | Joanna Burdette | Modeling the Influence of Ovulations on Fallopian Tube-induced Tumorigenesis and Immune Cells Profile |
| Suja Thakali | Kalamazoo College | Brian Murphy | Exploring a Sponge-Derived Leucobacter sp. as a Potential Source for Antibiotics |
2021 SURF Fellows Heading link
2021 SURF fellows at the 6th Annual Mini Symposium held on August 6, 2021. From left to right: Irene Corona-Avila, Mackenzie Ringer, Kendra Lee, Alden Williams, Alexandra Castroverde, Lydia Arnold.
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2021 SURF Fellows Heading link
| SURF Fellow | Undergraduate Institution | Mentor | Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lydia Arnold | Ohio Wesleyan University | Alessandra Eustaquio | Reverse Genetics to Investigate the Roles of Two Genes in the Biosynthesis and Export of Nonribosomal Peptide Natural Products |
| Alexandra Castroverde | Cornell University | Terry Moore/Shura Mankin/Nora Vazquez-Laslop | Synthesis of Decarboxy Api-137 and Its Effects on E. coli |
| Irene Corona-Avila | Albion College | Brian Murphy | Discovering Antibacterial Compounds from Aquatic Bacteria to Combat Infectious Disease |
| Kendra Lee | Roosevelt University | Yu (Tom) Gao | The Effect of SNED1 on ECM Proteome Digestibility |
| Mackenzie Ringer | UIC | Andrew Riley | Evaluation of Aristoquinoline Derivatives: Antagonists of the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor |
| Alden Williams | UIC | Doug Thomas | Nitric Oxide Influences Cancer Gene Expression in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells |
2019 SURF Fellows Heading link
2019 SURF fellows at the 5th Annual Mini Symposium held on August 2, 2019. From left to right: Rocío Rivera Rodríguez, Ipsita Krishnamurthy, Monica Haughan, Talia Cheifetz, and Joseph Bernal.
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2019 SURF Fellows Heading link
| SURF Fellow | Undergraduate Institution | Mentor | Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Bernal | Rock Valley College/UIC | Les Hanakahi | Effects of 4-HNE on Topoisomerase-1-containing Yeast Cells |
| Talia Cheifetz | Binghamton University | Alessandra Eustaquio | Molecular Evolution and Synthetic Biology of Pladienolide-producing Streptomyces |
| Monica Haughan | Purdue University | Jeremy Johnson | Distinct Mechanism of Cholesterol Reduction by Citrus bergamia in HepG2 Cells Compared to Statins |
| Ipsita Krishnamurthy | Reed College | Terry Moore | Synthesis of Stapled Peptides as Novel Chemical Probes for Prostate Cancer |
| Rocío Rivera Rodríguez | University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus | Joanna Burdette | Baicalein: A Compound from Scutellaria baicalensis with Phytoprogestin and Phytocorticoid Activity |
2018 SURF Fellows Heading link
2018 SURF fellows at the 4th Annual Mini Symposium held on August 2, 2018. From left to right: Brenna Kirkpatrick, John Holton, Kenneth Booker, Dede Golda Gbikpi-Benissan, and Erin Conley.
Click here for photos from the 2018 Mini Symposium
2018 SURF Fellows Heading link
| SURF Fellow | Undergraduate Institution | Mentor | Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Booker | UIC | Terry Moore | Syntheis of Macrocyclic NRf2 Activators |
| Erin Conley | UIC | Brian Murphy | Use of IDBac to Analyze Specialized Metabolite Production in Understudied Marine Actinobacteria |
| Dede Golda Gbikpi-Benissan | Harry S. Truman College | Les Hanakahi | Does a nearby hyper-stable G-quartet structure affect repair of DNA double-strand breaks in human cells? |
| John Holton | John Carroll University | Doug Thomas | Nitric Oxide is an Epigenetic Regulator of Aggressive Breast Cancers |
| Brenna Kirkpatrick | University of Kentucky | Joanna Burdette | Identifying Natural Progestins from Botanicals for Prevention of Gynecologic Cancers |
2017 SURF Fellows Heading link
2017 SURF fellows at the 3rd Annual Mini Symposium held on August 2, 2017. From left to right: Allysen Schreiber, Zohra Sattar, Sarah Colon, Antonio Hernandez, and Andres Ruiz.
Click here for photos from the 2017 Mini Symposium.
2017 SURF Fellows Heading link
| SURF Fellow | Undergraduate Institution | Mentor | Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Colon | Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus | Shura Mankin/Nora Vazquez-Laslop | Mechanism of action of ribosomal antibiotics |
| Antonio Hernandez | UIC | Brian Murphy | Discovery of antibiotics from the Great Lakes cultivatable sponge microbiome |
| Andres Ruiz | Pennsylvania State University | Les Hanakahi | Visualizing 3' terminal DNA-protein crosslinks in human cells |
| Zohra Sattar | Northern Illinois University | Terry Moore | Development of Stapled Peptide Probes for the Estrogen Receptor/Coactivator Interaction |
| Allysen Schreiber | Wake Forest University | Debra Tonetti | Characterization of novel therapeutics in endocrine resistant breast cancer cell and tumor models |
2016 SURF Fellows Heading link
2016 SURF fellows at the 2nd Annual Mini Symposium held on August 4, 2016. From left to right: Bailey Englund, Lisa Gutgesell, Jennifer Diaz, Brian Kim, and Alexander Infante.
Click here for photos from the 2016 Mini Symposium.
2016 SURF Fellows Heading link
| SURF Fellow | Undergraduate Institution | Mentor | Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jennifer Diaz | Calumet College of St. Joseph | Alessandra Eustaquio | Developing a Reverse Genetics System for a Cultured Marine Sponge Bacterium |
| Bailey Englund | Augustana College | Les Hanakahi | Polyclonal Rabbit Antibodies to Detect C7orf49 Proteins Toward Understanding Double Strand Break Repair |
| Lisa Gutgesell | Missouri University of Science and Technology | Debra Tonetti | Creating New Models of Tamoxifen Resistant T47D:A18 Breast Cancer Cells |
| Alexander Infante | UIC | Doug Thomas | Characterization of Nitric Oxide Altered Proteins from Whole Cell Lysates by Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization |
| Brian Kim | UIC | Brian Murphy | Rapid dereplication of known M. tuberculosis drug-leads through use of molecular networking |
2015 SURF Fellows Heading link
2015 SURF fellows at the 1st Annual Mini Symposium held on July 23, 2015. From left to right: Ishmael Ochir, Hanan Yacoub, Elise Bowler, Matthew Purcell, and Kevin Tam.
2015 SURF Fellows Heading link
| SURF Fellow | Undergraduate Institution | Mentor | Lab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elise Bowler | UIC | Jeremy Johnson | Carnosic acid from Rosemary inhibits cell growth in triple negative breast cancer cell line |
| Ishmael Ochir | UIC | Terry Moore | Design and synthesis of azide- and alyne-containing molecules that target KEAP 1 for proteaosome-mediated degradation |
| Matthew Purcell | Northern Illinois University | Jim Wang | Effects of Curcumin on human CaMKII activity |
| Kevin Tam | UIC | Seungpyo Hong | Disulfide-containing polymer-functionalized surface for the release of captured circulating tumor cells via reduction |
| Hanan Yacoub | UIC | Joanna Burdette | p53R248W mutation in high grade serous ovarian cancer |