5,000+

Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio. During the 2010-11
academic year Nina researched the effects of repeated MDMA
and/or THC exposure on regional glutamate signaling in the
brain, concentrating o n the striatum. Nina is a member of the
AALANA Honor Society. She co-authored an abstract
entitled: “Effects of repeated adolescent co-administration of
MDMA and THC on subsequent measures of temperature,
depressive-like behavior, and memory in male and female
Sprague-Dawley rat published in society for Neuroscience,
2011.
Digna Pena is a junior (class of 2013)
majoring in public health at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst.
In addition to participating it the
activities of the LSAMP scholars Digna
is peer mentor for first year students and
has been on the dean’s for both semester
of the 2010-11 academic year. She has
completed an internship at the Martha
Elliot Health Center in the Adolescent clinic. In March, 2011
Digna designed and taught a lesson on alcohol and Drug use
for a local high school in the pueblo of Bani, Dominican
Republic. She is planning to go to Thailand this spring though
t he Community Public Health program in Khon Kean,
Thailand.
Travis Pires is in his senior year at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst.
He is interested in veterinary medicine.
He received honors in both English and
Chemistry while a student. He is active
in the Pre-veterinary club. Additi8onaly
Travis has been a veterinary specialist
working as an emergency and critical
care assistant demonstrating his
technical competence and provided patient care offering
instruction in maintaining proper health. Since May 2009
Travis has volunteered at the Marion Animal Hospital
assisting staff doctors on treatment, radiographs and surgeries.
Abigail Taylor is now a senior at the University of
Massachusetts Amherst. When Abigail
enrolled in the LSAMP-supported
SEMinar Scholars course she was
unclear about her goals. She has
reported that “when we had to present a
project about our future……[it] really
helped me figure out my passion for
humanitarian work. Since that time
Abigail has taken advantage of
opportunities presented to her and has worked with infants and
pre-school students for a local educational collaborative and
has become a teacher’s assistant at an elementary school
mentoring and education students in a fifth grade classroom.
Abigail has recently been elected as president of Brothers and
Sisters in Christ and Events Coordinator for the UMass Gospel
Choir, as well as for the student alumni association and a
member of the African Student Association. She has been on
the dean’s list since 2008.
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Mary Trask participated in the first LSAMP-supported
SEMinar Scholars course at the
University of Massachusetts in 2005
when she was a junior at the University
of Massachusetts. She became a tutor
at the Learning Resource Center and
actively engaged in research.
Following completion of her Bachelor
of Science degree Mary enrolled in a
PhD program in biomedical research
and anticipates graduating in May 2012. Always interested in
education, Mary became enthusiastic about research while
taking graduate level science courses as part of her program
while earning her Masters Degree in Education. She is a
member of AAAS and the Society of Developmental Biology.
She has received the following awards: the Society for
Developmental Biology 70 th Annual Meeting, July 2011 travel
award and semi-finalist in the poster competition; the
Northeastern Regional Society for Developmental Biology
Meeting, poster competition winner; and the AAAS Annual
Meeting, winner of the AAS/Subaru New Teacher Essay
Writing Competition, 2007. Mary has several journal articles
and invited presentations to her credit regarding her research.