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genotyping procedures. For the past four years, Corie has
presented his research work at the annual National Society of
Toxicology conference where he received three awards for his
research. Corie has been the lead author on several scientific
publications and authored a book chapter on pesticide
metabolism. In 2009, Corie was awarded a National Institute
of Environmental Health Sciences Pre-doctoral Research
Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research.
In addition to his research work, Corie has helped mentor
several students in the Pharmacology and Toxicology
department. Corie has also given several presentations on how
to have a successful graduate career to undergraduate students
interested in pursuing an advance education in research.
Nicholas R. Torres is a BD Fellow at UB where he is a M.S.
candidate in Computer Science.
His research is in the area of
vehicular ad-hoc networks
(VANET). Currently Nicholas
is focusing on the security
aspects of these networks. In
addition to his studies at UB,
Nicholas is involved in tutoring
math and science to middle school students at the Buffalo
Native American Magnet School (K-8 th grade), volunteering
as much time as possible in the classroom.
Robert M. Namulala is a BD
Fellow at UB in the
Interdisciplinary MS Program
at Roswell Park Cancer
Institute His goals include
obtaining his PhD and
becoming a leading research
professor in Systems Biology. His research is in the analysis
of protein structure and how that affects the fundamental
understanding of what causes disease states, such as cancer
and Alzheimer’s disease. Robert is studying the protein
structure of bacterial ribosome’s (cell’s protein factories) for
drug targeting using bioinformatics and protein structural
analysis at the Hauptman Woodward Institute. Currently,
Robert is preparing to enter a graduate exchange program in
systems biology between UB, the University of Luxembourg
and the Free University in Amsterdam. The CanSys Program
is a European-U.S. Interdisciplinary Master's Program fusing
Systems and Cancer Biology. The goal of CanSys is to address
the considerable shortage of research professionals in the
pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.
Adonis Pimienta-Peñalver is a BD Fellow at UB in the
doctoral program in Aerospace
and Mechanical Engineering. He
is studying the dynamics and
controls of aerospace systems.
Currently, Adonis’ research
efforts consist of developing an
accurate and fast method to find
an approximate solution to the
classical mechanics “Kepler’s problem” (finding the position
or speed of two bodies over time, given their mass and initial
position and velocity) using computational and numerical
144
methods. He is also currently acting as Orbit Team Leader for
UB-Nanosat, a student-led long-term competition to build and
prepare a satellite to be put into orbit. Aside from his
academic life, Adonis has been volunteered for several nonprofit
organizations to promote science and arts in the Buffalo
community.
Andres F. Alzate is a BD Fellow at UB
in the MS program in Civil, Structural
and Environmental Engineering. His
research involves numerical modeling of
fluid mechanics and microorganism
growth of algae in enclosed systems
with the goal of understanding their
interdependent relationships in order to
develop the potential use of algae as a
viable resource for applications such as
bio-fuel production or waste water
treatment processes. During Alzate’s first year as a graduate
student he developed a mathematical model of algal growth
with embedded influences of fluid turbulence. Plans for his
second year of study include utilizing a bioreactor apparatus
which was designed and constructed during summer research
in 2011. The physical model will complement the analytical
model and serve as verification for his research hypotheses.
Bethany Rankin is a BD Fellow at
UB in the doctoral program in
Pharmacology and Toxicology. Her
current research focuses on the
design and development of anticancer
agents that mimic breast
cancer susceptibility protein
signaling, and consequently breast cancer tumor growth. She
has presented her research at several conferences, the most
recent entitled, Morpholinoaniline Derivative Targeting
-Cancer
Agents, presented at the 2011 ASPET Experimental Biology
Conference. As an undergraduate at Tougaloo, Bethany
developed an interest in breast cancer research. From this and
other research related programs and honors, including
Historically Black College and University Undergraduate
Program (HBCU-UP) and Intercultural Cancer Council (ICC)
awards, she realized the importance of research programs in
the development of minority scientists, and is very interested
in the development of future scientists. She volunteers at the
local Native American school and aids teachers in developing
intriguing, effective ways to reach inner city youth.