URCAD is Wednesday, April 22 in the RAC.

For the full schedule of events, see:

urcad.umbc.edu

ALEX. BROWN CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP PRESENTERS

Sara Abbas | Intelligent Fault Detection and Risk Management for Autonomous Spacecraft Operations | Mentor: Anthony Campbell | Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

RAC Arena, 10-11am Poster #3

Lehbah Amin, Farell Kimble, Samira Ali | Perceptions of Fairness in AI-Driven Screening Systems Among Undergraduate Students | Mentor: Edward Dillon | Information Systems

RAC Arena, 10-11am Poster #9

Jada Iwuoha | The Campus Connect: A Centralized Digital Marketplace for Student Entrepreneurship and Campus-Based Services | Mentor: Kevin Fulmer | Interdisciplinary Studies

RAC Arena, 2-3pm Poster #34

Apply to present your research or creative work at URCAD by Monday!

Come celebrate URCAD's 30th anniversary on April 22, 2026! 

The event will be moving to a bigger space in the RAC… how do you see your work being presented there? 

Posters, oral talks, films, exhibits, and performances are welcome. URCAD is open to all majors and group projects are accepted. You can present your capstone, Honors thesis, REU research, or you can be unaffiliated with a scholars program. 

Applications to present mentored research or creative work are due by February 23rd and require a 200-word abstract and mentor approval. See you at the RAC as we showcase UMBC student research and art and throwback to where it all began in the 90s!

Questions? Email: aprilh@umbc.edu

Laila is a Biological Sciences major. Most recently, she completed a summer research fellowship at Duke University School of Medicine through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP).

Mentors: Dr. Chantell Evans in the Department of Cell Biology at Duke SOM.

Title of your research project: Mitochondrial Stress Remodels TFAM Organization in Primary H

What research experiences have you had? (focus on most recent)

I began my research journey as a freshman in 2022 at the University of Maryland

Baltimore, School of Medicine in the Kelly Lab, where I was introduced to neurobiology

and neurodegenerative research. Since then, I have continued working in translational

neuroscience across multiple labs, including the Parker Lab at UMSOM and currently the

Wolff Lab at UMSOM.

Most recently, I completed a summer research fellowship at Duke University School of

Medicine through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Summer Undergraduate

Research Program (SURP). In the Evans Lab (Department of Cell Biology), I studied

mitochondrial DNA integrity in primary neurons, specifically investigating how cellular

stress remodels endogenous TFAM puncta using confocal microscopy and 3D image

analysis.

Across these labs, I have gained experience in rodent colony management, transcardial

perfusions, embryonic microinjections, vibratome and cryosectioning, primary

hippocampal neuron culture, immunocytochemistry, and confocal microscopy. I have

applied machine-learning–based behavioral analysis (SLEAP), curated large behavioral

datasets, and implemented Python/Conda workflows for scalable analysis. These

cumulative experiences have strengthened my interest in translational neuroscience and

mechanistic disease research.

How did you find the research opportunity?

I discovered the HHMI SURP opportunity through UMBC’s pre-med/pre-dental online

community in April. I applied shortly after and was thrilled to be accepted in May.

Who is your mentor for your research, scholarship, or artistic project? (give full

name and department) How did you arrange to work with this person?

My principal investigator was Dr. Chantell Evans in the Department of Cell Biology at

Duke SOM. I also worked closely with graduate student mentor Olivia Conway.

After being accepted into the HHMI SURP program, I was matched with Dr. Evans’s lab

based on my research interests. From the beginning, Dr. Evans and her lab created an

incredibly supportive and intellectually stimulating environment.

Do you get course credit for this work? Paid? How much time do you put into it?

This summer fellowship was fully funded by HHMI, and I was fortunate enough to have

received $12k over the course of three months. I worked full-time in the lab throughout

the summer, dedicating approximately 40 hours per week to experiments, lab meetings,

and weekly virtual HHMI programming.

What academic background did you have before you started?

At the time, I was a junior/rising senior majoring in Biology.

How did you learn what you needed to know to be successful in this project?

HHMI SURP provided weekly seminars covering both scientific topics and professional

development, including how to present research effectively. Within the lab, I learned

hands-on through mentorship, troubleshooting experiments, reading primary literature,

and asking questions constantly. The lab culture emphasized curiosity and persistence.

My mentors modeled what it looks like to approach research not with fear of failure, but

with excitement about discovery.

What was the hardest part about your research?

The hardest part was not mastering technical skills.. it was developing grit.

Experiments don’t always work the first time. Cells don’t always stain correctly. Imaging

parameters sometimes need to be completely re-optimized. Early on, that unpredictability

felt frustrating.

One of the staff scientists, Dr. Lola Kalejaiye, often reminded me that it’s called

“research” for a reason — you must keep re-searching. She genuinely found joy in

troubleshooting and refining experiments. Over time, I began to understand that

persistence and patience are the true foundations of scientific growth. Learning to

embrace that process was the most challenging, and most valuable lesson.

What was the most unexpected thing?

How much I loved it.

This experience solidified my desire to pursue an MD-PhD rather than solely an MD. I

found deep fulfillment not only in conducting experiments, but in asking mechanistic

questions about disease and working toward translational impact.

How does this research experience relate to your work in other classes?

As a Biology major, my research directly connects to concepts I’ve learned in cell

biology, genetics, and molecular biology courses. Seeing mitochondrial dynamics,

transcriptional regulation, and cellular stress pathways play out in real experiments

reinforced and deepened my classroom learning.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?

Believe in yourself before anything else.

You must believe you belong in scientific spaces.. even before you feel “ready.”

Opportunities often come from putting yourself forward and being willing to learn. Every

researcher starts somewhere. Confidence, curiosity, and resilience matter just as much as

prior experience. Send the email. Apply to the program. Ask the question. Growth

follows initiative.

What are your career goals?

I plan to pursue an MD-PhD with hopes to specialize in transplant medicine, particularly

end stage kidney disease in diabetic patients. As someone deeply invested in both clinical

medicine and biomedical research, I hope to bridge mechanistic discovery with patient-

centered innovation.

What else are you involved in on campus?

I am involved in the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and the Egyptian Student

Association at UMBC. I have also previously volunteered with Hearts for the Homeless.

Join Us!

Come celebrate URCAD's 30th anniversary on April 22, 2026! 

The event will be moving to a bigger space in the RAC… how do you see your work being presented there? 

Posters, oral talks, films, exhibits, and performances are welcome. URCAD is open to all majors and group projects are accepted. You can present your capstone, Honors thesis, REU research, or you can be unaffiliated with a scholars program. 

Applications to present mentored research or creative worker open and will be due by February 16th and require a 200-word abstract and mentor approval. See you at the RAC as we showcase UMBC student research and art and throwback to the 90s!

Abstract writing workshop will be held on Jan. 7 (online).

To apply go to:

ur.umbc.edu/urcad

Join Us!

Come celebrate URCAD's 30th anniversary on April 22, 2026! 

The event will be moving to a bigger space in the RAC… how do you see your work being presented there? 

Posters, oral talks, films, exhibits, and performances are welcome. URCAD is open to all majors and group projects are accepted. You can present your capstone, Honors thesis, REU research, or you can be unaffiliated with a scholars program. 

Applications to present mentored research or creative worker open and will be due by February 16th and require a 200-word abstract and mentor approval. See you at the RAC as we showcase UMBC student research and art and throwback to the 90s!

Abstract writing workshop will be held on Jan. 7 (online).

To apply go to:

ur.umbc.edu/urcad

Get your abstracts ready over the break!

Registration for URCAD will open on the 2nd of January, 2026 and applications are due by Feb. 15. This year URCAD moves to a new space in the RAC!

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day- 30th Anniversary!

Come celebrate 30 years of grit, grunge, and groundbreaking research!

On Wednesday April 22, 2026, Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) will feature research, scholarship, and creative work carried out by UMBC undergraduates. Student work will be shared through oral presentations, posters, artistic exhibits, performances, and film. Over 400 presenters participate annually. Researchers work with faculty mentors on independent research, or research that is part of the mentor's on-going projects. They are from all disciplines, and can be working on a thesis, capstone project, part of a scholars or honors program, or they can be unaffiliated. This campus-wide celebration of achievement affirms UMBC's commitment to the twin goals of research and a distinctive undergraduate experience.

All current undergraduates who have conducted research, scholarship or creative work in the last year may apply to present their results at URCAD. Mentors, fellow students, friends, family members, high school teachers and students, and the general public are invited to attend.

For information on how to prepare your 200-word abstract for the URCAD application please visit our guidelines page.

URCAD Abstract Guidelines

UR.umbc.edu/urcad/

Sanjana Srimath is a senior Biological Sciences (B.S.) major with a minor in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology graduating in December 2025. She is a member of the Honors College and a Merck Fellow. 

Mentors: Dr. Daniel Lobo (PI) and Dr. Andrew Wolff

Title of your research project: Integrating Gene Ontology Enrichment and Expression Profiling to Understand the Genetic Mechanisms of Planarian Fissioning

Describe your project: In my project, I study how planarian worms form fission planes - the locations where they split to reproduce asexually. Although planarians are well known for their incredible regenerative abilities, the genetic mechanisms that guide fissioning are still unclear. To investigate this, I use a systems biology approach that combines RNA-seq data, computational pipelines, and gene ontology enrichment analysis. I built scripts that automatically retrieve GO annotations, filter differentially expressed genes, and identify biological processes and molecular functions that are specifically enriched during fission. I also analyze how these genes behave across the anterior-posterior axis by generating expression profile plots for both fissioning and non-fissioning worms. Together, this helps me identify potential candidate genes and understand how they fit into a larger regulatory network that may control fission behavior. Ultimately, my work contributes to a framework for uncovering the molecular mechanisms behind planarian fissioning.

How did you find this research opportunity? I found this research opportunity by cold emailing Dr. Lobo after my first year at UMBC. At the time, I was doing neurobiology wet lab work at UMSOM but wanted to shift toward computational and systems biology to align with my minor. After meeting with Dr. Lobo, I joined the lab and began working under my mentor, Dr. Andrew Wolff, who has guided me through both wet lab and computational research. The lab has been incredibly supportive, which made my transition into computational work much smoother and helped me grow as both a learner and a researcher.

What was the hardest or most unexpected part about your research? The hardest part of my research was transitioning from the wet lab to the computational aspect, especially learning to write scripts in programming languages like Python and R. I also found presenting my work challenging at first, since effectively communicating data in posters required a different set of skills than lab work. I didn't set high expectations for whether I would lead my own project or assist my mentor, but this experience has taught me how to work independently while benefiting from the incredible support of Dr. Lobo, Dr. Wolff, and other lab members. So far, I've shared my research through multiple poster presentations at both URCAD and ABRCMS, which helped me improve both my scientific communication and presentation skills. I was also honored to receive a poster award at ABRCMS in San Antonio in November 2025, which made it rewarding to see my hard work pay off.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research? One of my favorite quotes is, "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall" (Nelson Mandela). My advice to other students is to stay persistent and don't be afraid to reach out to PIs, even if it feels intimidating at first. Research is full of challenges and mistakes, but each setback is a learning opportunity. Work towards small, achievable goals and take time to appreciate the progress you make along the way. I also encourage exploring different areas - like wet lab, computational, clinical, etc. - so you can discover what facet truly excites you!

What are your career goals? I aspire to become a physician. After graduating from UMBC, I plan to apply to and attend medical school, where I hope to combine my passion for science, research, and patient care to make a meaningful impact in healthcare.