Monday, May 12 · 10 AM - 2 PM
The Commons : 308
Come join us for our last Free Coffee Monday of the semester! We're in Commons 308 from 10am-2pm, stop by for your fresh cup! While supplies last.
Anderson Rivas, of Silver Spring, MD was recently selected as one of two recipients of the 2025 Undergraduate Research Award from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 022BC-University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Each spring, the chapter's awards committee selects two applicants to receive $500 each for this prestigious honor on the recommendation of the Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) Committee.
Anderson was selected by the awards committee for their innovative research abstract and strong letter of support from their mentor, Herana Kamal Seneviratne.
Anderson Rivas, Biological Sciences
Mentor: Herana Kamal Seneviratne, Chemistry
Title of Research: Understanding Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity Using Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics
Abstract: Doxorubicin (DOX) is a first-line chemotherapeutic agent effective against various cancers. However, its clinical administration is constrained by dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. The heart primarily relies on fatty acid oxidation for energy, demonstrating the role of lipid metabolism in cardiac homeostasis. Furthermore, DOX is known to disrupt cellular metabolism, however the connection between DOX-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC) and lipid metabolism remains understudied. We hypothesize that DOX-induced lipid metabolism alterations contribute to DIC. Using a mouse model, we investigated DOX-induced alterations in lipid metabolizing proteins. Eight-week old female C57BL/6 mice were dosed with 15 mg/kg DOX, conferring acute DIC, or vehicle. Body weights were monitored and hearts harvested seven days after treatments. Heart slices underwent cryosectioning, protein extraction, digestion, and proteomics analysis via nano-HPLC and timsTOF mass spectrometry. Data were analyzed by PEAKS Studio to identify detected proteins and their intensities. Proteins with at least a 1.5 times fold change between control and DOX-treated groups were investigated for lipid metabolism involvement. DOX downregulated Acyl carrier protein, mitochondrial, ATP-citrate synthase, Prostaglandin E synthase 2, and Methylmalonyl-CoA epimerase, mitochondrial, while upregulating Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase family member 11. DOX-treated mice also demonstrated body weight reduction. These data reveal that DOX modulates the above lipid metabolizing proteins.
More About Phi Kappa Phi
Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. The Society's mission is "To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others." Since its founding, more than 1.5 million members have been initiated. Some of the organization's more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist John Grisham and YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley. Each year, Phi Kappa Phi awards nearly $1 million to qualifying students and members through graduate fellowships, undergraduate study abroad grants, member and chapter awards, and grants for local and national literacy initiatives. For more information about Phi Kappa Phi, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.
More About Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 22BC
Chartered in 2010, Chapter 22BC invites the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors for membership in Phi Kappa Phi. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.
]]>Monday, May 12 · 10 AM - 2 PM
The Commons : 308
Come join us for our last Free Coffee Monday of the semester! We're in Commons 308 from 10am-2pm, stop by for your fresh cup! While supplies last.
Curated and designed by CADVC Exhibitions Designer and Coordinator Andrew Liang, with curatorial assistance from IMDA MFA student Mariia Usova, this exhibition presents the broad and dynamic scope of senior undergraduate student work within the UMBC Visual Arts Department. The exhibition is open May 13-25.Images: Some images may only visible in the MyUMBC Groups application.
From top: Collis Donadio, "Conflux Variation," video still, 2025 Courtesy of the artists (A barren landscape with dark piles of rocks and soil under a blue sky with scattered clouds), "Visual Arts Senior Exhibition 2025"
About the Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture (CADVC)
CADVC is a College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences research center and art gallery that produces scholarship, publications, and experimental engagements in the fields of art, design, and visual culture.
All CADVC programs are free and open to the public for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.
Visitor Information
The CADVC is located on the first floor of UMBC’s Fine Arts Building. Admission to the gallery and public programs is free. Daytime metered parking is available in several nearby visitor parking areas. Please visit here for additional information.
If you need accommodations at one of our in-person events or to experience an exhibition or access online content, please contact us as soon as possible.
Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture, UMBC
1000 Hilltop Circle, Fine Arts Building 105, Baltimore, MD 21250
Gallery Hours
Sun-Mon, closed
Tues-Wed, 12-5 pm
Thurs-Sat, 10-5 pm
cadvc@umbc.edu | (410) 455-3188
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
1) CLDR 410/610 -- Places and Placemaking, with Joby Taylor (8/27 - 9/24)
Places and Placemaking will be a 1 credit class designed to support students in cultivating a strong sense of place and developing leadership skills and experience in the practice of placemaking. The class will meet weekly for 2.5hr sessions for 5 weeks (1 credit time equivalent), mixing synchronous seminar style instruction with outdoor in person sessions. Students will critically explore theoretical and applied perspectives about the key concept of “place” through seminar style discussions, written reflections, and individual projects. Human beings charge the world with meaning and power, and as culture scholar Clifford Geertz reminds us “No one lives in the world in general...Everybody lives in some confined and limited stretch of it—the world around here.” Taking that as our jumping off point for a hands-on skill-based class, the majority of the course will engage students in in-person local outings (and complementary virtual outings) that draw upon historical/cultural background narratives, current social dynamics, and community member perspectives to develop their own sense of place and gain an informed understanding of the ongoing local struggle for meaning and positive community change in our Baltimore area. After participating in initial instructor-designed and led place-based outings, students will then design, develop, and present their own place-based outing for the class. Students will leave the course with skills for developing a vibrant and nuanced sense of place, and leadership tools for facilitating that powerful sense of place and placemaking in others in their classrooms, communities, or workplaces.
Monday – Thursday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Closed weekends and during UMBC closures.
Questions? Send us an email at commonvision@umbc.edu – feel free to send in inquiries during our closure and we will address them when we reopen on Monday, June 2.
Katie Brungard ‘24, a former evaluation interim with the Center for Democracy and Civic Life and Dr. Ricky Blissett ‘11, associate director for the Center presented at the American Educational Research Association's annual conference (AERA) in April.
AERA is the largest educational research association in the United States, and Brungard and Dr. Blissett presented work that Brungard began with the Center while she was an evaluation intern in the 2024-25 academic year. The project, titled "Can You Change the World? Development of a Civic Agency Measure for Democratic Education," was also presented by Brungard at Student Affairs’ 2024 Assessment 360. The research brings together perspectives from civic engagement literature, political science, and psychology to develop psychometric methods for assessing civic agency.
Beyond introducing to the educational research field the concept of civic agency (which has been developed over time by scholars, including Harry Boyte, Peter Dahlgren, and Dr. David Hoffman, Ph.D. ’13, director of the Center) the work seeks to develop practical tools for being able to observe if students have developed said agency. The reception to this work was uniformly positive, with participants expressing excitement about alternative ideas for understanding the impacts of civic education that inspired them to think about the hopeful future of democratic society.
Name: Ramya Sri Tellakula
Pronouns:She/her
Semester of Internship: Fall 2024
Major: Data Science
Current Class Level: Master's Student
This semester I completed a(n)...:Co-op
Company/Organization Name:Novelis
Location of the Organization (City, State): Atlanta, Georgia
Title of position:Data Scientist
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities:
During my internship, I collaborated with teams to tackle business challenges by gathering and preprocessing structured and unstructured data from mobile apps, IoT sensors, and databases using Python and SQL. I developed NLP models with LLMs like BERT and GPT to predict workplace hazards and fine-tuned generative AI models for text analytics. Additionally, I built and deployed ML pipelines on Azure, leveraging vector databases for semantic search. To support decision-making, I designed Power BI dashboards and implemented automated ETL workflows for efficient data handling and model monitoring.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
I found the internship on the company’s careers page and applied. I had worked with them before as a client while at TCS in India, which helped me understand their work. My experience in AI and machine learning made me a good fit for the role.
What resources did you use to find your current experience?
Career Fairs, LinkedIn or other social media
What have you enjoyed the most about your position and organization?
I enjoyed developing code for various manufacturing plants, tackling challenges related to data. The work involved solving real-world problems using machine learning while working closely with data science and engineering experts. The team was supportive, and the environment fostered innovation, allowing me to experiment with new ideas and improve my skills in handling complex data from manufacturing operations.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
I believe my work has made an impact by improving decision-making in manufacturing. I developed code and used machine learning to solve data challenges, making processes more efficient. Working with experts allowed me to create solutions that helped optimize operations and improve productivity. This experience has sharpened my technical skills and showed me how technology can solve real-world problems in manufacturing.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
I’d advise focusing on hands-on experience, even through small projects. Build strong technical skills, network with professionals, and seek mentorship. Be proactive, stay curious, and take on challenges. Lastly, showcase your work to potential employers.
Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / working with the Career Center.
What I enjoyed most about my position was solving real-world problems using new technologies. The Career Center was a big help by guiding me with my resume, preparing for interviews, and giving me the confidence I needed to land the role.
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