February to April 2023
Volume 1
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Welcome to NSS Now, the newsletter that shares the accomplishments of the members of our vibrant NSS community. This newsletter is launched just as Lehman is officially ending pandemic guidelines. And as you can read below, we are gathering for in-person events, faculty and student scholarship are creating positive impacts, new student clubs are emerging, and students are successfully graduating and beginning their exciting next chapters. Here are two accomplishments among many to spotlight.
Firstly, Mr. Muhammed Bajo (Biological Sciences) is our first graduate heading to a Master’s program in Genetic Counseling. Genetic Counseling is critical to help families navigate genetic markers of health and disease and a field needing a diverse community of counselors to serve a broad population of clients. Genetic Counseling is now among the health professions that Lehman’s Pre-Health Advising office supports and Mr. Bajo earned a full scholarship to Sarah Lawrence’s Masters in Genetic Counseling. This is a great new direction for NSS students.
Secondly, NSS research faculty achieved a milestone by exceeding $5M in annual funding in 2023. Congratulations to the faculty who have been submitting and winning awards from many federal agencies and foundations! Look through the Faculty Grants below to see the variety of agencies that fund the outstanding research of our faculty. Students regularly participate in these research efforts and examples of their work follow below from the Student Scholars Conference held in April.
I know this first volume of NSS Now covers a fraction of the work and accomplishments of the NSS faculty and students. I encourage NSS faculty and staff to make submissions about your awards, publications, events, media exposure, and your students’ post-graduation plans. We have provided links to forms at the end of this newsletter for feedback and submissions. We intend to publish the next volume of NSS Now in early September to reflect the research and events from this summer. And in upcoming issues, we are excited to feature 'Alumni Highlights' in NSS Now. Submissions of alumni professional news and achievements are welcome.
Congratulations to the entire NSS community for your accomplishments and achievements, your resilience throughout the pandemic, your commitment to NSS’ mission, and your ambitious efforts that create a vital and dynamic NSS for Lehman.
I hope you enjoy this first volume of NSS Now,
Pamela Mills, Dean
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EVENTS & SPECIAL PROGRAMS |
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Undergraduate
Student
Event Days
Accepted Students,
New Majors, &
Student Scholarship
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Biological Sciences
2023 Basile Memorial Lecture
Pan Genomes from Parts list to function. by Doreen Ware, PhD. Hosted by Eleanore Wurtzel and Renuka Sankaran on February 23, 2023.
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Chemistry Undergraduate Exchange Program, University of Technology
Toyohashi, Japan
February 27 to March 28, 2023
Students: Jidai Ishiguro, Yusaku Nakao, Yohei Kanamori, Hanzo Tsubota, and Hasan Mohammad Tanvir. Chemistry & Anthropology mentors V. Dominguez, G. Lopez, N. O’Connor and A. Jitianu.
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Computer Science
&
Technology Club
Hackathon
Spring Coding Jam
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Mathematics and Statistics Student Success Center (MS3)
MS3 opened to the Lehman community for the '22-'23 academic year. The center is a dedicated study space for students with activities ranging from tutoring to academic advising. Also MS3 provides a proctored testing location for makeup exams.
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Sociology Spring Colloquium
The Enduring Truth of Racism in American Education by Dr. Jamila Lyiscott. Hosted by Jenn Laird on February 23, 2023. Recording available here. Password is 2C&L&gZ.
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UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH & ACTIVITIES |
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Noah Aldabishi (BA, Psychology, Spring 2023) Presented paper based on senior thesis, “Tuning the Heartstrings: Early Music Education and the Parasympathetic Nervous System,” with Melissa Ceren (John Jay College, ’21) at the inaugural convening of the Research on Equity via the Arts in Childhood (REACH) Lab at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia. Mentor Steven Holochwost
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Psychology undergraduate students inducted into Lehman’s Chapter of Psi Chi, the International Honors Society in Psychology on April 24, 2023
Alesha Alli, Jasmine Cajigas, Claudia Domfeh-Osafo, Mariam Illescas, Evelyn Inegbenebo, Rebeca Ochoa, Yenneisa Ortiz, Gary Pazmino, Marissa Torres, & Victor Vasquez Breton
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Psychology Phi Betta Kappa nominees Heidy Almonte, Marbelis Arechiga, Carleny Cardoza, Marie Delance, Nayelli Huggins, Christine Magloire, Nicole Perez, Denise Romano, Shirley Vitiello
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2023 Gilman Award (six recipients are NSS students). Charel Evangelista Flores, Biological Sciences, VU Amsterdam Summer Program in The Netherlands. Shahidul Islam, Psychology, Medical Credit Bearing Internship in Morocco. Isbell Montero, Psychology, CSI Study Abroad in Greece. Cesar Elian Salcedo Portorreal, Political Science, The University of Veritas Summer Exchange Program in Costa Rica. Fatimatou Seck, Psychology, The Qasid Arabic Institute in Jordan. Tyara Suazo, Psychology, Summer Program London in the United Kingdom.
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Nicole Holbrook and Z-Quana Powell Jones Psychology majors and Chi Chapter students attended the Eastern Psychological Association annual meeting in Boston MA, March 3-5, 2023. Nicole gave a poster presentation on her ongoing research. Mentor Sandra Campaneau
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Biological Sciences Club Faculty Advisor Sebastian Rojas Villa
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Talk OPA In collaboration with TriBeta and the MAPS, a representative of the OPA (Office of Prestigious Awards) introduced fellowship and grant opportunities to club students and explained services provided by the OPA.
Career Prospects for Biological Sciences Majors Through this Zoom panel Lehman students discovered different career prospects in industry, with a special emphasis in Quality Sciences.
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Make Art with Bacteria Through this hands on activity our Biology majors discovered the amazing world of “BioArt” as well as learned about part-time internship opportunities available at the CSH-DNA Learning Center.
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Chemistry Club Faculty Advisor Patricia Gonzalez Periche
A student chapter of the American Chemical Society.
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AAUW
Girls for STEM
Annual hands-on STEM conference to explore STEM careers with 7th & 8th grade girls in New York City and Westchester County.
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Lehman student workshop assistants welcomed and coached high school presenters at two weekend conferences. Organizers' feedback, We appreciated Lehman students' talents and timeliness given our early morning starts.
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American Chemical Society
Local Chapter Research Presentation
Lehman students moderated research presentations with introductions by mentor Naphtali O'Connor.
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Psychology Club Faculty Advisor Sandra Campaneau
Presentation for our Psi Chi and Psychology Club students from the Counseling Center, about time management and coping with stress held on March 20, 2023. In addition the club held an alumni Q&A virtual panel on March 8, 2023 and a faculty Q&A virtual panel about Careers in Psychology on March 15, 2023.
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Lehman College Student Scholars Conference
Psychology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics,
Anthropology, Sociology, & Biological Sciences
A sample of posters & presentations follows below.
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Patrick Garana, Chemistry |
Poster: "Study of the influence of the Phenyl substituted alkoxides over the melting gel formation" Authors: Patrick Garana, Zainab Abd Al-Jaleel, Gabriela Torres, Mihaela Jitianu, and mentor Andrei Jitianu
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Nicole Holbrook, Psychology
Poster: "Hope and Well-being Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness." Authors: Nicole Holbrook, and mentors Mia Budescu, Sandra Campaneau
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Neena Noble, Physics & Astronomy
Poster: "Starburst galaxies as probe of physics beyond the standard model."
Authors: Neena Noble, Luis A. Anchordoqui, and mentor Jorge F. Soriano
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Hanna Rosenstock, Chemistry
Poster: "The Essential Role of an Alternate mRNA Translation Initiation in the Regulation of Breast Cancer Metabolism." Authors: Hanna Rosenstock, Erna Mataishvili, and mentor Columba de la Parra
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Angela Thomas, Physics & Astronomy
Presentation: "Simulating
Exoplanetary Atmospheres Through The Eyes Of Different Space Telescopes." mentor Matthew O'Dowd
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Luis R. Vega, Biological Sciences
Presentation: “CSI Botany: DNA
Barcode ‘Fingerprints’ Identify Cryptic Urban Flora.” mentor Jack Henning
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GRADUATE PROGRAMS & FELLOWSHIPS |
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Lehman graduates advancing to post-graduate programs in Fall 2023.
For information about PhD Promise
Baffour Amponsah-Antwi (Biological Sciences, SMART MD) Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
Simon Aytes (Computer Science) Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) M.S. in Computer Science
Muhammed Bajo (Biology) John H Mark Genetic Counseling Master’s Program at Sarah Lawrence
Estephanie Garcia (Biological Sciences) SUNY Downstate Bridges to Medicine Program
Angjelo Gjoni (Computer Science) NYU M.S. in Computer Science
Milenis Morales (Sociology) Lehman MSW
Andrianina David Raharijao (Computer Science) CUNY M.S. in Data Science
Jordan Reid (Biological Sciences) University of Saint Joseph School Doctoral Program in Pharmacy
Hannah Rosenstock (Chemistry) Columbia University Doctoral Program in Chemistry
Lesley Tolentino (Chemistry) CUNY Graduate Center Doctoral Program in Chemistry
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Muhammed Bajo
Warren Alpert Foundation Scholarship for full support of the Master’s degree program at Sarah Lawrence.
Melissa Ceren
Incoming Psychology Graduate Student CUNY Graduate Center
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FACULTY RESEARCH & AWARDS |
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Recognition & Appointments |
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Christopher Bonastia, Sociology
Selected keynote speaker for the 19th Annual Conference of REFORMA Northeast Chapter, 2023. “MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Engaging Communities of Color.”
Brittany Fox-Williams, Sociology
Distinguished CUNY Scholar at the Advanced Research Collaborative, CUNY Graduate Center, Fall 2023.
Renato Ghini Bettiol, Mathematics
Feliks Gross Award for Outstanding Research for Assistant Professors in CUNY, 2023.
Steven Holochwost, Psychology
Eleanore Wurtzel, Biological Sciences
Trevor Goodwin Award for Lifetime Achievement in Research on Carotenoid Biochemistry, International Carotenoid Society, 2023.
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CHEMISTRY
Andrei Jitianu
“Control of Micro-and Nanostructures of Layered Double Hydroxides by Hydrothermal Treatment” February 2023 Growth & Design, 23, 2128-2137. Keiichiro Maegawa, Fan Zhang, Qiaxian Johnson, Mihaela Jitianu, Wai Kian Tan, Go Kawamura, Atsunori Matsuda, & Andrei Jitianu.
“Microscale Templating of Materials across Electrospray Deposition Regimes” March 11, 2023 Coatings, 13, 599. Michael J Grzenda, Maria Atzampou, Alfusainey Samateh*, Andrei Jitianu, Jeffrey D Zahn, & Jonathan P Singer. *Lehman Undergraduate student.
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PSYCHOLOGY
Martin Downing
"Video selection and assessment for an app-based HIV prevention messaging intervention: Formative research" January 30, 2023 mHealth, 9. https://dx.doi.org/10.21037/mhealth-21-53 Downing, M. J., Jr., Wiatrek, S. E., Zahn, R. J., Mansergh, G., Olansky, E., Gelaude, D., Sullivan, P. S., Stephenson, R., Siegler, A. J., Bauermeister, J., Horvath, K., Chiasson, M. A., Yoon, I. S., Houang, S. T., Hernandez, A. J., & Hirshfield, S.
Keith Happeney
"An ecological systems perspective on individual differences in children’s performance on measures of executive function" 2023 Journal of Cognition and Development, 24, 223-240. Holochwost, S. J., Winebrake, D., Brown, E. D., Happaney, K. R., Wagner, N. J., & Mills-Koonce, W. R.
Steven Holochwost
"Protocol and biomarker strategy for a multi-site randomized control trial examining biological mechanisms of dosing of active music engagement in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma and parents" 2023 BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 23.
Robb, S. L., Russ, K. A., Holochwost, S. J., Stegenga, K., Perkins, S. M., Jacobs, S. A., Henley, A. K., & MacLean, J. A.
"Fulfilling the promise of applied developmental science: Is it time to reconsider our approach?" 2023 Infant and Child Development. e2401.
Holochwost, S. J., Mills-Koonce, W. R., & Brown, E. D.
"An ecological systems perspective on individual differences in children’s performance on measures of executive function"
2023 Journal of Cognition and Development, 24, 223-240
Holochwost, S. J., Winebrake, D., Brown, E. D., Happaney, K. R., Wagner, N. J., & Mills-Koonce, W. R.
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SOCIOLOGY
Christopher Bonastia
Devrim Yavuz
Democracy and Capitalism in Turkey: The State, Power, and Big Business 2023 I.B.Tauris, Bloomsbury Publishing.
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Faculty Grants
Annual Grant Funds AY '22-'23
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Your input to NSS Now is welcomed and appreciated.
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