More than 40 high school and undergraduate researchers at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC presented their summer findings during a symposium attended by faculty, staff, students, and families. The poster presentations marked the end of the summer research fellowship programs hosted on Virginia Tech’s Health Sciences and Technology campus in Roanoke and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute’s Cancer Research Center in Washington, D.C.

“We have undergraduates at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute all the time,” said James Smyth, an associate professor who formalized the institute’s first summer programs in 2017. “But they are part of a larger community here during the summer. One of the main ways that synergizes is through the symposia at the end of the programs.”

In addition to his lab at the institute, Smyth is associate professor with the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science. He also recently received a Postdoc Faculty Mentor Award from Virginia Tech for his work developing and enacting his mentoring philosophies.

“With their research projects, we have a poster presentation to celebrate and have them present their work,” Smyth said. “I think that’s very rewarding for them because not only do they get to see the different things going on, but they get to appreciate the diversity of science.”

Each summer, high school and  undergraduate university students from across the United States gather at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute to immerse themselves in research projects focused on biomedical science, health, and medicine.

Roanoke high schooler Moyo Dinakin discovered the program last year when she saw a bus advertisement inviting students to apply to the Center for Health Behaviors Research’s summer program. It was the first time she had considered a career as a researcher. Now in the program for a second year, Dinakin is a peer mentor for new participants.

While many of this summer’s fellows were on Virginia Tech’s Roanoke campus for the first time, others like Dinakin were familiar with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. Airinés González Velázquez is another two-time fellow and a rising senior at the University of Puerto Rico. After spending the summer of 2021 in the Smyth Lab, Gonzalez Velazquez changed her career goals.

“I thought I could only do medical school,” González Velázquez said. “But I did this and I saw that you can also do biomedical research, which I had never been exposed to. I like understanding the mechanisms of the different diseases that I’ll be studying in medical school and potentially discovering new mechanisms.”

Tyler Roberts, a pre-medical student at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, applied to the summer undergraduate research fellowship program because he is interested in improving human health. His research focused on infant epilepsy in the neurobiology-focused lab of Sharon Swanger, assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.

“It was really rewarding to know that the work I’m doing is meaningful and helping us get closer to finding a cure or a treatment or a therapy for this disease to help ease the burden for those afflicted by it,” Roberts said.

Students in the summer program come to the institute with varied career interests. Some entered with clinical professional goals that became more research-oriented as the program progressed. Others applied to the fellowship program because they wanted to continue their work with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.

Throughout the academic year, many faculty welcome local undergraduate students to the institute, where they can work as research assistants in a designated lab. Aaron Pozo-Aranda, a neuroscience major at Virginia Tech, was already a research assistant in Swanger’s lab when he applied to participate in the summer program.

While at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Pozo-Aranda often shared his experiences with classmates and professors on the Blacksburg campus — most of whom have no direct affiliation with the Roanoke-based institute. But Pozo-Aranda said he had “a lot of support from Blacksburg, from the lab, and from the institute as a whole.”

Pozo-Aranda anticipates pursuing a doctoral degree after graduation. After his experience at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, he named Virginia Tech as his top choice.

“We are grateful to make even the slightest impression on what each student decides to embark on in the future,” said Alexandria Pilot Chambers, assistant director of operations for the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute’s Center for Neurobiology Research. Pilot Chambers helped formalize and develop the summer programs and is a yearly point of contact. “It’s an honor to watch them develop their skills and continue onward to start careers in the health sciences and beyond.”

After the poster session, the symposium ended with an awards ceremony recognizing students’ work. Faculty, staff, and graduate students associated with the institute volunteered to judge the presentations. Several undergraduate students, including Pozo-Aranda, won awards:

  • Jackie Gregasavitch, Genevieve Jean-Pierre, and Sarah Lathrop, first place; Harbal Rai, second place; and Izabella Dunlap, third place, were recognized for the visual elements of their posters.
  • Harbal Rai, first place; Izabella Dunlap and Jackie Gregasavitch, Genevieve Jean-Pierre, and Sarah Lathrop, second place tie; and Aaron Golden,third place, were recognized for oral presentation of their posters.
  • Sophia Schumaecker, Harbal Rai, Cassidy Henderson, Jackie Gregasavitch, Genevieve Jean-Pierre, and Sarah Lathrop, first place tie; Reese Dunkenberger, Izabella Dunlap, and Aaron Golden, second place tie; Zaujia Athumani, Jaden Harris, Aaron Pozo-Aranda, and Tyler Roberts, third place tie, were recognized for their acquisition of knowledge related to the research project.
  • Harbal Rai received the highest overall rating and the award for best overall presentation. Jackie Gregasavitch, Genevieve Jean-Pierre, and Sarah Lathrop, CUBE SURF, received the second-highest overall rating. Izabella Dunlap received the third-highest overall rating.

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