A program supported by CSTEP (the New York State Education Department), Title V

(the U.S. Department of Education), and CCRAA (the U. S. Department of Education), with additional financial support through LSAMP (the National Science Foundation)

Annual Progress Report: October 1, 2010 – September 30, 2011 Senior Personnel: Anthony Carpi, Nathan Lents, Lawrence Kobilinsky, Ronald Pilette Other Personnel: Teeshavi Narayne, Heather Falconer

Report Date: November 2011

2010-2011 Year Progress As detailed in our first annual progress report dated 2006-2007, PRISM was

established in fall 2006 to promote the expansion of undergraduate research in the science programs at John Jay College. In that first year, thirteen students shared in $21,000 of funding. Now having completed its fifth year of operation, the program has greatly expanded and has had a profound influence on promoting undergraduate science research at the college. In the 2010-2011 academic year, thirty-nine students shared in $152,800 of stipend support, $26,000 in materials and supplies support, and $14,000 in travel support. In addition, $239,000 was made available through PRISM to faculty in the Department of Sciences to update and upgrade research equipment used in the course of student mentoring. Fifteen students participated in non-funded research (all are expected to be funded during the current academic year). Twenty-two students participated in our post-second year research training courses. Additionally, many more science majors were exposed to PRISM via attendance at one or more PRISM events held throughout the year.

The quality of undergraduate research continues at a high level. Students engaged in research averaged well over 300 hours in their time commitment. Each of those who received college credit for research performed over 400 hours of mentor-supervised research. Four students are authors or co-authors of research published this past year or in-press. One student won a second prize in his respective science category at the Annual CSTEP Statewide Student Research Conference (CSTEP is comprised of 50 colleges and universities located in New York State). Nine PRISM students presented their work at national or regional conferences outside of the College and at three meetings at the College. PRISM student Konrad Ornatowski was the college valedictorian for 2011. The fourth annual John Jay College PRISM Undergraduate Research Symposium was held on May 13, 2011 as part of the annual college-wide Celebrating Student Research & Creativity event. The PRISM Symposium was attended by over 75 students, faculty, and administrators. The event featured an invited talk from a former John Jay College undergraduate student, Dr. Kimberly Papadantonakis, who earned her PhD in Chemistry in 2008 from the California Institute of Technology. Twenty-seven PRISM students presented posters at the event and one student, Richard Piszczatowski, gave an oral presentation as winner of the annual prize for outstanding undergraduate research.

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At the annual PRISM January Information Day for first-year Forensic Science majors, PRISM students presented posters and discussed their research interests, invited speakers gave talks on career options, and program information was distributed. Post second year research training continued, and two training courses were held in January and June to accommodate all students interested and eligible for undergraduate research. The training courses introduced the process of conducting scientific research, from literature searching, to understanding scientific writing, and hands-on laboratory exercises to orient students to laboratory research work. Faculty also discussed the importance of research as well as how they first became interested in science and research. At a two-day writing intensive session for post-first year students, laboratory safety training and scientific writing were emphasized. Outreach to partnering community colleges continued. Faculty from John Jay College continued to serve as seminar speakers at Queensborough Community College for their research seminar series as a means of outreach. Also, the PIs continued to work with the Borough of Manhattan Community College to assure curricula alignment. A comprehensive GRE course was offered. A trip was made to new Haven, Connecticut to visit the Peabody Museum, Beinecke Rare Books Library, and Yale University campus.

The first PRISM Chronicle of Undergraduate Research, a publication that includes short biographies and research abstracts of projects undertaken during the 2009-2010 year was produced in fall 2010. This was followed with the summer 2011 publication of the second Chronicle for the 2010-2011 year. Further, a Program website was established along with a PRISM Facebook page to improve the dissemination of information to students. These efforts fulfill the “Near-Term Goals” set in the 2009-2010 Annual Report.

Three 2011 graduates of the PRISM program were accepted and are now enrolled in graduate schools. Davonne Auguste is a MS student in Forensic Science at John Jay College, Alicia Williams is a MS student in Criminal Justice at John Jay College, and Amora Mayo-Perez is a MS student in Biomedical Sciences at the University of South Florida Health College of Medicine. Another nine graduates are employed as lecturers and/or lab technicians at the College. Most are continuing with their research and also plan on applying to graduate school. Several others are employed in the field of science. Near-Term Goals Despite the overall success of current efforts, there is still progress that can be made. We will continue to increase the dissemination of the program both internally and externally. We will be making special efforts to further establish and maintain contact with PRISM alumni and report on their achievements to current PRISM students.

In respect to the size of the Program, we do not expect that the numbers of students to rise significantly in the near future as nearly half of all students who graduate with a Bachelors degree in Forensic Science are engaged in research through PRISM. Given that the Forensic Science program also maintains an alternate capstone experience for students wishing to enter professional employment immediately upon graduation, an external laboratory internship, we project that PRISM will continue to serve approximately half of the students in the program with the remainder participating in the external internship program. We are continuing to reach out to faculty and students in the

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Department of Mathematics and Computer Information Science. Two of our PRISM students this past year were CIS majors.

This year, we will continue research training with second year students during the winter intersession and summer session. The intent is to make it possible for qualified students to start research under a mentor’s guidance in the summer after their second year in the major. We plan to continue the development of training classes in laboratory safety as well as to emphasize the development of scientific writing skills in these sessions. The Program also expects to continue to expand the resources we provide to student researchers, including laboratory notebooks, USB data drives, and other supplies.

We will continue outreach to several of the CUNY community colleges, especially the Borough of Manhattan Community College and Queensborough Community College, to identify potential transfer students who often miss out on undergraduate research opportunities, as they do not often have such opportunities in their junior college years, and do not learn about our program in a timely fashion when they transfer to the College. In Memoriam On January 21, 2011, PRISM lost a special member of our program with the death of Dr. Diana Friedland. Diana assisted with the development of PRISM’s undergraduate research training course, mentored dozens of undergraduates in her laboratory, and helped facilitate a variety of PRISM activities. She was a significant champion of our undergraduate research efforts, always willing to lend advice and counseling to students, and contributing to the growth and development of research throughout our Department. Diana’s work has touched the lives of many of our current and former students and, through her efforts, many have gone on to become respected scientists in their own right. Her humor, wit, and mentorship will be sorely missed.

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Funded Research Students Name Mentor

1. Davonne Auguste ( Kocak ) 2. Ankit Bhatta ( Li ) 3. Sasha Brito ( Kocak ) 4. Mekeisha Cadougan ( Korobkova ) 5. Iriving Campoverde ( Proni ) 6. Danielle Carthorne ( Kubic ) 7. Catherine Chamnamkool ( Korobkova ) 8. Roselynn Cordero ( Proni ) 9. Natasha Dalton ( Proni ) 10. James Field ( Proni ) 11. Eugene Gonzalez-Lopez ( Cheng ) 12. Christina Hui ( Carpi ) 13. Karry Johnston ( Korobkova ) 14. Sandy Kong ( Champeil ) 15. Ying Lin ( Cheng ) 16. Lidissy Liriano ( Li ) 17. Melinda Liu ( Korobkova ) 18. Micheal Lugo ( Lents ) 19. Elaan Lukasiewicz ( Champeil ) 20. Amora Mayo-Perez ( Carpi ) 21. Dominika Mucha ( He ) 22. William Ng ( Roberts ) 23. Konrad Ornatowski ( Friedland/Cheng ) 24. Latoyia Patrick Saunders( Champeil ) 25. Richard Pisczatowski ( Lents ) 26. Elliot Quinteros ( Roberts ) 27. Andrea Saenz ( Proni ) 28. Eva Santos ( Carpi ) 29. Christopher Shaw ( Friedland/Rauceo ) 30. Laura Singh ( Corthals ) 31. Anna Stoll ( Cheng ) 32. Leonid Sukala ( Rauceo ) 33. Jennifer Teubl ( Rauceo ) 34. Michael Tsamis ( Khan / Lents ) 35. Justin Walters ( Friedland/Cheng ) 36. Stephanie Watson ( Champeil ) 37. Alicia Williams ( Korobkova ) 38. Cindi-Ann Williams ( Cheng ) 39. Ayaka Yamada ( Friedland/Cheng )

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Non-funded Research Students Name Mentor

1. Mohanram Bassit ( Korobkova ) 2. Gabrielle Benitez ( Korobkova) 3. Danequa Carter ( Li ) 4. Kristi Cho ( Champeil ) 5. Shoronia Cross ( Lents ) 6. Alandra Mitchell ( Rauceo ) 7. Steven Pineman ( Corthals ) 8. Baibhav Rawal ( Korobkova ) 9. Yessica Saenz ( Li ) 10. Cindy Sandoval ( Champeil ) 11. Milena Seecoomar ( Kocak ) 12. Sarah Seda ( Champeil ) 13. Steven Schultheiss ( Kubic ) 14. Davinleys Tahan ( He ) 15. Szilvia Tobak ( Lents ) PRISM Graduates 2011 Name Mentor 1. Davonne Auguste ( Kocak ) 2. Sasha Brito ( Kocak ) 3. Mekeisha Cadougan ( Korobkova ) 4. Christina Hui ( Carpi ) 5. Sandy Kong ( Champeil ) 6. Ying Lin ( Cheng ) 7. Melinda Liu ( Korobkova ) 8. Michael Lugo ( Lents ) 9. Elaan Lukasiewicz ( Champeil ) 10. Amora Mayo-Perez ( Carpi ) 11. Dominika Mucha ( He ) 12. William Ng ( Roberts ) 13. Konrad Ornatowski ( Friedland/Cheng ) 14. Latoyia Patrick-Saunders ( Champeil ) 15. Richard Piszczatowski ( Lents ) 16. Christopher Shaw ( Friedland/Rauceo ) 17. Laura Singh ( Corthals )

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18. Michael Tsamis ( Khan/ Lents ) 19. Stephanie Watson ( Champeil ) 20. Alicia Williams ( Korobkova ) 21. Ayaka Yamada ( Friedland/Rauceo ) Second Year Research Training Course - 2011 These training courses covered a variety of topics in over 20 hours of class and laboratory meetings. Classroom and laboratory topics included Scientific Writing, Ethics in Science & Medicine; Responsible Conduct in Scientific Research; Introduction to Literature Searching for the Scientist; Introduction to Protocol/ Experimental Design; Introduction to Acid/Base Chemistry; Buffers and Protein Quantification; Introduction to Data Analysis Techniques and Introduction to Laboratory Techniques for Bio-Chemical Research. Many of the students also visited the Peabody Museum and Yale University. January 2011 (Anthony Carpi - Instructor)

1. Ashley Almonte 8. Mandy Lau 2. Gabrielle Benitez 9. Steven Pineman 3. Catherine Chamnankool 10. Milena Seecoomar 4. Mircea Comanescu 11. Davinleys Tahan 5. Francine Gallimore 12. Jennifer Teubl 6. Krystal Haislop 13. Carlos Texeria 7. Anthony LaRocca 14. Szilvia Tobak

June 2011 (Anthony Carpi, Jason Rauceo, & Marcel Roberts – Instructors)

1. Ashley Almonte 10. Alandra Mitchell 2. Tamykah Anthony 11. Steven Pineman 3. Mohanram Bassit 12. Baibhav Rawal 4. Gabrielle Benitez 13. Yessica Saenz 5. Danequa Carter 14. Cindy Sandoval 6. Mircea Comanescu 15. Milena Seecoomar 7. Kristi Cho 16. Sarah Seda 8. Shoronia Cross 17. Steven Schultheis 9. Anthony LaRocca 18. Davinleys Tahan 19. Szilvia Tobak

June 28th and June 30th Post First Year Science Article/Writing Workshop

1. Mohanram Bassit 6. Heather Kilkenny 2. Shoronia Cross 7. Xiao Shan Law 3. April Davis 8. Catherine Minaya 4. Tracy Dong 9. Arifa Persaud 5. Julia Ho

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Awards Justin Walters was selected as recipient of the second place award for his poster presentations at the Annual CSTEP Conference Richard Piszczatowski was selected as the recipient of the 2010-2011 Outstanding Science Undergraduate Research Student at John Jay College John Jay College Scholarship Winners

1. Eugene Gonzalez Lopez 2. Michael Lugo 3. Dominika Mucha 4. Konrad Ornatowski 5. Steven Pineman 6. Richard Piszczatowski

Publications

1. “Benoit Levasseur, Eugene Gonzalez-Lopez, Joseph A. Rossin, and Teresa J. Bandosz “Effect of Reduction Treatment on Copper Modified Activated Carbons on NOx Adsorption at Room Temperature” Langmuir 2011 27 (9), 5354-5365

2. Lesar. C.T., Decatur J., Luckasiewicz E., Champeil E.“Identification of Gamma-

Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and Gamma-Butyrolactone (GBL) in beverages using NMR and the PURGE solvent-suppression technique”. Forensic Science International 212, 2011 40.

3. Quinones, J.L., Carpi, A. (2011) “An investigation of the kinetic processes

influencing mercury emissions from sand and soil samples of varying thickness,” Journal of Environmental Quality, 40:647-652.

Oral Presentations 1. Piszczatowski, R. Lents, N. ( 2011)” Characterizing the role of myeloid zinc

finger-1 (MZF-1) as a transcription factor in the regulation of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF)” , Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

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Presentations 1. Auguste, D. Kocak, A.(2011) “ Studying the Effects of illicit and Antipsychotic

Drugs on Hair Melanin Using Attenuated totalReflection –Infrared Spectroscopy”, Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

2. Bhatta, A. Li,R. (2011)” Application of Clostridiopeptidase for DNA Isolation”,

Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

3. Brito, S. Kocak, A. (2011) “ Studying the Effects of illicit and Antipsychotic

Drugs on Hair Melanin Using Attenuated totalReflection –Infrared Spectroscopy”, Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

4. Cadougan, M. Korobkova, E. (2011) “The Effect of Industrial Pollutants on

DNA”, Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

5. Campoverde, I. Proni, G. (2011) “NMR- Based Study of Urines of Opioids-

Overdosed Patients” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

6. Carthorne, D. Kubic, T. (2011) “ Establishing a pigment database using FTIR and

Raman Spectroscopy” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

7. Chamankool, C. Korobkova, E. (2011) “How Mammalian cells respond to

oxidative stress: kinetic studies” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

8. Cordero, R. Proni, G. (2011) “ New zinc porphyrin tweezers in a host-guest

complex: Absolute configuration determination of Diamines” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

9. Dalton, N. Proni, G. (2011) “ Absolute configurational assignment of a self-

assembling light harvesting porphyrin using the tweezer approach” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

10. Field, J. Proni, G. (2011) “Determination of the freshness of fish via HPLC

determination of ATP and Amines Derivatives” Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

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11. Gonzalez-Lopez, E. Cheng, S. (2011) “ The role of microtubule on Dithiocarbamate cytotoxcity”, Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

12. Hui, C., Carpi, A. (2011) “Mercury emissions from soil in response to simulated

precipitation events,” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

13. Hui, C., Carpi, A. (2011) “Mercury emissions from soil in response to simulated

precipitation events,” Poster Presentation at the 10th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 24-29 2011

14. Karry, J. Korobkova, E. (2011) “ Antidepressant and dye effects on DNA”, Prism

Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

15. Kong, W. Champeil, E.( 2011) “ Synthesis of Alpha MC adduct” , Prism

Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011 -

16. Kong W., Luckaziewitcz E., Champeil E.(2011) “ Synthesis of DNA adducts of Mytomicin C at the exocyclic N2 position of Guanine ” American Chemical Society national meeting, Anaheim, California, 2011. -

17. Kong W., Luckaziewitcz E., Champeil E. (2010) “ Organic synthesis of DNA-adducts of Mytomicin C ” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY 2009, 2010

18. Lin, Y. Cheng, S. (2011) “ Effects of antioxidants on the cytotoxicity of dithiocarbamates” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

19. Liriano, L. Li, R. (2011) “ Isolating DNA from bone samples for Forensic

Analysis” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

20. Liu, M. Korobkova, E.(2011) “ Mechanisms of DNA binding to tricyclic

antidepressants” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

21. Lukasiewicz, E. Champeil,E. (2011) “ Synthesis of the Alpha MC adduct”, Prism

Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

22. Mayo-Perez, A. Carpi, A. (2011) “ The potential role of silicon dioxide as an

oxidizing surface in strong sunlight: studies on Mercury behavior”, Prism

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Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

23. Mucha, D. He,Y. (2011) “ Determination of Trace level residues in natural water

samples”, Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

24. Ng, W. Roberts, M. ( 2011) “ Development of a fingerprint scanner device for the

determination of metabolites from unlawful substances”, Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

25. Ornatowski, K. Cheng,S. (2011) “ Binding and depurination studies of PAP on Ribosomes isolated from yeast ( saccharomyces cerevisiae) cells”, Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

26. Patrick Saunders L., Champeil E. (2011)“ Microwave assisted reactions of Deoxyguanosine at positions C-6 and C-2” , Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011 -

27. Patrick Saunders L., Champeil E. (2011)“ Use of microwave radiations for nucleophilic substitutions at the N2 and O6 positions of guanine ” American Chemical Society national meeting, Anaheim, California, 2011. -

28. Piszczatowski, R. Lents, N. ( 2011)” Characterizing the role of myeloid zinc finger-1 (MZF-1) as a transcription factor in the regulation of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF)” , Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

29. Piszczatowski R (presenting author), Lugo M, and Lents NH(2011) MZF-1 regulates CTGF Expression in the Hematopoietic Compartment, Gordon Research Seminar, Cell Biology of Megakaryocytes and Platelets Galveston, TX; 19-Mar 2011.

30. Quinteros,E. Roberts, R. (2011) “ Surface modification for the development of novel drug detection and fingerprint scanner” , Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

31. Saenz,A. Proni, G.(2011) “Supramolecular properties of Porphyrin-Guanosine conjugates”, , Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

32. Santos, E. Carpi, A.( 2011)” Effects of flushing flow rate in mercury flux”, , Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

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33. Shaw,C. Rauceo,J.( 2011) “ Synthesis of Candida albicans ALS1 Mutant vectors”, , Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

34. Singh, L. Corthals, A.(2011)” Tracing the epidemiology of multiple sclerosis based on genes and the environment”, Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

35. Stoll, A. Cheng,S.( 2011) “Role of Alpha-Synuclein in the potentiated effects of

Dithiocarbamates on MPP+ cytotoxicity” , Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

36. Sukala, L. Rauceo,J.(2011) “ Development of mutant strains expressing different

domains of the C. Albicans ALS1p adhesion” , Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

37. Teubl,J. Rauceo,J. (2011) “Candida albicans sko1Δ/ Δ and hog1Δ/ Δ mutant

phenotype under osmotic stress and functional conservation of Candida albicans SKo1p i n Saccharomyces cervisiae” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

38. Tsamis,M. Khan (2011) “ Sonification of Network traffic” Prism Undergraduate

Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

39. Walters,J. Cheng,S. (2011) “The toxic mechanism of manganese nanoparticles in PC-12 cells” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011 -

40. Watson, S., Sellers, S. Champeil E.( 2010) Analysis of reduced mitomycin C products by HPLC Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY 2010 -

41. Watson, S. Champeil,E. (2011) “Investigating t he Reactivity of Aziridinomitosenes Towards Various Nucleophiles” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

42. Williams,A. Korobkova,E. (2011) “Interactions of Tricyclic Ant i depressants

with DNA: A Role of peroxidase Catalysis and Intercalation” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

43. Williams, C. Cheng, S. (2011)” Maneb and Mancozeb Enhance MPP+ Toxicity

Through Activation of NF-kappa B Signaling Pathway” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

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44. Williams, C. Cheng, S. (2011) “ Dendritic Cell Therapy: An investigation of IL-12p70 production and maturation in Dendritic Cells” Leadership Alliance National Symposium (LANS) 2011, Old Greenwich, Connecticut, July 29-31, 2011

45. Williams, C. Cheng, S. (2011) “ Dendritic Cell Therapy: An investigation of IL-

12p70 production and maturation in Dendritic Cells” American Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) 2011, St. Louis, Missouri, November 9-12, 2011.

46. Yamada,A. Cheng, S.(2011) “Equi librium Binding Properties of Pokeweed

Antiviral Protein to the Cap Analog m7GTP under Varying Chemical and Physical Conditions” Prism Undergraduate Science Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY May 13,2011

Conferences attended at which PRISM students made presentations Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, March 6-10, 2011 Gordon Research Conference on Cell Biology of Megakaryocytes and Platelets, Galveston, TX, March 19-20, 2011

American Chemistry Society National Meeting, Anaheim, CA, March 26-31, 2011 19h Annual CSTEP Conference, Lake George, NY, April 1-3, 2011.

LSAMP - Urban University Conference Series 2010, New York City, NY, April, 2011 PRISM Research Symposium, John Jay College, New York, NY, May 13th, 2011 Leadership Alliance National Symposium (LANS) 2011, Old Greenwich, Connecticut, July 29-31, 2011