U-RISE Trainees

2023-2025 Cohort
Mentored by Dr. Lisa Robison and Dr. Robert Speth
 
 Julianna Bonetti came to NSU with a passion for research from North New Jersey. With past research experience at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in tissue regeneration, she committed to NSU’s Razor’s Edge Research program. She is currently a third-year chemistry major with minors in research studies, pre-health, and psychology. Julianna remains very involved on campus as president of the Pressure Dance team and Inter-Organization Council (IOC) chair of the Chemistry club. Before Julianna’s acceptance into the U-RISE program, she worked as an Emergency Room medical scribe for Florida Medical Center where she learned how many patients suffer a multitude of comorbidities that directly affect their everyday life. One that caught her interest the most was the effects dementia has on a patient’s health.

Julianna is currently involved in neurodegenerative research with mentors Dr. Robert Speth and Dr. Lisa Robison. The overall ongoing research project is to determine whether anti-hypertensive drugs can work as a treatment for the neurodegenerative disease, cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Furthermore, Julianna hopes to study the effects cerebral amyloid angiopathy may have on other systems of the body apart from the neurovascular system. She anticipates graduating in May of 2025 and pursuing a Ph.D. in either Medicinal Chemistry or Pharmacology.

2023-2025 Cohort
Mentored by Dr. Dmitriy Minond

 A Florida native, Chloe Brooks-Noriega enrolled at NSU in 2021 following high school graduation and is slated to graduate in May of 2025. Chloe is studying Chemistry and Biology at NSU, with minors in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Data Analytics. With the U-RISE program, she has been focused on pharmaceutical melanoma research, specifically aiding in data analysis of RNA expression. Prior to this, Chloe participated in research on Glioblastoma, as well as the writing of a review article on the same subject.

In September of 2021, Chloe became the Secretary of Soap Box Speaks, as well as initiated enrollment in the NSU Chemistry Club and NSU Pre-pharmacy Society, both of which she’s been an active participant in since. In January 2023 she began participating in organization and planning for A Day for Children as a volunteer coordinator and acted as such during the event on October 21st. As of November, she has been selected as the lead volunteer coordinator for the upcoming year and will be helping to train the next group of coordinators and general volunteers.

Chloe worked as an independent general chemistry tutor for five months, developing educational skills and marketing her services independently, from August to December of 2022, shortly followed in January of 2023 by employment at NSU as a Lab Assistant for Organic Chemistry. She concluded this period of employment in April of 2023 and is slated to begin as an Anatomy & Physiology II lab assistant in the Winter 2024 semester.

2023-2025 Cohort
Mentored by Dr. Toshihisa Kawai
 
Maria Mercedes Castellon was born in Miami, Florida to immigrant parents from Nicaragua. She went to Jose Marti MAST 6-12 Academy for high school, during which she earned the academic award for Anatomy & Physiology and participated in the National Honor Society and Green Club. After graduation, she started her journey at Nova Southeastern University, pursuing a major in biology with a double minor in chemistry and dance. She is also part of the Hallyu Club & Dance Team and enjoys performing dance showcases on campus with them. As a URISE trainee, she is doing research on periodontal disease. Additionally, she is currently doing an independent study in chemistry which focuses on biological volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) found in native flowers to South Florida. During her summer vacation she worked in Dr. Coelho’s lab at the University of Miami where most of the projects focused on biomaterials. Apart from gaining experience in the lab, Maria has worked in OIIT at NSU as a lab monitor and IT student technician and worked in retail during the summer and winter breaks. During these experiences, she gained knowledge and skills in customer service, sales and encryption and deployment, among many others. After graduation, Maria plans to pursue a PhD with hopes to investigate the pathogenesis of different diseases and gain knowledge on microbials derived from flowers.

2023-2025 Cohort
Mentored by Dr. MaikoSuzuki
 
Melanie Mendonca is a fourth year student with majors in Behavioral Neuroscience and Biology and minors in Experiential Leadership, Honors Transdisciplinary Studies, and Pre-Health. At NSU, Melanie is a part of both Razor’s Edge Leadership and the Farquhar’s Honors College. With a deep passion for making positive change, she is in leadership for the Inter-Organizational Council. Always eager to meet new people and connect with new people, she is also an Honors Advocate for the Farquhar’s Honors College and a mentor for underclassmen through the Student Success Program. Due to her love for working with others, Melanie has held roles working as a laboratory assistant for both general and organic chemistry.

Melanie is an inquisitive individual, and as a URISE trainee, her area of research is oral sciences and translational research. Specifically, Melanie is researching epigenetic regulation in fluoride toxicity to develop a potential novel strategy targeting histone modification. In the past, Melanie has conducted DNA sequence analysis of genes from the duckweed plant Landoltia punctata and looked at how these genes compare to those found in other species by comparing Landoltia punctata sequences, as can be found as NCBI Submission - GenBank: JZ984807.1. She was selected for the prestigious research internship at MD Anderson Cancer Center and conducted research under Dr. Swathi Arur. At MD Anderson, she studied the role of ERK signaling in early embryonic development where she fell in love with reproductive biology.

Through these experiences, Melanie has fostered a love for asking questions and understanding the processes of which govern life, and what could potentially go awry due to environmental health hazards. Post graduation, Melanie plans to pursue her MD/PhD and aspires to become a reproductive toxicologist.

2024-2026 Cohort
Mentored by Dr. Lubov Nathanson
 
Chetana Movva, originally from Tampa, Florida, is currently in her third year, double majoring in biology and English, with minors in research studies, honors transdisciplinary studies, and pre-health. She is currently a Razors Edge Research scholar, a BS/DO candidate, and a member of the honors college.  She solidified her interest in pursuing research in her future career through her involvement in the Razor’s Edge research program where she completed research-focused coursework and got involved in a lab. Before her acceptance into the U-RISE program, Chetana pursued her research interest in oncology by doing a research internship where she worked on the development of Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TIL) therapy for lung and breast cancer patients. Within the U-RISE program, Chetana is currently involved in Dr. Lubov Nathanson's lab within NSU's Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, investigating the chronic illnesses of Gulf War Illness (GWI) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS). The focus of ongoing projects within Dr. Nathanson's lab is to understand the underlying mechanisms and influencing factors of these diseases.

Chetana is also heavily involved on campus as president and founder of Girl Up Florida, where she and her team have donated thousands of feminine hygiene products to the homeless population of South Florida and serves as a member of the President's 64. Outside of school, Chetana is co-president of Girl Up USA South, which oversees the Girl Up chapters in 11 different states, and has served on the International Executive Council of HOSA-Future Health Professionals with over 290,000 members worldwide as International Postsecondary/Collegiate Vice President. She anticipates graduating in May of 2026 to pursue an MD-PHD.

2024-2026 Cohort
Mentored by Dr. Kenneth Dawson-Scully
 
Carina Pavlov was born in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. During her senior year at Lewisburg Area High School, she interned in the Borland Lab at Bloomsburg University, where her passion for research bloomed, cultivating malignant melanoma cells and testing the chemotherapeutic potential of betulin-derived compounds. 

Currently, Carina is a rising junior at NSU. Her diverse, comprehensive interests led her to major in Neuroscience with minors in Pre-Health, Honors Transdisciplinary Studies, and Philosophy.
Carina recollects the formative experience she gained through volunteering in the emergency department and working as a nursing assistant at Evangelical Community Hospital. Those hands-on experiences motivated her to seek a future in the biomedical field. Carina has been conducting research in the Dawson-Scully lab, even before joining the U-RISE program. As a U-RISE trainee, Carina is involved in multiple projects, mainly evaluating the therapeutic potential of isoguvacine for epilepsy treatment; and studying the interaction between metabolic dysregulations and seizures. As a part of her U-RISE project, she is pioneering the development of dietary treatments for epilepsy evaluations in C. elegans. Her work aims to uncover underlying factors and novel strategies for managing epilepsy, contributing to the broader field of biomedical research. At NSU, she is actively involved on campus as the President of the Run Club and a member of both the Neuroscience Club and Scuba Club.

2024-2026 Cohort
Mentored by Dr. Dmitriy Minond & Dr. Taravat Ghafourian
 

2024-2026 Cohort
Mentored by Dr. Richard Deth
 
Grace Wong is a third-year student double majoring in Neuroscience and Biology with minors in Public Health and Pre-Health. Grace’s passion for research stemmed from analyzing the effects of synthetic psychedelic phenethylamine drugs on neural progenitor cells with Dr. James Munoz’s lab.  
With U-RISE, Grace is involved in Dr. Richard Deth’s lab, investigating oxidative stress and related antioxidant and methylation reactions. The Deth Lab works to identify metabolic treatment approaches for neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric, and neurodegenerative disorders, ranging from autism to Alzheimer’s disease.

Currently, her research focus is on the redox regulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and its relationship to dopamine signaling. With these experiences, Grace is keen on integrating her interests in neuroscience and public health to ultimately create better health outcomes. 
Grace’s enthusiasm for science extends beyond the lab. Through NSU, she leads at Science Alive, teaching elementary school students about the natural world during after school care. Dedicated to fostering community, Grace is a Senior Peer Leader for NSU’s First Year Experience (UNIV 1000), the Treasurer for Neuroscience Club, and member of Scuba Club. She advocates for better overall health through her volunteer work and by maintaining personal hobbies like hiking, biking, and playing water sports. With support from family and the U-RISE program, she anticipates pursuing an MD-PhD after graduation.