2019 Alumni
SPARK continued its trajectory of success in 2019, when 27 students completed the program. Four of those students were also 2018 scholars. Meet the 2019 alumni and learn more about their achievements during their SPARK term.
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Avani Bansal
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: The Bolles School
Research: Avani's research with Nilufer Ertekin-Taner, M.D., Ph.D. focused on Alzheimer's disease association with vitamin D pathway genes and gene expression. Avani presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NEFRSEF). She received a special award for outstanding senior project, second place, in medicine and health from the Office Environments and Services at NEFRSEF, and she was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. Avani is studying biological anthropology at George Washington University’s 7-Year B.A./M.D. Program.
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Sally Barksdale
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: Episcopal School of Jacksonville
Research: Sally worked with Keith L. Knutson, Ph.D. focusing her research on the effect of anti-PD1 and anti-PDL1 on the cytokine profile and immune system. Sally presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NEFRSEF). She received a special award for project excellence, first place, in biochemistry from Johnson and Johnson at NEFRSEF, and she was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. She received first place at the Episcopal School of Jacksonville Science Fair in biological science and first place at the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at the University of Florida. She was named a bronze winner for her project at the 2020 Virtual Edition INSPO Research & Innovation Competition. Sally planned to compete at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2021 with a computer science project inspired by her work during SPARK. Sally graduated as valedictorian of Episcopal School of Jacksonville in 2021. She is currently attending Harvard.
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Ashton Body
Term: 2018 (junior), 2019 (senior)
School: Episcopal School of Jacksonville
Research: Ashton's research with Debabrata (Dev) Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D. focused on designing a targeted nanoparticle formulation for drug-resistant breast cancer stem cells. Ashton presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and at the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair, 2019 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida, and the 2019 International Science and Engineering Fair, where she earned the third place grand award in biochemistry. During her second year of SPARK in 2019, Ashton's work focused on drug delivery and metastatic cancer, furthering her drug delivery system research from the previous year. Ashton was named a top 300 scholar in the Regeneron Science Talent Search for 2020. She received first place at the Episcopal School of Jacksonville Science Fair in biological science. Ashton planned to attend Harvard University and major in biochemistry or anthropology. Ashton was hired as a laboratory technician to continue working in Dr. Mukhopadhyay’s lab for the summer of 2021.
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Natalie Byron
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: Ponte Vedra High School
Research: Natalie's research with Leonard Petrucelli, Ph.D. focused on biomarker discovery for spinocerebellar ataxia 3. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the St. Johns County Science Fair, where she received honorable mention in the senior biomedical/cellular/microbiology division. Natalie is majoring in Biochemistry at Rice University.
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Kaitlyn Copland
Term: 2019 (senior)
School: Ponte Vedra High School
Research: Kaitlyn's research with Hugo Guerrero Cazares, M.D., Ph.D. focused on neural stem cell organization, proliferation and proteome changes in response to lateral ventricle proximal glioblastoma. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the St. Johns County Science Fair (SJCSF). She received honorable mention in the senior biomedical/cellular/microbiology division at SJCSF. Kaitlyn planned to study marine biology at Eckerd College. Kaitlyn is majoring in marine biology with a double minor in film studies and Japanese at Eckerd College.
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Skyler Demi
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: Ponte Vedra High School
Research: Skyler worked with Katelyn A. Bruno, Ph.D. focusing on sex differences in the effects of vitamin D and sex hormones on patients with hypertension. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the St. Johns County Science Fair (SJCSF). Skyler received a second-place award from Mu Alpha Theta in senior mathematics and computational sciences. She was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. Skyler is majoring in chemical engineering and will be in the honors college at Auburn University.
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Nihar Ettigi
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: The Bolles School
Research: Nihar's research with Nilufer Taner, M.D., Ph.D. focused on developing a MACS approach to isolate specific cell populations from brain tissue using a cell culture model. Nihar presented his project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NFRSEF). He was awarded fourth place in the Medicine/Health category at NFRSEF in 2020. Nihar is majoring in neuroscience at Emory University.
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Sarah Fraga
Term: 2019 (senior)
School: Ponte Vedra High School
Research: Sara worked with Thomas Caulfield, Ph.D. focusing on computational modeling and assessment of novel serine protease inhibitors for better drug behavior. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the St. Johns County Science Fair (SJCSF). She received first place in senior math at SJCSF and was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. Sarah planned to major in biomedical engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology.
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Ned Franklin
Term: 2019 (senior)
School: Douglas Anderson School of Arts
Research: Ned's research with Debabrata (Dev) Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D. focused on nanoparticle-mediated actin reorganization. He presented his project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NEFRSEF). He received a special award for outstanding senior project, second place, in medicine and health from the Office Environments and Services at NEFRSEF. Ned is double majoring in environmental studies and music education at the University of North Florida.
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Marlon Brandon Griggs
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: Robert E. Lee High School
Research: Brandon's research with Joy Emelie (Joy) V. Wolfram, Ph.D. focused on extracellular vesicles as a therapeutic protein delivery system. He presented his project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NEFRSEF). Brandon received a special award for project excellence, first place, in medicine and health from Johnson and Johnson at NEFRSEF. Brandon is majoring in applied math and biology in the 8-year Program in Liberal Medical Education at Brown University.
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Yash Gulani
Term: 2019 (senior)
School: The Bolles School
Research: Yash's research with Debabrata (Dev) Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D. focused on analyzing the role of neuropilin-1 knockdown on conventional chemotherapy in glioblastoma. He presented his project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NEFRSEF). He received a special award for excellence in plant or animal in vitro biology or cell culture from the Society for in Vitro Biology at NEFRSEF and was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida and the International Science and Engineering Fair. Yash is studying health and human biology and economics on a pre-med track at Brown University.
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Monica Gupta
Term: 2019 (senior)
School: Stanton College Preparatory School
Research: Monica worked with Takahisa Kanekiyo, M.D., Ph.D. focusing her research on the effect of CGRP on human brain vascular smooth muscle cell properties. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Monica planned to study biochemistry at the University of Miami. Monica returned to research through Mayo Clinic's 2021 SURF program.
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Stephanie Hernandez
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: Ponte Vedra High School
Research: Stephanie's research with Abba C. Zubair, M.D., Ph.D. focused on the role of mitochondria in the aging of mesenchymal stem cells with implications for cell-based therapy. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the St. Johns County Science Fair (SJCSF). Stephanie received a special award for second place in senior biomedical/cellular/microbiology from the Florida Association of Science Teachers at SJCSF and was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. Stephanie is majoring in microbiology at the University of Florida with hopes of obtaining a Ph.D. in microbiology.
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Ylliah Jin
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: The Bolles School
Research: Ylliah's research with Abba C. Zubair, M.D., Ph.D. focused on the effect of MSC-derived extracellular vesicles on cell proliferation. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Ylliah was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. Ylliah is attending Wellesley College.
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Grace Littler
Term: 2019 (senior)
School: Ponte Vedra High School
Research: Grace's research with Joy Emelie (Joy) V. Wolfram, Ph.D. focused on the effects of hyaluronic acid through enzymatic digestion in cancer cell-derived extracellular vesicles. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and at the St. Johns County Science Fair (SJCSF). She received a special award for first place in senior biomedical/cellular/microbiology from St. Johns County Medical Alliance at SJCSF and was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida and the International Science and Engineering Fair. Grace is majoring in chemical engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology.
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Ella Markovsky
Term: 2019 (senior)
School: Creekside High School
Research: Ella worked with Baoan Ji, M.D., Ph.D. focusing her research on evaluating effects in protein levels after Aurora kinase A inhibition. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the St. Johns County Science Fair. Ella is majoring in biology in Florence, Italy through a Florida State University international program.
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Rishi Misra
Term: 2018 (junior), 2019 (senior)
School: The Bolles School
Research: Rishi worked in the Cell Adhesion and Metastasis Lab of Panagiotis (Panos) Z. Anastasiadis, Ph.D. studying the role of adhesion molecule PLEKHA7 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Rishi presented his project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair, The Bolles School Science and Engineering Fair, and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NEFRSEF) in 2019 and 2020. He received a special award for best senior medicine and health project from the University of Florida College of Medicine at NEFRSEF 2020 and was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. Rishi is majoring in history of science, medicine and public health at Yale University.
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D'Andrea Murray
Term: 2019 (senior)
School: William M. Raines High School
Research: D'Andrea's research with Verline Justilien, Ph.D. focused on lung squamous cell carcinoma ECT2 gene overexpression. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair. D'Andrea is majoring in chemistry at University of North Florida.
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Imran Nasrullah
Term: 2019 (senior)
School: Stanton College Preparatory School
Research: Imran's research with John A. Copland III, Ph.D. focused on HER2-positive breast cancer. He presented his project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair. He is majoring in biomedical engineering on the pre-med track at the University of Florida, focusing on mathematics, chemistry and biomolecular engineering.
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Telvia Perez
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: The Bolles School and Lake Highland Preparatory School
Research: Telvia's research with Kaisorn L. Chaichana, M.D. focused on the expression of mechanosensora in metastatic non-small lung cancer cells to prolonged fluid stress. Telvia presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NEFRSEF). She received a second-place award for project excellence in biochemistry from Johnson and Johnson at NEFRSEF. Telvia is majoring in neuroscience at Columbia University.
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Victoria Pham
Term: 2018 (junior), 2019 (senior)
School: Ponte Vedra High School
Research: Victoria worked in the Tumor Angiogenesis and Vascular Biology Lab of Debabrata (Dev) Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D. and with Mayo Clinic molecular biology researcher Ying Wang, M.D., Ph.D., on screening novel anti-inflammatory small molecules in endothelial cells. She presented at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair; the Academy of Biotechnology and Medical Research at Ponte Vedra High School; the 8th Mayo Clinic Symposium on Tumor Microenvironment and Cancer Therapeutics: Role of Precision Medicine and Targeted Therapy in Clinical Practice; and the St. Johns County Science Fair, where she won the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Award. Victoria participated in many outreach events, including at MOSH, the Museum of Science and History in Jacksonville, where she taught children how nanoparticles work with the lab of Joy Emelie (Joy) V. Wolfram, Ph.D. In her second year in the program, Victoria continued her research on novel small molecules and their role in inflammatory diseases. She placed third in senior biomedical/cellular/microbiology at the 2020 St. Johns County Science Fair and was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. Victoria went on to attend George Washington University.
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Raha Riazati
Term: 2018 (junior), 2019 (senior)
School: Stanton College Preparatory School
Research: During both of her SPARK terms, Raha worked in the Neurogenesis and Brain Tumors Laboratory of Hugo Guerrero Cazares, M.D., Ph.D. where she studied the role of neural progenitor cells on the malignancy of glioblastoma cells in vitro. Raha presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair, the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair in 2019 and 2020, the State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida in 2019 and 2020, and the 2019 International Science and Engineering Fair. She is majoring in electrical engineering at California Institute of Technology.
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Shuangyi Kelvin Shi
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: Ponte Vedra High School
Research: Kelvin's research with Baoan Ji, M.D., Ph.D. focused on bilirubin-promoting proliferation of bile duct cells through the PTEN/AKT pathway. He presented his project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the St. Johns County Science Fair. Kelvin is majoring in biology and health science at Florida State University.
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Rachelle Smith
Term: 2019 (senior)
School: Stanton College Preparatory School
Research: Rachelle's research with Evette S. Radisky, Ph.D. focused on prostate cancer. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Rachelle is completing a double major in microbial biology and data science at the University of California Berkeley.
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Neha Sonthi
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: Stanton College Preparatory School
Research: Neha worked with Debabrata (Dev) Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D. focusing on elucidating the role of neuropilin 1 in chemotherapy drug-mediated cardiotoxicity using zebrafish embryos. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and at the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NEFRSEF). Neha received a special award for project excellence in medicine and health, second place, from Johnson and Johnson at NEFRSEF and was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. She was named a bronze winner for her project at the 2020 Virtual Edition INSPO Research & Innovation Competition. Neha is majoring in biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
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Aditi Verma
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: Stanton College Preparatory School
Research: Aditi's research with Peter Storz, Ph.D. focused on cancer stem cell properties in early pancreatic cancer development. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Aditi was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. Aditi was selected as an ISEF alternate at NFRSEF and participated in the SIGMA XI Virtual Research Symposium. Aditi is majoring in biochemistry and business administration at the University of Florida.
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Amy Yan
Term: 2019 (junior)
School: Stanton College Preparatory School
Research: Amy's research with Takahisa Kanekiyo, M.D., Ph.D. focused on converting APOE E4 to E3 using base editing technology, to ameliorate the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease. She presented her project at the Mayo Clinic SPARK Mini Science Fair and the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Amy was invited as a finalist to the 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. Amy received first place in the 11th grade division of the DCPS Secondary Science Fair in 2020. Amy is majoring in business and pre-med at Emory University.