CCNY’s ABRCMS winners from left: Ken Pardo, Arfath Chowdhury, Cesar Sanchez and Merna Shohdy. Litsi Auquilla is in the insert.
Five City College of New York undergraduates from the Division of Science were winners at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS) in San Antonio, Texas. The conference attracted close to 5,000 participants – including graduate students, researchers, scientists and exhibitors.
Following are details about CCNY’s triumphant ABRCMS quintet, their majors, subject matter and project titles:
- Litsi Auquilla, junior, biomedical science; social and behavioral sciences and public health, “Comparing Environmental and Clinical Characteristics of Lung Cancer Across New York State Counties”;
- Arfath Chowdhury, senior, biomedical science; social and behavioral sciences and public health, “Bridging Gaps in Cancer Care: A Mixed-Methods Approach to Investigating Cancer Care Barriers, Facilitators, and Outcomes for Patients with Emergency Medicaid”;
- Ken Pardo, sophomore, CUNY BA-Neuroscience; computational biology, “Quantifying Strategy in Judo: Integrating Pose Estimation and Behavioral Scoring of Match Dynamic”;
- Cesar Sanchez, junior, biotechnology; Immunology, “Adaptive Evolution Analysis of Immunometabolic Hexokinase Genes”; and
- Merna Shohdy, senior, biomedical science; social and behavioral sciences and public health, “Evaluating the ICCAN Intervention to Improve Quality of Life and Treatment Adherence in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Patients: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.”
Auquilla, Chowdhury and Shohdy are members of The City College of New York- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (CCNY-MSKCC) PURT (Partnership Undergraduate Research Training) program. Pardo and Sanchez, meanwhile, participated in the Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE) and the City Academy for Professional Preparation (CCAPP) programs.
ABRCMS is one of the largest, professional conferences for underrepresented minority students to pursue advanced professional development skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. At the event, students are given the opportunity to present their research, explore graduate schools, and network with other students and researchers to expand their connections and opportunities. Recipient of the 2019 AIMBE Excellence in STEM Education Award, ABRCMS has been the go-to conference for historically excluded community college, undergraduate and postbaccalaureate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers, and society. At City College, more than 16,500 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity, and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together,” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College's mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic, and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Jay Mwamba
p: 917.892.0374
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jmwamba@ccny.cuny.edu