Eight Undergraduate STEM Students Recognized with Prestigious Jonas E. Salk Award

Scholarship Honors Legacy of '34 City College Graduate who Developed First Polio Vaccine

The City University of New York has selected eight outstanding CUNY undergraduate STEM students to receive the university's prestigious Jonas E. Salk Award, an annual scholarship granted to those accepted into medical schools or graduate programs in the biomedical sciences.

The scholarship is named in honor of Jonas E. Salk '34, the City College alumnus renowned for developing the first polio vaccine in 1955. Salk turned down a ticker tape parade in honor of his discovery and asked that the money instead be used for these scholarships. Every year since his discovery, eight students have been selected on the basis of original research papers, produced under the guidance and mentorship of CUNY professors and other prominent scientists. Each awardee will receive $8,000 over four years to defray the tuition costs of their graduate studies or medical training.

"These eight phenomenal CUNY scholars are continuing the University's storied history of serving diverse communities and advancing science and medicine. We couldn't be prouder of the work they've done and their future careers as doctors," said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez.

The eight scholars represent four CUNY colleges - Brooklyn College, Hunter College, Queens College and Macaulay Honors College - and will attend the medical schools at New York Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Stony Brook University, University at Buffalo and Weill Cornell Medicine.

The Salk Scholars award ceremony is scheduled for May 25, 2023, at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Honorees will hear from guest speakers Dr. Richard J. Bodnar, professor at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center, and Dr. Arnold Melman, president of the Society of Salk Scholars and professor of urology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Eli Berglas
Queens College
Will Attend: College of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Research Paper: "The Effects of Dopamine D1 Receptor Antagonism on Nutritive and Non-Nutritive Sweet Intake"

As a person who was always curious about science, Eli Berglas developed an interest in neuroscience that led to his desire to be a physician. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked at Monsey Health Clinic, a community clinic where he gained experience being able to help diabetic patients. He joined his college's behavioral neuroscience lab in Fall 2020 under Dr. Richard Bodnar, a psychology professor at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center, working on three major studies alongside a team of undergraduate and junior master's degree students. He believes that a career as a physician will allow him to fulfill his interest in advancing science while building trust with people. Berglas was one of two seniors recognized with the psychology department's Excellence in Neuroscience Research Award and he graduated in May 2022 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Amanda Brand
Macaulay Honors College at Queens College
Will Attend: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University
Research Paper: "The Effect of Human CD34+ Cells on Age-Related Neurogenesis and Cognition in a Mice Model of Healthy Aging"

Amanda Brand credits her younger brother, Jason, with informally teaching her the scientific method as a child. In order to empathetically engage with Jason, who was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, Brand had to observe how he behaved in their daily interactions to learn that his body language was most representative of his feelings. Starting in the neuroscience laboratory of Dr. Carolyn Pytte in Fall 2019, Brand was a consistent presence until her May 2022 graduation. Brand co-founded Queens College's Medical Ethics Society club, served as secretary of Macaulay's Art of Science club and earned a summer internship grant. She graduated summa cum laudeas a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Chaim Janani
Brooklyn College
Will Attend: Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
Research Paper: "C9orf72 Dipeptide Repeat Proteinopathy in Yeast is Accompanied by Alterations in Histone H3 and H4 Post-Translational Modifications"

Motivated by his father's growing up with the infectious disease poliomyelitis and the loss of his high school basketball coach to suicide, Chaim Janani gained an appreciation of the ripple effect that characterizes the work physicians do. Wanting to learn from his coach, who was facing the loss of both his mother and daughter to cancer, Janani shadowed physicians at New York Community Hospital who were handling similar cases. He learned from a doctor who often treated patients without requiring payment, coming across families without insurance. Janani conducted research with Brooklyn College chemistry professor Dr. Mariana Torrente starting in May 2021, and served as a director of Brooklyn College Hillel; treasurer of both the EMT and Gift of Life clubs; and served as a tutor and mentor in multiple classes. Janani will graduate next month with a bachelor's degree in chemistry.

Adriana Kaganovski
Hunter College
Will Attend: Weill Cornell Medicine
Research Paper: "A Quantitative Meta-Analysis of Metal Ion Pollution in U.S. Rivers"

At nine years old, Adriana Kaganovski watched her mother pivot from a 17-year-long career as a paralegal to enrolling in nursing school the same year she gave birth to Kaganovski's younger sister. Two years later, Kaganovski knew something was wrong when her sister complained of an itchy throat after eating a walnut, something she credits to having read her mother's nursing textbooks. Correctly determining that her sister had suffered from anaphylaxis, Kaganovski learned that knowledge and medicine had the power to save lives. Following in this spirit, she joined the lab of Hunter College chemistry professor Dr. Spiro D. Alexandratos in Fall 2020, and was involved as president of the college's chapters of the American Red Cross Club and the American Chemistry Society. She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry summa cum laudein January 2023 and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Abiha Kazmi
Brooklyn College
Will Attend: College of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Research Paper: "PIK3CA Double Mutations Increase Signaling through the PI3K Pathway and Increase PI3K Inhibitor Sensitivity in Breast Cancer"

While engaging in biochemistry research as a high school student, Abiha Kazmi received the unfortunate news that her aunt had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her aunt's eventual passing led Kazmi to dedicate herself to understanding how to treat cancer. She worked in a breast oncology clinic, learning from her mentor that she had a passion for the discipline. Kazmi is a 2021 recipient of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, a Kitch Foundation scholar and a recipient of the PBS and Stand Up to Cancer Emperor Science Award; as well, she served as a vice president for the business school's chapter of Toastmasters International. She will graduate this June with a dual bachelor's degree in sociology and biology and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Kevin Kemelmakher
Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College
Will Attend: College of Osteopathic Medicine at New York Institute of Technology
Research Paper: "Development of a TET-on System to Study the Regulation of MRGPRX4 by RAMP2"

Kevin Kemelmakher first learned about wanting to serve others through medicine through his pediatrician, who would candidly discuss medicine decisions with Kemelmakher. Through this experience, he learned that knowledge about medicine could be empowering. As a volunteer for NYU Langone's Heart Valve Center, he worked with researchers to survey patients in need of open-heart surgery. Seeing the clinical research team emphasize the patients' humanity showed Kemelmakher the successes of an empathetic approach to treatment. He worked in two labs while at Hunter and was club secretary of the Former Soviet Union Club, a community within Hunter College Hillel. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology in June 2022.

Pamella Leybengrub
Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College
Will Attend: Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
Research Paper: "Cross-Talk Studies on Oncogenic Proteins MDMX, MDM2, Mutant p53, and the DNA Repair Protein PARP"

As a volunteer at her father's Brooklyn-based pharmacy, Pamella Leybengrub developed an early interest in providing medicine to underserved communities. Inspired by the kindness of her father, who she saw pay for customers' medication if they could not afford it, Leybengrub hopes now to follow in his footsteps and lessen health inequities. She continued her trend towards this goal, helping out a local pediatrician at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and then working in the biological sciences lab of Hunter College professor Dr. Jill Bargonetti. She graduated summa cum laudewith a bachelor's degree in biology in December 2022.

Tammy Yang
Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College
Will Attend: Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo
Research Paper: "Regulation of Srs2's Anti-Checkpoint Function through PCNA Interaction and Sumoylation"

Tammy Yang was motivated to enter the field of medicine in the hopes of providing the level of care she received from her primary care provider as a child, whom she recalls as considerate of the language barrier with her mother - who speaks Mandarin - and who treated Yang and her mother as partners in Yang's health. As a scribe for a nursing and rehabilitation facility, she fondly remembers assisting a patient whom she could communicate with in Mandarin, seeing the patient's eyes light up as she was more directly able to communicate her health concerns. Bringing this motivation to her time at Macaulay and Hunter, Yang was part of the Pre-Health Mentoring Initiative at the college before graduating in January 2022 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

The City University of New Yorkis the nation's largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation's first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City's five boroughs, serving over 243,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 55,000 degrees each year. CUNY's mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University's graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city's economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city's workforce in every sector. CUNY's graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur "Genius" Grants. The University's historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background.

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