Research Experiences for Undergraduates at DSU
HBCU REU: Molecular and Cellular Biology Internship Opportunity Summer 2025
Congratulations to the latest 2025 cohort of REU summer researchers!
| Name | University |
| Michell Arellano | Delaware State University |
| Ethan Carr | Howard University |
| Esdrizabeth Cuello | University of the District of Columbia |
| Sky Dunnington | Delaware State University |
| Marc Foster II | Xavier University of Louisiana |
| Makayla Grison | Spelman College |
| Catherine Krejczman | Delaware State University |
| Caityln Maloney | Delaware State University |
| Jamar Phillips | Howard University |
| Hannah Schwalbe | Delaware State University |
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program Description
The proposed project will focus on recruiting students from all backgrounds from Delaware State University (DSU) and partnering HBCUs, to participate in an undergraduate summer research internship and mentoring program. Through this collaborative initiative, a cohort of students will be recruited to engage in a 10-week program of high-impact research at DSU in the extensive and wide-ranging arena of cellular and molecular biology.
Students will develop science communication skills through writing and presentation activities and workshops, network with faculty and peers, and, most importantly, develop lasting relationships within the scientific community. Students are expected to take part in program activities and research training seminars held during the internship. They are also expected to stay and fully reside on the DSU campus and present a poster at the DSU Summer Research Symposium.
Program details
- Students are expected to take part in program activities and research training seminars held during the internship (May 27 to August 1, 2025)
- Students are expected to stay and fully reside on campus
- Students will be expected to present a poster at the DSU Summer Research Symposium 10-week summer program
- Housing and stipend provided
Application Requirements
- Applicants should be an undergraduate STEM major and have completed at least 25 credits of college course work including one introductory science course
- Students from DSU and partnering HBCU institutions should complete the program application (open now) before the deadline of March 31, 2025
- Students will need to submit 1 letter of recommendation from a faculty member
- Students under consideration will participate in a virtual interview
For additional information or questions, please contact Dr. Hakeem Lawal (hlawal [at] desu.edu) or Dr. Erin Perchiniak (eperchiniak [at] desu.edu)
REU Affiliated Researchers
Participants will be paired in a DSU research laboratory to conduct their 10-week internship. A wide range of research topics are available to choose from including neuroscience, cancer research, microbiology, and computational biology. Some options are listed in the table below:
| Faculty Mentor | Affiliation/Department | Research Focus | |
| 1 | Michael Gitcho | Biological Sciences | Alzheimer’s disease pathology |
| 2 | Hakeem Lawal | Biological Sciences | Cholinergic synaptic transmission |
| 3 | Karl Miletti | Biological Sciences | Cancer biology |
| 4 | Rosaria Formisano | DIST Fellow/Biology | Regulation of dopamine homeostasis in C. elegans |
| 5 | Sokratis Makrogiannis | Physical & Computational Sciences | Biomedical and biological imaging |
| 6 | Hacene Boukari | Physical & Computational Sciences | Investigate interaction biological and non-biological nano-particles using optics and machine learning |
| 7 | Jung-lim Lee | Food Science | Microbiome and bacteriophage in food, products and the environment |
| 8 | Gulni Ozbay | Agricultural & Natural Sciences | Habitat restoration, aquatic ecology, water resources |
| 9 | Anthea Aikins | Biological Sciences | Yeast/bacterial genetics and molecular biology |
| 10 | Kevin Shuman | Biological Sciences | Microbial ecology |
| 11 | Erin Perchiniak | Biological Sciences | Genetic changes that lead to altered apoptosis |
| 12 | Melissa Harrington | DIST Director | Spinal muscular atrophy research, electrophysiology |
| 13 | Chase Stratton | Biological Sciences | Sustainable pest management and data science |
| 14 | Chanelle Acheamfour | Biological Sciences | Transmission, survival, and risks associated with foodborne microbes |
| 15 | Shahidul Islam | Chemistry | Computationally-aided drug discovery |
| 16 | Jianli Sun | Biological Sciences | Defects of neural network in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) |
Inaugural 2024 NSF-REU COHORT Summer Recap
The inaugural cohort for the HBCU REU program at DSU, which ran from May through July this past summer, was a great success!
- 10 amazing students were at DSU for 10 weeks on a research-intensive paid internship. A competitive group, they joined us from 6 HBCU partners, including Spelman, Tuskegee, Bethune-Cookman, Cheyney, Lincoln, and DSU.
- Students were paired with faculty mentors to study the broad arena of cellular and molecular biology, which allowed students to explore topics in neuroscience, cancer biology, microbiology, data science, biochemistry, and agriculture based on their personal interests – plus lots of professional development!
- Students also led exciting sessions featuring historical figures from minority backgrounds that contributed to science, but who were often marginalized and overlooked.
- Interns took part in a field trip to Philadelphia to visit the Mutter Museum and the Franklin Institute.
- At the twilight of the program, all students presented their research during a poster symposium for all summer-related internships held at DSU.
We were thrilled to have such a wonderful group of students join us for a science-filled summer, and we are already looking forward for next summer! Plus, they told us that they had a blast!
- Dr. Erin Perchiniak & Dr. Hakeem Lawal, Oct. 2024
REU Highlights
