Research Trainees of 2021

Audrey Arthur
- Faculty Mentor: Joan Casey
- School: Barnard College
Project: Neurodevelopmental Conditions, Environmental Racism, Medical Racism, and Vulnerability to Climate Catastrophe

Over the summer Audrey, under the guidance of Dr. Joan Casey, studied the connections between four main issues: neurodevelopmental conditions, environmental racism, medical racism, and climate catastrophe. Through her literature review, Audrey discovered that due to the confounding factors of medical racism and environmental racism, black people with neurodevelopmental conditions that cause sensory sensitivities will be more adversely affected by the increased inclement weather caused by climate catastrophe. For her paper, Audrey created a framework called the “Web of Vulnerability”, which demonstrates how black neurodivergent populations become more susceptible to climate catastrophe due to environmental racism and medical racism. Audrey also explored preliminary solutions to decrease vulnerability in black neurodivergent populations.
Shanelle Bhajan
- Faculty Mentor: Daichi Shimbo
- School: New York University
Project: Cannabis Use and Blood Pressure: a Systematic Review

This summer, I began working on a systematic review of the association between marijuana usage and hypertension. I developed an inclusion/exclusion criteria by gathering terms that could potentially result in articles that include a relationship; for example, synonyms for "marijuana" were included in the search term. In addition, I included pieces from any year and any language while excluding articles that did not identify a relationship between marijuana usage and hypertension and articles that were reviewed. I used a PubMed search term with Covidence to find published articles that identified this association. At first, there were 815 articles identified; however, they were narrowed down to 23 studies. Following this, I collected data and analyzed evidence in these 23 relevant articles. I will be working on this project throughout the year.
Koshiq Hossain*
- Faculty Mentor: Andrea Baccarelli
- School: Hunter College
Project: Chronic Lead Exposure Is Association With Reduced Bone Mineral Density in Older Individuals

Lead exposure has been repeatedly linked to neurological and cardiovascular diseases, especially in older individuals. Also, lead exposure leads to increased blood pressure levels. Over 94% of lead is chronically stored in the bone where it has a half-life of years to decades. Among older adults, bone lead remains a critical source of exposure through bone remodeling (endogenous exposure). In the Normative Aging Study, the rate of change in tibia lead was −1.4% decline per year and for patella lead −5.1% per year initially. Osteoporosis is a bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone, makes too little bone, or both. As a result, bones become weak and may break from a fall or, in serious cases, from sneezing or minor bumps. My research found that in elderly individuals increased lead exposure was associated with reduced bone mineral density in sites where Osteoporosis was significant in. This meant that as lead exposure increased, bone mineral density in the Ward’s Triangle, Trochanter, and Femoral Neck were significantly reduced.
Lauren Lopez
- Faculty Mentor: Andrea Baccarelli
- School: Hunter College
Project: Small Molecules Associated With Short Lifespan in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Advances in public health have significantly increased life expectancy over the last century. Although people are living longer lives, they are not necessarily living healthier lives in their later years. Age-related diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases are among the main contributors to the global burden of disease. Several studies have pointed to the role of metabolism in controlling longevity. Indeed, some have suggested a “metabolic clock” that controls the rate of aging and its associated diseases. Given that several environmental exposures are known to affect metabolism, such as endocrine disrupting chemicals, it is speculated that these exposures may alter the aging process and lead to unhealthy aging. In order to understand how environmental chemicals may be altering metabolic control of aging, we proposed the creation of metabolic profiles of accelerated aging in the nematode model Caenorhabditis elegans, using high-resolution metabolomics. These profiles will be used as a reference when studying metabolic effects relevant to aging as a result of chemical exposures in the model organism. The focus of my study was to identify key metabolic signatures of accelerated aging in the short-lived daf-16 mutant. Combining high-throughput techniques and high-dimensional data analysis, metabolomics offers a window into intricate metabolic mechanisms. Follow up studies will reveal the biological implications of the metabolites found to be central in metabolic pathways associated with accelerated aging.
Marilyn Santo
- Faculty Mentor: Ana Navas-Acien
- School: Columbia College
Project: DNA Methylation and Cultural Connection as a Proxy for Healthy Aging

The project I worked on this summer aimed to characterize the association of culture and social factors with healthy aging. It is important to determine factors that contribute to healthy aging to decrease the risk of aging-related diseases later in life. We used data from the Strong Heart Study (SHS), a population-based prospective cohort study that evaluates cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in American Indian communities. We compared participants’ blood DNA methylation age to their chronological age to determine healthy aging using different epigenetic clocks. Finally, to assess cultural connection with tribal traditions and mainstream U.S. traditions, we used data from a survey answered by the SHS participants and compared them to the epigenetic-chronological age measurements to determine whether stronger ties to traditional culture were correlated with healthy aging.
Jasmine Shaikh
- Faculty Mentor: Diane Re
- School: Hunter College
Project: New Methods for Isolation and Analysis of Extracellular Vesicles (EVS)

Recently, extracellular vesicles have risen to fame and scientists started describing them as the cell’s way of communicating with other cells and biomarkers of disease. Extracellular vesicles or EVs were misunderstood in the past and were often labeled as cell waste. Due to the inadequate research, the isolation and extraction techniques were lacking clarity and efficiency. However, new methods of extraction, isolation, and analysis are becoming popular in the scientific community. I conducted a systemic review of extracellular vesicles and methods of extraction. EVs are clinically valuable and the new techniques will allow for the greater utilization of extracellular vesicles.
Monique Slowly*
- Faculty Mentor: Regina Santella
- School: Columbia College
Project: Blood DNA Methylation and Liver Cancer: Evidence From the Strong Heart Study

Liver cancer incidence has been rising amongst American Indians for the past 10-20 years. Blood DNA methylation (DNAm) can be used as a biomarker for cancer risk. Using data from the Strongheart Study, we found that differential methylation in CpG sites identified in an epigenome-wide association study was associated with liver cancer mortality. We also verified differential methylation in CpGs identified in studies assessing Blood DNAm and liver cancer. We plan on examining the biological implications of methylation at identified significant CpGs.