Nicole Aguirre

Originally from Southwest Virginia, I graduated from Virginia Tech in May 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. During my undergraduate career, my research focused on clinical psychological assessments and building a database from scratch of client diagnoses, demographics, and assessment scores. In particular, I spent a good portion of my time studying the complexities and comorbities of ADHD diagnoses from a rural / college-town population. Accordingly, my interests are in clinical neuropsychology, assessment methodology, and the connection between the brain and behavior. Through the BIOMED-PREP program, I hope to gain more experience with graduate-level coursework, neuroscience research, and professional workshops to hone my skills as a scientist. In the end, I hope to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology or Behavioral Neuroscience, ultimately crossing the bidirectional bridge between psychology and neuroscience.

 Jenna Burns

I am from rural southern Indiana and graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, minor in Psychology. As an undergraduate, I was involved in Dr. Jeremy Gibson’s lab, where I conducted funded directed student research over prey preference and decision-making in wolf spiders. The UL-BIOMED-PREP will be the perfect opportunity for me to explore different types of biological research, fine-tune my research skills, and develop a focal research interest in order to pursue a PhD in Biology.

 Briana Harness

I graduated in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Western Kentucky University. I've worked on several different research projects in different fields during my undergraduate years with my main skill set being in Molecular Biology and Microbiology. I am interested in acquiring more research skills and medical experience in order to pursue a Ph.D. and potentially M.D/Ph.D. in Infectious Diseases.

 Lily Hernandez

I am from Miami, Florida and graduated in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from Barry University. During my undergraduate years, I worked in Dr. Jean-Charles’ cell biology lab whose research focuses on studying the effects of ubiquitination on G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling and trafficking. I am interested in acquiring more research experience in Microbiology in order to pursue a PhD in Microbiology.

 Mason Miller

A native of Louisville, I graduated in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular & Cellular Biology from the University of Louisville. I have extensive research experience in spinal cord injury and neurodegenerative disorders as well as undergraduate research experience in cancer drug discovery. I am interested in acquiring more research experience in Cancer and Molecular Biology in order to pursue a PhD in Cancer Biology or Immunology.