Samantha Kidwell, an undergrad majoring in Biology, was named a student facilitator trainee in the project by the CAREERS Cyberteam Program at The Yale Center for Research Computing. She is working under the direction of Dr. Milton Muldrow, director of Natural Sciences Programs and associate director of the NASA Space Grant Consortium of Delaware. Their participation is supported by a National Science Foundation Award.
Dr. Muldrow says Kidwell is a gifted and focused scholar, who already is the recipient of a NASA Space Grant. “She is a dedicated student, always talking to people about her work. We are excited to see where she will wind up,” he says.
She and Dr. Muldrow are part of a multi-university team that will study aiptasia, a form of sea anemone, looking for target proteins and signaling genes known as sirtuins to identify insights into keeping coral healthy. Coral reefs, which form one of the world’s most important ecosystems, are rapidly declining due to warming oceans.
During her senior year at WilmU, 2024 graduate Sarah LaTorre engineered a payload for a sounding rocket designed to measure various parameters, including radiation levels. The data collected from the
experiment were retrieved upon its completion. She joined ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute as a science education intern and was hired as an education program coordinator in her senior year.
“Sarah brought incredible energy and enthusiasm to the Gene Editing Institute from day one,” says Deirdre Hake, director of strategy and operations at ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute. “She has been an innovative problem-solver who continuously brings new ideas to the education program. Her ability to incorporate fun and creative activities while teaching high school students very technical genomic science keeps students engaged as they learn. In her short time with the Gene Editing Institute, Sarah has made a profound impact by reaching more than 1,000 students in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania through our education program, Gene Editing 360™, and we look forward to her continued leadership as we grow the program.”
Recent graduate Amaja’ Mack is studying Geography at the University of Delaware, having earned a fully funded Breaking Barriers Fellowship for Ph.D. candidates from historically underrepresented and excluded backgrounds. With her WilmU degree in Biology, she is already making her mark as the first student from WilmU’s science programs to enter directly into a Ph.D. program and is its first graduate fellow in NASA’s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project.
Mack, along with a team of WilmU scientists, was spearheading efforts to shield coral reefs from the detrimental impacts of rising ocean temperatures. The Biology major was also a member of WilmU’s women’s basketball team, says Dr. Stefanie Whitby, director of Athletics and assistant vice president of Alumni Relations and Development. “She was a model student-athlete, demonstrating tremendous work ethic and dedication, not only in the classroom but on the basketball court. We’re so happy to see her rewarded for her efforts and look forward to watching her flourish.”
—Eileen Smith Dallabrida and Maria Hess
