{"id":6528,"date":"2024-10-16T15:00:16","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T15:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=6528"},"modified":"2026-01-22T09:34:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T14:34:36","slug":"aspiring-scientists-blazing-trails-in-stem-fields","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2024\/10\/16\/aspiring-scientists-blazing-trails-in-stem-fields\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspiring Scientists Blazing Trails in STEM Fields"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading6528_6c6029-80, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading6528_6c6029-80[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading6528_6c6029-80\"]{display:block;padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-md, 2rem);text-align:center;font-size:var(--global-kb-font-size-sm, 0.9rem);font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-family:proxima-nova;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading6528_6c6029-80 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading6528_6c6029-80[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading6528_6c6029-80\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading6528_6c6029-80 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading6528_6c6029-80[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading6528_6c6029-80\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<span class=\"kt-adv-heading6528_6c6029-80 wu-subheading wp-block-kadence-advancedheading has-kb-palette-14-color has-text-color\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading6528_6c6029-80\">Sarah LaTorre uses a micropipette to move around small volumes of liquid to complete the CRISPR in a Box\u2122 experiment.<\/span>\n\n\n<style>.kadence-column6528_5b96a2-4c > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column6528_5b96a2-4c > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column6528_5b96a2-4c > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column6528_5b96a2-4c > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column6528_5b96a2-4c > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column6528_5b96a2-4c > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column6528_5b96a2-4c > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column6528_5b96a2-4c{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column6528_5b96a2-4c > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column6528_5b96a2-4c > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6528_5b96a2-4c\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<p><strong>Samantha Kidwell<\/strong>, 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 <strong>Dr. Milton Muldrow<\/strong>, 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.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Muldrow says Kidwell is a gifted and focused scholar, who already is the recipient of a NASA Space Grant. \u201cShe is a dedicated student, always talking to people about her work. We are excited to see where she will wind up,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2019s most important ecosystems, are rapidly declining due to warming oceans.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During her senior year at WilmU, 2024 graduate <strong>Sarah LaTorre <\/strong>engineered a payload for a sounding rocket designed to measure various parameters, including radiation levels. The data collected from the<br>experiment were retrieved upon its completion. She joined ChristianaCare\u2019s Gene Editing Institute as a science education intern and was hired as an education program coordinator in her senior year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSarah brought incredible energy and enthusiasm to the Gene Editing Institute from day one,\u201d says Deirdre Hake, director of strategy and operations at ChristianaCare\u2019s Gene Editing Institute. \u201cShe 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\u2122, and we look forward to her continued leadership as we grow the program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent graduate <strong>Amaja\u2019 Mack<\/strong> 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/artsandsciences\/biology.aspx\">degree in Biology,<\/a> she is already making her mark as the first student from WilmU\u2019s science programs to enter directly into a Ph.D. program and is its first graduate fellow in NASA\u2019s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image6528_3894ad-9e .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6528_3894ad-9e alignwide\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Wilmington-University-Amaja-Mack.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-13245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Wilmington-University-Amaja-Mack.jpg 750w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Wilmington-University-Amaja-Mack-250x160.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption>Amaja\u2019 Mack is embarking on her Ph.D. at the University of Delaware.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2019s women\u2019s basketball team, says <strong>Dr. Stefanie Whitby<\/strong>, director of Athletics and assistant vice president of Alumni Relations and Development. \u201cShe was a model student-athlete, demonstrating tremendous work ethic and dedication, not only in the classroom but on the basketball court. We\u2019re so happy to see her rewarded for her efforts and look forward to watching her flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u2014Eileen Smith Dallabrida and Maria Hess<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sarah LaTorre uses a micropipette to move around small volumes of liquid to complete the CRISPR in a Box\u2122 experiment. Samantha Kidwell, an undergrad majoring&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":13244,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,135],"tags":[329,7,41,8,1073,716,87,768],"class_list":["post-6528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","category-magazine","tag-bachelors-degree-in-biology","tag-bs-in-biology","tag-christianacare","tag-college-of-nursing-and-health-sciences","tag-college-of-sciences-and-engineering","tag-magazine-fall-2024","tag-nasa-space-grant","tag-national-science-foundation-award"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":2,"label":"ACADEMIC NEWS"},{"value":135,"label":"MAGAZINE"}],"post_tag":[{"value":329,"label":"bachelor\u2019s degree in Biology"},{"value":7,"label":"BS in Biology"},{"value":41,"label":"ChristianaCare"},{"value":8,"label":"College of Nursing and Health Sciences"},{"value":1073,"label":"College of Sciences and Engineering"},{"value":716,"label":"Magazine Fall 2024"},{"value":87,"label":"NASA Space Grant"},{"value":768,"label":"National Science Foundation Award"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Wilmington-University-Sarah-LaTorre.jpg",750,480,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Rachel Marchione","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/author\/rachel\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":2,"name":"ACADEMIC NEWS","slug":"academic-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":559,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":460,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":2,"category_count":460,"category_description":"","cat_name":"ACADEMIC NEWS","category_nicename":"academic-news","category_parent":0},{"term_id":135,"name":"MAGAZINE","slug":"magazine","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":692,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":431,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":135,"category_count":431,"category_description":"","cat_name":"MAGAZINE","category_nicename":"magazine","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":329,"name":"bachelor\u2019s degree in Biology","slug":"bachelors-degree-in-biology","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":886,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":7,"name":"BS in Biology","slug":"bs-in-biology","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":564,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":41,"name":"ChristianaCare","slug":"christianacare","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":598,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":8,"name":"College of Nursing and Health Sciences","slug":"college-of-nursing-and-health-sciences","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":565,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":110,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":1073,"name":"College of Sciences and Engineering","slug":"college-of-sciences-and-engineering","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1630,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":10,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":716,"name":"Magazine Fall 2024","slug":"magazine-fall-2024","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1273,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":87,"name":"NASA Space Grant","slug":"nasa-space-grant","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":644,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":768,"name":"National Science Foundation Award","slug":"national-science-foundation-award","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1325,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6528"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19195,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6528\/revisions\/19195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}