2025 STRONGER Cohort
Direct Mentor: Kuntala Dey, MS (Pharm.)
Graduate Student
Pharmaceutical Sciences Program – Medicinal Chemistry Concentration
Faculty Mentor: Guangrong Zheng, Ph.D.
Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy
2025 STRONGER Intern: Isabella Alves
B.S. Cellular & Molecular Biology
San Diego State University, San Diego, California
Isabella worked with Kuntala to synthesize molecules to break down harmful proteins to overcome chemotherapy resistance.
Direct Mentor: John (Jack) Figg, B.S.
Graduate Student
MD-PhD Program; Biomedical Sciences Program – Cancer Biology Concentration
Faculty Mentor: Catherine Flores, Ph.D.
Dept. of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine
2025 STRONGER Intern: Rachel Bessey, BS Biology (Pre-Professional)
Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL
Rachel worked with Jack to investigate the role of chemokines in the glioma microenvironment after adoptive cellular therapy.
Direct Mentor: Clinton Smith, M.S.
Graduate Student
Biomedical Engineering Program
Faculty Mentor: Jamal Lewis, Ph.D.
J. Crayton Pruitt Family Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
2025 STRONGER Intern: Audrey Gonzales
BS Biology & Public Health
Calvin University, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Audrey worked with Clinton to develop drug-carrying particles to cross the blood-brain barrier.
2024 STRONGER Cohort
Direct Mentor: Adriana Del Pino Herrera, BS
Graduate Student
Biomedical Engineering Program
Faculty Mentor: Meghan Ferrall-Fairbanks, PhD
J. Crayton Pruitt Family Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
2024 STRONGER Intern: De’llaijah Lucas
BS Biomedical Science
Keiser University, Fort Myers, FL
De’llaijah worked with Adriana to investigate the role that proteases play on treatment response in ovarian cancer.
Direct Mentor: Zachary Greenberg, M.S.
Graduate Student
Pharmaceutical Sciences Program – Pharmaceutics Concentration
Faculty Mentor: Mei He, PhD
Dept. of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy
2024 STRONGER Intern: Marqus Colon
BS Biology
Nova Southeastern University, Davie, FL
Marqus worked with Zachary to examine pH influence on the tumor microenvironment for precision cancer immunotherapy.
Direct Mentor: Gabriela Hery, B.S.
Graduate Student
Veterinary Medical Sciences Program
Faculty Mentor: Rowan Milner, Ph.D.
Dept. of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine
2024 STRONGER Intern: Oneilia Yearde
BS Biology
Florida Memorial University, Miami Gardens, FL
Oneilia worked with Gabriela to investigate the spatial distribution of gangliosides in osteosarcomas using spatial lipidomic imaging.
STRONGER Interns: Career Paths
2025 STRONGER Intern: Rachel Bessey
BS Biology (Pre-Professional)
Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL
Rachel was invited to participate in our 2024 Cancer Research Career Explorations Program. She applied for the 2024 STRONGER Cohort, but was not selected. She then reapplied and was accepted for the 2025 STRONGER Cohort, where she worked with graduate student Jack Figg to investigate the role of chemokines in the glioma microenvironment after adoptive cellular therapy. Rachel is currently continuing her undergraduate studies at the Florida Gulf Coast University.
2024 STRONGER Intern: Marqus Colon
BS Biology
Nova Southeastern University, Davie, FL
Marqus was invited to participate in our 2024 Cancer Research Career Explorations Program. He was then selected for our 2024 STRONGER Cohort. He continued working in Dr. He’s lab while he completed a one-year postbac fellowship. During his fellowship, Marqus gained new technical skills in biological programming and coding, statistical analysis techniques, and basic cancer immunology. As a result of this experience, Marqus has now been accepted into a Master’s in Biological Sciences program with a concentration in Bioinformatics.
2024 STRONGER Intern: Oneilia Yearde
BS Biology
Florida Memorial University, Miami Gardens, FL
Oneilia was accepted for the 2024 STRONGER Cohort, where she completed a summer research project with Dr. Rowan Milner’s lab in the Dept. of Small Animal Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine, working with graduate student Gabriela Hery to investigate the spatial distribution of gangliosides in osteosarcomas using spatial lipidomic imaging. After she completed her Baccalaureate degree at the Florida Memorial University, she returned to UF, where she is currently completing a postbac fellowship in comparative oncology.
