Student Ambassadors

Dominique Monroe

• Program: Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry & Cancer Biology

• Hometown: Harlem, Georgia

• Mentor: Dr. Waaqo Daddacha

• Area of Research: DNA damage repair in Cancer

• Why is your research important? My research is important because it aims to sensitize therapy resistant cancers like glioblastoma to radiotherapy and chemotherapy by targeting their ability to repair broken DNA.

• What is the greatest lesson you have learned from your mentor? Persistence and efficiency

• What have you found most beneficial about your program? My program has a large group of interconnected students who are open to teach and collaborate.

• Have you been involved in any AU organizations? Yes, I have been involved with the Graduate Student Government Association (GSGA as Secretary), Biomedical Student Association (BSA as Treasurer), and I am involved with Multicultural Student Engagement (MSE). It is very easy to be involved on campus and to have your voice heard.

• What have been some of your most rewarding moments as a CBA student? Having hard work in the lab and Participating in Graduate Research Day and being a part of the Georgia Cancer Center Mobile Lab. The payoff was the awards at Graduate Research Day and publications.

• What are your career goals? My career goal is to become a PI investigating ways to reduce the harmful effects of Radiation on Astronauts in space.

• What courses in your program stand out as most helpful for your specific career goals? Immunology was a lot of fun. The techniques course offered by my program was also cool because it was abstract and including learning in the lab from multiple PI's.

• What AU resources have been most helpful? THE CORE FACILITIES!

• What do you do for fun? I am a gamer in my free time and enjoy going to space museums and rocket launches!

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Karina Aguilar

• Program: Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry & Cancer Biology

• Hometown: North Augusta, South Carolina

• Mentor: Dr. Vinata Lokeshwar

• Area of Research: My research focuses on finding biomarkers and experimental therapeutics related to bladder and renal cell carcinomas (RCC) with some work on prostate cancer, and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Our laboratory recently found a splice variant (V1) of HYAL-4 as a first-in-class eukaryotic chondroitinase (Chase), and CD44 is its major substrate. V1 is upregulated in bladder cancer and drives a malignant phenotype that drives chemotherapy resistance.

• Why is your research important? My research is important because it is helping Bladder Cancer patients with better treatment options as well as earlier detection with non-invasive procedures.

• Why did you choose your degree program? I chose my degree program because the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is very collaborative. I like that I can ask for help if needed from other Professors and everyone is friendly and knowledgeable.

• What is the greatest lesson you have learned from your mentor? The greatest lesson I have learned from my mentor is to always be passionate about my work.

• What have you found most beneficial about your program? One of the most beneficial things that I have found in this program is our Journal Club class, where the students are able to present a journal based on their research and get feedback about their presentation skills.

• What words of advice do you have for someone considering this program? The Biomedical Sciences PhD Program at Augusta University is an outstanding program. There are multiple areas of research to choose from so students have the chance to find a laboratory based on their own research interests.

• What have been some of your most rewarding moments as a CBA student? Taking the first-year classes with my cohort was really fun, we all learned so much in our first-year of the Biomedical Sciences PhD program and receiving our white coats from our mentors at the end of the first-year was gratifying.

• What are your career goals? My short-term goals are to become a PhD candidate and to hopefully apply and receive a grant as a student. My long-term goals are to be able to become a Professor and teach the younger generations to love science.

• What courses in your program  stand out as most helpful for your specific career goals? The first-year Biochemistry and Cell Biology courses are very helpful in introducing topics that are helpful in the laboratory.

• What AU resources have been most helpful? The Graduate School staff were super helpful in every step of the way.

• What do you do for fun? I like to travel with my husband and bake on my free time.

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Mahrima Parvin

• Program: Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry & Cancer Biology

• Hometown: Joupurhat, Bangladesh

• Mentor: Dr. Ali S. Arbab

• Area of Research: Breast cancer therapy with engineered exosomes

• Why is your research important? Because antibody treatment for cancer is not that effective, so biological nano-vesicles (exosomes) have much more potential in solid tissue cancer therapy, (especially breast cancer).

• Why did you choose your degree program? I was very interested in cancer related research as an undergraduate.  Since the Biochemistry and Cancer Biology program has diverse and vast research on cancer, I joined the program. I’m very much interested in cancer related research and want to continue in this field, so I think choosing Cancer Biology program is the best idea to propel me towards my goal.

• What is the greatest lesson you have learned from your mentor? Dr. Arbab has a lot of enthusiasm for research and is very active and hard-working.  This in turn, makes me more interested and enthusiastic about the work I’m doing.

• What have you found most beneficial about your program? AU has research in lots of areas that gives incoming student the ability to choose their path according to their interest. Most enjoyable is the diversity of people working here and the opportunities to connect with them.

• What words of advice do you have for someone considering this program? Though it is very personal choice, I think the Biochemistry and Cancer Biology program is a comprehensive program to train up someone to excel in a career in the Cancer Biology field.

• What have been some of your most rewarding moments as a CBA student? When I passed the comprehensive exam, it was quite special.

• What are your career goals? My short term goal is to strengthen my skills and explore more in the research area that I am currently doing. Long term, I want to pursue a career based on Cancer Biology therapeutic research.

• What courses in your program  stand out as most helpful for your specific career goals? Biology Current Topics and Techniques in Molecular Biology is a very helpful course. The faculty are very specialized in the techniques that they teach and by presenting their lab data it provides practical examples of the techniques used in the lab.

• What is your Favorite AU memory? The biomedical student orientation and when I got my white coat at the White Coat ceremony.

• What do you do for fun? I normally go out and spend time with friends whenever I get the chance.  Also, I like to visit places around Augusta and taste different foods.