A number of Dyson students in the STEM disciplines earned accolades at research conferences this spring, highlighting their impressive faculty-sponsored work.
Emma Brown ’23, Behavioral Neuroscience, won best poster at the NEURON (Northeast Under/graduate Research Organization for Neuroscience) Conference, hosted by Quinnipiac University. In her category, Brown was competing against 54 other students from prestigious universities throughout the northeast.
Eight students from biology, chemistry, behavioral neuroscience, and forensic science—accompanied by Associate Professor of Biology Daniel Strahs, PhD, and Assistant Professor of Biology Wei Fang, PhD—attended the 2023 Eastern Colleges Science Conference at Sacred Heart University.
Noor Aayla ’23, Behavioral Neuroscience, received the Chemistry Poster Presentation Award for her work with Strahs: "A Method to Analyze Electrostatic Interactions Between Ethacridine and Topoisomerase IA in E. coli."
Denia Diaz ’23, Biology, and Anastaiia Kirdiianova ’26, Behavioral Neuroscience, who both conducted research with Jeanmaire Molina, PhD, received the Ecology Poster Presentation Award for their poster "A Symbiotic Trifecta: The world's Largest Parasitic Flowers, Their Host Plant, and the Microbes that Live Within."
Emily Schmidt ’23, MS Environmental Science and Policy, took second place in the graduate student category at the Northeast Natural History Conference in Burlington, Vermont, for her poster titled “Are Human Perceptions of the Environment Consistent with Ecological Data? A Study of User’s Opinions and Water Quality in the Pocantico River, Westchester County, NY.” Her research was a collaborative project with Clinical Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Michael Rubbo, PhD, and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Anne Toomey, PhD.
Cassie Hasaj ’26, a Writing for Diversity and Equity in Theater and Media major, is heading to 30 Rock. This fall, she’ll join The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as a production intern—another step toward her dream of a career in television.
Out of 60,000+ applicants worldwide, only 4% were selected for the Millennium Fellowship Class of 2025. Among them: 16 Dyson College students—the largest representation yet—leading projects on clean water, housing insecurity, and more.
When Natasha Depaoli ’26 gave up her dorm room to commute, her family worried she’d miss out on campus life. Instead, she found her people—and built a community for others along the way.