Her research at UD has focused on cell and molecular biology and
genetics. She listed multiple mentors, including Dr. Erica Golemis of
Fox Chase; UD Prof. Randall Duncan in biological sciences; Dr. Zhengyu
Ma of Nemours/A.I. DuPont; Dr. Anna Kiseleva of Fox Chase; UD Assistant
Professor Carlton Cooper in biological science; UD alumna Brittany Fay,
now a senior staff scientist at Incyte; and UD doctoral student Nick
Trompeter.
Since her sophomore year, Mann has been part of the labs of UD
professors Cooper, Duncan and Kenneth van Golen, working on her senior
thesis, which explores the effects of oxidative stress on the metastasis
of prostate cancer to bone.
Her interest in medicine was sparked the summer of 2017, during a
10-week Nemours Summer Undergraduate Research Program at A.I. DuPont
Hospital for Children, where she shadowed five doctors and worked with a
researcher.
“Originally I just wanted to do research,” she said. “But the program
allowed us to shadow doctors and the environment was amazing.”
In UD’s 10-week Summer Scholars program at Fox Chase in 2018, Mann
studied the effects of certain anti-cancer drugs on the signaling
process of affected cells, focusing on tiny hairlike structures called
cilia. She also shadowed physician scientists there.
She also spent more than 60 hours shadowing a pediatrician at
Nemours/A.I. DuPont in January and February of this year and has worked
as a volunteer aid in the Emergency Department there. She plans to
participate in UD’s Summer Scholars program again this year.
“I have definitely learned something from each internship,” she said.
“I liked the concept of immunology and immunotherapy. It’s
cutting-edge.”
In addition to Mann, another student with ties to UD also was selected for a Goldwater Scholarship — Deanna Greco,
who is a research assistant in the lab of UD’s Juan Perilla, assistant
professor of chemistry and biochemistry. Greco is a premed student at
Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., expecting to graduate
next year.
About the Goldwater Scholarship Program
The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established by Public Law 99-661 on November 14, 1986.
The characteristics the foundation seeks in a Goldwater Scholar include:
• A strong commitment to a research career in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering,
• Effective display of intellectual intensity in the sciences, mathematics and engineering, and
• Potential for a significant future contribution to research in his/her chosen field.
Goldwater Scholars have impressive academic and research credentials
that have attracted the attention of prestigious post-graduate
fellowship programs. Goldwater Scholars have been awarded 92 Rhodes
Scholarships, 137 Marshall Awards, 159 Churchill Scholarships, 104 Hertz
Fellowships and numerous other distinguished awards like the National
Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.
Article by Beth Miller; photos by Kathy F. Atkinson