Undergraduate student research @NNMC
Northern offers truly extraordinary opportunities for undergraduate student research. At Northern, you can dive right into research experience early in your college career! Students work alongside experienced faculty and fellow students on campus, often in conjunction with researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). They also compete successfully for research opportunities at LANL and other local companies and paid summer fellowships at universities around the country. Our students present their research at state, national and international conferences. The hands-on experience they receive at Northern prepares them to compete for graduate programs or in the job market.
Research both on and off campus is supported (in part) by:
- The Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP)
- The annual National Institutes of Health (NIH) NM-INBRE (New Mexico IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence) network via NMSU,
- The NIH "BUILDing SCHOLARS network via the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Our faculty and students come together every year to showcase their research endeavors at NNMC's annual Academic Research Creativity and Scholarship Symposium. From exploring cutting-edge advancements to diving deep into important societal issues, the symposium provides a platform for insightful discussions and meaningful connections. It is a true celebration of academic inquiry and the pursuit of knowledge.
This is just a small sample of the exciting research experiences our students have had, as well as the state, national and international recognition they have received.
BIOLOGY
Dr. Sushmita Nandy, Chair of Biology, Chemistry & Environmental Science (BCES), leads an undergraduate research program focused on understanding the biology of cancer stem cells and its microenvironment at Northern New Mexico College. She has established a robust undergraduate cell biology lab dedicated to conducting cell and molecular biology studies with BSL2 facilities (laboratories designed to safely handle moderate-risk biological agents and toxins). She actively mentors undergraduate students, providing them with hands-on research experience and fostering their professional growth. She is committed to advancing education by hosting summer interns and offering opportunities for students to present their research findings at regional, national and international conferences, thereby contributing to the broader scientific community's understanding of cancer biology.
Her publications can be read at https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bNa6vrkAAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=2.
Dr. Rhiannon West not only offers genetic research opportunities in her lab and in conjunction with LANL, but has led three trips to the University of the Bahamas Gerace Research Centre to conduct research on pupfish in the interior of San Salvador Island. Estrella Gonzalez and Jonathan Enriquez-Madrid joined her for her first expedition (link to “Northern Students Conduct Research in The Bahamas”), Jazmyn Gutierrez and Vincent Benavidez (link to full story at https://nnmc.edu/academics/biology-chemistry-and-environmental-science/student-research-bahamas.html) for the second and dual-credit student Anelia Holterman accompanied her in December 2023. New Mexico-IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research (NM-INBRE) funded the research.
Anelia earned both her high-school diploma and an Associate of Science in Biology in Spring 2023. Jonathan was awarded a prestigious graduate fellowship from the National Science Foundation to continue his Ph.D. studies.
“I love Northern New Mexico College. Northern has great faculty that care about teaching students and pushing students forward. The professors I had challenged me and provided me with opportunities to grow as a researcher.” – Jonathan Enriquez-Madrid, Summa Cum Laude, Bachelors of Biology, Spring 2022
Hope Lopez is someone who took advantage of the many research opportunities available. Both Hope and Jonathan Enriquez-Madrid were members of Northern’s Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) who participated in the National Diversity in STEM conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Hope was selected to be part of the Leadership Retreat cohort and Jonathan presented the undergraduate research he did at Dr. West's Lab.
Hope joined Dr. West at a Gordon Research Conference on Speciation in Barga, Italy, where she presented a poster of work she was doing in Dr. West's lab with collaborators from LANL.
NNMC also encourages and prepares students to compete for external summer research positions. Hope Lopez and Erika Quezada participated in the National Institute of Health’s BUILDing Scholars Summer Research Program at the University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP), where they co-authored an abstract and presented their work in the COURI Symposia. Quezada won the best presentation award in the area of Life and Biomedical Sciences.
“Throughout my undergraduate studies, NNMC gave me the opportunity to build important connections with my professors and I did not feel like I was just a number…I am very grateful to have been able to attend an amazing college like NNMC and to have been given many educational and research opportunities as an undergraduate student. Northern New Mexico College, the professors/mentors, and the experiences I attained there, will always be a part of my heart and have contributed greatly to where I am at right now.” – Erika Quezada, Bachelor of Science in Biology, May of 2022
Hope completed a post-baccalaureate internship at Los Alamos National Laboratory in December 2023. She applied to graduate school for master’s programs and was accepted at the University of Utah as a PhD student instead due to her qualifications. She will begin her PhD program in August 2024.
“Northern New Mexico College has played a pivotal role in my academic journey by providing me hands-on molecular research experience in laboratory settings. Additionally, their encouragement to present my findings at various research conferences has enhanced my communication skills and expanded my professional network. Northern has given me many opportunities and has influenced my career trajectory, leading me to pursue a graduate degree in Biological Sciences.” – Hope Lopez, Magna Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Biology, Spring 2023
Dominick Martinez, Jade Madrid, and Jazmyn Gutierrez presented their research posters at the Western Regional IDeA Conference 2023 and Madelyn Martinez and Savannah Schaum from the Cell Biology Laboratory presented their work at the 2023 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS).
Elizabeth Mares gave an outstanding talk and presented a poster on her summer research project at the 2022 New Mexico INBRE (IDeA -Institutional Development Award- Network for Biomedical Research Excellence) Symposium. Harimandir Khalsa and Tristan Maestas also presented their posters with their summer research results and Jayden Montoya was a co-author on a poster related to his summer research project.
ENGINEERING
Northern engineering students Anita DeAguero and Jafett Garcia and Española Valley High School’s (EVHS) Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program participated in a project that could significantly improve the lives of Parkinson’s patients. Under the direction and mentorship of Dr. Steve Cox, Associate Professor/Engineering Technology at NNMC, and Española Valley High teachers Janice Badongen Patal-e and Lyne Salero, the students are designing a glove that applies small brief vibrations to the fingertips to alleviate symptoms of the disease. Anita and Jafett helped mentor the MESA students, who won 1st place for their design brief in the statewide 2023 MESA competition, and 2nd place for academic poster, prototype pitch, technical interview and overall project. The team also won one of the coveted New Mexico Governor’s STEM Challenge awards. The project, which is ongoing , has received considerable news coverage.
Natalia Tealer and Guillmer Germino, both first-generation students, were selected for the inaugural NextGen Summer 2023 STEM Internship program, which has an emphasis on choosing interns from groups that have been historically underrepresented in STEM undergraduate education. They interned with J.G. Management Systems, Inc., (JGMS) in Albuquerque, N.M., working on Information Engineering Technology projects like creating programs that can detect solar flares, cybersecurity, Natural Language Processing (NLP) and a presentation for the National Weather Service. (full story in folder)
MATHEMATICS
“I really enjoyed my time at Northern….The small classes at Northern ensure that students receive individual attention. The undergraduate research I did at Northern and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with Dr. Torres in high performance computing were valuable experiences. Most undergraduates do not get that level of practical work experience. I got accepted to the University of Southern California's MS program in Computer Science and to Arizona State University's Robotics and Autonomous Systems MS program. I am still waiting to hear back from Stanford's MS program in Computational and Mathematical Engineering and UT-Austin's MS program in Artificial Intelligence. These are some of the top CS graduate programs in the country for which NNMC motivated and prepared me to apply. – Dominick Martinez, Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Fall 2023
Josef Weese won a Third Place Award at the 2023 Alliance for Minority Participation Conference at NMSU, Las Cruces, for his poster presentation, “A Theoretical and Artistic Examination of Euclid's Elements." His presentation included art pieces created to visualize the structure. Casandra Batista-Dauz and Dominick Martinez also attended the conference, where Dominick presented the poster "Using a Neural Network for Image Classification."
"The math department at Northern was instrumental in supporting the work on my research project examining Euclid's Elements and the Pythagorean Theorem…The department has exceptional and caring professors that I would recommend to anyone, and it is because of them that I am graduating from Northern with a strong mathematical foundation that will be instrumental in my future career as a software engineer." – Josef Weese, IET (Integrated Education and Training) Major, Math & STEM tutor.
HUMAN & SOCIAL SCIENCES
Brandon Alire interned with the BUILDing SCHOLARS – UTEP Summer Research Program. He presented his research on alcohol abuse and growth mindsets at the COURI Symposia. Brandon earned his associate degree in substance abuse with the help of Northern’s College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) program, which provides support and retention services to first-year college students from migrant and seasonal farm worker families. He is currently working toward a bachelor's in psychology.
Joslyn Herrera presented her research on “Mental Health Effects of Cyberbullying” at Northern’s Academic Research Creativity and Scholarship Symposium. Patricia Bancroft also shared her work on “Gun Violence, the Second Amendment and the Impacts in New Mexico” at that symposium and Mariah Gallegos presented “Mental Health Resources, and Support provided in public education.”