The NIH Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Awards (IRACDA) New York Consortium for the Advancement of Postdoctoral Scholars (NY-CAPS) Program has officially entered year seven at Stony Brook University! NY-CAPS is a funded fellowship program for postdoctoral scholars in the biological sciences.  Scholars advance their teaching skills and research experience during a 3-year mentored fellowship at Stony Brook University, which includes a teaching practicum at minority-serving NY-CAPS Partner Institutions:  CUNY Brooklyn College, SUNY College at Old Westbury and Suffolk County Community College. This summer, the CIE welcomed our seventh cohort of IRACDA NY-CAPS postdoctoral scholars.

Dr. Kamal Barley, earned his PhD in Applied Mathematics from Arizona State University. Dr. Barley is currently mentored by Dr. Thomas MacCarthy in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics where he will use computational modeling approaches to study cellular and molecular mechanisms of Germinal center B-cells.

Dr. Chavis Stackhouse earned his PhD in Chemistry at the University of South Florida. Dr. Stackhouse is currently mentored by Dr. Kenneth Takeuchi, Dr. Esther Takeuchi and Dr. Amy Marschilok in the Chemistry Department. His postdoctoral research centers upon fundamental investigation of the relationship between structural characteristics and interactions with electrons of solid composite materials facilitated by synthesis, characterization and electrochemistry of complex systems; subsequently, followed by a series of studies of the complexity of scale up towards electrochemical energy storage relevant to biomedical devices.

Dr. Jenna Foderaro earned her PhD in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Vermont. Dr. Foderaro is currently mentored by Dr. James Konopka. Her work focuses on spatially and temporally defining the host (mammalian) oxidative response and its impact on Candida albicans during infection.

Dr. Nicholas Joseph Palmisano, our first University-funded Associate Scholar, earned his PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Under the mentorship of Dr. Dave Matus, his work focuses on understanding how cells execute morphogenetic behaviors during development and how these behaviors evolve between species.

This new cohort of scholars is gearing up for the start of the pedagogy course, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, October 17.