RaMP-UP 2025 Retreat
Each year, the RaMP-UP program hosts a special retreat for the RaMP-UP students and their mentors in a collaborative and inspiring setting. On March 7, 2025, we kicked things off with a fascinating seminar titled “Insights into the Origin of Animals: Choanoecaflexa, an Emerging Model for Eco- and Evo-Cell Biology.” by Dr. Josean Reyes-Rivera, postdoctoral researcher from University of California. During the 50 minutes seminar, students interacted and dialogued with the speaker.
Second part and the main purpose of the retreat, as always, was the student research presentations. Each student had 10 minutes to present their current investigations and share their experience and data. Following each talk, mentors engaged in thoughtful Q&A sessions, offering feedback and fostering discussion on each research project.
List of titles presentations:
Student/Author | Title of Presentation | Co-Authors |
Angélica M. Crespo-Rodríguez | Exploring Alcohol Sensitivity and Tolerance in Drosophila: The Crucial Role of Tip60 in Ventrolateral Neurons (LNv) | Christian D. Del Valle-Colón, Airined Montes-Mercado, Alfredo Ghezzi |
Camila Sánchez-Torres | A better understanding of the Wnt signaling pathway in a butterfly’s wing developmental patterning | Nicolò Bellin, Riccardo Papa |
Darilís Martínez-Torres | Damage of the Coffee Leaf Miner Leucoptera coffeela in Puerto Rico | Yobana A. Mariño, Paul Bayman |
Diego E. VillafañeOrtiz | Characterization of Immune Cell Type Populations in Coelomic Fluid and Tissue from Holothuria glaberrima | José E. García Arrarás |
Emma Hoza-Frederick | Microbial diversity might facilitate the invasion success of the seagrass Halophila stipulacea | Sergio Campos Gutierrez, Paul H. Barber, Marlen I. Vásquez, Vassilis Fotopoulos, Katerina Drakou, Filipa Godoy-Vitorino, Kelcie L. Chiquillo |
Geraldine M. Ortiz-Sosa | Exploring the Behavioral Effects of the Probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum in Drosophila and the Role of the Intestinal Alpha-4 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor | Melanie Reinoso Arnaldi, Imilce A. Rodriguez Fernández |
Lara V. Ballester-Torres | Determining SIX transcription factors and genomic binding sites using a DNA- affinity purification approach | Jeremy López Torres, Derek Santiago Ferrer, Diego A. Rosado Tristani, José A. Rodríguez Martínez |
Millicent Sampson-Eves | Distribution of Naturalized Alien Plant Functional Traits Across Europe | Mark van Kleunen, Milan Chytrý, Trevor Fristoe |
Norangelik Quiles-Soto | Characterization of growth curves of bacteria isolated from brood caps of the Puerto Rico Honey Bee | Elif Kardas, Cristina L. Andujar Sierra, Abigail Strubbe Nieves, Yilmaz Berk Koru, Miguel A. Urdaneta Colón, Jairo A. Ayala Godoy,Tugrul Giray, José L. Agosto-Rivera |
We wrapped up the day with a relaxed dinner — a time to socialize, reflect, and build stronger connections across the cohort. Seeing the growth and passion of our students throughout the event truly highlights the impact of the RaMP-UP program on their professional development.
#RaMPUP #ResearchRetreat #StudentResearch #Mentorship #STEMCommunity
