Health Professions and Medical Sciences News

Friday’s celebration of the Class of 2020 certainly cannot replace the atmosphere of a traditional commencement, which RIT plans to host on campus when it’s deemed safe. But many of graduates say they won’t let the pandemic, or the circumstances surrounding the virtual celebration, define them or their feelings about their time at RIT. (Pictured: Bradley Speck, who will finish his classes online this summer, has a job waiting for him at GE Aviation in Cincinnati, where he completed four co-ops.)

RIT Professor James Perkins ’92 MFA (medical illustration) has won the trifecta of RIT honors—this year adding an Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching and Distinguished Professor to his 2015-2016 Trustees Scholarship Award.  

Graduating senior and first responder Bryon Campbell spent his final semester at RIT on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic. A New York State Emergency Medical Technician and Certified Flight Paramedic, Campbell volunteered more than 35 hours per week with Shortsville Fire and Ambulance in Shortsville, N.Y.

Jessica Salamone ’99 (biotechnology), an adjunct professor in the College of Health Sciences and Technology and director of Genetic Counseling and Cancer Risk Assessment at Elizabeth Wende Breast Care in Rochester, is the recipient of this year's Outstanding Teaching Award for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty.

KayLee Steiner knows her way around a research laboratory. Her extensive undergraduate research experience made her an appealing candidate when she began applying to Ph.D. programs. After receiving offers from top-notch graduate programs including Duke, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and others, she will pursue her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine.

After transferring to RIT, Kevin DiMagno became a biochemistry major to prepare for medical school after graduation. In this student spotlight, he talks about his interest in characterizing the function of NUDIX hydrolases enzymes and the focus of his research.

Callie Donahue ’18 (biotechnology and molecular bioscience) is helping to test thousands of compounds on human cells infected with live samples of coronavirus in search of medicine that can be effective in deterring the virus’s infection and replication cycle.

When the coronavirus pandemic spread to the United States, RIT faculty member Dr. Laurence Sugarman asked his students to apply their knowledge of placebos and the power of suggestion to the unfolding health crisis.

Maria Romero-Creel ’17 (biomedical engineering) and Wendy Salamone ’10 (biotechnology) are just two of the people responsible for the analyzer database update launched by Ortho Clinical Diagnostics on April 14. The team is responsible for ensuring that calibrations, precision fluid information and analyzer settings for new assays like COVID-19 are properly entered and working for analyzers in the field.

Essay by Madeline Gibbs, a fourth-year dietetics and nutrition student, published on OrleansHub.com.

Ke Du and Blanca Lapizco-Encinas, both faculty-researchers in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering, worked with an international team to collaborate on the design of a next-generation miniature lab device that uses magnetic nano-beads to isolate minute bacterial particles that cause diseases. This new technology improves how clinicians isolate drug-resistant strains of bacterial infections and difficult-to-detect micro-particles such as those making up Ebola and coronaviruses.

Emily Mahoney, a third-year chemistry student from Cazenovia, N.Y., is one of 396 students nationwide named 2020-2021 Goldwater Scholars. The award is based on academic merit and research experience, and virtually all intend to obtain a Ph.D. as their highest degree.