Bachelor Degree Spotlight

Meet Our Undergraduate Graduates

> Sydney Brongo > Nathan Pfeffer > Aniket Maini > Serena Teh > Ryan Dewan > Pia Schwarz > Selin Arnavut > Ethan Tong > Vincent Lactaoen
  • Sydney Brongo
    4/2/25
    “I have been with the Department of Biological Sciences since 2019. I have gained invaluable mentorship from the department, which has helped with major decisions and deciding what the best path was for me. Moreover, everyday I get to see what I look forward to when I become a professor.”
  • Nathan Pfeffer
    4/2/25
    "The Department of Biological Sciences at UB provided me with opportunities to conduct meaningful research in biology and take courses that prepared me for grad-school level work. I was also fortunate enough to be awarded an undergraduate fellowship through the Department of Biological Sciences, the Joseph T. Abate Research Fellowship"
    —Nathan Pfeffer
    Abate Research Fellow
    Graduated 2024
    First Year PhD student at Wake Forest University
  • Aniket Maini
    4/2/25
    “The UB Bio Department was instrumental in finding my path - great faculty, staff and peers surrounding you is key for a supportive environment. I felt as though my science basis was super strong, I was encouraged to participate in research, and had opportunities to teach others - all things that are at the epicenter of medicine.”
  • Serena Teh
    4/2/25
    "The (BIO) department has great resources and programs that helped me prepare for graduate school. I was involved with research programs and TAing which helped me get a sense of what grad school is like."
  • Ryan Dewan
    4/2/25
    “The Department of Biological Sciences helped to build a strong foundation within many different disciplines to help me prepare for my goal of attending medical school. First it provided me a chance to delve deeper into research through the BIO Honors Program. The department also helped to build my network and connections as every professor has been super friendly and always willing to help"
  • Pia Schwarz
    4/2/25
    "One of the biggest impacts in setting me up for a research career was my honors research project which I completed in lab of Dr. Trevor Krabbenhoft. Being accepted into the Biological Sciences Honors program opened a new door to explore my research interests in speciation and to complete a research project during my senior year. Both the technical and soft skills that I acquired while completing my project prepared me for developing my own projects in my PhD."
  • Selin Arnavut
    4/2/25
    “Our amazing faculty! Each faculty member encourages students to ask questions, stay curious, engage in extracurricular activities, and pushes them to succeed in their goals. I also want to give a shout-out to the Honors Biological Program, which truly helped me think critically about research.”
  • Ethan Tong
    4/2/25
    "The Department of Biological Sciences provided me with a strong foundation in scientific principles, inquiry, and research methodology. Through coursework and research opportunities, I developed critical thinking and analytical skills that have shaped my approach to medicine. My studies in bioinformatics and computational biology have broadened my perspective and diversified my skill set, reinforcing my passion for using science to improve patient care and medical innovation."
  • Vincent Lactaoen
    4/2/25
    "I was part of the Bio Honors Program and it has helped more than I could think of. It has surrounded me with like minded individuals whose goals are also similar to mine. It has also prepared me for the rigor, complexity, and effort professional health school requires."

The Department of Biological Sciences is pleased to present profiles of our undergraduate graduates.

Recent Profiles of BIO Undergraduate Graduates

  • Serena Teh
    4/2/25
    "The (BIO) department has great resources and programs that helped me prepare for graduate school. I was involved with research programs and TAing which helped me get a sense of what grad school is like."
  • Aniket Maini
    4/2/25
    “The UB Bio Department was instrumental in finding my path - great faculty, staff and peers surrounding you is key for a supportive environment. I felt as though my science basis was super strong, I was encouraged to participate in research, and had opportunities to teach others - all things that are at the epicenter of medicine.”
  • Ethan Tong
    4/2/25
    "The Department of Biological Sciences provided me with a strong foundation in scientific principles, inquiry, and research methodology. Through coursework and research opportunities, I developed critical thinking and analytical skills that have shaped my approach to medicine. My studies in bioinformatics and computational biology have broadened my perspective and diversified my skill set, reinforcing my passion for using science to improve patient care and medical innovation."
  • Nathan Pfeffer
    4/2/25
    "The Department of Biological Sciences at UB provided me with opportunities to conduct meaningful research in biology and take courses that prepared me for grad-school level work. I was also fortunate enough to be awarded an undergraduate fellowship through the Department of Biological Sciences, the Joseph T. Abate Research Fellowship"
    —Nathan Pfeffer
    Abate Research Fellow
    Graduated 2024
    First Year PhD student at Wake Forest University
  • Sydney Brongo
    4/2/25
    “I have been with the Department of Biological Sciences since 2019. I have gained invaluable mentorship from the department, which has helped with major decisions and deciding what the best path was for me. Moreover, everyday I get to see what I look forward to when I become a professor.”
  • Ryan Dewan
    4/2/25
    “The Department of Biological Sciences helped to build a strong foundation within many different disciplines to help me prepare for my goal of attending medical school. First it provided me a chance to delve deeper into research through the BIO Honors Program. The department also helped to build my network and connections as every professor has been super friendly and always willing to help"
  • Selin Arnavut
    4/2/25
    “Our amazing faculty! Each faculty member encourages students to ask questions, stay curious, engage in extracurricular activities, and pushes them to succeed in their goals. I also want to give a shout-out to the Honors Biological Program, which truly helped me think critically about research.”
  • Vincent Lactaoen
    4/2/25
    "I was part of the Bio Honors Program and it has helped more than I could think of. It has surrounded me with like minded individuals whose goals are also similar to mine. It has also prepared me for the rigor, complexity, and effort professional health school requires."
  • Pia Schwarz
    4/2/25
    "One of the biggest impacts in setting me up for a research career was my honors research project which I completed in lab of Dr. Trevor Krabbenhoft. Being accepted into the Biological Sciences Honors program opened a new door to explore my research interests in speciation and to complete a research project during my senior year. Both the technical and soft skills that I acquired while completing my project prepared me for developing my own projects in my PhD."

Past Profiles of BIO Undergraduate Graduates

  • Timothy Hansen.
    Timothy
    8/5/24

    "As an undergraduate in the department of biological sciences at UB, I was truly able to receive a unique education with the ability to customize and individualize my experience. Over the course of three years I was able to develop a research project of my own, and receive close mentorship from many faculty members. I developed skills in basic science research, as well as grant writing and public speaking. This led to a summer research internship at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and a trip to San Diego to present my work at a national genetics conference."

    Post-Graduation Activities: UB Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Class of 2019

  • Sampurna Chakrabarti.
    Sampurna
    8/5/24

    "I loved that the Bio department offered a variety of introductory and specialized courses. I felt the Neurobiology courses and Honors research methodology course prepared me well for graduate school. I am also grateful to the department for awarding me the Knobloch fellowship that helped me pursue my research in the lab of Professor Malcolm Slaughter."
    Post-Graduation Activities    : Gates Cambridge Scholar pursuing a PhD in Pharmacology in University of Cambridge, UK, researching arthritic pain to develop novel drug targets. 

  • Gary.
    Gary
    8/5/24

    "My work in Dr. Gunawardena’s lab focused on developing a methodology to advance our understanding of how proteins and other vital cargos are trafficked across the long distances in neurons. Our new system allowed us to visualize and directly measure the movement of these cargoes over a period of neural development. My success thus far has been the direct result of the opportunities and support I have received during my undergraduate research. These early experiences have helped to make my ambitions of becoming a scientific investigator on the forefront of human knowledge a possibility."

    Post-Graduation Activities: "Continuing to develop my ability to explore fundamental problems in nature by pursuing my PhD in Biochemistry at UB."

  • Vijyendra Ramesh.
    Vijyendra
    8/5/24

    "The UB Biological Sciences department is a great place to grow as a student and a future communicator of science. Established scientists are really friendly and willing to mentor you, let you work in their labs and even let you be teaching assistants for their classes. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here!"

    Post-Graduation Activities: Ph.D. Student in Molecular & Cellular Biology at Duke University School of Medicine, currently doing lab rotations.

Honoring our Undergraduate Classes of 2020 and 2021

  • Class of 2021
    4/1/25
    Congratulations to our Class of 2021 from the faculty and staff of Biological Sciences. This webpage contains the 2021 listing of our undergraduates in tribute to their achievement. 
  • Class of 2020
    4/1/25
    Congratulations to our Class of 2020 from the faculty and staff of Biological Sciences. This webpage contains the 2020 listing of our undergraduates in tribute to their achievement. Also see our listing of the 2020 Graduate Student Graduates, here.