10/13/2026
SUNY Cortland’s student scientists will engage with successful alumni when the Michael J. Bond ’75, M.D. Alumni/Undergraduate Research Science Symposium returns on Friday, Oct. 23.
The event highlights undergraduate research, shows how that experience can build a foundation for career success, and offers current students an opportunity to network with alumni.
The symposium begins with a 3 p.m. welcome from Dr. Michael Bond ’75 and Dr. William C. Baerthlein ’76.
Bond, the retired medical director of Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery in Orlando, Florida, and Baerthlein, a physician whose scholarship and expertise on methods for delivering babies greatly influenced reproductive medicine, have helped grow the symposium with their support.
The first symposium brought roughly 40 alumni and students to the Lynne Parks ’68 SUNY Cortland Alumni House. Now in its 11th year, the event will feature 150 people whose scientific work fills Bowers Hall.
Guest alumni speakers will include Dr. Brendan Flynn ’12, chief resident of general surgery at Walter Reed Medical Center, Danielle Kuhn ’11, branch chief of the Smoke and Target Defeat Branch at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center and Cooper Malanoski ’19, a post-doctoral research assistant in Oxford University’s Department of Earth Science. The trio of scientists will share their personal experiences and lessons with current students.
Seniors Zachary Taylor and Shreya Dhital will be featured William C. Baerthlein ’76, M.D. Student Presenters, selected for the high quality of their work. Taylor will discuss “Constraining the Chondritic Nature of Enceladus’ Core: Implications for the Search for Life,” while Dhital will speak on “The Development of an Automated Cell Assurance Monitor.”
The alumni presentations will be Flynn’s “He Who Would Become a Surgeon,” Kuhn’s “Clearing the Smoke: How Undergraduate Research defined my Path to the Forefront of Defense Science” and Malanoski’s “From Cortland to Oxford: How a Strong Undergraduate Foundation Prepared Me for a Career in Science.”
“After going on to Baylor and then Oxford, I realized just how high-quality my education at Cortland was and how well it prepared me,” said Malanoski, who added he wants to show students that that the opportunities available to them are “limitless.”
“Cortland provides an excellent platform for going on to a master’s and a Ph.D., and it’s absolutely possible to go from here to some of the top universities in the world,” he added.
A lab crawl and student poster presentations will follow the speakers, introducing research projects with a focus on biology, chemistry, geology, geography, psychology and physics. The evening will conclude with stargazing during a show at the Margaret Baerthlein Davis, Ralph L. Davis and Syzman Family Planetarium at 7 p.m.
Full schedule for the 2026 Michael J. Bond ’75, M.D. Alumni/Undergraduate Research Science Symposium
Location: Bowers Hall Lecture Hall, Room 1129
3 to 3:10 p.m.: Welcome, Dr. Michael J. Bond ’75 and Dr. Bill Baerthlein ’76
Plenary Session I
3:15 to 3:45 p.m.: Alumni Panelist: Cooper Malanosky ’19
From Cortland to Oxford: How a Strong Undergraduate Foundation Prepared Me for a Career in Science
3:50 to 4:10 p.m.: William C. Baerthlein ’76, M.D. Student Presenter: Zachary Taylor
Constraining the Chondritic Nature of Enceladus’ Core: Implications for the Search for Life
Faculty mentor: Frank Rossi, professor of chemistry, Sean Nolan ’11, M ’12, co-coordinator of adolescence education: science 7-12, planetarium director and lecturer of physics
3:15 to 3:45 p.m.: Alumni Panelist: Danielle Kuhn ’11
Clearing the Smoke: How Undergraduate Research Defined my Path to the Forefront of Defense Science
4:45 to 4:55 p.m.: Break (light refreshments)
Plenary Session II
5 to 5:20 p.m.: William C. Baerthlein ’76, M.D. Student Presenter: Shreya Dhital
The Development of an Automated Cell Assurance Monitor
Faculty mentor: Theresa Curtis, professor of biological sciences
Student Author: Melanie Richter
5:25 to 5:55 p.m.: Alumni Panelist: Dr. Brendan Flynn ’12
He Who Would Become a Surgeon
6 to 7 p.m.: Bowers Hall Lab Crawl and Student Research Poster Presentations
7 to 7:30 p.m.: Planetarium show
Lab Crawl Poster Presentations
Biology
Raising Muskellunge for Release to Combat Declining Populations in the St. Lawrence River, Thousand Islands Region
Faculty mentors: Andrea Dávalos, associate professor of biological sciences; Li Jin, professor of biology
External project mentor: John Farrell, professor of environmental biology (SUNY-ESF)
Student presenter: Ava Schiff
Authors: Ava Schiff, John Farrell
Oneida Lake 2026 Creel Survey Results: An Analysis of Recreational Fishing Activity
Faculty mentors: Andrea Dávalos, associate professor of biological sciences; Li Jin, professor of biology
External project mentor: Tom Brooking, Cornell Biological Field Station
Student presenter: Jon Hall
Authors: Jon Hall, Noah Hyde, Tom Brooking
Rooted in Place: How Lived Environment Shapes Geological Understanding
Faculty mentor: Katie Laux, assistant professor of biological sciences
Student presenter: Aidan Bassett
Science Laboratory Funding and Teacher Perception of Student Learning
Faculty mentor: Katie Laux, assistant professor of biological sciences
Student presenters: Annabelle Wolchak, Kaitlyn Fitzgerald
A Rubric-Guided Approach to Inquiry-Based Redesign
Faculty mentor: Katie Laux, assistant professor of biological sciences
Student presenter: Kayla Pendergast
Analysis of the Toxicological Effect of BPA and BPAF using Zebrafish Embryos
Faculty mentor: Santanu Banerjee, associate professor of biological sciences
Student presenter: Rachida Ali Noma
Trends of Flower Shape Evolution among Young and Synthetic Nicotiana Polyploids and their Progenitors
Faculty mentor: Elizabeth McCarthy, associate professor of biological sciences
External project mentors: Mark Chase, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, U.K.; Corinne Mhiri, National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), France; Marie-Angèle Grandbastien, INRAE, France; Jacob Landis, research associate, Cornell University; Pamela Soltis, distinguished professor, University of Florida; Douglas Soltis, distinguished professor, University of Florida
Student Presenter: Kaylee Hughen
Authors: Kendra Muscato, Marissa Mc Lean, Isabelle Deutz, Kaia Farley, Rowan Fox, Francesca Gambale, Erin Hamm, Kylie Nolan, Colin Woodruff
Are there Differences in Flower Shape Evolution Between Diploid and Polyploid Nicotiana Species?
Faculty mentor: Elizabeth McCarthy, associate professor of biological sciences
External project mentors: Mark Chase, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, U.K.; Corinne Mhiri, INRAE, France; Marie-Angèle Grandbastien, INRAE, France; Jacob Landis, research associate, Cornell University; Pamela Soltis, distinguished professor, University of Florida; Douglas Soltis, distinguished professor, University of Florida
Student Presenter: Kylie Nolan
Authors: Kendra Muscato, Marissa Mc Lean, Isabelle Deutz, Kaia Farley, Rowan Fox, Francesca Gambale, Erin Hamm, Kaylee Hughen, Colin Woodruff
Chemistry
Assessing River Health Post-Dam Removal Through Macroinvertebrate Community Recovery
Faculty mentors: Andrea Dávalos, associate professor of biological sciences; Li Jin, professor of biology
External project mentor: Jeremy Dietrich, New York State Water Resources Institute at Cornell University
Student presenter: Minju Kim
Analysis of PET Leachates in Simulated Ocean Water
Faculty mentor: Jeffrey Werner, chair and professor of chemistry
Student presenter: William Snyder
Calorimetric Investigations of Indomethacin-Polymer Amorphous Solid Dispersions
Faculty mentor: Sarah Wolf, assistant professor of chemistry
Student presenter: Hawa Oulale
Structure Guided Insights Into Streptomyces Hygroscopicus Subsp. Jingganensis L-DOPA 2,3 Dioxygenase
Faculty mentor: Katherine A. Hicks, professor of chemistry
Student presenter: Amelia T. Konstanty
Student authors: Reese Chudoba, Darien DeFrancesco, Kellen G. Dickman
Synthesis of Membrane-Permeant ApppI Analogs
Faculty Mentor: Frank Rossi, professor of chemistry
Student Presenter: Charles Sorrentino
Student Author: Zachory Taylor
Geography
Using Geo AI and Machine Learning to Estimate Exurban Growth in Finger Lakes, N.Y.
Faculty mentor: Christopher Badurek, chair and professor of geography, co-coordinator of the Computer Applications Program
Student presenter: Caitlin Bodary
Geology
Eurypterid Molting Pots: A New Discovery on the Living Habits of Lower Devonian Sea Scorpions
Faculty mentors: Christopher McRoberts, distinguished professor of geology; Steven Mize. associate program coordinator for the Facilities Planning, Design and Construction Office
Student presenter: Nicolas Hayes
Psychology
The Effect of Specific Environmental Enrichment Stimuli on Sex Differences in Ethanol Consumption in Male and Female Rats
Faculty mentor: Joshua Peck, associate professor of psychology
Student presenters: Kate Conklin, Aiden Pickard, Mary Repass
Physics
Stellar Evolution Through the Lens of Spectroscopy
Faculty mentor: Sean Nolan ’11, M ’12, co-coordinator of adolescence education: science 7-12, planetarium director and lecturer of physics.
Presenter: Zachary Taylor
Student co-author: Doug Stickles
Steps to Creating an Observation Schedule for the Nancy Grace Roman Coronagraph Instrument
Faculty mentor: Dmitry Savransky, associate professor of astronomy (Cornell University)
Presenter: Doug Stickles
An Alternative Formulation of the Restricted Three-Body Problem
Faculty mentor: Eric Edlund, chair and associate professor of physics
Presenter: Mathew Paglino