Legionnaires’ disease, which affects in the United States, is caused by a pathogenic bacterium known as Legionella pneumophila, which Dauphinais, a University of Maine junior and Honors College student, researched during an internship.��

When the team Dauphinais worked with discovered a pathway that was critical to the bacterium’s survival, she investigated whether it could be exploited to develop treatments. 

“I was isolating the pathway’s rate-limiting enzyme, HMG-CoA reductase, encoded by L. pneumophila,” said Dauphinais, who’s majoring in microbiology and biochemistry. “I then conducted bioinformatic and biochemical enzymatic studies, as well as drug screens using statins and small acids, to target this enzyme in hopes of developing narrow-spectrum antibiotics.”

Dauphinais is one of several 91���� students who spent the summer conducting biomedical research at institutions across the country. Their work reflects 91����’s commitment to learner-centered R1 education, which gives undergraduates hands-on research opportunities that prepare them for competitive internships and fellowships. 

91���� faculty and staff help students secure these opportunities.

Throughout the internship, Dauphinais found herself applying the same skills she learned working as a research assistant for Sally Molloy, 91���� associate professor of genomics. 

In that role, she said she studied the effect of prophage, genetic material from viruses that infect bacteria, on pathogenic Mycobacterium abscessus-chelonae, which can cause . Dauphinais also served as a teaching assistant for the Phage Genome Discovery course, which strengthened her science communication and leadership skills.��

“My time at the University of Maine gave me an essential foundation in research techniques and leadership experience necessary to participate in this summer experience,” said Dauphinais, who spent her summer at Stanford University as a member of the SSRP-Amgen Summer Scholars Program.

91���� senior Autumn Perley, from Carmel, Maine, has worked in multiple research labs since her first year, when she began working with Robert Wheeler, professor of microbiology.

Years working with Wheeler, who allowed her to lead projects driven by her interests, and in other labs prepared Perley to intern in a Cornell University lab over the summer and investigate the genes responsible for metabolizing polyunsaturated fatty acids. 

Her fellowship through the Cech Fellows Program with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute matched her with one of their affiliate labs at Cornell University.’

“Through writing proposals for Center for Undergraduate Research and Radke grants and presenting my work at the 91���� Student Symposium and beyond, I gained essential practice in science communication that built my confidence to apply for and present at external opportunities, including this fellowship,” said Perley, who is majoring in microbiology and molecular and biomedical sciences. 

At a Mayo Clinic lab in Minnesota, 91���� senior Jason Hart of New Gloucester, Maine, spent the summer researching how interactions between certain genes increase genome replication and repair in herpesvirus. He was a Mayo Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow. 

Hart, a senior in the Honors College majoring in biochemistry and microbiology, credits his work with Benjamin King, 91���� associate professor of bioinformatics, and research projects he presented at both the 91���� Student Symposium and the Maine Biomedical and Medical Sciences Symposium with preparing him for his internship.

“I have been fortunate enough to have been prepared for the Mayo Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship through a diversity of research experiences at 91����,” he said.  

Closer to home, Lillian Campbell of Garnder, Kansas, spent her summer researching the molecular mechanisms behind cognitive decline at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor. Her work as a summer fellow involved analyzing motor movements in mice — — as well as examining neuronal activity and gene expression in their brains.��

“I would not be able to succeed in this position without my lab experience in professor Ben King’s lab on campus,” said Campbell, an Honors College student majoring in molecular and biomedical sciences. “The funding from the Radke fellowship and from our many National Institutes of Health grants has made it so I can develop skills and pursue multiple research avenues!” 

The 91���� Office of Major Scholarships helps students like Campbell, Hart, Perley and Dauphinais apply for these prestigious internships and fellowships. Anyone interested in applying for these fellowships and other funding can contact Nives Dal Bo-Wheeler at nives.dalbowheeler@maine.edu.

Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu

91���� is working with Northern Light Health on attracting and retaining the next generation of medical professionals. Leveraging 91����’s biomedical research and Northern Light Health’s talent pipeline, both institutions also seek to mold the state into a biomedical industry hub and expand partnerships to realize this goal. 

In the latest episode of “The Maine Question” podcast, 91���� President Joan Ferrini-Mundy and Dr. Jim Jarvis, director of Clinical Education at Northern Light Health, discussed this growing partnership and what it could mean for healthcare in Maine. Andre Khalil, a professor of biomedical engineering at 91����, also shared his work in the fight against breast cancer as an example of how the university uses innovation to improve people’s health.

Listen to the podcast on , , , or “The Maine Question” website. 

What topics would you like to learn more about? What questions do you have for 91���� experts? Email them to mainequestion@maine.edu.

To better understand these detrimental conditions after heart attack and stroke, University of Maine Ph.D. candidate Alyssa Castle has recapitulated them in Caenorhabditis elegans, a microscopic, transparent roundworm commonly known as a nematode.  

To support her research, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health has awarded Castle a Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award, known as an F31 fellowship. The competitive award supports promising doctoral students pursuing careers in biomedical research. 

​Working with Suzanne Angeli, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology, Castle is studying the type of mitochondrial dysfunction that occurs during aging and after age-related diseases such as heart attack and stroke, while screening potential drugs that can counteract this dysfunction.

Often described as the powerhouse of the cell, mitochondria produce the energy cells need to function. However, normal aging and age-related diseases like heart attack and stroke can disrupt mitochondrial function. Castle’s research investigates two specific triggers of mitochondrial  stress: calcium and reactive oxygen species, which are highly reactive molecules that contain oxygen.

When calcium and reactive oxygen species levels surge, they can open a channel in the mitochondrial membrane known as the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. Once opened, the pore disrupts normal energy production. In response, the cell activates a pathway called the mitochondrial unfolded protein response.

“Normally, this response helps repair misfolded proteins in the mitochondria,” Castle said, “but our lab discovered that when the pore remains open for too long, this response can become maladaptive. Instead of protecting the cell, it actually switches and it becomes detrimental to the cell. This whole cascade of the pore and then this unfolded protein response together can lead to further dysfunction in the cell, potentially leading to cell death.”

​While the pore does not cause a heart attack or stroke, it plays an essential role in the cellular response to tissue damage after oxygen flow is restored. As people age, their cells become less efficient at clearing reactive oxygen species and regulating calcium levels, making them more susceptible to the pore opening.

To study these pathways during aging, Castle is conducting experiments using C. elegans, which have mitochondria nearly identical to those in humans. Because the nematodes have short lifespans, Castle can track age-related cellular changes over approximately one month.

In the lab, Castle manages large populations of genetically modified nematodes with glowing proteins. She uses fluorescence microscopy to observe proteins glowing at different wavelengths, revealing cellular activity. With the new NIH funding, Castle will take her research a step further, testing her findings in mammalian cell cultures to confirm their biomedical relevance to human health.

The research aims to help scientists better understand these cellular processes, apply their findings to human health and reduce the effects of age-related diseases and medical emergencies. 

While the award is a testament to Castle’s research and determination, she emphasized that earning it was a group effort. She worked closely with faculty and staff to develop and refine a compelling proposal and grew as a researcher through Angeli’s pilot project funding from 91����’s Center for Biomedical Research Excellence.��
.��

​​”I’m incredibly grateful to my mentor, my committee, my lab members and the University of Maine for creating this type of environment that allowed me to be successful and pursue this opportunity,” Castle added. “I’m definitely very excited to start this work and get some good results.”

Beyond funding essential lab reagents, cell lines and conference travel, the award recognizes Castle’s accomplishments and potential as a biomedical researcher. 

​”The Molecular and Biomedical Sciences Department has been around at 91���� for a really long time, decades,” Angeli said. “Alyssa is the first student in our department to receive this fellowship. It’s an exciting and important achievement, and we’re really glad that she was able to earn it.”

Story by Yoana Karageorgieva, research media intern

Contact: Daniel Timmermann, daniel.timmermann@maine.edu

When Adeline Shanahan arrived at the University of Maine, she knew she wanted to get involved in research. 

Her interest in the immune system was also personal: her mother is immunocompromised, an experience that helped influence Shanahan’s decision to study molecular and biomedical sciences.

Now entering her sophomore year at 91����, Shanahan is already contributing to influenza research in the laboratory of Benjamin King, associate professor of bioinformatics.

“I thought it would be really cool to be in a lab that works with the immune system,” said Shanahan, also a student in 91����’s Honors College. “It was really important to me to be able to have that opportunity.”

King recently received 91����’s first National Institutes of Health R16 award, providing $400,000 in direct funding over four years to study whether a system in the body best known for regulating blood pressure also affects how the immune system responds to influenza.

For King, the project has two equally important parts.

“One is about the research, and the other really important component is providing research learning experiences to undergraduates in particular,” King said.

An unexpected connection

Influenza remains a persistent public health concern even with vaccines and antiviral medications available. Flu strains change from season to season, and some can become resistant to existing treatments.

“We need a bigger arsenal of antiviral drugs,” King said. “There’s a need to develop new antiviral therapies, learn more about how our immune system responds to the virus so that we can develop those new therapies in the future. That’s really the heart of what this research hopes to accomplish.”

King and his students are studying how the body can fight the flu without triggering an immune response so strong that inflammation causes additional harm.

Their work focuses on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, or RAAS. Although it is best known for helping regulate blood pressure, the system also influences inflammation and immune function.

King said the project was inspired in part by a study in the United Kingdom that found people taking high blood pressure medications had a lower incidence of influenza infection.

King and former 91���� doctoral student Brandy Soos followed up on that connection using ramipril, a commonly prescribed blood pressure medication, in the lab’s zebrafish model. In earlier experiments, 90% of influenza-infected zebrafish larvae treated with ramipril survived, compared with 52% in the control group.

The new research will try to understand why.

King believes neutrophils may be an important part of the answer. These cells are among the immune cells recruited to fight influenza. They can help respond to infection, but they can also contribute to harmful inflammation.

To study those cells, the team uses zebrafish. Young zebrafish are transparent, allowing researchers to use fluorescent markers and specialized microscopes to watch immune cells move through a living organism in real time.

Over the four-year project, the team will test how different parts of RAAS change the immune response and its ability to fight the flu.

Students at the center of the research

Student research is a central component of the R16 award. The NIH program supports scientific research while providing substantial hands-on experiences for undergraduate and graduate students.

The R16 award supports 91����’s learner-centered R1 model by placing undergraduate and graduate students directly into federally funded research alongside faculty.

The grant builds upon research funded by the NIH COBRE grant that supports innovative research of several 91���� faculty, an expanded zebrafish facility and new confocal microscope.

In King’s lab, that involvement goes far beyond observing.

“They essentially are doing everything,” King said.

Students work with zebrafish, collect fertilized embryos, prepare fish for experiments and use precise microinjections to introduce influenza virus. They also learn laboratory techniques and use specialized microscopes to track fluorescently marked immune cells in real time.

Graduate student Ben Curtis knows that progression firsthand. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from 91���� and worked in King’s lab as an undergraduate before continuing at the university as a doctoral student in molecular and biomedical sciences.

Curtis is helping refine the lab’s influenza model and the methods researchers use to watch the immune response as it happens.

“It definitely gives us an advantage because a lot of the techniques we use cannot be easily done in other animal models,” Curtis said. “We get these very unique insights, and I just love that I can do that.”

Undergraduate researcher Fiona Johnson, a biochemistry major entering her junior year, is studying how immune cells move when certain genes are turned off.

She is testing the role of individual genes using CRISPR, a gene-editing tool, to make those changes in zebrafish and observe how they affect the immune response.

“The fish are really small, and they’re able to be imaged really easily,” said Johnson, also a student in 91����’s Honors College.

Building research experience early

Johnson said her interest in research took off during her first year at 91���� through a phage genomics course that gave students hands-on experience studying viruses that infect bacteria.

The course is part of the Honors College’s Maine IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program, an NIH-funded initiative that provides undergraduate students with hands-on biomedical research experiences.

“I knew I really wanted to dive into research and use what I’ve been learning in my classes,” Johnson said. She recalled thinking, “I’m in heaven right now. This is exactly what I want to do.”

Shanahan is studying another part of the project: viral burden, or simply how much influenza virus remains in an infected zebrafish.

Her work addresses a question raised by earlier research in the lab. If changing part of the immune response helps a zebrafish survive, researchers also need to know whether the animal is successfully controlling the virus.

“If a zebrafish survives even though it has a higher level of infection, is it because the immune system just didn’t overreact to it?” Shanahan said.

Curtis described the broader goal as giving the immune system “a gentle nudge in the right direction” — helping it respond to the virus without causing excessive inflammation.

The work gives students responsibility for their own research. Curtis said undergraduates conduct experiments, collect data and pursue individual projects that contribute to the lab’s larger research questions.

Johnson is beginning her honors thesis research, while Shanahan said the opportunity to participate in research early in college was one reason she chose 91����.

“At a lot of other colleges, especially in your earlier undergraduate years, you don’t really get the opportunity to do a lot of research,” Shanahan said. “It usually goes to older students.”

King said staying involved in a lab over a longer period allows students to move beyond learning individual procedures and begin developing as scientists.

“Here students conduct research over a longer duration and really master things which distinguishes 91���� from a lot of other schools,” King said.

The research is also teaching Curtis that scientific progress rarely produces tidy endings.

“Once you discover one thing or once you figure out something, that often leads to five new questions,” Curtis said.

Contact: David Nordman, david.nordman@maine.edu.

The fellowships were developed to increase undergraduate student involvement in faculty-supervised research and creative activity. Winners receive $3,000 to put toward their research projects over the summer months.

The 2026 CUGR Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Recipients are:

• Abigail Bergmark, microbiology, for a project titled “Cyclic-di-GMP Effects on Candida albicans in the Presence of Fluconazole.” Bergmark will be advised by Robert Wheeler.
• Amelia Bradford, anthropology, for a project titled “Who’s Who In Biddeford, ME: The Life of 20th Century Textile Mill Workers as Told Through the Company Newspaper.” Bradford will be advised by Susan Pinette.��
• Rachel Harrington, marine science, for a project titled “PFAS Contamination and Temperature Effects on American Lobster.” Harrington will be advised by Amalia Harrington.
• Alyssa Hinderer, marine science, for a project titled “Predicting PFAS Deposition In Maine Estuaries.” The award for Hinderer, who will be advised by Margaret Estapa, was funded by Maine Sea Grant.��
• Emily Leszczewski, marine science, for a project titled “Effects of 41% Glyphosate Exposure On Behavior, Molting, And Stress Response Of Postlarval American Lobsters (Homarus americanus).” Leszczewski will be advised by Amalia Harrington.
• Tyler Lilya, marine science, for a project titled “A Novel Multi-Trophic Bio-Filter Apparatus To Remove Point Source, Anthropogenic Eutrophication From Waste Treatment Outflows.” Lilya will be advised by Timothy Bowden.
• Willow McConochie, botany, for a project titled “Assessing the Emotional Responses of Hikers to Hand Drawn Versus Generative AI Imagery of a High Alpine Species.” McConochie will be advised by Jacquelyn Gill.
• Declan Mercer, engineering physics, for a project titled “Fueling The Magnetic Machine: Applications Of Superparamagnetic Functionalization.” Mercer will be advised by Ioan-Augustin Chioar.
• Mackenzie Michaud, wildlife ecology, for a project titled “Nesting Ecology of Maine Wood Turtles.” Michaud will be advised by Matthew Chatfield.
• Emma Morrison, biochemistry, for a project titled “Antibacterial Agent Cetylpyridinium Chloride (CPC) Ironically Inhibits Immune Cell Function: Mechanisms of Action on Signaling and Cytokines.” The award for Morrison, who will be advised by Julie Gosse, was funded by the 91���� Institute of Medicine.��
• Lindsey Pellett, child development and family relationships, for a project titled “Parental ACE Scores and Family Dynamics: A Qualitative Study.” Pellett will be advised by Daniel Puhlman.
• Wyatt Perron, philosophy, for a project titled “Posing In Bondage: A Phenomenological Investigation of The Male Loneliness Epidemic.” Perron advised by Derek Michaud.
• Jayde Temby, child development and family relations, for a project titled “A Qualitative Analysis of Family Relations with Children with ASD.” Temby will be advised by Puhlman.

The 2026 MSGC Summer Undergraduate Award Recipients are:

• Berra Algul, engineering physics, for a project titled “Polar Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect Microscopy.” Algul advised by Nicholas Bingham.
• Keith Falkner, physics for a project titled “Inverse Magnetic Origami: Exploring Collective Magnetic Behavior By Unfolding Platonic Solids.” Falkner will be advised by Chioar.
• Eloise Fontaine, physics, for a project titled “Measuring Exchange Bias in Hysteresis Loops.” Fontaine will be advised by Bingham.
• Drake Grove, biomedical engineering, for a project titled “Improving CNF Processing Through Press-Assisted Dewatering.” Grove will be advised by Caitlin Howell.
• Mino Iobs, physics, for a project titled “Growth, Characterization, and Quantum Analysis of Weyl Semimetal Mn2Sn Thin Films.” Iobs will be advised by Bingham.
• Mackenzie Jones, physics, for a project titled “Creating Fe3O4 Films for Quantum Sensing & Astronomy Applications.” Jones will be advised by Bingham.
• Gavin Libby, engineering physics, for a project titled “Solar Thermal Reactor Prototype Sensor Update.” Libby will be advised by Justin Lapp.
• Benjamin Morgan, mechanical engineering, for a project titled “Education for K-8 in Manufacturing Engineering.” Morgan will be advised by Philip King.
• Alexander Thayer, physics, for a project titled “Investigating Electronic Band Structure of Cr-doped WSe2 via Vertical Magnetoelectrical Transport.” Thayer will be advised by Dinh Loc Duong.

University of Maine researchers have published new findings about how muscles form, why certain muscle diseases develop and why symptoms may not appear until years after muscle degeneration begins.

The study, published in , focuses on a protein called Mylpf that is essential for the development of fast-twitch muscle fibers, which propel rapid, powerful movements like sprinting and lifting heavy weights. When Mylpf does not form correctly, muscles completely lose their ability to contract.��

“Mylpf is sort of the linchpin that makes the whole muscle fiber work,” said Jared Talbot, the project’s principal investigator and an associate professor of developmental biology at 91����. 

Using zebrafish as a model organism, the team measured how Mylpf protein levels corresponded to muscle development, revealing a surprisingly sensitive relationship between protein levels and muscle health.

When Mylpf function was eliminated, fast-twitch muscles failed to build the structures they needed to contract or generate force. Crucially, the severity of this defect tracked closely with how much protein was present: animals with moderately reduced Mylpf had moderately impaired muscles, while those with none had no functional fast-twitch muscle at all. By testing many combinations of gene doses in a single study, the team was able to model the protein’s effects with unusual mathematical rigor.

The researchers also found that a human version of the Mylpf gene could fully restore normal muscle development in mutant fish, suggesting the protein plays a similar fundamental role across bony vertebrates, including humans. 

“That finding tells us this isn’t just a zebrafish story. Most of what we know about ourselves are insights drawn from other creatures,” Talbot said. “This study helps us learn the rules of how the muscle builds itself. Once you know those rules, it is far easier to develop drug treatments that could help people with muscle disorders.”

The team then tested a version of the gene linked to Distal Arthrogryposis, a congenital disorder characterized by joint contractures and muscle weakness. Unlike the normal human gene, this disease-associated version could not restore muscle development in the zebrafish model. People with Distal Arthrogryposis typically carry only one defective copy of the gene; the other copy is normal, yet they still develop the disease. Together, these findings suggest that even a partial reduction in Mylpf function is enough to hinder muscle formation and cause the disorder.

One of the study’s most significant findings concerns how the body compensates for muscle loss, and what that may mean for understanding delayed disease onset. When fast-twitch muscles failed to form properly, slow-twitch muscles — normally a minor player in zebrafish movement — grew larger and became more active. This allowed the mutant fish to travel just as far as their healthy relatives in some tests. 

The researchers believe this compensatory mechanism may help explain why patients with diseases like muscular dystrophy can appear healthy for years, even as muscle degeneration is already underway. When one muscle system compensates for another, the damage may go unnoticed until the reserve is exhausted.

The study was supported, in part, by 91����’s first Center for Biomedical Research Excellence grant. This significant award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is designed to build institutional capacity for biomedical research. The COBRE program is central to 91����’s broader push to build its biomedical research enterprise, including a recent investment in an expanded zebrafish lab where researchers investigate fundamental questions in developmental biology and muscle disease.

Another NIH award, an R15, helped provide hands-on experience for three graduate and 11 undergraduate students, all of whom earned authorship on the paper. For many of the undergraduates, it represented their first experience contributing to peer-reviewed science.

“A lot of people listed were owners of the project at some point. Each of these students made a unique contribution, and I’m proud of everyone involved,” Talbot said. 

Contact: Erin Miller, erin.miller@maine.edu

91���� System (UMS) Board of Trustees recently approved a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Nursing program and a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program with a concentration in Family Nursing Practice.

The School of Nursing is accepting applications for the Ph.D. program, with the first cohort of students starting in the spring. Enrollment for the DNP program will open in fall 2027.

The Ph.D. program will be the first research-focused doctoral nursing degree in northern New England, while the DNP will transition the existing family nurse practitioner track to a doctoral degree aligned with evolving national standards for advanced practice nursing.

Startup funding for the programs is being provided through a one-time , chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“These efforts position the University of Maine to lead the future of healthcare education and research in Maine,” President Joan Ferrini-Mundy said. “We are grateful to Senator Collins for her leadership in securing this federal funding, which will expand nursing education, bring healthcare disciplines together and open new pathways that build the statewide healthcare workforce Maine needs.”

Letters of support for the Ph.D. and DNP programs were submitted by The Jackson Laboratory, Lunder Learning Partnerships of Maine, MaineHealth, Northern Light Health, Penobscot Community Health Care and St. Joseph Hospital.

“To meet Maine’s current and growing demand for nurses, particularly in rural and underserved communities, we must expand enrollment in undergraduate nursing programs across the University of Maine System,” said Gabriel Paquette, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. “That expansion requires more faculty members with Ph.D. credentials. At the same time, healthcare systems need more doctoral-level advanced practice nurses and clinical leaders. These programs will address both needs.”

Designed for working professionals across Maine, the doctoral programs include coursework in nursing science, advanced statistics, qualitative and quantitative research methods, grant writing and dissertation research. 

Although the Doctor of Nursing Practice and Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing programs serve different purposes — the DNP prepares advanced clinical and healthcare leaders, while the Ph.D. prepares nurse scientists and researchers — both are intended to strengthen the state’s pipeline of nurse educators, advanced practice nurses and healthcare researchers. 

According to labor market data, Maine employed more than 1,600 nurse practitioners in 2024, with demand projected to continue growing over the next decade.

“These programs create new opportunities for nurses to pursue doctoral education without leaving Maine, while also expanding access for nurses in neighboring states such as New Hampshire and Vermont, where doctoral nursing education options remain limited,” said Dr. Kathryn Robinson, associate director and associate professor at the 91���� School of Nursing.

Contact: David Nordman, david.nordman@maine.edu

The field of medicine is constantly evolving to optimize care and patient outcomes. Technology growth and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) have changed what it means to be a doctor and a patient, even in the recent decade. To contend with this, researchers at the University of Maine are helping medical education adapt to a changing world of medicine. 

Electrical and Computer Engineering Ph.D. candidate Kevin Real MD is part of this movement, working to shape the way students understand medical issues and develop innovative solutions. After earning his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and completing medical school, Real put his medical career on hold to further pursue a passion in education and technology. 

Over the past year, Real has focussed his research on an innovative approach to eye disease in premature infants, utilizing both his engineering and medical backgrounds. He partnered with ophthalmologists in Portland, Oregon to help them advance their curriculum and way of understanding eye models. 

“I used my ECE experience to ultimately help the surgeons look at 2D images and transpose them to 3D images, specifically for looking at disease progression. The question is, how can we do this better, how do you make these models more precise? That was my mission this year,” explained Real. 

He specifically looked at a disease process called retinopathy prematurity, the leading cause of childhood blindness in the United States, according to the . The disease impacts infants born prematurely who received supplemental oxygen. This can impact the eye’s ability to develop normally because abnormal blood vessels can grow inside the retina and lead to retinal detachment. Surgeons are able to fix retinal detachment, but rely on a two-dimensional view of the retina. Real is hoping to bring more precision to this process by making two-dimensional view into three-dimensional models. 

It was important to Real to not limit this research to the lab or a hospital and engage students in the research process. He took this concept of two to three-dimensional image transposition and further explored the idea with a Maine high school senior, helping them use simple geometric principles to develop a 3D model of an infant’s eye. The student was then able to present their work at a conference for the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and gained real-world research experience. 

Real’s passion for student engagement extends beyond his direct research. He helped high school students from John Bapst Memorial High School participate in ophthalmology research on glaucoma progression, eventually leading to publication of their work in the Proceedings of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (). Real’s motivation for working with students comes from his time teaching a high school science class here in Maine, and they still inspire his research methodology today. 

“One thing that I like about high school students is that they come up with the craziest ideas, and sometimes they work. We tend to get stuck in our ways about the best way for research to be conducted, but students come up with ideas we might never have heard of,” remarked Real. 

His passion for education extends into his work with National Science Foundation Maine-SMART project, working to revitalize education efforts in the state. Real helped develop new educational modules that have been distributed across the state to diversify STEM education for local students. Last year, he helped develop new educational modules on the uses of cellulose nano fiber (CNF) that are now in use throughout the state. He also created modules and curriculum on CNF that were used by the Maine Mobile BIOLAB, a traveling laboratory that provides hands-on STEM education to students in Maine. 

“I really understand that education is what I love, and my mission today is incorporating AI, neural networks and technology into education at every level, not just medical school,” said Real. 

Looking ahead, Real will be starting his residency this fall with the John Peter Smith Family Medicine Residency program in Fort Worth, Texas, but hopes to return to Maine in the future. He is part of a coalition that aims to establish Maine’s first medical school for MDs, and would love to be a part of the process down the line in his career. With an MD and Ph.D., Real’s end goal is to eventually become a dean of a medical school, bridging his experiences with medicine and education, and helping med students adapt to changing technology and practices.��

Real’s mission and reasoning behind his journey is a goal to never stop learning and innovating in his field, and teaching those along the way. 

“The whole point is not only that I hope to pass the torch, but I hope that the torch surpasses me,” said Real. 

Real would like to thank his advisor, Giovanna Guidoboni, 91����’s interim vice president for research and dean of the Maine College of Engineering and Computing, for her support in his endeavors. 

By Heather Johnson, graduate assistant

Contact: Daniel Timmermann, daniel.timmermann@maine.edu

When phages infect and reproduce inside bacteria, the consequences can be dire. Phages that infect bacteria can contribute to their drug-resistance and ability to cause disease. A new study led by University of Maine researchers aims to find out why. 

A deeper understanding of phages’ ability to influence bacteria could allow for more targeted medical treatment of often drug-resistant diseases. Despite these viruses being the most abundant biological entity on earth, many people do not know what they are, and fewer are studying them. 

Research led by Sally Molloy, 91���� associate professor of genomics and honors, is seeking to change that. Thanks to a recently awarded National Institutes of Health (NIH) R15 grant, Molloy’s  research team will continue to investigate phages’ abilities to promote drug resistance in bacteria. It will also help her expand the hands-on experiences she offers to get undergraduate students involved in potentially life-saving science.��

According to World Health Organization’s , “In 2023, approximately one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections worldwide were caused by bacteria resistant to antibiotics.”

Phages specifically target bacteria. They have two abilities. The first is acting as a parasite within bacteria. They infect the bacteria, reproduce and when their progeny are released, kill the bacteria cells. The second ability phages have is more interesting. 

“They live latently, quietly, maybe borderline symbiotically with the bacterium by integrating their viral genome into the bacterial genome,” said Molloy. 

When the phage integrates its genome into the host bacteria, the cell does not die. Instead, it enhances the bacterial cell’s survival skills, by providing resistance to infection by other phages and sometimes by providing resistance to antibiotics.

Molloy’s research looks at the genes phages bring into bacteria. Specifically, she’s studying how they contribute to increased drug resistance. The bacteria Molloy and her team study are part of a group of Gram positive bacteria that include important pathogens, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which kills more people worldwide than any other infectious agent, and M.  abscessus, one of the most drug-resistant pathogens.

These diseases can be closer to home than some may think. M. abscessus-chelonae is a non-tuberculosis mycobacteria that causes pulmonary and soft-tissue infections and can be multi-drug or totally drug resistant. It causes pulmonary and soft-tissue infections in the elderly, immunocompromised and in patients with chronic lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis. 

Scientists have found some success treating the drug resistant disease with phage therapy, which uses injected phages to target and kill bacteria causing disease. Molloy’s research into how phages influence drug-resistance in bacteria may provide opportunities for other researchers to improve treatment of mycobacterial disease using both drug and phage treatments. 

Molloy first came to 91���� as a graduate student and has remained through her Ph.D. and postdoctoral research. Within the Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences and the Honors College, Molloy integrates teaching with her research to engage undergraduate and graduate students in active learning. With a recently awarded NIH R15 grant, Molloy is training undergraduates as part of her research into phages.

For the students in Molloy’s lab, partaking in this research can be especially important. 

“If you’re doing research that’s going to make a difference with this real world problem, how you learn and what you learn completely changes,” said Molloy. “You’re applying your knowledge to a real problem that you care about and maybe the whole community cares about.” 

This work has the potential to save lives, not just through treating disease, but by training the next generation of doctors, scientists and researchers in the field of microbiology. 

“We’re training them for the work force and to be ready to be contributors for whatever problems they’re going to be working on,” said Molloy. 

With the support of the NIH R15 grant, Molloy will be able to continue to bring more undergraduate students like Vejune Griciute and Edib Redzematovic into her lab, where they continue to work on understanding phages and their contribution to bacteria drug resistance. 

“It’s more motivating to learn things when you feel like you’re making important contributions to something that really matters, not only to you but to a community,” she said.

The importance of phages cannot be underestimated. 

“They impact our lives every single day,” said Molloy. “We’re exposed to them everywhere.” With Molloy and her team of students, research is paving the way towards using the innate ability of phages as a treatment rather than a disease.

By Emma Beauregard, research media intern

Contact: Erin Miller, erin.miller@maine.edu 

The project team, made up of four senior biomedical engineering students, is developing an athletic shoe replacement indicator that measures structural changes in the footwear over time. Running shoes can lose cushioning and support after repeated loading cycles, even when visible wear is minimal. As the shoes’ midsoles degrade, impact forces transmitted to the body can increase, raising the risk of overuse injuries.

Replacing shoes too late is a common but overlooked problem among runners. Current methods for determining when to replace shoes, however, typically rely on mileage estimates or waiting for discomfort to occur.

“That solution is unreliable,” said 91���� senior Paul Rudman, “If a shoe is replaced too late, the damage and wear might have already occurred. However, replacing before needed is costly, and the average person can not afford it.”

The team’s indicator would instead collect data related to activity and force changes within the show, translating that information into a clear indicator for users. 

By indicating when a shoe has been structurally compromised, the device aims to help runners make informed decisions that balance cost and health considerations. It is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing shoe constructions.

“The indicator will simply make key measurements of a person’s activity and force changes in the shoe to reliably indicate the most financially and healthily time to replace your shoe,” Rudman said.

Rudman focuses on modeling and materials design while also contributing to electrical component development. The other students involved in the project include Shawn Collins, who leads controller programming and testing; Mason Chase, who specializes in medical and design considerations; and Sreyas Sajen, who manages computations and force interaction analysis.

They are designing the replacement shoe indicator for their senior capstone project, which emphasizes applying interdisciplinary knowledge toward solving real world problems. Rudman and his colleagues are applying their past coursework in biomechanics, materials science and electronics curricula toward developing a product with clear market relevance.

“We learn to find existing problems and use the knowledge that we already possess to create a solution,” Rudman said.

The athletics shoe replacement indicator project highlights how undergraduate research at 91���� can translate injury prevention research into practical technology aimed at supporting healthier movement for runners at all levels.

Story by William Bickford, graduate student writer

Contact: Taylor Ward, taylor.ward@maine.edu 

According to the , more than 3,000 Maine children experience brain injuries each year, and an estimated 20% — or 600 children — experience more severe trauma. Yet only about 130 receive formal school-based support for these injuries and often they often do not get the care needed to thrive.��

Jessica Riccardi, an assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders, leads the Brain Injury, Education, and Rehabilitation (BEaR) Lab at 91����. The team advances research as they support children with acquired brain injuries by working directly with them, their families and their practitioners to improve long-term outcomes for these children. Examples of support the lab provides includes professional development for schools and community organizations, consultation with educational teams on students with brain injury, and referring families to national, state and local resources for childhood brain injury. 

The team’s work is especially important in Maine, which does not have a pediatric rehabilitation hospital. The state’s only pediatric intensive care center is in Portland, limiting the availability of care options to children elsewhere in the state. Riccardi said the transition from hospital to school after traumatic brain injuries is often difficult for children, and Mainers feel the problem more intensely due to limited access to medical services for kids, particularly in rural communities. The direct work the lab does is important to improving detection and connecting children to resources.

In addition to improving long-term outcomes for children with brain injuries, Riccardi’s lab also offers graduate and undergraduate students research and hands-on experiences with clinical populations. 

One of these students is Elise DeRosby, a communication sciences and disorders major from Hampden, Maine. DeRosby has been working with Riccardi for nearly two years in research that complements her interests, including working face-to-face with people.

In collaboration with 91����’s Virtual Environment and Multimodal Interaction (VEMI) Lab, DeRosby recently helped run a project that uses virtual reality equipment to assess cognitive communication in kids with brain injuries. Cognitive communication is when cognitive skills, such as memory, attention, planning and organization, influence your communication abilities. 

“Think about it in a school setting,” Riccardi said. “If they have a hard time maintaining attention, they’re going to do poorly on a test, not because they don’t know the content, but because they didn’t pay attention in the first place.” 

To examine the cognitive communication of these kids, researchers put them in a virtual classroom where they had to make decisions in a simulated egg-drop science experiment. 

“They have to choose a design for which model of egg carrier,” said DeRosby. “They have to go through the process of picking a design, then instructions will tell them to collect materials and they have to assemble the design, then get the egg, put it in the design and drop it off bleachers in a school gym.”

Using this virtual reality scenario, researchers can collect data on a child’s decision-making, attention and processing, all of which are components of cognitive communication. While much more data collection is necessary for this project to be useful, Riccardi and DeRosby hope that their research will help in developing resources for clinicians, particularly speech-language pathologists, to serve kids with brain injuries.

DeRosby’s research experiences in the BEaR Lab and 91���� more broadly have helped her understand what she wants to pursue in life. After originally pursuing molecular and cellular biology, DeRosby shifted to speech pathology to work more face-to-face with other people. 

With funding from 91����’s Center for Undergraduate Research, she was able to do that in the BEaR lab, studying art therapy for adults with brain injuries. Working with participants, learning about their injuries and experience and helping develop tools to help them was moving. 

“I think it is an eye-opening experience to get to interact with people. You don’t get that in the classroom,” said DeRosby. 

While the lab’s research is contributing to understanding childhood brain injuries, it is also helping to develop the next generation of researchers and professionals who will be working with the communities that need it most. 

“Our clients often say that the person who took a moment to understand their challenges was the person who really changed their recovery,” said Riccardi. Through her lab, Riccardi hopes the students in her lab can be “that person.”  Raising empathy and understanding for those with brain injuries is an important first step towards success in these individuals’ lives. 

“Taking the time to understand other people’s perspectives and where they come from,” DeRosby said, “any human can learn that, and it will make us all better.” 

If you are interested in learning more about the work Riccardi’s research team is doing, you can visit the BEaR Lab website, or contact Riccardi at jessica.riccardi@maine.edu. 

By Emma Beauregard, research media intern

Contact: Daniel Timmermann, daniel.timmerman@maine.edu

Why did you choose to come to 91����?

 I chose to come to 91���� for the research opportunities and sense of community

Describe any research, internships or scholarly pursuits in which you have participated. How have they prepared you for future opportunities in your chosen field?

I have been involved as an undergraduate research assistant in the Maginnis Lab on campus since freshman year, where I have researched signaling mechanisms in JC and BK polyomavirus. I have also been part of the Phage Genomics RLE. I did a summer internship at Dahl-Chase Pathology Services last summer, and I work part-time as a medical assistant at Penobscot Valley Dermatology. The research experiences have developed my science communication, problem solving and lab procedure skills, to name a few. The internship and work as a medical assistant have given me valuable clinical experience, highlighted the realities and inner workings of healthcare and given me the opportunity to learn about a vast range of different diseases.

Have there been other students who supported and inspired you or exposed you to something new? 

There have been so many students who have supported me and made my success possible. Notably, my partner Maddie Stockman has always been there for me. A previous student in the Maginnis Lab, Aiden Pike set a very high standard both professionally and personally, and I often reach out to him for career advice. Other people include Connor Aylesworth and Keegan Tripp.

Have you collaborated with a mentor, professor or role model who made your time at 91���� better, and if so, how?

Yes, yes, yes. I have been under the wonderful advising of Dr. Melissa Maginnis for the last four years, and I can’t sing her praises loud enough. She has been my mentor in the lab, helping me gain research experience, apply to grants and internships and develop experiments. She has also helped me throughout my academic career, guiding me in both classes and the medical school application process. Dr. Maginnis is a huge positive influence in my personal life, supporting me in all of my endeavors and goals.

What has coming to 91���� enabled you to explore beyond academics?

Coming to 91���� has allowed me to explore the outdoors. I have enjoyed backpacking trips with friends, many weekends hiking up in Baxter or down in Acadia, fly fishing in nearby bodies of water and countless hours running and biking on all of the trails near campus. I feel like I try to do a little bit of everything that 91���� has to offer, but I am definitely drawn to the outdoors.

Have you received any scholarships that supported you on your journey?

I have been generously supported by the Worthington Scholarship, the Chet Jordan Leadership Scholarship and other various scholarships, in addition to commitments from 91����.

What experiences have you had at 91���� that really highlight the ingenuity of Mainers?

Maine Day Meal Packout highlights the ingenuity of Mainers and 91���� students. The initiative started about a decade ago, when students recognized that many communities in our state have high levels of food insecurity. Wanting to do something to address this issue, students fundraised to purchase ingredients to create shelf-stable, nutrient dense meals through a program called End Hunger New England. These meals are packed by student and community volunteers during Maine Day of Service, then distributed around the state. Fast forward about a decade and the project has funded over 800,000 meals for Mainers in need. Students stepping up to address a need truly demonstrates the ingenuity of Mainers.

Did you have an experience at 91���� that shaped or changed how you see the world?

My experience as the outreach coordinator with Maine Day Meal Packout has helped shape how I see the world. Being involved with the project has shown me that it takes an army to accomplish something — we have a large leadership team working almost year-round to make the project happen — but all it takes is one person to spark something. Being involved with the project for multiple years has allowed me to watch as people join and share their passion and ideas for food insecurity and to understand that tangible action and change happen because of one individual’s spark and passion.

Describe 91���� in one word and explain. 

Hearty. 

— For a number of reasons. First, a large reason why I chose the University of Maine was the cheerful and vibrant culture. No where else did it seem like people were so happy to attend a school. You’ll be hard pressed to find another university with a student population that is as wholesome, as robust and as incredible as 91����. Second, I think you have to be a little hearty to survive the long winters here; six months is a long time under the snow! Third, our hockey fans are loud and proud.

What’s on the horizon? What are your plans for after you graduate?

After I graduate, I will be starting at Tufts University School of Medicine Maine Track in July, where I will earn my MD with the intention to come back to Maine and practice as a PCP in a rural area.

Contact: Ashley Yates, ashley.yates@maine.edu

Speaking as part of the Maine College of Engineering and Computing Distinguished Lecture Series, co-hosted by the Office of the Vice President for Research, Michael F. Chiang said emerging technologies are making medical care more data-driven, consistent and accessible.

“Clinical practice and research are being rapidly reshaped by breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and data science,” said Chiang, director of the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health and elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Following the lecture, University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy and Giovanna Guidoboni, interim vice president for research and dean of the Maine College of Engineering and Computing, joined Chiang for a panel discussion moderated by Alon Harris, director of the Barry Family Center for Ophthalmic Artificial Intelligence and Human Health and professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

Ferrini-Mundy said the rapid pace of innovation is reshaping not only research, but the future of health care.

“We’re living in a time when clinical practice and research across fields — particularly in the medical field — are being rapidly reshaped by breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and data science,” she said.

Harris, who is also faculty within the Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering at 91����, reflected on the breadth of opportunity that exists across Maine and that 91���� is uniquely positioned to lead.

“I had been here before, but during this visit I discovered there is so much more,” he said. “This place is so motivating, from the biological and biomedical labs, to the full scale automated vehicles and 3D printed homes with smart health sensors. The level of people we met and the research interests were truly thought-provoking.”

Guidoboni said Chiang’s work reflects the data-driven, interdisciplinary approach central to research at 91����. Over the past 16 years, Guidoboni and Harris have advanced mathematical modeling and data science, including studies on ocular blood flow, eye disease risk and noninvasive health monitoring, with the development of digital twins to help translate the advances of science into personalized medical care.

Their work reflects a broader shift toward using advanced analytics to better understand and treat complex health conditions.

“Dr. Chiang’s work exemplifies the power of combining clinical insight with data science to transform patient care,” Guidoboni said. “His leadership at the National Eye Institute is inspiring, especially as these innovations expand access and improve outcomes in rural communities like Maine.”

Chiang said advances in imaging have transformed ophthalmology from a largely descriptive field into one grounded in quantitative data, allowing clinicians to better measure and analyze disease.

He pointed to retinopathy of prematurity — a condition that can cause blindness in infants — as an example of how artificial intelligence can improve care. Studies have shown that even experts reviewing the same retinal images often disagree on whether disease is severe.

“That discrepancy is real,” Chiang said. “And this is where AI can help doctors make diagnoses that are more accurate and more consistent.”

He also highlighted emerging research suggesting that the eye may offer insights into broader health conditions. Because clinicians can directly observe blood vessels and nerves in the eye, researchers are exploring whether imaging can help predict diseases elsewhere in the body.

“If that’s really true and generalizable, then that’s remarkable,” he said, referring to studies linking eye imaging to neurological disease.

Chiang emphasized that progress in AI depends on access to large, high-quality datasets and collaboration across institutions.

“Garbage in, garbage out,” he said, cautioning that poor-quality data can limit the effectiveness of AI tools.

He also noted that technology could help reduce administrative burdens on physicians, who often spend significant time entering information into electronic health records.

“The technologies will help automate some of those things,” he said, “so doctors can spend more of their focus on the patient.”

Advances in technology are also reshaping how and where care is delivered, particularly in rural areas like Maine.

Chiang pointed to opportunities to expand care beyond traditional clinical settings through telehealth, remote monitoring and home-based tools, reducing the need for patients to travel long distances for care.

“Inpatient hospital stays are shorter than they ever used to be,” he said.

Those shifts, he added, raise broader questions about how physicians are trained and how healthcare systems adapt as medicine becomes increasingly data-driven.

As AI continues to evolve, Chiang said its impact will extend beyond diagnosis to reshape research, education and care delivery.

Contact: David Nordman, david.nordman@maine.edu

Glaucoma, an eye disease that slowly damages the optic nerve, is a leading cause of blindness worldwide and is undiagnosed in nearly half the people who have it.

Olayinka is focused on understanding how changes in blood flow inside the eye may help clinicians detect glaucoma earlier and more accurately. Her work blends engineering, biomedical imaging and data science, contributing to a growing area of vision research on campus.

Olayinka, a doctoral researcher in electrical and computer engineering, studies the relationship between blood pressure and intraocular pressure, tension occurring within the eyeball, and how they influence blood vessels behind the eye. Her recent project used advanced ultrasound imaging to compare blood-flow patterns in healthy individuals and people with glaucoma, adding new insight into how the disease affects the optic nerve. 

This work is part of the Laboratory for Computational and Mathematical Modeling in Medicine, Engineering and Technology (CoMET) Lab, led by Giovanna Guidoboni, dean of the Maine College of Engineering and Computing and interim vice president for research of the University of Maine and University of Maine at Machias.

Olayinka shared her initial findings during the 2025 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting. An abstract for her presentation at the meeting was published in one of ARVO’s journals, .  

“Think of the eye like a garden that needs proper water pressure to stay healthy,” Olayinka said. “Blood flowing into the eye — controlled by blood pressure — is like water coming through a hose, while the pressure inside the eye itself acts like resistance against that flow. In this study, we found that the balance between these two pressures works differently in glaucoma patients compared to healthy individuals.”

A new understanding of glaucoma 

By measuring how these two pressures interact, Olayinka can demonstrate the ways in which reduced blood flow in the optic nerve may contribute to the nerve damage that defines glaucoma. Her results suggest that clinicians may benefit from looking at both blood pressure and eye pressure when assessing a patient’s risk.

“What we found was that when we account for both mean arterial pressure, the average pressure pushing blood through your body, and intraocular pressure, the pressure inside the eye, we can better understand why glaucoma patients experience reduced blood flow to the optic nerve,” Olayinka said. “This reduced blood flow may contribute to the nerve damage that characterizes glaucoma. The findings suggest that managing both pressures, not just eye pressure alone, could be important for protecting vision in glaucoma patients.”

As her ARVO 2025 abstract explored how different combinations of eye pressure and blood pressure shape blood-flow behavior in glaucoma, Olayinka’s next step focuses on building tools that can capture those hemodynamic patterns more efficiently.

Beyond these preliminary findings, Olayinka is developing an automated system to make this type of imaging analysis faster and more consistent. Currently, specialists must manually extract blood-flow measurements from ultrasound images, a slow process that can vary from person to person.

“I am most excited about the automated analysis pipeline I am developing to extract blood flow measurements from color Doppler images,” Olayinka said. “This speed and consistency could transform how we monitor glaucoma patients.”

The future of routine eye exams

Olayinka hopes this system will someday give eye doctors real-time blood flow information during routine exams, helping them detect changes earlier and tailor treatments more precisely.

“This study is the result of more than 15 years of sustained work bridging engineering, computation and medicine,” Guidoboni said. “This work stems from a long-standing partnership with Dr. Alon Harris, an international leader in ocular physiology, pharmacology, imaging and technology from the Icahn School of Medicine in New York. This research effort has supported more than 50 trainees, including postdoctoral fellows, medical scientists, doctoral and master students, undergraduate students and high school students, while advancing our understanding of complex eye diseases like glaucoma.”

“Imagine a future where, during a routine eye exam, a clinician can immediately see detailed blood flow patterns synchronized with the patient’s heartbeat, tracking 16 different hemodynamic parameters automatically,” Olayinka said. “This could enable earlier detection of blood flow changes, more personalized treatment decisions and better monitoring of how well treatments are working.”

Before coming to 91����, Olayinka worked in the telecommunications industry in Nigeria, where she helped configure and integrate sensor systems across active network sites. She later taught cybersecurity at First Technical University — an experience that continues to influence how she communicates complex research topics.

“My teaching experience in Nigeria taught me that the best learning happens when students can see both the technical mechanisms and the real-world implications of what they are studying,” Olayinka said.

At 91����, Olayinka is an active mentor for youth STEM programs. She also supports robotics teams, participates in engineering outreach and serves as a judge for middle school and high school science fairs.

“The most meaningful experience has been serving as a judge at the Maine State Science Fair and the Middle School Science & Engineering Fair,” Olayinka said. “What struck me most was the genuine curiosity and creativity these young students brought to their projects.”

Her volunteer work reminds her of the importance of persistence — something she sees in both young learners and in her own research process. Across her biomedical modeling in AI and secure systems, Olayinka remains motivated by the question of how to turn complex, technical measurements into reliable tools that can help people.

Story by William Bickford, graduate student writer

Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu

Miner, a 91���� Ph.D. candidate in biomedical engineering, is researching breast cancer cell dormancy in bone marrow at the Cancer Research Center of Lyon. These dormant cells can evade chemotherapy and are a major factor in cancer recurrence and poor prognosis. A deeper understanding of this process could reveal new therapeutic opportunities to prevent relapse in patients. 

Miner’s work — part of her dissertation — was made possible after she earned fellowships from two of the most prestigious international research awards available to U.S. students: the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and the STEM Chateaubriand Fellowship.

Outside the lab, Miner is immersing herself in French culture through her love for sports and the outdoors. She is skiing; practicing karate, of which she is a third-degree black belt; attending local events; and exploring the city’s museums, food offerings and historical sites. 

When she found out she was a Fulbright finalist, Miner was attending a research conference in Lucca, Italy.

“It was after dinner, and I was chatting with some friends I had met at the conference when I received an email that a notification was posted to my portal. I announced it to the group, and they all gathered around me as I nervously but eagerly logged in to see that I had been accepted,” Miner said. “The entire group celebrated with me and started sharing recommendations of all the amazing things I should experience during my trip abroad.”

At 91����, Miner is a member of CompuMAINE, overseen by Andre Khalil, professor of biomedical engineering, and associate professor of bioengineering Karissa Tilbury’s lab. She was also a Maine Top Scholar and outstanding graduating student for the Maine College of Engineering and Computing during her undergraduate career. 

Miner has been conducting research since her first year of college. The research, which focussed on the potential benefits of electrical stimulation for Duchenne muscular dystrophy using zebrafish models, was in collaboration with professor of biological sciences Clarissa Henry’s lab. 

Originally from the small town of East Baldwin, Maine, Miner said that growing up around nature sparked both an adventurous spirit in her and curiosity about the world. When she learned about opportunities to conduct research abroad, she knew it was something she wanted to pursue. After attending an information session about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program hosted by the Office of Major Scholarships in March 2024, she realized this was the perfect path for her. 

91���� one-fifth of healthy people worldwide carry bacteria known as Streptococcus agalactiae (group B strep or GBS) in their bodies, but it can cause serious infections in those who are immunocompromised, including newborns, pregnant women and seniors. 

If newborns are exposed to GBS, they can contract meningitis, which can be fatal or cause lifelong neurological complications. 

A new study reveals that when GBS interacts with Candida albicans (C. albicans), a fungus and common culprit behind yeast infections, GBS is more likely to spread disease and become harder to treat in newborns. Infection by both microbes reduces the effectiveness of existing GBS treatments.�� 

“Our hope is that our findings will aid clinicians by providing new insight into treatment decisions when they examine pregnant women for the presence of GBS prior to delivery, to include looking for co-infections with C. albicans,” said study co-author Melody Neely, associate professor and chair of 91����’s Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences. 

Nearly one-third of women around the globe have some C. albicans in their genital tract, and GBS is found in 10-30% of pregnant women. Both can exist in parts of the gastrointestinal and reproductive systems, and be transferred from mother to baby in utero or during delivery. Previous research has shown a common association and co-infection by these microbes in patients.  

To examine how these organisms interact with each other, 91���� researchers and their colleagues grew cultures of GBS and C. albicans in the same culture tubes and in separate tubes. They found that GBS cells grow faster when they reside in the same environment as C. albicans. The two microbes don’t even need to interact with each other for C. albicans to enhance GBS growth, according to researchers. 

Researchers tested the infectious strength and drug resistance of GBS when exposed to C. albicans by injecting both simultaneously into the larvae of zebrafish. These paperclip-sized fish share genetic similarities to humans and have unique traits that allow scientists to watch disease processes and cellular development in real time. The team found that GBS was more infectious when combined with C.albicans in the larvae. It was also more resistant to antibiotic treatments. 

The study was the first to test how infectious and drug resistant GBS can be through a co-infection with C.albicans. The results are outlined in a paper published in the journal from the American Society for Microbiology.

“While current treatments for the presence of GBS in pregnant women is to give intravenous antibiotics several hours prior to delivery, if C. albicans is also present, the antibiotic may not be as effective and therefore, not able to clear the GBS,” Neely said. 

While coinfection with C. albicans can make GBS stronger, their ability to influence each other may depend on the environment in which they grow and to what extent nutrients like amino acids and sugars are available. Researchers found that nutrient availability, which most likely impacts gene expression, impacts how these microbes interact with each other. 

“These findings raise an important concern of whether individuals carrying both the bacteria and the fungi are at greater risk for dangerous disease, a question we would like to answer in the future,” said Robert Wheeler, professor of microbiology who co-authored the study. 

91���� alumna and former adjunct instructor Kathryn Patenaude, who now teaches at St. Joseph’s College of Maine, led the study in collaboration with Neely, Wheeler and other former and current graduate student researchers. 

Their publication follows the recent expansion of 91����’s zebrafish lab in Hichner Hall. Zebrafish are driving some of 91����’s most advanced biomedical discoveries, and the lab draws faculty and students who want to study muscular dystrophy, cancer, infections, toxins and other human health challenges. 

Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu

The tropical minnows are prolific and mature quickly, transforming from an egg to a free-swimming fish in a matter of days. The clear skin they sport during their embryonic phase allows scientists to watch their cells divide, migrate and specialize without invasive procedures. 

These attributes make zebrafish the star of sophisticated research labs at the University of Maine, where scientists want to test treatments and learn how organs grow, tissues heal and diseases develop.

91����’s zebrafish lab, which doubled in size this summer, draws faculty and students who want to study muscular dystrophy, cancer, infections, toxins and other human health challenges. The renovated facility in Hitchner Hall — supported by two National Institutes of Health grants totaling $650,000 and additional university investment — directly to existing zebrafish facilities, creating a unified research corridor with more room for experiments, training and collaborative projects. New spawning shelves triple daily experimental capacity, while dedicated nursery tanks allow researchers to rear fish at lower densities, halving the time needed to establish new genetic lines.

91���� officials say the renovation underscores the university’s long-term commitment to world-class research infrastructure. The public is invited to take a behind-the-scenes video tour of the newly expanded lab space that is typically accessible only to researchers to see how it will shape the future of biomedical research in Maine.

Contact: Erin Miller, erin.miller@maine.edu

An independent study released today concludes that the University of Maine’s world-class education and research strengths uniquely position the institution to improve health access and outcomes by establishing Maine’s first public medical school, but that limited financial and residency capacity in the state make doing so infeasible at this time.

In response to a critical shortage of physicians in rural Maine and recognizing the University of Maine System’s (UMS) leadership in health-related workforce development and research, the 131st Maine Legislature and Gov. Janet Mills the System to explore the feasibility of establishing a public allopathic medical school in Penobscot County. 

Through a competitive process, UMS Tripp Umbach, the nation’s leading medical education consultant, to conduct the comprehensive study, which was informed by interviews with more than 60 Maine health care, higher education and life science research leaders and submitted to the Legislature on Jan. 5.

The new report affirms Maine’s urgent physician workforce challenges, particularly in primary care and in rural communities, that are a result of the state having the oldest population in the nation, an aging physician workforce, and limited medical residency and clinical training capacity. Tripp Umbach additionally found that with no public medical school pathway, Maine produces only one-third the national average rate of M.D. school applicants by state and most graduates from the two private medical education programs in the state ultimately leave Maine to practice.   

As the state’s only R1 research university and the flagship of Maine’s leading producer of health care professionals (UMS), 91���� is identified by Tripp Umbach as the institution best suited to lead the future development of a public medical school, assuming a number of next strategic steps they outline are considered and implemented. UMS is already authorized by statute to operate a college of medicine and confer the degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD), though establishing a program would require approval by the System’s Board of Trustees through an inclusive, public process. 

Respondents to a statewide stakeholder survey administered by Tripp Umbach — most of them health care or community leaders — overwhelmingly agreed that Maine needs a public medical school and that it should be part of UMS, with the majority agreeing it would address physician workforce shortages and improve health outcomes in underserved areas.

“Data indicate a need for a public medical school to provide an accessible pathway for Maine students to pursue high-quality, high-value medical education and then be retained to practice in the state,” writes Tripp Umbach. “Stakeholders agree that 91���� should lead this initiative.”

‘A sustainable solution to Maine’s physician shortages’

The study notes that 91���� already makes significant contributions to the state’s health care workforce through high-quality nursing and other allied health profession degree programs; research and clinical partnerships that span the state, including with MaineHealth, Northern Light Health and VA Maine Healthcare System; and world-class biomedical science and engineering. The System’s statewide footprint, including nursing education and simulation training facilities in rural regions such as Aroostook, Hancock and Washington counties, could additionally be leveraged by a future public medical school to support rural health care training. 

Ultimately, Tripp Umbach concludes that establishing a public M.D.-granting medical school is not currently financially feasible. They contend that the scale of investment required — $250 million in start-up costs and tens of millions in sustained operating support that must be supplemental to existing public, private and philanthropic funding — combined with limited medical residency capacity and the financial constraints facing Maine’s health care systems, makes such an undertaking “not prudent at this time.”

However, they suggest strategic steps for the state and UMS to consider to lay the foundation for a future 91���� medical school. Tripp Umbach also notes that the new federal limits on graduate and professional student borrowing, which take effect this year, heighten the need for an affordable, high-quality public option. Their recommendations include: investing in research, nursing and allied health programs across UMS; strengthening undergraduate and graduate medical education pipelines and partnerships between current programs and 91����; expanding residency and clinical training capacity, particularly in rural areas; and building the System’s physical infrastructure, including a proposed health sciences complex in Orono for which $45 million in federal funding requested by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is currently pending. 

“Maine needs more doctors, and the University of Maine has a proven track record of preparing the professional workforce who competently care for Mainers and the cutting-edge research that is improving health outcomes statewide,” said Chancellor Dannel Malloy and 91���� President Joan Ferrini-Mundy, who also serves as the System’s Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation. 

“While concluding that there is currently a lack of necessary financial resources, this independent study confirms the state needs a public medical school and that our world-class flagship university has the outstanding academic programs and research that will be foundational if and when Maine is ready to make that investment in the future. In the meantime, the University of Maine System remains deeply committed to serving Maine people and communities and to strengthening our programs and partnerships so that one day, aspiring physicians will have an affordable, high-quality pathway to earn their MD and be retained to practice here.” 

Other findings from Tripp Umbach’s report include:

• “A public M.D. program can provide a clear, strategic pathway for the University of Maine to address the state’s most pressing healthcare and economic challenges… An M.D. school not only carries the highest level of national and international recognition, but it also maximizes opportunities for state investment, federal research funding, and philanthropic support. Most importantly, it provides a sustainable solution to Maine’s physician shortages, ensuring that more locally trained physicians remain in the state to practice, as 68% of students who complete medical school and residencies in the same state stay to practice.”
• “UMS and 91���� have many strengths that the State and private organizations can leverage to address a critical physician shortage, particularly in rural Maine.”
• “91���� is the only R1 research university in Maine and accounts for more than 80% of the state’s federal R&D expenditures. A significant portion of 91����’s research is in health and medicine, and the university offers a unique statewide doctoral program in biomedical science and engineering.” 
• 91���� “has research funding and output comparable to those of other new public medical schools.”
• “Due to expected physician shortages, especially in rural areas and primary care, Tripp Umbach recommends that the State of Maine, in partnership with UMS, reassess the feasibility of a public medical school within three years. Until this time, the State of Maine, in collaboration with UMS, should work with existing medical schools and hospitals to expand undergraduate medical education and graduate medical education until a public medical school becomes financially viable.” 

In 2024-25, Maine’s public universities produced 870 health care graduates. 91���� — the state’s only institution to have achieved the prestigious Carnegie R1 classification for research performance and productivity — and the University of Southern Maine, where the Catherine Cutler Institute houses multiple , including the Maine Rural Health Research Institute, also brought millions of dollars in related research investment to the state.

The flagship is also the degree-granting institution that anchors Maine’s innovative , a multi-institutional education and research consortium that also includes The Jackson Laboratory, the MaineHealth Institute of Research, the MDI Biological Laboratory and the University of New England. In 2018, 91���� launched its Institute of Medicine to coordinate the institution’s accelerating activities and partnerships in health and life science education and research.

Contact: Samantha Warren, 207.632.0389; samantha.warren@maine.edu

All of those features, and the fact that they are easy to grow and care for, make zebrafish great for studying some of the most serious diseases affecting people — from infections and cancer to muscular dystrophy.

91���� has ongoing and completed research projects that use zebrafish as a model, some of which have led to groundbreaking discoveries. In this episode of “The Maine Question” podcast, 91���� faculty members Ben King, Melody Neely and Rob Wheeler explore how university research uses this remarkable little fish with host Ron Lisnet.

Listen to the podcast on , , , , or “The Maine Question” website. 

What topics would you like to learn more about? What questions do you have for 91���� experts? Email them to mainequestion@maine.edu.