Seniors Rocking Research 

Senior Haley Chesbro of Fulton plans to be a neurologist.

ALBANY, N.Y. (April 28, 2020) – Four female University at Albany seniors have been recognized nationally for their research.

Their subjects include: the neuroscience of obsessive-compulsive disorder; exploring how the linguistic patterns of several world leaders, including Donald Trump, are linked to political behavior; and how maternal depression stresses toddlers.

While the National Conference on Undergraduate Research at Montana State University, scheduled for March 26-28, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the research of these students shows how UAlbany gives undergrads a start in research.

This is the first time UAlbany has been selected to participate in this event, according to the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (CURCE).

The scholars include Nurat Affinnih, Haley Chesbro, Hayley Peterson and Peri Sosensky, who were chosen from more than 4,000 who submitted presentations across the country.

Nurat Affinnih

Affinnih, a senior from Rensselaer whose goal is medical school, became interested in research as a sophomore after attending a pre-health workshop.

“We are researching how inhibition between medium spiny neurons, the principal cells in the striatum (a structure in the brain that is involved in movement) may contribute to obsessive-compulsive disorder,” she said. “Specifically, we are looking at how the presence or absence of glutamate transporters regulates this inhibition between the medium spiny neurons.”

Affinnih is working with Associate Professor of Biology Annalisa Scimemi and fellow senior Haley Chesbro on this research.

“I am fascinated by the brain and how it works. I am also extremely interested in mental disorders and how the mechanisms of mental disorders take place in the brain,” said Affinnih, who recently moved to Rensselaer from Valatie.

Haley Chesbro

Chesbro is a first-generation student from Fulton whose goal is to become a neurologist. After graduation, she plans to take a gap year to gain clinical experience before going to medical school. Chesbro first became interested in research after talking to other undergrads who were involved in CURCE, which is holding a virtual version of its annual undergraduate research conference today.  

“Throughout my academics, I found that I most enjoy studying neuroscience out of all my science classes,” she said. “There are myriad questions to answer in terms of how clusters of brain cells firing across neural networks act to regulate the body’s systems and produce complex behavior.”

Chesbro finds neuroscience fascinating because of its many applications in medicine, such as the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

“These diseases affect the lives of so many and rely on research to elucidate better treatment options for individuals affected,” she said.

Hayley Peterson

Hayley Peterson of Averill Park, a dual major in Human Biology and Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, works with CEHC Professor of Practice Michael Young.

She is analyzing linguistic patterns, in particular verbs, that are used by President Donald Trump, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Peterson is examining how these patterns are symbolic of political behavior. Her research is on Operational Code Analysis, a method used to systematically analyze leadership cognition.

“To analyze mass amounts of a leader’s speeches, we use an automated coding scheme that allows for a fast analysis of verb patterns that illuminate the relationship between their linguistic cognition and their political behavior,” she said. Her goal is to earn an MBA with a focus on government and defense contracting, or a master’s degree in security studies.

“I hope to combine what I have learned from both majors as well as my earlier premed studies by focusing on biological and chemical warfare defense,” said Peterson.

She enrolled as a freshman at UAlbany and became a Research Ambassador with CURCE, introducing research and funding opportunities to other students at research fairs.

UAlbany senior Peri Sosensky conducts research at Yale, examining the effects of maternal depression on toddlers.

Peri Sosensky

Peri Sosensky is a Human Biology major from Woodbridge, Conn., who plans to go to medical school after graduation to become a primary care physician. She is a research assistant at Yale University and Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Sosensky is researching the effects of stress on toddlers living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods in New Haven, Conn. She works with Monica Ordway at Yale, focusing on the effects of maternal depression on toddlers’ sleep, collecting hair and saliva samples to assess children’s stress levels.

“Many of these children live in one-bedroom apartments, co-sleep and have less than favorable family situations,” she said. “This study jump-started my passion for working with underserved communities and in women’s health as we also collect data on the mothers, using forms to assess their mental health via the recording of depressive symptoms in relation to numerical data.”

Sosensky is also a CURCE Research Ambassador, and volunteers as an ambulance attendant for Five Quad Volunteer Ambulance Service.

“UAlbany has done nothing but further my interest in research and support me, as CURCE has the ability to fund our conference trips and provide grants toward research projects. CURCE even goes so far as to pay for poster printing for conferences and professional organizations of your choice. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work for and be supported by a Center like CURCE,” Sosensky said.

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