The College of Science and Mathematics (CoSM) is proud to feature our department Top Scholars along with our college Top Scholar, Eugene Matthew Almazan, who graduated from the Department of Biological Sciences spring 2017.
Top Scholars must have at least a 3.6 GPA and be on track to graduate in the spring. One student from each CoSM department was nominated by their department chair and submitted to the dean. From these distinguished nominations, the dean selected a college top scholar.
Matthew Almazan was drawn to the innovation of science along with it's potential to help others. And helping others is exactly what he did. He got involved in campus life and the Student Government Association (SGA) serving as the Senator for CoSM and on the CoSM Dean's Circle. In addition to his student government work, Matt participated in various community service activities. "Service taught me the importance of giving back to a community that has been very generous and there are various avenues of service that are available for students," he stated.
As a science major, Matt enjoyed the opportunity to take smaller sized classes with interactive instruction. He said, "I really enjoyed the biology recitations during my freshman year where we had the opportunity to discuss scientific literature in a relaxed and open setting. In contrast to large lecture classes, the small class size made the recitation very appealing and allowed me to really get to know my fellow biology majors...everyone appreciated how the professors really put a lot of effort into engaging all students in constructive discussion and debate about the relevance of the scientific topics that we covered."
Last year he worked in Dr. Labib Rouhana's lab studying post-trascriptional regulation in planarian flatworms. In 2016, Matt won a presentation award at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS). He was among the winners for Best Poster for Developmental Biology for his poster on the role of planarian auricles in chemotaxis. Planarian flatworms have simple organ systems and are used as a model system in biological and biomedical research for investigating a number of biological processes.
Matt appreciates how biomedical research gave him an appreciation for how important scientific discovery is in treating human beings. "I also gained a profound understanding of the complexities of our natural world and how powerful science can be in solving real world problems." He credits Wright State in providing so many opportunities, tools, and support for students to excel and make their professional dreams come true.
Presently, as a new medical student in the Boonshoft School of Medicine, Matt is working towards his professional dreams, using the tools of innovation and science in the service of others.
Please take a moment to read about our department Top Scholars:
Justin Myers, Top Scholar for the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences
Josh Jordan, Top Scholar for the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Physics
Joshua Sensenbaugh, Top Scholar for the Department of Psychology
James Herbort, Top Scholar for the Department of Chemistry
