BHRI Undergraduate Fellows 2025
The Brain Health Research Institute Undergraduate Fellows Program offers highly qualified and motivated undergraduate students an immersive program that includes research-intensive experiences in neuroscience as well as mentoring, skills training and career development support. The culmination of the BHRI Fellows' experience is a capstone presentation of their research.
This year, BHRI Fellows Program has an incoming group of 11 Fellows. The Fellows’ majors represent a diverse range of disciplines, including Psychology, Nursing, Biology, Aerospace Engineering, Neuroscience, Exercise Science, Molecular Cellular Biology, and Environmental and Conservation Biology.
Name: Taylor Dimmerling
Major: Neuroscience
Hometown: Louisville, Ohio
Mentor: Ronald Seese, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences, NEOMED, Akron Children's Hospital
Hi! My name is Taylor Dimmerling (She/Her), and I’m from Louisville, Ohio. I’m a sophomore Neuroscience major at Vlog and excited to be part of the BHRI program this summer. I’m looking forward to learning more about the brain and connecting with others passionate about neuroscience.
I’ll be conducting translational autism research in the Seese Lab, focusing on autonomic brain networks. In my free time, I enjoy reading, traveling, and hiking. I'm excited for the experience and insights this program will bring!
Name: William Maynard
Major: Biology; Minor: Chemistry
Hometown: Green, Ohio
Mentor: Dinah Qutob, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences
My name is William Maynard (he/him), and I’m from Green, Ohio. I will be starting as a freshman in the 2025-2026 academic year, planning to major in biology with a minor in chemistry, with the goal of attending medical school. This summer, I’m excited to be working under Dr. Qutob alongside my twin brother, Raymond Maynard, on a project to verify whether SOX3 is SUMOylated in glioblastoma cells. We’ll be using in vitro SUMOylation assays to determine if SOX3 is modified by SUMO proteins, and how this affects its function in the context of glioblastoma. I’m particularly interested in this research because it has potential applications in cancer treatment and provides a valuable opportunity for hands-on lab experience.
In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer, basketball, lifting weights, and hanging out with my friends.
Name: Madeline Desmond
Major: Environmental and Conservation Biology; Minor: Microbiology and Environmental Studies
Hometown: Independence, Kentucky
Mentor: Brian Trevelline, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences
My name is Madeline Desmond (she/her/hers). I am from Independence, Kentucky and this year, I will be a senior environmental and conservation biology major with a minor in microbiology and environmental studies. My research this summer is focusing on the effects of microbiome and captivity on wild bird brains with Dr. Brian Trevelline.
I am super excited to step into the understudied field of wildlife neurology! In my free time, I enjoy hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, and crocheting!
Name: Matthew Puleo
Major: Neuroscience
Hometown: Brunswick, Ohio
Mentor: Min-Ho Kim, PhD, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences
My name is Matthew Puleo (he/him), and I am from Brunswick, Ohio. I am a neuroscience major and will be a senior this Fall. For the past year, I have been working in research and have fallen in love with the work I do because I get to apply what I learn in a place that matters.
Name: Punarjai Pratap
Major: Exercise Science
Hometown: Delhi, India
Mentor: Adam Jajtner, PhD, CSCS, Associate Professor, Health Sciences
Hi, my name is Punarjai Pratap (he/him), and I’m originally from India. I’m an undergraduate student at Vlog majoring in Exercise Science, entering my second year for the 2025–26 academic year. This summer, the research I am participating in is focused-on exercise inflammation and the immune response to skeletal muscle damage resulting from resistance exercise.
I’m passionate about understanding how science can improve physical performance and recovery, especially in athletic and clinical populations.
Outside of academics, a fun fact about me: I run an Instagram page where I explore strength-based, calisthenics, and boxing workouts.
Name: Raymond Maynard
Major: Biology; Minor: Chemistry
Hometown: Green, Ohio
Mentor: Dinah Qutob, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences
My name is Raymond Maynard (he/him), and I’ll be entering my freshman year in the 2025–2026 academic year, majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry. Growing up in Green, Ohio, I developed a strong curiosity about how biology influences human health, especially in the context of disease—an interest that ultimately inspired my academic path.
This summer, I am participating in a molecular biology research internship under the mentorship of Dr. Qutob. My project focuses on investigating whether the SOX3 protein undergoes SUMOylation in glioblastoma cells. If this post-translational modification is present, I will explore how it may affect SOX3’s protein-protein interactions, intracellular localization, and involvement in signaling pathways relevant to brain cancer. I am especially excited to contribute to research with potential clinical relevance and to collaborate with my twin brother as part of the experience.
Outside the lab, I enjoy playing soccer and basketball, lifting weights, going fishing and spending time with friends over a good card game. I also work at a pizza shop.
Name: Elise Simmons
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Mentor: Lee Gilman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychological Sciences
My name is Elise Simmons (she/her), and I am a B.S. Psychology major from Cleveland, Ohio. This upcoming Fall 2025 semester I will be a senior, and I am interested in research because it gives me hands-on experience!
This summer, I will be investigating how salt consumption and stress interact to effect mice's cognitive performance. Outside of research and academics, I enjoy talking to friends and playing guitar.
Name: Reece Turner
Major: Neuroscience, English
Hometown: Shaker Heights, Ohio
Mentor: Joseph Bedont, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences
I'm Reece Turner, I go by "he/him" pronouns. I'm a Neuroscience and English major, and I'll be a junior in the fall.
This summer, I'll be looking at the effects on food preference in sleep-deprived fruit flies. In my free time, I like to read and write short stories.
Name: Cooper DeFrange
Major: Biology
Hometown: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Mentor: Jennifer McDonough, PhD, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences
My name is Cooper DeFrange (He/Him), and I am from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. I am a Biology major going into my fourth year as an undergraduate. I am looking forward to the BHRI experience as I believe it will be a great resume builder, as well as a great experience to provide me with a view of what goes on behind the scenes to research different scientific methods and treatments for different illnesses, diseases and disorders. With this, I will be researching multiple sclerosis this summer; specifically, where different compounds such as hemoglobin are expressed in neurons to target these areas and learn what effects they have on demyelination.
Aside from research and academics, I enjoy spending my time learning about and working on cars, competing in track and field, and spending time with my friends and family.
Name: Joshua Alfman
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Akron, Ohio
Mentor: Douglas Delahanty, PhD, Professor, Psychological Sciences, and Vice President for Research & Economic Development
I am Joshua Alfman. I am a Psychology Major from Akron, Ohio. I am Senior who is graduating in the spring of 2026.
The topic of research for the summer is researching and understanding fear-avoidance in a lab-based examination of the relationship between inhibitory control and avoidance behavior in a delayed onset muscle soreness paradigm. This research allows for further investigations into the link between cognitive/behavioral processes and their impact on a person’s physiology.
In my off time, I enjoy listening and playing guitar or bass. I have a fondness for jazz/blues music and its propensity for improvisation. I am part of the 501stgarrison, which is a Star Wars costumed group that participates and raises money for various charity groups and hospitals. Our motto: “we are bad guys doing good.”