Student Profiles

Yasmin graduated summa cum laude from the University of Delaware with an Honors Bachelor of Science Degree in biology and neuroscience with a minor in biochemistry. Her passion for research comes from her love of biology and drive to help others. Yasmin’s first research experience was during the summer of 2017 at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children through the Nemours Summer Undergraduate Research Program. There she worked under the supervision of Dr. Zhengyu Ma to investigate whether tuning the binding affinity of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells could improve tumor targeting. This was done by creating 3 anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) CAR constructs that varied in binding affinity using site-directed mutagenesis. Yasmin’s next summer was spent at the Fox Chase Cancer Center as a University of Delaware-Fox Chase Cancer Center research fellow. As a student of Dr. Erica Golemis, she examined the effects of anti-cancer drugs on primary cilia-associated platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRα) signaling using western blotting and immunofluorescence microscopy. The poster created from this work won her 1st place in the poster presentation competition during the Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences at the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2018. Yasmin also began working with Dr. Carlton Cooper, Dr. Randall Duncan, and Dr. Kenneth van Golen at the University of Delaware in September 2017 to explore the racial disparity in prostate cancer metastasis to bone. This led to a 3-year project, including a summer internship through the University of Delaware Summer Scholars Program, and resulted in the completion of a senior thesis on the effects of oxidative stress on human bone marrow endothelial cells and metastatic prostate cancer adhesion. These research experiences led her to become a 2019 Barry Goldwater Scholar and earn the University of Delaware Biological Sciences Academic Excellence and Halsey McPhee Awards. She is also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.

Yasmin decided to take a gap year after graduating to pursue her interests in science advocacy and education. As a volunteer with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, she helped prepare written reports and a poster on the unique challenges young-onset cancer patients face. She also did volunteer work with local organization, FAME Inc., to help provide resources and support for underrepresented K-12 students so they can pursue college STEM degrees. Yasmin found herself back at the University of Delaware as a teaching assistant for the university’s graduate-level cancer biology class. She also continued to work with Dr. Carlton Cooper and his collaborator at Delaware State University, Dr. Alberta Aryee, to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of Prunus africana extracts on prostate cancer. They plan to publish this work in August.

For her thesis work, Yasmin will be studying CAR T cell activity in response to varying metabolic tumor microenvironments in the context of medullary thyroid cancer. In addition to volunteering and teaching, Yasmin also enjoys baking, playing soccer and watching movies. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in academia where she can continue to conduct groundbreaking research, advocate for equality and science policy, and mentor the next generation of scientists.