Students Awarded CBIA/CCSU Research Fellowships

(from left to right) - Daniel Mori, Thomas Palgiaruli, Sheila Chery, Jeffrey Damiano, Jason Bannock, Francisco Ramirez, David Magnan, and Shannon Soucy - absent: Yekaterina Shishkina, Daniel DeCesaris, and Richard Haughton

Program provides research skills needed to enter today’s job market

The Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) today announced a research fellowship program with Central Connecticut State University’s (CCSU) Biotechnology Institute. The fellowships will provide 11 CCSU students the opportunity to conduct on-campus research projects and learn the skills necessary for successful careers in the bioscience or biotechnical fields.

The 11 students chosen for the fellowships are:

• Daniel DeCesaris of Glastonbury, Conn., a junior majoring in biomolecular sciences
• Daniel Mori of Glastonbury, Conn., a junior majoring in biochemistry
• David Magnan of Newington, Conn., a junior majoring in biomolecular sciences
• Francisco Ramirez of New Britain, Conn., a junior majoring in biomolecular sciences
• Jason Bannock of Windsor, Conn., a graduate student majoring in biomolecular sciences
• Jeff Damiano of Thomaston, Conn., a graduate student majoring in biomolecular sciences
• Richard Haughton of Hartford, Conn., a graduate student majoring in biomolecular sciences
• Sheila Chery of Maplewood, N.J., a junior majoring in biomolecular sciences
• Shannon Soucy of Bristol, Conn., a junior majoring in biomolecular sciences
• Thomas Pagliarulli of Newington, Conn., a graduate student majoring in biomolecular sciences
• Yekaterina Shishkina of Marlborough, Conn., a junior majoring in biomolecular sciences

The students were chosen for their academic abilities and their interest in pursuing a career involving laboratory research. They will receive financial support to participate in on-campus research projects at CCSU’s Department of Biomolecular Sciences during the 2006-07 academic year.

“CBIA funding will allow our faculty to better prepare biomolecular science students for positions in Connecticut’s biotechnology companies,” said Dr. Kathy Martin, director of CCSU’s Biotechnology Institute. “Our students and faculty are excited and honored by these opportunities.”

The students will present their research findings at one of CCSU's biotechnology forums, which are held twice a year. The forums allow students to present their independent research study to faculty, students and representatives from area biotechnology companies.

“Our students are already very anxious to impress this audience with their completed projects,” said Dr. Thomas King, professor and chair, CCSU Department of Biomolecular Sciences. “While these presentations will surely be a great learning experience for our students, I expect that they will also go far to enhance CCSU’s reputation for life-sciences research training in Connecticut.”

“This partnership with Central Connecticut State University, as well as the fellowships we sponsor with several other universities in the state, underscores the importance of the business community working with our colleges and universities to maintain Connecticut’s world-class workforce,” said Judith Resnick, CBIA director of workforce development and training, and the deputy director of the association’s Education Foundation. “The fellowship program helps keep Connecticut’s brightest students in the state and allows companies to hire the highly educated and trained workers needed to remain competitive in the growing biotechnology industry.”

The fellowship program is made possible through a U.S. Department of Labor H-1B grant administered by CBIA.

CBIA is the state’s largest business organization, with 10,000 members.