Megan Little
Megan is a junior majoring in Biology with a minor in Spanish and a Spanish Translation Certificate. She’s from Phoenix, Arizona, and while she enjoys D.C. she does miss the more-affordable concert tickets of AZ.
Since she plans to attend medical school, working in the DeCicco lab was of particular interest, as she felt that learning more about the research projects in lab would be important as they both have direct clinical applications. In addition to her plans to attend medical school, she hopes to one day work with Doctors Without Borders after a life-changing medical mission to Fiji she participated in that inspired her to improve global health. She is particularly interested in women’s and maternal healthcare, as she is a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment.
Megan is Brazilian and her first language was Portuguese. She is also fluent in Spanish! She loves any outdoors activity–camping, hiking, picnicking are a few of her favorites! In general she enjoys travelling, often getting to know a new place by trying out new restaurants and food. She follows one rule for going out to eat: always order dessert.
Farouq Xssali
Farouq is a post-baccalaureate student at American University. He received a B.S. degree in Architecture and Environmental Design prior to coming to AU and it shows. His architectural eye comes in handy when designing the best way to do an experiment. Farouq is working on a Multiple myeloma project and is often found staring at cells under the microscope and commenting on their beauty!
Farouq is from Silver Spring, MD and has worked for years in elder care, which has sparked his interest in continuing in medicine. He will attend medical school after his post-bac is complete, and is considering surgery (if you saw his crazy good hand skills you would definitely want him as your surgeon). His favorite technique is cell culture because even though you can’t see cells without a microscope, “it requires the mindfulness and awareness that you are affecting the basic unit of life”. When he isn’t in the lab, Farouq is a great athlete, and particularly enjoys running. Fun fact: although Farouq is right-handed, he tends to favor his left hand and left foot in sports.
Nicholas DeVito
Nicholas is a senior, majoring in biology. His hometown is Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He became interested in the DeCicco lab after taking cell biology with Dr. DeCicco and enjoying both the class and Dr. D’s teaching style.
Nicholas joined the lab in the fall of 2020. He is doing his Honors Capstone on a multiple myeloma project, and is particularly intrigued by the drug resistance mechanisms that become activated in response to fat. He plans to attend graduate school after graduation.
Outside of lab, he plays the oboe in the AU orchestra and is also a rower on the crew team. Nicholas often has a hot take to offer on pop culture trends, and can be found sporting wild socks, sometimes flamingos, sometimes burritos, always cool.
** We have a Nicholas update: Guess who is going to grad school at UCSF next year!!!!
Katrina Perez
Katrina is a junior Biology major at American University. Originally from Medford, MA she started working in the lab about five months ago. Katrina is starting her Honors Capstone project which will focus on understanding the role of reactive oxygen species in multiple myeloma cells. Katrina loves STEM because she loves learning information that helps her understand how the world around her functions on many different levels. Katrina is a huge animal welfare advocate and is considering veterinary school after getting her B.S. degree. Her favorite lab technique is microscopy. When not in classes or in lab, Katrina enjoys baking. One of her specialties is chocolate chip banana bread (Yum!!)
Deborah Tadesse
Deborah is in her second-year at American University, studying Public Health on the pre-medical track. She is part of the three-year Public Health Scholars program and is from Baltimore, MD.Deborah has been working in the lab for one year, although she is interning this semester in Nairobi, Kenya. We can’t wait until May when she is back and we can hear about her adventures!Deborah has primarily been working on the squamous cell carcinoma project, and thinks that day 2 Westerns are her favorite lab technique. Deborah’s future aspirations are to go to medical school to be a MD/Ph.D. She ultimately wants to be an oncologist. Additionally, she is interested in looking at the intersection of ethics, race, and medicine as it applies to health disparities and magnifying black voices.When Deborah isn’t in lab or taking classes she loves to bake (especially brownies), skydive, travel, and learning new languages! She just completed the Latin course on Duolingo, and is currently working on Norwegian and Swahili!
Rebecca May
Rebecca (Becky) is a senior Biology major and Public Health minor on the pre-medicine track. Although she has moved around a good bit, she calls Sea Isle City in New Jersey her home. She chose the DeCicco lab after her positive experience with Dr. D in cell biology, as well as a desire to expand her knowledge in cell biology. Currently, Becky assists with two different projects in the lab, but has focused more closely on the multiple myeloma project and will likely continue with the MM project until graduation. Besides her studies, Becky has been a competitive sailor for 10 years!
*** We have a Becky update: Guess who got into Temple medical school for next fall (Woot Woot)!!!
Kasia Rus
Kasia is a junior, majoring in Biology and on the pre-med track. She joined the DeCicco lab after taking cell biology and being intrigued by Dr. D’s research. Kasia became part of the lab in the summer of 2021. She has spent most of her time working with the squamous cell carcinoma project, but she is interested in both types of cancer studied in the lab. Most of all, Kasia loves being able to hang out with her friends in lab and expand her research skills. Originally from Southhampton, New York, Kasia’s favorite activities include surfing and or going on long beach walks with her dog, Rosie. She also enjoys traveling, as she has five older brothers who live all over the world. Most importantly, she values her Polish heritage, since her entire family immigrated from Poland before she was born! Kasia wants to go to medical school, but first will be studying abroad next fall in Australia!!
Veronica Locker
Veronica is the newest member of our laboratory. Originally from Burtonsville, MD Veronica is a sophomore Biology major on the pre-med track. Her aspirations are to be an OB/GYN. Her favorite thing about lab is the teamwork aspect. She really enjoys working with others to solve a problem that advances the the scientific field. When not studying and working in the laboratory Veronica enjoys going to concerts and music festivals. In fact, she has a very large collection of K-pop CDs!
Erin Greenberg
Erin is another new addition to our laboratory, fresh from Wayland, Massachusetts (near Boston). She is a sophomore, biology major on the pre-med track. After graduation, Erin wants to go to medical school and specialize in trauma medicine. Her favorite thing about working in the lab is that she loves learning about how medicine affects diverse systems in the human body differently. She is fascinated to see how microscopic cells can communicate to form something bigger (like organs), and how they can optimize their surroundings to perform various functions.
Aisha Barre
Aisha is a post-baccalaureate student at American University. She received her B.S. in Biopsychology from the Augsburg University in Minnesota. She is originally from Somali but was raised in Edina, Minnesota. She fluently speaks both Somali and English and can read and write Arabic. After graduating college, Aisha worked as a Mental Health Counselor. She is interested in attending medical school, hoping to specialize in psychiatry or Ob/Gyn. She started working in the lab this year to expand her knowledge of scientific techniques. Her favorite technique is culturing cells, and differentiating stem cells into fat cells. Aisha's favorite hobbies include photography, traveling, trying new restaurants/foods, reading, and painting. She also enjoys outdoor winter sports like skiing, sliding, and skating, although she admits that she still falls quite often.
