college of mount saint vincent

NEWSWinter 2012Alumnae/i, Students & Friends

COLLEGE OF MOUNT SAINT VINCENT6301 RIVERDALE AVENUE | RIVERDALE, NY 10471 | PHONE (800) 665-CMSV | (718) 405-3345 | WEB:WWW.MOUNTSAINTVINCENT.EDU

Maria Pietrosanti ’75 was des-tined to attend the College ofMount Saint Vincent ever sinceshe was a young girl.

Growing up, her mother, a nativeof Italy, broughtMs. Pietrosanti tothe Grotto during the month ofMay on their evening strolls.

“She was very devoted to Mary,and we would walk there in theevenings and on the weekends,”she says.“Once there, we would re-cite the Rosary, and then mymother would walk with methrough the campus and tell methat one day I would go to schoolthere. It is a memory that I will al-ways cherish.”

Like Ms. Pietrosanti, many alum-nae/i are the first members of theirfamilies to graduate from college.TheMount’s current student bodyis composed of roughly 40 percentof first-generation college students.

The College attracts numerousfirst generation college students,such as recent graduate JamesVazquez ’06, ’12M.B.A., as well asRose Kelly McTague ’68, Dr.

Maritza Bianchi ’90, and Dr.Anthony Esposito ’92.

As the first member of her familyto receive a college degree, MountKisco-based pediatric dentistDr. Bianchi says the Mount pro-vided an ideal learning situationthat left her well-prepared for den-tal school at New York University.

In fact, her Mount classes used alot of the same textbooks that shelater encountered in dental school,she says.

“The professors were really willingto work with you,” she says. “(TheMount provided) a non-stressfullearning environment. Dr. FelixBocchino, Sister Mary EdwardZipf,S.C.’62,Ph.D.—theywould sitdown with you and make sure youunderstood everything. It’s the typeof learning that stays with you.”

For the daughter of two PuertoRican immigrants, Dr. Bianchisays that she found a faculty andstaff dedicated to ensuring studentsuccess at the Mount.

“I felt that the teachers wanted youto succeed,” she says.“They pushed

you, but it was a nice push.”

Mr. Vazquez, who grew up neartheMount and attended nearby St.Margaret of Cortona elementaryschool, knew that he would even-tually apply to the Mount. He ob-tained his bachelor’s in businessadministration from the College,and will receive his M.B.A. thisspring.

“I walked by the College every day,and knew that I would apply ingood time,” he says. “I was con-scious of this decision while inhigh school, and worked hard atmaintaining good grades to makemyself a good candidate. When itwas time to apply to colleges,Mount Saint Vincent was my firstchoice.”

Although still in graduate school,Mr. Vazquez landed a job with J.P.Morgan Chase & Co, where he iscurrently assistant vice presidentand senior client service profes-sional in the bank’s GovernmentServices—Connecticut and NewYork Region division. He creditsthe Mount with giving him the

A HISTORY OF FIRSTS

For many young people today, it’s hard to imaginea world without Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube,and Twitter. Ten years ago, such social network-

ing sites did not exist. In a short time span, social mediahas changed and continues to alter the way we commu-nicate with each other, for good or for ill.

These sites allow us not only to socialize, but to meetand network with potential employers.While these arepositive outcomes from social media, there are also un-deniable drawbacks to sharing too much online andleaving an intractable digital footprint.

To find out how the brave newworld of social media de-fines and affects us, we spoke with Dr. CynthiaMeyers,Associate Professor of Communication;DianeMachado,

Director of Career Development and Internships; andDr. Rajkumar Kempaiah, Assistant Professor of Busi-ness and a specialist in information technology. Here iswhat they had to say.

1) How has social media evolved in the last severalyears?

CM: New platforms allowing different ways of sharing,including Tumblr, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn, con-tinue to develop. Video sharing sites, such as YouTube,will continue to grow in importance.

DM: It has become very mainstream. Facebook, whichstarted as something usedmostly by college students, hasbecome something being used by people in every agegroup, with the largest growth in older adults. It has

Top to bottom: Maria Pietrosanti ’75,James Vazquez ’06, ’12 M.B.A., andDr. Maritza Bianchi ’90

MOUNT ROUNDTABLEInternet Identity

IN THIS ISSUE:

A History of Firsts1

The MountRoundtable1

CMSV in the Media2

Around Campus2

Did You Know3

A Day in the Life4

Faculty Focus7

continued on page 6

continued on page 4

By Christina Gonzalez ’09

By Erin Walsh

2 Winter 2012

�Director of Campus Ministry Cecilia Harriendorf, S.C.’s life-changing journey from television producer to Sister of Charity wasfeatured in the September issue of Woman’s Daymagazine.

�To commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, campus chaplainFather Chris Keenan was profiled in the New York Daily News inSeptember for his essential role of providing ministry at GroundZero. Father Chris is also Chaplain for the Fire Department of NewYork, and assisted at Ground Zero after the death of his friend andmentor Father Mychal Judge.

�Associate Director of Development Systems and alumnaMade-lineMcGuinness ’01was featured in an OctoberU.S. News & WorldReport article on the benefits of tuition remission for college em-ployees. Ms. McGuinness says that finishing college was a specialgoal for her to achieve, as the first member of her family to earn adegree.

�Assistant Professor of Nursing and alumna Mary AnnWitt ’90was quoted on understanding childhood obesity inClinical Advisor.“Tackling obesity often takes skills that are not taught in medicalschool,” she said in the publication.“Physicians learn about how totreat diseases and repair the body, but don't spendmuch time learn-ing how to change behaviors.”

— ErinWalsh

COLLEGE NEWS

aroundCMSVin the

MEDIAThe Mount has garnered a lot of press coveragein regional and national publications. Read ex-cerpts of the latest coverage of your alma mater.

Father Chris Keenan in the Chapel of the ImmaculateConception, College of Mount Saint Vincent.Credit: Victor Chu/Daily News

AD LAUDEM DEIOnOctober 25, 2011, the College of Mount Saint Vincent honoreddistinguished alumnae Nancy Harding ’69, Ph.D. and SophiaYanLiu ’69, Ph.D. for their noteworthy professional accomplishments,outstanding moral character, and contributions to the communitywith the 2011 Ad Laudem Dei Awards. Dr. Harding holds a B.S. inchemistry from the College and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Pur-due University. She is an inventor of genetically purified gellan gum,

a food additive that has helped improved the quality of consumermilk and dairy products, and has also helped create four otherpatented agents. After earning a B.S. in chemistry from MountSaint Vincent, Dr. Liu received her Ph.D. in organic chemistry fromColumbia University. Her work has yielded multiple U.S. patents,including one for an agent that results in safer plastics.

ENGLISH PROFESSOR ROB JACKLOSKYSELECTED AS FINALIST IN ESQUIRE MAGAZINESHORT, SHORT FICTION CONTESTChair and Professor of English Dr. Rob Jacklosky was recentlynamed one of 10 finalists in theAspen Writers’ Foundation andEsquire Magazine 2011 Short,Short Fiction contest. Dr. Jack-losky’s story, “Baby Envy,” wasperformed in front of a live audi-ence composed of contest judgesand 300 literati at an EsquireMagazine party.He and the otherfinalists also participated in awriting workshop taught byColum McCann, bestselling au-thor of Let the Great World Spin.

Honorees Dr. Sophia Yan Liu ’69 (l) and Dr. Nancy Harding(r) with Sister Kathleen M. Tracey ’48, Ph.D.

For more news, visit www.mountsaintvincent.edu/news

Winter 2012 3

� Mount Students AreConcerned for OthersMount students selected Concern Worldwide, anonprofit that supports the world’s poorest na-tions, as the College’s official charity. Every year,Students and the Office of Student Affairs coor-dinate efforts to raise money that is then donatedto the charity. To date, the Mount has donatedmore than $5,500 to Concern Worldwide.For more information on the charity, visitwww.concern.net.

� The Mount Wrestles into2012-2013The Mount added a wrestling team to its rosterof Division III athletics. The team will competein the Skyline, Metropolitan, and CentennialConferences, against rivals such as Yeshiva,NYU,and Hunter beginning next fall.

� Lights, Camera, Action!Introducing the Mount’sNew Theatre Minor

The Mount now offersaspiring thespians theopportunity to minorin theatre. The minor,spearheaded by Dr.Brad Crownover in the

Department of Communi-cation, allows students to con-

centrate in either acting/directing or playwriting/scriptwriting. Students are required to complete18 credits, which include an introductory coursein acting, three credits in drama/performancestudies, nine credits in their area of concentra-tion, and three credits of a final performance lab.For more information, visit www.mount-saintvincent.edu/communication.

— Chelsea Daus ’12

COLLEGE OF MOUNT SAINT VINCENT HOSTSWINNINGWEDNESDAYS CAREER SERIESThe College of Mount Saint Vincent’s School of Professional andContinuing Studies is hosting a series of career advice workshops.The Winning Wednesday Series is free and open to the public. Theseries offers professional advice on such topics as resumewriting, hir-ing trends, interviewing skills, and positioning yourself for your idealjob.Visit www.mountsaintvincent.edu/spcs for more information.

SAVE THE DATE:SCHOLARSHIP TRIBUTE DINNER 2012The annual Scholarship Tribute Dinner will be held onMay 7, 2012at the New York Public Library. This year’s honoree is C. Edward(Chuck) Chaplin, President, CFO, and CAO, MBIA Inc. Joinus for a fabulous evening of dinner and dancing, and helpraise scholarship funds for talented, deserving students. Visitwww.mountsaintvincent.edu/tributedinner for more information.

SAVE THE DATE:REUNIONWEEKENDTheMount’s ReunionWeekend willbe held on June 8, 9, and 10, 2012,for classes ending in "2" and "7".Special tribute will be paid to theClass of 1962, celebrating their 50threunion, and the Class of 1987, cel-ebrating their 25th reunion. Theweekend is a wonderful time to cel-ebrate and reconnect with fellowclassmates. Visit www.mountsaintvincent.edu/alumni for moreinformation.

— Christina Gonzalez ’09

COLLEGE NEWS

campus Did YouKnow?

RETURN

RECONNECT & REMEMBER

2012 REUNION

JUNE 8TH, 9TH & 10TH

SAVE THE DATE

COLLEGE OFMOUNT SAINT VINCENT

CELEBRATING THE“2” & “7” CLASS YEARS

Editor Erin Walsh, Director for College RelationsContributing Writers Chelsea Daus ’12, Ranaan Geberer, Christina Gonzalez ’09

Photography Ben Asen, Dana Maxson

College of Mount Saint Vincent News is a publication of the College ofMount Saint Vincent Office of Institutional Advancement & College Relations.

Madeleine Melkonian, Vice President for Institutional Advancement &College Relations

Address all Letters to the Editor and suggestions for future issues to:Erin Walsh, Director for College Relations, College of Mount Saint Vincent,6301 Riverdale Ave., Riverdale, NY 10471, (718) 405-3345 orerin.walsh@mountsaintvincent.edu

Address all Address Changes and Alumnae/i Updates to: Alumnae/i RelationsOffice, College of Mount Saint Vincent, 6301 Riverdale Ave., Riverdale, NY10471, (718) 405-3336 or alumnioffice@mountsaintvincent.edu

COLLEGE OF MOUNT SAINT VINCENT NEWS

Every day that English major and Fonthill Writing Scholarshiprecipient ChristineWestphal ’12 reports to her internship at theBronx Borough President’s Office, she finds a new adventurewaiting. Her daily assignments are based upon what’s happeningin the Bronx, so she always finds something new that requires herattention. But she’s not complaining.

“The atmosphere on a busy day is full of excitement,” she says.“You can sense when there is a buzz.On those days, I am so happyto be a part of the buzz.”

At 9:30 AM, she walks into the Bronx County Courthouse, lo-cated just around the corner fromYankee Stadium, and heads upto the third floor. Her supervisor, John DeSio, director of com-munications for Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., briefsher on the day’s tasks. If there’s nothing urgent to attend to, Chris-tine begins writing press releases and articles for various publi-cations, including a recent article for the Legislative Gazette abouteconomic development in the Bronx over the past few years. Shehas also written articles about every college and university in theBronx.

The Bronx Borough President’s Office is in charge of attending tothe diverse needs of the Bronx. The Borough President workswith NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg on all areas that concernthe Bronx, including education, social services, city planning, andeconomic development.

One of Christine’s favorite aspects of her internship is assisting

ON THE JOB WITH A CMSV INTERBy Chelsea Daus ’12

4 Winter 2012

DAY IN THE LIFE

2:00 PM—AlumnaJennifer Blatus ’11,who works withthe Bronx TourismCouncil, checks inwith Christine toupdate her aboutvarious eventshappening in theBronx.

4:00 PRubenin bet

9:30 AM—Christine arrivesat the

Office of the Bronx Borough

President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and is

briefed on the day’s tasks by her

supervisor, Director of Communi-

cations John DeSio.

11:00 AM—She beginreleases and articlespromotional materiaBronx.

tools and support that he needed to succeed.

“The College created a sense of security in ob-taining a degree,” he says. “I knew that I couldapproach professors and other faculty withconfidence that they would do their best tohelp. The College has built a reputation of pro-ducing capable students.”

Along with the knowledge that he gained at theMount, Mr. Vazquez credits the support andguidance of his mentors, business faculty mem-bers Dr. Teresita Ramirez, Dr. Nina Aversano,and Dean of the School of Professional &Continuing Studies Edward Meyer for hisprofessional success.

“TheMount has givenme all the tools I neededto succeed,” he says. “Along with the educationthat I received, I also honed my leadershipskills.”

Rose Kelly McTague also grew up withinblocks of the Mount, and it was the dream ofher parents, both Irish immigrants, that theirdaughters attend the College. Ms. McTague,who currently serves as President of the Alum-

nae/i Board and a member of the President’sAssociates Council at the Mount, and her sis-ter Margaret Kelly McTague S.C. both hon-ored their parents’ wishes and attended theCollege.

The Mount was and remains an ideal place forfirst-generation students to obtain their degree,says Ms. McTague, who earned her bachelor’sin English from the College, and is retired fromher position as head of school and CEO ofMother Cabrini High School in the Washing-ton Heights section of Manhattan.

“Many of the professors themselves were eitherimmigrants or first-generation college gradu-ates,” she says. “They had the same dreams forus as they did when they were students. Facultyand staff were always sensitive to our needs andwalked us through situations that may havepresented a challenge for first-generation col-lege students; for example, course registrationcompletion and graduate school/professionalpreparation requirements.”

A HISTORY OF FIRSTS continued from page 1

Top to bottom: Dr. Anthony Esposito ’92and Rose Kelly McTague ’68

RN: CHRISTINE WESTPHAL ’12

5:00 PM—Unless there

is an event later,Christine typically

leaves for the evening.

Winter 2012 5

PM—Bronx Borough Presidentn Diaz, Jr. stops in the officetween meetings.

with event planning, such as the Big Four, a seven-hour heavymetal concert held at Yankee Stadium this past September.

The Bronx is a busy borough, and for Christine, this guaranteesshe will be writing press releases about upcoming events, coordi-nating with other offices, and assisting with upcoming projectsconstantly. Because the office does“more than [she] can describe,”no small task goes unfinished and every project must be com-pleted on a tight deadline. This has taught her the importance oftime management, a skill that is one of the most important les-sons learned through her internship, she says.

“Whenever I’m at my internship on a busy day, I feel a sense ofpurpose and, at the end of the day, a sense of accomplishment andpride in the importance of the work I have done,” says Christine.

In addition to timemanagement skills, Christine’s internship hastaught her the importance of focusing on the “task at hand,” shesays. She hones these skills as the co-editor of both the studentnewspaper the MountTimes and the literary journal The Under-ground.

“The best thing to have on your resume is something that showsyou have an interest in or, preferably, experience in your field,”she says.“When applying to intern at the Office of the Bronx Bor-ough President, I made sure to highlight my interest in mediacommunications, and also to showcase my expertise in multi-tasking, time management, group and event organization, writ-ing, and editing.” �

ns writing presss for variousals about the

1:00 PM—Christineheads to herfavorite deliacross thestreet forlunch.

Ms. McTague says the Mount enabled her toachieve her dream of becoming an English lan-guage and literature teacher, and later a schooladministrator.

“From the Mount’s professors, I learned thecontent knowledge and pedagogical techniquesI needed to help me teach several thousandhigh school students, many of whom were im-migrants or the children of immigrants, at De-Witt Clinton High School (in the Bronx),” shesays. “At Mother Cabrini High School, I triedto pay it forward by promoting the growth ofdiscipline, goodness, and knowledge.”

Maria Pietrosanti knew from an early age thatshe wanted to be a teacher, and theMount gaveher the education and skills to excel in her cho-sen field, she says.

“I loved playing school with my friends,” shesays. “So when it was time to decide what Iwanted to do when I grew up, I looked atschools with strong teacher preparation de-partments. TheMount was a perfect fit for me.What I liked best about the programwas that itallowedme to spend valuable time in real class-

rooms observing master teachers.”

Staten Island nativeDr.Anthony Esposito’s in-terest in becoming a medical practitioner wascemented at the age of 12, after a neck injuryleft him unable to play soccer. He visited manytraditional medical doctors and completedphysical therapy, but didn’t find relief until hevisited a chiropractor.

He had found his calling, and chose the Collegeof Mount Saint Vincent as the ideal institutionto earn his bachelor’s degree in biology.

Besides being drawn to the Mount’s “beautifulcampus,” the White Plains-based chiropractorwas pleased by the feedback that he receivedduring his campus tour.

“The people that I met spoke highly of the pro-grams, and were very approachable,” he says.

Dr. Esposito gained an excellent education atthe Mount that left him well-prepared for hiscoursework at Life University in Marietta, Ga.

“The education was spot-on,” he says. “The bi-ology and anatomy courses, dissecting ani-mals—all of this prepares you for the next step,

(working on) humans.”

Dr. Esposito has many favorite memories of thepeople that comprise theMount community—including biology faculty Dr. Bocchino, whowas his internship advisor; Dr. Patricia Grove’74; and Sister Mary Edward Zipf, who waswilling to help him when he was laid up afterfalling down the stairs.

“(She) offered to tutor me,” he says. “She wasalways willing to extend a helping hand.”

But perhaps his favorite memory of theMountwas meeting his wife, Jennifer (Bricker) Es-posito ’95, who studied health education andcurrently teaches pre-school. The couple arethe proud parents of three children—Carlie,Andrew, and Jack.

In addition to his immediate family, the first-generation college graduate is a proudmemberof the Mount family.

“I feel that I could go back today during lunchand (people on campus) would rememberme,”he says. “It’s like an extended family.”�

6 Winter 2012

THE MOUNT ROUNDTABLE

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS

Diane Machado isdirector of careerdevelopment andinternships at theMount. She earnedher bachelor’s fromFordham Universityand her master’s instudent personneladministration at

Teachers College, Columbia University.She is a past president and member ofthe Metropolitan New York College Ca-reer Planning Officers Association andthe National Association of Colleges andEmployers. She has worked in higher ed-ucation for 25 years, specifically 15 yearsin career development.

Cynthia Meyersis an associateprofessor in theDepartment ofCommunication.She received herPh.D. from Univer-sity of Texas,Austin. Dr. Meyersprofessional inter-

ests include media history and mediaindustries, including television, radio,advertising, and new media. This year,her article "The Problems with Spon-sorship in Broadcasting, 1930s-50s:Perspectives from the Advertising In-dustry,” was featured in the HistoricalJournal of Film, Radio and Television.

Rajkumar Kem-paiah is an assis-tant professor inthe Departmentof Business andEconomics andprogram coordi-nator of the MBAProgram. He re-ceived his Ph.D. in

information management fromStevens Institute of Technology. He isan information technology expertwhose writing has been featured inInformation Week.

Internet Identity

made it much easier for people to stay in touchand to “find” each other.

RK: Social media has become a communicationvehicle and an information hub. It is a way tostay in touchwith friends and family,update cur-rent information, and upload photos in realtime.Wehave become storytellers, oftenwithoutknowing it. Today, socialmedia allows us to cus-tomizewhatwewant to see andwhenwewant it.

2) What trends and changes in social media doyou foresee on the horizon?CM: I predict greater specialization. Users willincreasingly share with specific audiences onspecific platforms, maintaining multiple socialmedia accounts. For example, someone mightuse Facebook for sharing family photos; Tum-blr for sharing photos about an interest such asvintage cars; YouTube for sharing baby videos;LinkedIn for professional contacts, and Twitterfor celebrity gossip.

RK:More organizations will use social media tocommunicate to larger audiences, and to launchmore exciting and creative competitions tostand out against their competitors. Search en-gines will be able to pull out information fromsocial networking sites.Organizations will placemore emphasis on user ratings and feedbackfrom social media sites.

3) How has social media changed the job searchand hiring process?CM: Recent studies indicate that up to 70 per-

cent of employers surveyed look at applicants’Facebook profiles. Job applicants should set ap-propriate privacy settings on their Facebook ac-counts and should be sure that the publicprofile page is employer appropriate. Further-more, venting about a job search or employersshould take place in private and not on socialmedia sites.

DM: Itmakes peoplemuchmore visible in bothpositive and negative ways. Employers checkFacebook and LinkedIn for information aboutcandidates, sometimes even before invitingthem for interviews. Candidates who demon-strate poor judgment about the kinds of thingsthey post can be eliminated from consideration.On the positive side, both Facebook andLinkedIn have made it easier for people to net-work and to reach out to others who might beable to help them with the job search process.

RK: Social media is starting to become part ofthe criteria that hiringmanagers use toweed outapplicants. Hiring managers conduct back-ground checks using social networks. Manystudies have noted that 80 percent of jobs arefound via networking.

4) What are the positives and negatives of usingsocial media for job hunters?CM: The negatives are obvious: that an em-ployer can see posts or images that undermine ajob applicant's professionalism. The positives,however, are enormous. Social media allow jobapplicants to present positive evidence of pro-

fessionalism in a variety of ways. A well-craftedblog, YouTube channel, or Facebook profilecould allow an applicant to stand out to an em-ployer, perhaps more effectively than the stan-dard cover letter, resume, and interview.

RK: Social media is an essential tool that linksbusiness executives and job hunters. Jobhunters can keep an eye on their dream em-ployer’s tweets, posts, and updates. Some of theorganizations prefer to hire people that are con-nected to their personal networks and some-times their friends vouch for them or they areone of their friends. Also, sometimes organiza-tions will be focusing on interacting with po-tential hires before they actively start hiring sothat they get a sense of the candidate and buildrelationships.

5) What should students be aware of whensharing information online?CM: Imagine that every single thing you do orsay online can be seen or read or sharedwith therest of the world. Every time you post or share,ask yourself,would youwant your grandmotherto see it? Be aware of the constant possibility thatposts can be taken out of context and/or inter-preted very differently than intended.

RK: Students should be very careful of what theysay online, as saying too much can undermineplans for college, career, or business.Personal andprivate matters should never be shared online.

6)What impacthas socialmediahadonnational

continued from page 1

Winter 2012 7

andworldpolitics,global political uprisings,andgiving oppressed people a voice?

CM: Social media has played a very visible rolein political change this past year.Activists in the“Arab Spring” have used Facebook and Twitteras organizing and communication tools.

However, we should keep in mind that socialmedia themselves don't create political change.The interest in political changemust come fromthe users, who may find social media an excel-lent way to spread their ideas. That social mediacan be such a useful tool for change is very ex-citing, but we should be careful not to attributethe change to the technology itself.

RK: The monopoly enjoyed by traditionalmedia is long gone. More politicians are usingsocialmedia to directly communicate with theirelectorates. It is transforming the way we com-municate. Social media continues to play a piv-otal role in scaling connections quickly betweenpeople around shared values. It is transformingthe societies in the direction of democratic val-ues. It is playing a critical role in disseminatinginformation and countering misinformationoften generated by oppressive regimes.As socialmedia is driven by user needs, it will continue tostir up revolutions asmore tools become perva-sive among oppressed people around the world.Social media tools has created a level of aware-ness that was never seen before.

7) How has social media profoundly changedour society? What are the implications of thesechanges?

CM: Technological determinists believe tech-nologies change people. I disagree. I think peo-ple change technologies. Social media willcontinue to change as people find new uses,abandon older uses, and begin to build newstandards for how to use them appropriately.

DM: It has been a very good tool for networkingand staying in touch. People can immediatelyshare information and photographs with a largenumber of people in a short time. It creates con-venience in communication. Personal privacycan be compromised by these sites. It makes itharder for people to be anonymous.

RK: Social media is encouraging many youngcitizens to get involved in politics. More andmore politicians are using social media sites toengage with voters. �

FACULTY FOCUS

AMIR NIKNEJADDetectingPatterns andChangingLivesBy Ranaan Geberer

Assistant Professor of Mathematics AmirNiknejad spends much of his time detectingpatterns in genetic data. He then applies thisknowledge of mathematics and statistics to sys-tems biology.

In addition to his love of numbers, Dr. Nikne-jad is very dedicated to his students, from thosewith very little math background to advancedmath majors.

Dr. Niknejad came to the U.S. from Iran topursue advanced graduate studies. Growingup, his family had an immense respect forlearning.

“My mother couldn’t read or write, but whenI was studying, she’d make me read to her,” hesays, adding that she’d memorize each para-graph, and then quiz him on the material.

He entered Boston College expecting to pur-sue a career in physics, but switched fieldswhen he developed an appreciation for the ver-satility and power of mathematics and itsbroad applications. Eventually, Dr. Niknejadearned a master’s in mathematical statisticsfrom Claremont Graduate University and aPh.D. in mathematics from the University ofIllinois.Along the way, he worked for Polaroidas a research scientist, where he established atechnology readiness program for employees.

He has held several research and teaching posi-tions, the last as a HowardHughesMedical In-stituteVisiting Professor at East Tennessee StateUniversity.Three years ago, he decided tomoveto NewYork and joined the Mount.

Much of his research deals with microarrays,or DNA chips, in which microscopic DNAspots are attached to a surface by chemicalmeans. The researcher detects patterns, andthen converts the patters to numbers.Typically,of the thousands of genes, only a small numberare significant to an experiment.

Dr. Niknejad’s book,Applications of Linear Al-gebra to DNA Microarrays, (with ShmuelFriedland), addresses the problems of how torestoremissing data onDNAmicroarrays thathave been corrupted, and how to condense the

enormous amount of information obtained.

“This research reflects how algebra and geom-etry can be used to examine disease and comeup with a mathematical model for drug de-sign,” he says.

One of Dr.Niknejad’s goals is to serve as a liai-son between universities, pharmaceutical com-panies, and government research agencies tocreate a dialogue that would help efforts to-ward finding a cure for diseases such as cancer,HIV, and diabetes.

This past summer, he was invited by the ZuseInformatics Institute of Berlin,Germany to col-laborate with their Scientific Computing groupon a “computational drug design”project.

In recent years, both prion diseases, such asmad cow disease, and viral diseases, such asHIV or SARS, have attractedmuch public andpolitical interest, says Dr. Niknejad.

Whenever any new disease is discovered, thereis a highly competitive race to invent new drugsto combat it. This race typically starts withcomputers. Molecular drug design is a time-and cost-intensive procedure, which utilizesmany resources.

This is why the starting place for new pharma-ceutical development begins using computers.Molecular interactions can be predicted andcalculated on the basis of simulations in theforefront of design specifications. This can bedone by developing fast algorithms using supercomputers, says Dr. Niknejad.

Members of the computational drug designproject team hail from around the globe anda variety of backgrounds. Dr. Niknejad is ex-cited and proud to be a part of this interdisci-plinary research collaboration.

At the Mount, Dr. Niknejad’s door is alwaysopen to students. Soon after each term begins,hemakes an individual appointment with eachstudent.

“One of the advantages of being involved in re-search is sharing the story with my studentsand showing them that mathematics can savelives,”Dr. Niknejad says. �

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MOUNT SAINT VINCENTThe Office of Alumnae/iRelations is proud toannounce the launch ofour Online Community thisspring. The communityoffers alumnae/i theopportunity to be a partof an online world, whereyou will be able to connectwith classmates and net-work with fellow alums.

Other features of theMount’s OnlineCommunity:� Create your ownpersonal profile

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