CSM Student Ilka Cisneros Awarded Research Scholarship

Omaha, Neb. – College of Saint Mary student Ilka Cisneros has been awarded a $2,500 scholarship to work with Dr. Dunesh Kumari, CSM assistant professor of chemistry on her research examining curcumin, and resveratrol and the potential for developing a new drug delivery system.

The drug delivery system will be explored for potential anti-oxidant and anti-cancer applications.

Cisneros, a graduate of Omaha’s South Magnet High School is also a recipient of a Marie Curie Scholarship, a prestigious award given to academically talented young women who study science or math. She is a dual major, studying both chemistry and secondary education.

Kumari recently was awarded a very competitive grant from Nebraska EPSCoR for her work, ‘Quantitative and qualitative analysis for simultaneous detection of curcumin and resveratrol for the development of a synergistically acting novel drug delivery system’. The $5,000 grant included a scholarship to be given to the student chosen to work on the project.

A first generation American, Cisneros is excited for the opportunity to engage in research which utilizes the chemical and analytical methods she has to date only studied in class. “A hands-on opportunity like this will help me gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a chemist,” she says.