Kiarra E. Furey
Chemistry PhD Student – Zeglis Lab
Hunter College - Expected Graduation: 2029
Objective
Looking for new techniques outside of the biological chemistry methods she is learning in her lab to implement and utilize in her thesis research. Excited to partake in grant writing workshops, science communication workshops, and overall, further her development as an active researcher and member of NanoBioNYC.
Bio
As the newest member of the Zeglis lab, Kiarra is interested in the creation and application of radiopharmaceuticals in regard to cancer theragnostic techniques. Working with radioimmunoconjugates as the main vector of simultaneous nuclear imaging and targeted therapeutic delivery, the combination of biological chemistry and nanotechnology could make a significant impact in this area of diagnosis and treatment. To make this a reality, Kiarra works to synthesize new linkers to attach chelators and novel biomolecular and nanoparticle-based payloads to these immunoconjugates for a more efficient and specified treatment approach. Her main project in the lab presently is working to create a better linker for her double-click chemistry project, which simultaneously attaches 89Zr and the chemotherapeutic drug, for its application in small-cell lung cancer.
Technical Skills
Mass Spec, NMR, flash chromatography, TLC, immunocytochemistry, histology, radiotherapy (in training), in vivo animal studies (in training), bioconjugation, antibody-drug conjugate synthesis, HPLC
Professional Development Skills
• Public Thesis Presentation – Attended and presented in May 2024.
o Public presentation to showcase work and results from Master Thesis project.
Title: Targeted drug therapy of retinoblastoma.
o Open to all students, faculty, and researchers at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, affiliates of such organization, and interested individuals in the community.
• Poster Presentation – Presented at the Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics Research Day in May 2024.
o Public presentation to showcase work that was open to all students, faculty, and researchers at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, affiliates of such organization, and interested individuals in the community.
o Received recognition for being in top 3 for Best in Show poster. Evaluated on poster design, knowledge of data presented, and clarity in communicating research.
• Poster Presentation – Presented at the University at Buffalo Graduate Research Day in October 2023.
o First author and presenter of poster.
o Presented research to peers, professors, and laboratory principal investigators from across the UB research community.
Publications
• Furey, K. 2024. Targeted Drug Therapy of Retinoblastoma. Embargo on thesis release until 2026 due to patent pending on specific targeted drug therapy in discussion.
• Seigel, GM., Furey, K., Gharbaran, R., Redenti, S., Shah, DK., and Vergara, MN. 2024. Co-culture of retinoblastoma cells and iPSC-derived retinal organoids to form “disorganoids”. In preparation for Molecular Vision.
• Shi, C., Huang, K., Flores-Bellver, M., Li, S., Jakobs, TC., Furey, K., Seigel, GM., Guzik, H., DesMarais, VM., Heissel, S., Molina, H., Benito-Martin, A., Onwumere, O., Gharbaran, R., Redenti, S. 2024. Retinoblastoma exosomes initiate pre-metastatic niche formation at the optic nerve head through reactive astrogliosis.
Conferences
• World Molecular Imaging Conference, 2025, attendee.
• The Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Conference (ARVO), 2023, co-author on abstract and presentation.
Awards
• NanoBioNYC Fellowship
• CUNY Graduate Center Science Scholarship
