Meet The Team

Mentor: Dr. Thomas Castonguary

Dr. Thomas Castonguay, or Dr. C as the team calls him, is a professor in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He teaches and does research in the fields of Nutrition and Food Science. Dr. Castonguay has completed his Post-doc in both Psychology (Florida State University) and Nutrition (University of California-Davis).

Shoshana Bloom

Shoshie Bloom is a Bioengineering major from Newton, Massachusetts. One day, she hopes to conduct cancer research or work on bettering methods for cancer detection. Her other goals include running the Boston Marathon and visiting every state before turning 50. Shoshie's favorite animal is a monkey and loves things with monkeys on them.

Kevin Chiang

Kevin Chiang is a Physiology and Neurobiology and Mathematics double major from Gaithersburg, Maryland. He hopes to attend medical school in order to become a neurosurgeon in the future. Kevin's joined team ATTENT because of his interest in studying neurodegenerative and neurobehavioral disorders, as well as the potential health-related implications from the project. One of his life goals is to visit both Paris and Sydney. In his free time, Kevin loves playing badminton and learning to play popular songs on the piano. He is also an avid fan of the movie Finding Nemo , having watched it more times than you can count!

Sara Kreshpanji

Sara is a Biochemistry and Economics double major from Elkridge, Maryland. After college, she hopes to earn a PharmD and become a pharmacist. Her (not so secret) life dream is to study abroad in Australia. If Sara is not working with Team ATTENT, you can find her eating cheesecake and watching Disney's Frozen...over and over again.

Alex Grillo

Alex is a biochemistry major from Bowie, MD. He attended St. John's College HS in Washington, DC, where he was a member of the wind ensemble and a varsity lettermen in Track and Football. At Maryland Alex is an executive board member of the Student Empowerment Project. H eam an aspiring psychiatrist. Alex also, wants to travel the world one day, particularly the Caribbean since his great grandparents are from Cuba.

Sharlene Demehri

Sharlene Demehri is a Physiology and Neurobiology major and a Hearing and Speech Sciences minor. She is aspiring to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon or maybe a dog whisperer. Sharlene is from Leonardtown and chose to join team ATTENT because of her interests in pediatric care and alternative medicines. During her summer and winter breaks Sharlene loves traveling to different countries to experience food and culture!

Salwa Shan

Salwa Shan is from Frederick, Maryland and is a General Biology and Secondary Education double major. She is interested in pursuing a career in healthcare. Salwa has always been interested in research and science-especially when it comes to neurological disorders, which is why she chose to be on Team ATTENT. She hopes that with her team she will be able to learn more about the causes of ADHD, and discover the negative consequences of food additives on ADHD patients. Her dream is to visit the seven world wonders one day! In her free time, Salwa loves to read, paint, doodle, put on henna, and spend time with friends and family :)

Karishma Patel

Karishma Patel is a Physiology & Neurobiology major from Clarksburg, Maryland. In the future, she hopes to attend medical school and study sports medicine. Being on Team ATTENT is interesting for Karishma as she is also pursuing a double degree in Nutritional Sciences--this research is a great real-life application of her studies. Some of her biggest dreams are to see all the wonders of the world, and own a pet dog. In her free time, Karishma enjoys playing volleyball, attempting to do Zumba, and eating Mexcian food!

Erin McCaffrey

Erin is a Microbiology major from Davidsonville, Maryland. She is following the pre-medical track and hopes to one day pursue a career in surgery. Erin is also very passionate about Microbiology and would like to be able to research in this field. Erin joined Team ATTENT because of her interest in how nutritional choices impact health, specifically neurobehavioral disorders. She hopes the skills she gains from Gemstone will help her future research endeavours. In her free time you can find Erin horseback riding or baking cupcakes! It is her dream to one day move to Ireland and open up a bakery!

Tracy Sebastian

Tracy is a Physiology & Neurobiology and Economics major from Ellicott City, Maryland. In the future, her goal is to attend medical school and become a surgeon. Aside from career-related goals, Tracy would like to visit 40 countries before she turns 40! Fun fact: When Tracy was little, she thought Michael Jordan became famous and ended up playing basketball because of his impeccable performance in "Space Jam."

Leah Sukri

Leah Sukri is a Physiology/Neurobiology and Psychology double major from Gaithersburg, Maryland. After graduating from the University of Maryland, Leah hopes to attend medical school and specialize in psychiatry. In the near future, she would like to participate and finish running a full marathon. Leah is an avid fan of the Percy Jackson book series and is eagerly waiting for the next book to come out!