Muhlenberg athletes are spending the summer of 2025 enjoying fantastic experiences on campus, in their hometowns, and across the country.

Juniors Chase Kusko (men's lacrosse) and Gabe Blikshteyn (soccer), former high school classmates, were back together as participants in a 10-week research intensive program at Lehigh University.

We both participated in Lehigh University's STEM-Summer Institutes (STEM-SI) interdisciplinary undergraduate research program. The 10-week research intensive program combined valuable aspects of laboratory work with professional development workshops and seminars to gain a well-rounded academic experience. 

This was Gabe's first summer in the program, while it was Chase's second. Kusko wrote about his experience last summer for the Summer Check-In series.

We were previously classmates at Parkland High School and are again classmates at Muhlenberg. It was cool to be able to share another unique experience this summer through participation in the STEM-SI undergraduate research program. 

Chase's research
This summer I had the opportunity to continue my research studying traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), which is the world's largest neurological problem. I worked under the guidance of Dr. Neal Simon and Dr. Shi-Fang Lu, both faculty in Lehigh's Biological Sciences Department. I also had the opportunity to collaborate in the laboratory with six undergraduates from Lehigh University.

Our lab focused on administering a vasopressin 1a receptor antagonist (V1aR) for treating TBIs. We experimented with this in the context of activity disturbances and plasma neurofilament light chain (Nfl) levels, with Nfl being a biomarker for axonal damage (the injury or deterioration of nerve fibers) in TBIs. At the conclusion of 10 weeks, we presented at Lehigh's Summer Research Expo, during which our lab came away with the first-place award for oral presentation and second-place award for best research. 

Gabe's research
This summer I conducted research in the physics department, focusing on utilizing computational models in the area of cellular biophysics. I worked with Dr. Dimitrios Vavylonis and postgraduate student Sami Alawhadi to better understand the actin cytoskeleton. Introductory biology and math classes at Muhlenberg sparked my interest in this field. 

Our lab was a dry lab that relied heavily on Python code and high-performance computing (HPC) to run simulations of T-cell motility. We observed how T cells move throughout varying obstacle density fields by forming compartments. This allows for a piston-like mechanism to push the nucleus through dense collagen fibers and results in further displacement. I presented at Lehigh's Summer Research Expo at the end of the 10-week program. 


We are both extremely grateful to have been accepted into the STEM-SI program this summer. We're also very appreciative of our lab faculty mentors for all of their support throughout the 10 weeks of the summer program. We look forward to the upcoming school year, where our academic journeys progress and continue on within the field of science. 

pictured above: Blikshteyn (left) and Kusko (right) with the presentation Blikshteyn contributed to