At ETSU, Trailblazers don’t just wait for opportunity — they build it.
Through hands-on research opportunities, faculty mentorship, and experiences that span disciplines and communities, students are asking big questions and pursuing work with real-world impact — from advancing medicine and strengthening education to improving lives around the globe.
Meet five students who are doing more than studying the future; they’re helping shape it.
Trent Lewis
Engineering Better Biology
Major: Biology (Biomedical Sciences concentration) with minors in Synthetic Biology and Health Sciences
Research of Interest: Synthetic biology, bioengineering, drug design and agriculture
Trent Lewis is already building an impressive research portfolio focused on solving problems through synthetic biology and bioengineering. A rising junior, Lewis has worked in the laboratories of Dr. Dhirendra Kumar and Dr. Tianhu Sun on projects aimed at improving crop nutrition and resilience. His research has included helping engineer soybean seeds to increase Vitamin A content and using CRISPR technology in his honors thesis to investigate proteins involved in tomato immunity. Together, those projects aim to create healthier and more resilient food systems for communities that depend on them.
Lewis was named a 2026 Barry Goldwater Scholar, one of the nation’s highest honors for undergraduate STEM researchers, and is also an Undergraduate Research Honors Scholar. His research experiences extend beyond ETSU through participation in iGEM and an NIH-funded summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at the University of Minnesota, where he is working on engineering cancer therapeutics and studying how natural killer cells can be modified to better fight prostate cancer. After graduation, Lewis plans to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. pathway and become a physician-scientist.
Raina Desai
Brain Injury Breakthroughs
Major: Biology with minors in Business and Culture & Health
Research of Interest: Post-traumatic epilepsy and neurological disease
Raina Desai’s research explores what happens after traumatic brain injury and why some patients later develop epilepsy. Working through the Department of Biomedical Sciences in the Quillen College of Medicine since Fall 2023, Desai studies post-traumatic epilepsy using mouse models to better understand the biological changes that occur following injury. Her work focuses on analyzing EEG, ECG, and video data to identify seizures and cardiac rhythm disturbances, helping researchers investigate how mitochondrial dysfunction may contribute to the development of epilepsy.
Desai’s work sits at the intersection of neuroscience and cardiovascular science. Working under the mentorship of Dr. Chad Frasier, she has also developed interests in understanding genetic risk factors that may make certain individuals more susceptible to post-traumatic epilepsy. She recently earned the 2026 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, a prestigious national award recognizing undergraduates with exceptional promise in research careers. A Quillen Honors Scholar, Desai plans to continue combining medicine and research in her future career and intends to matriculate into Quillen College of Medicine, where she hopes to pursue translational research alongside clinical practice.
John Bellflower
Smarter Drug Solutions
Major: PharmD/MBA candidate
Research of Interest: Formulation development, machine learning and pharmaceutical research
John Bellflower’s research combines pharmaceutical science, emerging technology and data analysis to better understand how therapies are developed and delivered. A Pharmacy P2 student, Bellflower has participated in a range of research experiences at ETSU spanning wet lab, computational, and observational work. His interests include developing topical and transdermal formulations for conditions such as Raynaud’s phenomenon, building machine learning models to optimize lipid nanoparticle formulations and studying geographic and economic trends that may reveal disparities across the pharmacy profession and pharmacy education.
Working under the mentorship of Dr. Ashana Puri, Dr. Morteza Rasoulianboroujeni and Dr. Siva Digavalli, Bellflower has explored research from multiple perspectives, bridging laboratory science with broader health care and industry questions. His work has already earned recognition, including an “Innovation in Transdermal Delivery” award at the 2026 Topical Products Conference in Atlanta. After graduation, Bellflower plans to pursue a career in medical affairs within the pharmaceutical industry, with long-term interests in business development and licensing. He sees research as a valuable opportunity for students to understand the scientific, regulatory and clinical journey that takes a treatment from an idea toward real-world impact.
Clara Puni Nyamesem
Research Into Action
Major: Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education
Research of Interest: Inclusive education, child development and screen media use
Clara Puni Nyamesem’s work reflects a commitment not only to research but also to turning research into meaningful action. After earning a master’s degree from ETSU and returning to Ghana, she founded Child and Family Life International, a nonprofit organization focused on educating families and communities about child development and the impact of excessive screen media use. She later returned to ETSU to pursue a Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education, where her research has expanded into areas including inclusive education, teacher preparation, and early intervention.
Her dissertation examines how future early childhood educators are prepared to implement disability-inclusive practices in both Ghana and Tennessee. Working closely with faculty mentors including Dr. Ruth Facun-Granados, Dr. Amy Malkus and Dr. Pamela Evanshen, she has contributed to collaborative projects on childcare standards, classroom technology and rural STEM education initiatives. Nyamesem has published multiple research studies and received the 2026 NAECTE Foundation Doctoral Research Grant Award in support of her work. Through research, advocacy, and community engagement, she continues to connect academic findings with real-world impact for children and families.
Jared Casteel
Immune System Detective
Major: Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. Program (Immunology, Inflammation, and Infectious Diseases concentration)
Research of Interest: Cellular and molecular immunology
Jared Casteel’s research examines one of the body’s most complex defense systems: the immune system. As a doctoral researcher in biomedical sciences, Casteel investigates how immune cells move throughout the body and navigate toward sites of infection and inflammation. His work focuses on specialized receptors that help immune cells sense their environment, and on how disruptions in this process can contribute to inflammatory disease.
Using approaches ranging from live-cell imaging to molecular and biochemical analysis, Casteel combines laboratory techniques with disease models to understand the mechanisms underlying chronic inflammatory and cardiovascular conditions. His work has earned significant recognition, including an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship supporting his dissertation research. He has also published multiple peer-reviewed studies, including first-author papers, and received presentation honors for his work. Casteel credits much of his growth as a researcher to the mentorship of Dr. Valentin Yakubenko, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. Following graduation this year, Casteel plans to begin a postdoctoral position at Emory University to study the molecular mechanisms underlying sepsis, continuing a career dedicated to understanding disease at its most fundamental level.
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