Union College Posse Alumna Pursues PhD in Biology

Bisiayo Fashemi, a 2016 graduate of Union College with a bachelor’s in biochemistry, is pursuing a PhD in developmental, regenerative and stem cell biology at Washington University in St. Louis.

Bisiayo began her biomedical research career as a high school student in 2007 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The experience resulted in publications in 2013 in the Journal of Microbial Ecology in Health and in the Brigham and Women’s Journal of Disease and Sexually Transmitted Infections.

Bisiayo’s move to graduate school follows an active undergraduate career at Union, where she held eight leadership positions in campus clubs and associations. During this time she remained committed to the biomedical field, conducting biological research at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Union College, and the Washington University School of Medicine.

Bisiayo’s passion lies in women’s health and her current research “examines urinary tract infections (UTIs) to better understand why post-menopausal women are more likely to have recurring UTIs compared to younger women.”

In addition to Bisiayo, three other 2016 Posse Boston graduates began master’s programs in fall 2016. Ariel Baez will study fine arts at Tufts University’s School of Museum of Fine Arts, Sam Ingram will study advanced psychology at the University of Essex, and Jennifer Mekonnon will pursue physiology and biophysics at Georgetown University.