Natural Sciences Research

Research in the Natural Sciences Department at LaGuardia 

Faculty in the Natural Sciences Department conduct research work here at LaGuardia and in collaboration with external institutions within the CUNY system and beyond. The Department hosts a research lab, which houses state of the art instruments and facilities. Students interested in conducting research are advised to discuss the opportunities available with individual professors in the Department. 

Opportunities for Undergraduate Research 

The Natural Sciences Department at LaGuardia attaches great importance to Undergraduate Research, and opportunities for such research activities are regularly available in the Department. Undergraduate research is a key element of science education in the modern world, and it provides a unique learning experience, which goes beyond the classroom, for students to progress toward their academic and/or professional careers. The success of the program in the Natural Sciences Department can be seen from the research presentations given by our students at many national conferences and symposia (New York State CSTEP conference, CUNY-AGEP Science Fair, Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, American Physical Society meetings, and more), as well as research publications in high impact journals. 

Importance of Undergraduate Research 

While conducting leading edge research, students gain valuable experience and a deeper understanding of the processes involved in conducting scientific investigations. Students also acquire new skills, such as learning how to ask questions that are relevant to the phenomenon being studied, creating working hypotheses, designing significant experiments, problem solving, interpreting and rationalizing data generated and effectively disseminating the results to others. The latter can range from informal communications within the Department to the exciting opportunity of students presenting their work at conferences or publishing manuscripts in journals. All these activities are great to enhance the students’ CV and, thus, improve future career prospects. Lastly, and by no means the least, through conducting research projects, students gain self-satisfaction, a great sense of achievement and contribute to knowledge generation in the world. 

CUNY Research Scholars Program 

The CUNY Research Scholars Program (CRSP) provides funded laboratory experiences for Associate degree students over a one-year period. The goal of the program is to encourage undergraduate participation in authentic research and to increase persistence in STEM disciplines. Students receive continuous mentoring from faculty members and participate in programming offered at their campuses, including sessions on laboratory safety, public speaking and poster preparation. 

Enrollment for the 2023-2024 academic year is now open. We encourage students to apply using the following application form.

Please email Dr. Roman Senkov (at rsenkov@lagcc.cuny.edu) and Dr. Nathan Hosannah (at nhosannah@lagcc.cuny.edu) with any questions. 

NIH Bridges program at LaGuardia Community College 

LaGuardia Community College’s ‘Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program’ provides mentored research experiences to qualified minority, disadvantaged or disabled students. The LaGuardia Bridges program has formed a consortium with three exceptional four year colleges, the City College of New York, Hunter College, and Queens College, to provide challenging research experiences in the biomedical and behavioral sciences for the STEM underrepresented college students (underrepresented minorities, the disabled, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds) that LaGuardia serves. Please contact Dr. Maria Entezari at tentezarizaher@lagcc.cuny.edu for more details.