Northern New Mexico College’s Dr. Sushmita Nandy receives Mentor of the Year award

New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participation recognizes Dr. Nandy’s commitment to students

Northern New Mexico College is excited to announce that Dr. Sushmita Nandy, chair of the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences (BCES), was honored with one of two Mentor of the Year awards at the New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participation (NM AMP) 2024 Student Research Conference on October 4, 2024, at New Mexico State University–Las Cruces. Dr. Mostafa Hassanalian, Dean’s Research Scholar, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, was the other recipient.

“I think this is a testament to what our faculty does for our students and the opportunities that Northern provides, to incite curiosity and interest for the STEM fields. When you come to Northern you get hands on research experience during your coursework, and you get to work one-on-one with your faculty mentors,” Nandy said. “Receiving the Mentor of the Year award is an incredible honor for me personally, as it represents meaningful recognition from the broader community.”

NM AMP is a statewide partnership of universities and colleges dedicated to increasing the number of underrepresented minority students who successfully complete their B.S. degrees in STEM disciplines. Nandy joined NM AMP in 2017. In the past five years, the Cell Biology Lab she created on Northern’s Española campus has hosted student researchers from NM AMP, the New Mexico IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (NM-INBRE) and other programs who have an interest in cell and molecular biology.

Nandy has a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences specializing in Stem Cell Biology from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India. She has extensive experience in cancer research, particularly focusing on cancer stem cells and the role of metabolic disorders in breast cancer progression. Her scholarly output includes several peer reviewed publications and over 1,600 citations. She has received and managed various grants and sub-awards, including support from the National Institute of Health (sub-award) and the National Science Foundation. Nandy's leadership extends to her active participation in institutional committees, editorial services for academic journals and her role as a reviewer for various biomedical publications.

As an undergraduate STEM mentor, Nandy believes not only in imparting knowledge but also inspiring curiosity, fostering critical thinking and supporting the holistic development of students while igniting a passion for lifelong learning and discovery.

“I think mentorship is a two-way street. I am fortunate enough to work with extremely talented students. It’s teamwork,” Nandy said. “I want to continue doing the work so that I continue to be worthy of this recognition in the future.”

This ethos of collaboration extends to the entire BCES faculty.

 “We have outstanding faculty members in the department who can support students. These faculty mentors are a huge resource for students because they provide them career-related guidance and advice and they connect the students to resources that they might not be able to find on their own,” Nandy said

When Nandy joined the department in 2017, it lacked the undergraduate research infrastructure present today. She credits the BCES faculty’s pursuit of grant funding for creating new undergraduate research labs, which are in addition to the instructional labs on campus.

“Today we have several BCES undergraduate research laboratories. We have the cell biology lab that’s led by me, where students get the opportunity to work with human cells and work with genes and proteins,” Nandy said. “We have the Microbial Ecology Lab led by Wes Colgan, where students work with interesting soil microbes. We have the fish lab run by Rhiannon West. We also have an updated computer lab for bioinformatics and GIS, GPS, remote sensing.”

The department’s involvement with NM AMP provides numerous opportunities for students, including being able to get paid for participating in undergraduate research. They can also present their work at the annual New Mexico AMP symposium.

“This gives the required exposure to the students. They are able to go to these conferences to present their work to the scientific community. They also get the opportunity to talk to other scientists and their peers, to network with students from other institutions and interact with faculty from other institutions. That’s a wonderful opportunity for our students,” Nandy said.

“It’s one of the ways in which Northern faculty is making a huge impact in the students’ lives from this community and working to get them a quality education at Northern. Students can participate in regional, national and international conferences, present their research and be confident and proud of their work.”

Nandy is proud to be part of BCES at Northern and to lead the department.

“We are growing, and every day we work towards bringing in more resources for our students by applying for grants and finding opportunities so that they can have a rich educational experience here at Northern,” Nandy said.