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Jessica Said ’26 Presents Project Symphony Research at American Chemical Society Presidential Symposium
For Jessica Said ’26, presenting her research at the American Chemical Society’s spring conference in Atlanta marked an important step in a journey that began during her first year at Iona University and continues to shape her path toward a career in medicine.
A biology major with a chemistry minor on the pre-med track, Said has spent the past four years developing her research and leadership skills through Project Symphony, Iona’s undergraduate research group focused on membrane science and bioactive molecular interactions. Through that work, she has gained opportunities to share her research on a national stage while preparing for the next steps in her educational journey, including medical school.
“I joined Project Symphony when I was a freshman, which really allowed me to learn how a research lab works,” she said.
The experience proved foundational. Over time, Said deepened her understanding of the scientific process, built technical expertise and rose to the role of lab captain, a position that gave her a broader perspective on how a research environment operates and collaborates.
“In our lab, students learn how to develop mastery in specific instrumental types, to learn about different interactions between bioactive molecules with the lipid membrane,” she said. “This practical experience, paired with the opportunity to become a lab captain, has prepared me to lead with confidence."
Her work centers on the development of droplet interface bilayer technology, a model membrane system used to examine how bioactive molecules interact with cell membranes. Through that research, Said and her fellow student researchers are able to better understand the degree of disruption these molecules may cause when they come into contact with a membrane.
“My role at Project Symphony is developing a technique that we call a Droplet Interface Bilayer where we determine how much disorder a bioactive molecule can create when it comes in contact with a specific model membrane system,” she said. “Through this, paired with all of our other techniques that we utilize in this lab, we can essentially determine how much disorder and interactions bioactive molecules can have on a cell membrane.”
Said has presented her research both on campus at Iona Scholars Day and beyond the University at American Chemical Society conferences. Across her time at Iona, she has had multiple opportunities to share her work at ACS gatherings, continuing to grow as a researcher and communicator.
This year, that experience reached a new level when she was selected as one of only six undergraduates from across the country to speak in the ACS Presidential Symposium, “The Next 150 Years of Undergraduate Research,” at the Spring 2026 ACS National Meeting in Atlanta, GA.
She gave her invited talk on March 23, representing both Iona and Project Symphony on a national stage at one of the nation’s premier gatherings for chemistry professionals, researchers, and students.
As she looks ahead to medical school, Said will take with her the skills, confidence and sense of purpose she developed through Project Symphony — an experience that helped define her time at Iona and prepare her for what comes next.
“My time at Project Symphony is where I really learned what it means to take ownership of my work,” she said. “I saw first-hand how a single scientific question can evolve through setbacks and persistence into something truly meaningful. This changed how I think about responsibility, both to the work itself and to the people I am working with. I am looking forward to bringing that same sense of responsibility and resilience into medical school and beyond.”
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of over 4,000 students and an alumni base of 55,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Nursing & Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona also continues to be recognized in prestigious national rankings. Most recently for 2025, Iona has been named one of the nation’s best colleges by The Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and others. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report recognized Iona as one of top for social mobility in the country, while Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) ranked an Iona degree in the top 6 percent nationally for long-term return on investment. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business, meanwhile, is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just 6 percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review once again named Iona to its “Best Business Schools for 2025,” recognizing both its on-campus and online MBA programs. Connecting to its Irish heritage, Iona also opened a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland, located on the historic 400-acre Westport House Estate. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.