Game Plan

Dylan Bariexca, Junior Biochemistry Major, Florham Campus

A young man sits on a concrete step outside and links his fingers together around one knee.

(Photo: Karsten Moran)

By Rebecca Maxon

Trivia time! Who is the founder and president of the Trivia Club at the Florham Campus? It’s Dylan Bariexca, a junior biochemistry major with a love of random facts.

Trivia Club members include a tight-knit group of friends who plan trivia night competitions, some of which attract upwards of 40 student players.

“I’m very impressed by the members of my club and their random knowledge.” But there is nothing random about Bariexca’s choice of major, biochemistry.

“I always knew that I wanted to do something meaningful, intellectually stimulating and that helps people,” he says. “Becoming a scientist fulfills those goals for me.”

His research experience includes studies on water-bottle consumption rates; the impact of artificial intelligence on social science research; and the ethical allocation of funding and resources in scientific research. He’s interested in conducting drug-development research as part of his career.

Bariexca is currently working with Robert Barrows, assistant professor of chemistry, in the lab to stabilize a currently available kidney medication to make it more effective.

This research experience will set him on the path to a PhD.

And, as a member of the Honors Academy, Bariexca will complete an honors thesis by the end of his undergraduate studies. “The Honors Academy is why I came to FDU, quite frankly. It’s a very tight-knit cohort,” he says. “We’re all friends with each other and together we all learned to do research.”

Beyond academics and trivia, Bariexca devotes a substantial amount of time to music. He plays guitar, bass and keyboards and even dabbles with the drums and the ukulele.

“I’ve been playing guitar for 12 years now, and I’ve been really into songwriting; just hammering out songs in between classes or on weekends.”

A self-described metal head and night-owl, Bariexca says, “When I’m not writing music, I’m consuming music.” He has attended many concerts, boasts an extensive record collection in his dorm room and has papered his walls with posters of bands.

Bariexca records his compositions using several components: guitar, vocals, harmonies, percussion and electronic mixing. “When it all comes together, the final product is something mesmerizing,” he says.

And that’s kind of how Bariexca feels about all of his interests — research, biochemistry, music and trivia — mesmerized.