While many of our students worked on campus this summer researching the faculty here, three of our biochemistry majors researched elsewhere. One of these was Sandy Ho who won our campus's RC Med Review Research Fellowship last spring. She worked with Professor Laurie Littlepage at the Mike and Josie Harper Cancer Research Institute which is a collaboration between the IU School of Medicine and the University of Notre Dame. Ho studied how oxidative stress affects breast cancer cells in the presences or absence of a specific aquaporin (a channel protein that allows water and glycerol to flow across the cell membrane).
Hunter Richman attended the University of Delaware REU program sponsored by the National Science Foundation. He researched the kinetics and thermodynamics of post synthetic ligand exchange in Cu(II) metal organic cages with graduate student Garrett Taggart in the group of Professor Eric Bloch. Richman enjoyed the hands-on research experience and the preview into what graduate school might be like. He stands by his research poster (on the right) beside his professor in the photo below during a symposium at the end of the summer. You can find their abstract HERE.
Hunter Richman attended the University of Delaware REU program sponsored by the National Science Foundation. He researched the kinetics and thermodynamics of post synthetic ligand exchange in Cu(II) metal organic cages with graduate student Garrett Taggart in the group of Professor Eric Bloch. Richman enjoyed the hands-on research experience and the preview into what graduate school might be like. He stands by his research poster (on the right) beside his professor in the photo below during a symposium at the end of the summer. You can find their abstract HERE.
Maggie Fink who was funded by the National Science Foundation REU program to work at the University of Notre Dame in Dr. Shaun Lee's biology lab. Fink describes her work and experience in the paragraph that follows. She is pictured second from the right in the photo above.
"I worked with Streptococcus pyogenes, the human pathogen responsible for strep throat and necrotizing fascitis. Specifically, I investigated the role of streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin B (SpeB) in virulence through interactions with Streptolysin S. SpeB is a protease with a large number of known substrates and no definite link to its activity correlates to the severity of infection. Streptolysin S is toxin responsible for red blood cell lysis and serious infections. Understanding the interactions between the two, if any even exist, could provide insight into how S. pyrogenes can cause a range of infection severity in hosts, from remaining commensal to a life threatening illness. Participating in the REU program at Notre Dame challenged me as a scientist to think creativity and critically when deisgning experiments and analysing data. Additionally, working with graduate students in a larger lab gave me a better idea of what going to graduate school will be like and helped solidify my desire to pursue a PhD and career in research."
Summer research, whether on- or off-campus, has a wide range of benefits. It is often a paid position so you can earn money gaining experience rather than waiting tables, and it can help you decide whether research is really what you want to do. It used to be that undergraduate research helped you stand out from the crowd when applying to graduate school; nowadays, it is becoming the norm, so that you may be at a disadvantage if you lack research experience.
