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Students value hands-on research experiences
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by Cindy Abole
Public Relations
About 70 college-aged students and potential scientists worked within
MUSC labs and facilities conducting research on campus as part of the
2010 Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) sponsored by the
College of Graduate Studies.
Selected through a competitive application process, the students
received apprenticeship awards to work with a faculty member from June
7 to Aug. 13.
SURP participants were placed in a variety of research fields at MUSC,
including biochemistry and molecular biology, cancer biology, cell and
molecular pharmacology, genetics and gene medicine, microbiology and
immunology, marine biomedicine, neurosciences and other areas.
“Each year the program gets better and better thanks to the increased
reputation of the program and the quality of students who participate,”
said Debbie Shoemaker, SURP coordinator in the College of Graduate
Studies. Shoemaker has managed the program since 2004. “We’re
fortunate that the program continues to attract a high caliber of
students each year. Students make the program and that’s a testament to
its quality and success.”
This year’s SURP students hailed from more than 32 colleges and
universities and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The program is funded
through training grants from the National Institutes of Health,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of
Defense as well as faculty and department funding.
Charleston’s Laila Roudsari is a Clemson University bioengineering
student who worked in Xuejen Wen’s bioengineering lab conducting
research with neural stem cells. Wen, who is an adjunct assistant
professor in the Clemson bioengineering program at MUSC, is working on
applications related to Parkinson’s disease. Individuals diagnosed with
Parkinson’s disease suffer from a major loss of neurons. Wen’s team is
looking at replacing the neuron loss in patients.
Roudsari, who has previous research experience at Rice University in
summer 2008, applied to the program because of MUSC’s growing
reputation in medicine and research and her own desire to remain in
Charleston this summer.
“I learned a lot about translational research combining basic science
with the medical field,” Roudsari said. “My projects were really
challenging and I got to provide a lot of input and work with the
team’s researchers and engineers. It was challenging, yet rewarding.”
The program also proved valuable for Jessie McGinty, a Clemson
University junior who worked with postdoctoral researcher and SURP
advisor Angie Cason, Ph.D., and other scientists and students in Gary
Aston-Jones’ laboratory for neuromodulation and behavior in the
Department of Neurosciences. The lab's focus is neuronal circuits and
systems in the brain, addiction research and cognitive neuroscience
research.
McGinty and other SURP students were able to conduct their own research
projects, under the supervision of researchers and lab personnel,
giving them valuable hands-on experiences. In addition to their
research, students met regularly, attended lectures and participated in
other activities. At the program’s conclusion, students completed a
paper and conducted research presentations attended by mentors, faculty
and fellow students.
“It was a very eye-opening experience for me because I never had a
full-time job before,” said McGinty, who worked 40 hours per week in
the lab learning about rewards pathways using food. Her research team
found that food is a stronger award than drugs. “It’s been really
interesting to see the whole scientific process. Ten weeks was really
too short a time to learn science.”
“Jessie learned how to use immunohistochemistry to observe changes in
protein expression in the brain,” said Cason. “She learned how these
neural changes correspond to changes in animal behavior. Overall,
Jessie’s been a great help and one thing I learned from having her in
our lab is that science still can be fun and exciting. I think as
senior researchers, we sometimes get lost in the grind and it was
wonderful to be reminded why I like my job.”
The experience was impressive for McGinty’s mom, Jacqueline McGinty,
Ph.D., professor of neurosciences.
“The experience has shaped Jessie’s thinking about whether or not she
would like to pursue a career in research science,” said McGinty.
“While she may not work in neuroscience, she is thinking of merging her
interest in research with her passion for healthy nutrition. This has
led her to search for research opportunities at Clemson in
nutraceutical research and she has found a prominent lab in which she
will conduct a creative inquiry study this fall.”
Mom also loved the idea of having her daughter work nearby on campus
throughout the summer.
“We commuted to campus together—I have the better parking space—and we
discussed neuroscience topics with ease during our drive,” McGinty
said. “She dropped in daily and occasionally, we had lunch
together. It’s been fun seeing her in the hallway and interacting with
the people I work with. She definitely understands and has an augmented
appreciation for what I do now and I have a better appreciation for her
goals and academic direction. We thank SURP, graduate studies and MUSC
for providing a terrific summer research experience for Jessie and her
fellow SURP students.”
Friday, Aug. 27, 2010
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