![]() |
|||
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]()
The near-the-equator field work yielded a winning research project: "Sexual Selection and the Brain: Neuropeptide Cell Size and Courtship Behavior Are Correlated Across Populations of Male Guppies." In April it was one of 13 entries recognized as outstanding from among those of 130 participating students, and Sjoberg was one of six student winners from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Sjoberg's research evolved from laboratory work he had done with his project mentor, Dr. John R. Godwin of the department of zoology. His Trinidad field research in gathering specimens was guided by Dr. James Gilliam, also of that department, whom Sjoberg assisted in ecology-related research. For Sjoberg, it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to travel to Trinidad and work with the researchers who helped him gather his samples.
What he saw as a result of those 10 days in January and the on-campus laboratory analyses that followed was that something he had theorized was true. Noting that upstream, seldom-threatened male guppies were more colorful and active than their downstream, highly preyed-upon counterparts, Sjoberg realized that here was a model of the conflict between natural and sexual selection. To prove it, he was looking for a cell size difference, between the two fish populations, in the neuropeptide AVT a kind of neurotransmitter in the fish's brain responsible for sexual and aggressive behavior. He found the upstream fish had the larger AVT cells.
It also spells success for Sjoberg, he says, "because I hypothesized the difference and found the difference in AVT size." The project paid off in other ways, as well: Sjoberg has received a fellowship from the W.M. Keck Foundation to further his research this summer. Likewise, the experience has changed his career aspirations. Whereas before, his goal was medical school and general practice, he now wants to go into medical research. Applying what we've learned, None of this surprises Dr. George Barthalmus, the College's director of academic programs, who was among the six symposium judges. He sees Sjoberg's experience as right in line with the purposes of the event. "We want our students to learn not only from textbooks and lectures, but from the hands-on opportunity of working with nationally and internationally recognized individuals," he says. "Undergraduate research is a way of applying what you learned, a way of seeing how science works: that it's hard work, that it's long hours, that nothing's certain, that grants have to be written, that reports have to be written on the research done." And, he adds, it gives students the opportunity to experience "the excitement of being the first to see the information that no one else in the world has seen. This can set a student's mind aflame with thought."
This year's symposium drew 130 submissions, 58 of which were in Biological Sciences. Because the symposium requires students to write a paper in scientific format and present it in the same poster session format that faculty follow at national and international meetings, Barthalmus calls it "a confidence builder."
Looking through doors and windows In fact, symposium winner Jennifer Brady mentions that one of the rewards of participation in her research project is, "I will leave here with a couple of publications with my name on them. That's incredible!"
The results, she says, "allowed us to see how cells that don't have normal protein responded as compared to cells that expressed normal levels." Brady's project mentor was Lois A. Annab of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, where Brady currently works as a research assistant. Brady says, "When you actually see what research does in the work field, it's easier to apply it in the classroom. As a result of this research experience, I've seen my classroom performance improve, especially in the lab setting." And while she's currently looking into a future in marine biology, Brady says that the experience in the ever-changing field of breast cancer research fascinated her. "I've only got one year left, so I want to look through all the doors and windows to find out what I'm passionate about." Moving in new directions That kind of decision was crystallized for another symposium winner, Nolan Yeung, by his hands-on research experience. A May 1999 graduate in biological engineering, Yeung parlayed his senior-year internship at Dr. Ron Sederoff's forest biotechnology lab into his symposium project and ultimately into a job with Novartis Agribusiness and Biotechnology Research Inc. in RTP.
Whetten served as mentor for Yeung's symposium project, in which they were trying to develop a method to detect protein-protein interactions and isolate the corresponding gene. "We tried to develop a general method that could be used to detect any interactions and then looked specifically at MAP kinase protein (a plant protein) to see what activates it and what it in turn activates," Yeung explains. The importance of this work, he says, is that there is no literature on those targets in plants. "There's plenty on animal MAP kinase interaction but not on plants, and we wanted to be the first." Significantly, this research was Yeung's first experience doing molecular biology or genetics experiments, because, he says, "I'm an engineer by trade." Make that past tense. Now, with Novartis, he's in the natural resistance group doing molecular biology research for crop protection. In addition to his biological engineering degree, Yeung received a minor in genetics "because I wanted to do both, get the best of both worlds. My research experience fueled the desire to work in the genetics field, so that is what I'm doing now." The other 1999 symposium recognition winners >from the College were:
However, many more of the College's symposium participants count themselves as winners. Rising senior Jessica Hutchison says the experience helped her to secure a plum summer internship with the Savannah River Ecology Project in Aiken, S.C. "I had been trying for internships, and this summer, with this on my resume, I was able to get one," says the environmental soil science major. A curricular change of pace Other participants were looking for a curricular change of pace. Amy Polen is a rising senior majoring in microbiology on a career track toward medical school and neonatology, but her research project was the stuff of production agriculture: "Resistance of Five Cucumber Cultivars to Three Fungal Pathogens."
Polen, a Park Scholar, says that the greatest reward for her came in "just learning how to present and talk about research and answer questions. People are interested in the practical applications. For me, it is a realistic type of research because it affects the citizens of the state. It helps farmers, affects profit and affects food production."
"These clinics deliver crucial information that people might not have had the opportunity to hear from these professionals at such low costs," Mills says. "It helps stimulate the horse industry and helps it grow. We've estimated, from surveys and other indicators, that $1 million has been saved through public participation in the clinics."
One-on-one with the pros Barthalmus calls attention to another benefit of Agwalory's symposium experience that the student had the opportunity to work with Dr. Schal, Blanton J. Whitmire Professor of Entomology and one of the world's authorities on insect pheromones. "What this shows is that we have internationally recognized faculty working directly in research with undergraduate students in these projects, sharing information," he says. As a result of the experience, Agwalory
plans to pursue graduate studies. "All I've been learning
in class about scientific method and experiments didn't mean
as much to me till now," he says. Hands-on academics Previously, students who pursued an Honors degree from the College and who chose to complete the teaching option of ALS 498 and 499 participated in the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Beginning this year, however, these students were invited to present their efforts in a separate symposium devoted to teaching.
Students participating in the teaching symposium can make a significant contribution to the development of course work while doing scholarly and groundbreaking work with a faculty member.
By offering teaching opportunities for undergraduates, the College allows students to discover how best to learn the subject matter themselves, he said. "It's hands-on academics with peers." There were 19 participants in this year's event. Projects offered revisions of course packs and laboratory exercises, tutorial programs to enhance courses, Web pages designed to supplement courses, and measures of the effectiveness of quiz methods. Titles included "Web-based Quiz Development for Nutrition of Domestic Animals," "Using Technology as a Supplement to Introductory Biology Laboratory Courses" and "Teaching Genetics for the Future." Chancellor Marye Anne Fox commended efforts exhibited in the teaching symposium.
|