Sources: Michael Hinkin, 785-532-3211, mph3553@k-state.edu;
and the K-State Graduate School, 785-532-6191
Prepared by: Kay Garrett, 785-532-3238, anuenue@k-state.edu
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
STUDENTS FROM ACROSS THE U.S. AND PUERTO RICO TAKE PART IN K-STATE'S SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM
MANHATTAN — A program offered by Kansas State University has given undergraduates from various colleges and universities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico the chance to spend the summer working in a K-State laboratory on research.
Participants in K-State's 13th annual Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program were paired with K-State faculty mentors and became part of a research team for the summer. The students were immersed in planning and carrying out research, which included projects in biology, psychology, mechanical engineering, plant pathology, English, biochemistry and diagnostic medicine and pathobiology.
The K-State Graduate School sponsors the Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program to introduce highly qualified undergraduates to career possibilities as scholars and researchers. It provides participants with room and board and a stipend.
K-State psychology graduate student Michael Hinkin, Manhattan, coordinated this summer's program.
"The K-State Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program lets students from smaller schools, who might not have as much opportunity for research at their home institutions, gain experiences to make them more successful in their major fields," Hinkin said. "We are able to offer the participants the best opportunities possible to broaden their academic experience. The program also really showcases K-State's wide selection of graduate-level degree programs and research opportunities."
2007 Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program participants included:
Alyssa Renfro, Macksville. Renfro is the daughter of Dan and Terri Renfro and a senior in English and communications at Sterling College. At K-State she assisted with research projects of English department faculty members Bonnie Nelson, Tanya Gonzalez and Anne Longmuir. Research included Restoration and 18th century women playwrights, Spanish-language soap operas and Victorian novels. Her project was "Writers and their female characters: The struggle for autonomy across the centuries."
Brittanie J. Atkinson, Wichita. Atkinson attends Langston University, Langston, Okla. At K-State she studied with Ruth Welti, professor of biology, and worked on the effects of mechanical wounding on the metabolome of Arabidopsis thaliana.
Jennifer Stone, Wichita. Stone is the daughter of Chris and Lila Stone and a senior at Graceland University, Lamoni, Iowa. Her biochemistry research project at K-State was "Functional analysis of syntaxin isoforms in the red flour beetle." The project was under the direction of Subbarat Muthukrishnan, a university distinguished professor of biochemistry.
Thelma Green, Mobile, Ala. Green attends Alabama A&M University, Normal, Ala. She studied with Carolyn Ferguson, associate professor of biology and director of the K-State Herbarium. Her project was "Applications of genetic techniques and microsatellites in Phlox."
Melissa Ann Reyes Blundell, Eureka, Calif. She is a student at Humboldt State University, Arcata, Calif., and was one of two students selected for both the Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program and the K-State Division of Biology Research Experience for Undergraduates. She worked with Brett Sandercock, associate professor of biology, and carried out the study, "Are brood parasites unique in their begging? A comparative approach with the red-winged blackbird."
Deborah R. Bryant, Savannah, Ga. Bryant attends Savannah State University. She worked with Mo Hosni, professor and head of the department of mechanical and nuclear engineering at K-State. Her project was "Flow visualization method using a smoke chamber."
Jessica Weng, Paramus, N.J. Weng is the daughter of Shu and Wen Weng and a junior at Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass., with a double major in biological chemistry and psychology. Her summer research, "The role of N-Glycosylation on baculovirus fibroblast growth factors," was under the direction of Lorena Passarelli, assistant professor of biology at K-State.
Katherine Weng, Paramus, N.J. Weng is the daughter of Shu and Wen Weng and a junior at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa., with a double major in biology and psychology. Her research, "The effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on the gastro-intestinal tract and how NSAIDs affect the expression of calpains," was under the direction of James Lillich, K-State associate professor of clinical sciences.
Millicent Bowie, Edmond, Okla. Bowie is the daughter of Thais Goodwin and is a biology and premedicine major at Langston University, Langston, Okla. Her K-State research project was "Neural expression formation in the embryonic central system of the Tribolium castaneum," which was conducted with Tonia Von Ohlen, assistant professor of biology.
Tsedenia Asmamaw, Guthrie, Okla. Asmamaw attends Langston University, Langston, Okla. Her K-State faculty mentor was Christopher Thorpe, assistant professor of biology, who supervised her study of the role of spork2 in zebrafish heart development.
Ivorie Okonoboh, Okmulgee, Okla. Okonoboh is a student at Langston University, Langston, Okla. K-State's Michael Herman, associate professor of biology, supervised Okonoboh's project on the response of C. elegans and Konza soil nematodes to different bacterial environments.
Adam Carter, Pottstown, Pa., attends Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa. He is one of two students selected for both the Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program and K-State Division of Biology Research Experience for Undergraduates. He studied with Keith Gido, K-State associate professor of biology, on the project "Subsides of Kansas streams: The diet of an omnivorous fish."
Dipti Chhajwani, Chattanooga, Tenn. She is the daughter of Kanaiyalal and Meena Chhajwani and a junior at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. As a participant in the University of Tennessee's College Scholars program, Chhajwani has academic emphases in biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology and business administration. At K-State she worked on the project "Introducing targeting mutations in bacterial genes" with Frank White, professor of plant pathology, as her faculty mentor.
Kristen Fernandez, Lajas, Puerto Rico. She is a student at the University of Puerto Rice at Mayaguez. She worked with K-State's James Shanteau, professor of psychology. Her project was "Decision making with everyday products."
Jonathan Lopez Matos, Rincon, Puerto Rico. He attends the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. He worked with Richard Harris, K-State professor of psychology. His project was "The effects of violent video game play or viewing on aggression."
Aixa Rivera Pagan, Ponce, Puerto Rico. A student at the Universidad Central Del Caribe, she worked with Alexander Beeser, K-State assistant professor of biology. Her project was "Toward a Pak kinase inhibitor."