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Summers of Discovery Celebrates Class of 2007

By Eddy Ball
August 2007

NIEHS Director David A. Schwartz, M.D. and N.C. State student Amy Anderson.
NIEHS Director David A. Schwartz, M.D., toured the display area, surveying the outcome of this year’s program. He stopped to ask N.C. State student Amy Anderson, right, about her work in the Laboratory of Reproductive and Developmental Biology on expression of reproductive homeobox genes. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

Stephanie Nick McElhinny, Ph.D., talked with University of Virginia student Doan-Thu 'Katrina' Nguyen.
Laboratory of Molecular Genetics Fellow Stephanie Nick McElhinny, Ph.D., talked with University of Virginia student Doan-Thu "Katrina" Nguyen, right, about her research in the Laboratory of Structural Biology involving nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of allergens. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

Cary Academy rising senior Anirudh Kota talks with Laboratory of Neurobiology Acting Chief David Armstrong, Ph.D.
Cary Academy rising senior Anirudh Kota, left, outlined his research methodology for Laboratory of Neurobiology Acting Chief David Armstrong, Ph.D. Kota completed his second summer of research with the Neurotoxicology Group and his mentors, Graduate Student/Technician Chris McPherson and Group Director Jean Harry, Ph.D. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

UNC Chapel Hill student Matthew Lau talks with co-author Mike Resnick, Ph.D.
UNC Chapel Hill student Matthew Lau, right, talked with co-author Mike Resnick, Ph.D., about their work with clustered DNA damage in budding yeast. Resnick is the supervisory research geneticist in the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, where he and Lau collaborated on the project with Visiting Fellow Wenjian Ma, Ph.D., and Staff Scientist Dimitry Gordenin, Ph.D. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

The Class of 2007 gathered for a final group photo.
The Class of 2007 gathered for a final group photo. Coordinator Charle League, seated center in black, can look back on this summer, hectic as it was, with a feeling of accomplishment. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

On July 25, the 2007 Summers of Discovery program held its annual poster session in Building 101. Of this year’s 75 interns, 58 participants displayed results of their two- to three-months’ work with NIEHS scientists. Thirteen of the posters were presented by high school students. Winners of the competition were announced during the July 27 Awards Ceremony in Rodbell Auditorium, which for many interns marked the completion of their summer at the Institute.

The interns completed research projects under the mentorship of one or more senior scientists in their assigned laboratory groups. Each year, several of the interns go on to present their work at professional conferences or use it as the basis for publications in peer-reviewed journals.

According to Summers of Discovery Coordinator Charle League, "Every intern is strongly encouraged to submit a poster [as part of training about making a scientific presentation]." This year’s participation rate, she said, is "a fairly good percentage [compared to] past years."

Although the program continues into August, a number of the interns have left the Institute to take a break before their fall semesters begin. Those who remain will be able to attend the two final lectures in the Summers of Discovery Seminar Series, both scheduled for 11:00 a.m. in Rodbell Auditorium:

  • August 1 — Farah Imani, Ph.D., will present a talk titled "Respiratory Virus Infections and Immune Responses." Imani is head of the Immunology Group in the Laboratory of Respiratory Biology.
  • August 8 — Jack Taylor, M.D., Ph.D., will speak on "A Random Walk through Biomedical careers and Gene Polymorphisms." Taylor is a senior investigator in the Epidemiology Branch.

A little over half of the participants in the poster session attend high schools and universities in North Carolina. The others are affiliated with institutions throughout the United States, and one intern, Karla Hernandez-Cruz, returns to Caracas, Venezuela, to attend classes at the Universidad Metropolitana.

During the Awards Ceremony, winners were announced for research excellence in three areas — high school, undergraduate and graduate and professional (see text box). Following the awards, members of the Class of 2007 attended a reception.

The Summers of Discovery program was launched in 1989 as a way to give talented high school, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as high school and college faculty, a more in-depth exposure to the world of scientific research. Selected by scientific mentors from the NIEHS Division of Intramural Research according to the applicants’ areas of interest and experience, interns work with mentors to design and construct a research project to be carried out over a period of eight to twelve weeks. Participants are paid a salary based on their level of education and experience.

"The work these students do most definitely furthers research at the NIEHS," League explained. "It’s a way to excite up-and-coming students about science and to grow the future research pool." For faculty participants, such as award winner Joan Roberts, Ph.D., the program allows established faculty and teachers to work with advanced equipment that their schools and colleges may not have in their laboratories and to collaborate with scientists working on the cutting edge of their fields.

This Year’s Poster Session Winners

High School

Wayneho Kam, a rising freshman at Duke University and a graduate and valedictorian of Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School in Raleigh, N.C., researched the advantages and risks of nanomaterials with scientists in the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Chemistry Photochemistry/Photobiology Group. Abstract: Kam W, Chignell CG, He Y-Y, Sik B, Feng L. Synthesis of quantum dots to assess subcellular distribution of nanoparticles in keratinocytes.

Undergraduate

Leisha Collins, who will complete her course work in the Department of Microbiology at North Carolina State University in December, studied alterations in the mitochondrial genome with investigators in the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics DNA Repair and Mitochondrial Damage Group. Abstract: Collins L, Hunter S, Van Houten B. Insight into mitochondrial double-strand break repair.

Graduate and Professional

Joan Roberts, Ph.D., a professor of Chemistry and chair of the Department of Natural Sciences at Fordham University, performed her research on the nanoparticle fullerol with the Laboratory of Pharmacolology and Chemistry Photochemistry/Photobiology Group. Abstract: Roberts JE, Wielgus A, Andley U, Chignell CF. Phototoxicity and cytotoxicity of fullerol in human lens epithelial cells.


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