News Release

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June 14, 2005

Undergraduates At Boise State Among Idaho Students Receiving Summer Fellowships For Biomedical Research

 

INBRE fellow Andrew Oler conducts research in the lab of Boise State biology professor Cheryl Jorcyk.

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Ten Boise State University students are conducting biomedical research at Boise State and at other Idaho colleges and universities this summer as paid research fellows through a statewide program funded by the National Institutes of Health.

 

The students are working on studies involving breast cancer, Parkinson’s disease, asthma, the structure of cartilage, chemotherapeutic drugs, bacterial agents and other areas.

 

The Boise State students are among 39 undergraduates from throughout Idaho who received the 10-week, $5,000 fellowships as part of the IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE). The program is funded through the NIH’s Institutional Development Award program.

 

The Idaho students who received the fellowships are conducting research at Boise State, the University of Idaho, Idaho State University, Albertson College of Idaho and Northwest Nazarene University. They are enrolled at these institutions, the College of Southern Idaho and Brigham Young University-Idaho.

 

The research program culminates with a statewide INBRE conference Aug. 7-10 at NNU for students, mentors and other researchers affiliated with the program .


At Boise State, fellowship recipients include Andrew Slupe, a senior from Caldwell majoring in chemistry and biology. Slupe is conducting research in the lab of chemistry professor Henry Charlier. The project involves studying methods to improve chemotherapy and make it safer with a class of drugs called anthracyclines.

 

“I love doing this,” said Slupe, who hopes to eventually earn both M.D. and Ph.D. degrees and conduct medical research. “I can learn more in one day in a lab than a semester sitting in class.”

 

This is the second year that Andrew Oler has received an INBRE fellowship to work on breast cancer research in the lab of Boise State biology professor Cheryl Jorcyk.

 

The experience of conducting experiments, interpreting data, and then presenting the research at a conference has been invaluable, Oler said. “My experience working in Dr. Jorcyk’s lab has been great preparation for my future studies,” he said.

 

Chelsea Isom, a junior majoring in biochemistry, is working with Boise State chemistry professor Ken Cornell on studies to identify new targets for antibacterial agents. Isom said she’s gaining valuable research experience that will support her plans to go to medical school after graduating from the university.

 

Another Boise State student, Zachary Heuman, is using atomic force microscopy techniques to investigate the properties of collagen found in cartilage as part of research in the lab of electrical and computer engineering professor William Knowlton.

 

“This is graduate-level research. It’s fantastic that I get to have this kind of research experience as an undergraduate,” Heuman said.

 

Some INBRE students are conducting research at universities other than the ones they attend. For example, Boise State student Magdalena Zimmerman of Hayden is working on the University of Idaho campus in Moscow this summer in the lab of chemistry professor Thomas Bitterwolf. Her research area involves developing new ways to alleviate blood vessel constriction in the limbs of amputees.

 

“It is very interesting. I have learned a lot about basic chemistry that I have never fully understood,” said Zimmerman, a piano performance major who plans to attend medical school to become a pediatric surgeon or a genetics researcher.

 

Another INBRE fellow, Kwang ho Ha of Brigham Young University-Idaho, is conducting research this summer at Boise State. Ha is working in the lab of biology professor Troy Rohn on research involving Parkinson’s disease.

 

“This is something that isn’t available at BYU-Idaho, which is primarily a teaching institution,” Ha said.

 

Both faculty and students benefit by the INBRE program, said Boise State chemistry professor Henry Charlier, who heads the university’s program. “It’s an opportunity for faculty and students to become colleagues,” said Charlier. “The hands-on experience these undergraduates are receiving will help them become successful researchers.”
 

Here is a complete list of students chosen to conduct research at each institution:

 

Boise State University

  • Kwang ho Ha of Ulsan, South Korea, is a Brigham Young University-Idaho junior studying biology with an emphasis in molecular and microbiology.

  • Zachary Heuman of Kansas City, Mo., is a BSU senior studying materials science and engineering.

  • Alma Hodzic of Cazin, Bosnia and Herzogovina, is a BSU senior studying biology.

  • Chelsea Isom of Boise is a BSU junior studying biochemistry.

  • Christopher Liby of Eagle is a BSU senior studying biology.

  • Andrew Oler of Raymond, Alberta, Canada, is a 2005 BSU graduate in biology. (Oler retained eligibility for the INBRE fellowship because he applied as an undergraduate.)

  • Alonzo Rivas of Ashton is a BSU senior studying pre-med biology.

  • Andrew Slupe of Caldwell is a BSU is a senior studying chemistry and biology.

 

University of Idaho

 

  • Tamara Baca, of Albuquerque, N.M., is a UI senior studying microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry.

  • James Baron of Orlando, Fla., is a Brigham Young University-Idaho senior studying biology

  • Erin Garrison of Weiser is a UI senior studying microbiology.

  • Kelli Hodges of Weston is a UI senior studying molecular biology and biochemistry

  • Kathryn McGuckin of Kootenai is a UI sophomore majoring in microbiology and molecular biology and biochemistry

  • Patrice McNulty of Gilford, N.H., is a Brigham Young University-Idaho junior studying biology education

  • Melinda Ouwerkerk of Abbortsford, B.C., Canada, is a UI sophomore studying pre-med biology

  • Luke Rosen of Vancouver, Wash., is a UI senior studying microbiology

  • John Sturgeon of Boise is a UI sophomore studying microbiology

  • Austin Viall of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, is a UI junior studying microbiology

  • Julia Williams of Moscow is a UI senior studying microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry.

  • Magdalena Zimmerman of Hayden is a BSU senior studying piano performance.

  • Mikhail Zhukalin of Boise is a Boise State University junior studying biochemistry.

    •

Albertson College of Idaho

  • Shalimar Frost of Eagle is an ACI freshman studying biology

  • Elizabeth Morrison of Caldwell is an ACI freshman studying biology.

  • Laurelei Schnadt of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., is an ACI senior studying biology.

  • Tilak Silva of Caldwell is an ACI junior studying chemistry, mathematics and physics.

  • Sarah Wells of Meridian is an ACI sophomore studying biology.

Idaho State University

  • Emily Baergen of Pocatello is an ISU sophomore stuying biology

  • Jacqueline Brown of American Falls is an ISU senior studying biochemistry

  • Allyson Coonts of Mackay is an Albertson College of Idaho senior studying biology

  • Jeremy Ebrahimpour of Pocatello is an ISU junior studying prepharmacy

  • Jason Ebrahimpour of Pocatello is an ISU junior studying prepharmacy

  • Tsedey Kassaye Betre of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is an ISU sophomore studying biochemistry

  • Erik Linn of Chubbuck is a College of Southern Idaho sophomore studying biology

  • Sandra Pearce of Rexburg is a Brigham Young University-Idaho senior studying Biology

  • Jacob Tibbitts of Blackfoot is an ISU senior studying biology

  • Bradley Wahlen of Filer is an ISU senior studying biochemistry

  • Micah Waltz of Nampa is an ISU sophomore studying microbiology and vocal performance

 

Northwest Nazarene University

  • Collin Merrill of Rexburg is a junior at Brigham Young University-Idaho studying biology

  • Sheena Perry of Boise is a junior at Boise State University studying biology.


 

Contact: Henry Charlier, Department of Chemistry, (208) 426-3474, hcharlie@boisestate.edu

 

Media Contact: Janelle Brown, communications and marketing, (208) 426-1790, jbrown2@boisestate.edu

 


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Last reviewed on Thursday, December 22, 2005