1.Name:
Tori Servatius Major (including any concentrations): Biology/Pre-Med, Studio Art
Current class status (ex. Senior): Junior
Career aspirations (ex. Grad school, med school, researcher, other specialty): Med School
Research experience (ex. # semesters, months or years): 0
Class status when you first applied for/thought about research (college years only): Junior
Location(s) where you did research (ex. GCC or ___ University etc…): GCC Fall 2009
Field of research (ex. Dev bio, molec bio, ecology, medical, etc.): Aquatics/ecology
What did you study? (ex. Neuro pathways in mice, etc.): Water quality
Was it summer research or research while taking classes at GCC?: While taking classes
Name of the professor(s) you worked under: Dr. Brenner
2. Name: Emily Kobin
Major (including any concentrations): Molecular Biology, pre-med
Current class status (ex. Senior): Junior
Career aspirations (ex. Grad school, med school, researcher, other specialty): med school
Research experience (ex. # semesters, months or years): 2 semesters (first and second of junior year)
Class status when you first applied for/thought about research (college years only): spring semester sophomore
Location(s) where you did research (ex. GCC or ___ University etc…): GCC
Field of research (ex. Dev bio, molec bio, ecology, medical, etc.): Development and Molecular Biology
What did you study? (ex. Neuro pathways in mice, etc.): wnt4a expression in 15-18hpf zebrafish using different imaging and molecular biology techniques
Was it an enjoyable experience?: DEFINITELY!!
What type of bio student would find this type of research interesting?: Anyone interested in the field and interested in seeing the techniques discussed in the cell/molec course in action.
Hours and times per week normally spent researching: a range between 2-8
Was it summer research or research while taking classes at GCC?: Research during the school year at GCC
Name of the professor(s) you worked under: Dr. Gribble
Explain briefly what you accomplished: Because it was a new program, we focused on growing the lines available to the lab and producing transgenics. While we were unable to do a lot of imaging, hopefully by the end of the year, we will have a working probe for wnt4a and dbx1a so we can do in situs in the future
Give insight on a typical day of research: Typically it involved a bit of husbandry accompanied by a step in whatever part of the research process we were performing. It usually included solution preparation and some form of tutorial about the technique or equipment we would be using.
Best thing about your research experience: The ability to see and perform the skills and procedures I had only previously learned about in the classroom
Worst thing about your research experience: Spending months on probe synthesis to find it didn’t work and we would have to start all over again.
Do you plan on working on a similar project at a later time?: Probably not… there will be restrictions placed on the amount of research Dr. Gribble will take on in the future. She may choose to not continue my research project.
Have you presented your research (ex. Paper, poster, speech, etc)?: no
Would you recommend this experience to a student with similar career aspirations as yourself?: Yes. I think all premed students should experience the lab. It is a different atmosphere than a hospital or doctors office, but the mindset of curiosity, problem solving and discovery is an important lesson to learn no matter what you plan on doing in the future.
3. Name: Sean Kellner
Major (including any concentrations): Biology Major (Psychology Minor)
Current class status (ex. Senior): Junior
Career aspirations (ex. Grad school, med school, researcher, other specialty): PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology
Research experience (ex. # semesters, months or years): Two semesters, the latest (current) semester being for credit
Class status when you first applied for/thought about research (college years only): Junior
Location(s) where you did research (ex. GCC or ___ University etc…): GCC
Field of research (ex. Dev bio, molec bio, ecology, medical, etc.): Genetics
What did you study? (ex. Neuro pathways in mice, etc.): mitochondrial genome of Apis mellifera, sequencing the d-loop, also cytochrome oxidase subunit
Was it an enjoyable experience?: Yes
What type of bio student would find this type of research interesting?: Any, particularly anyone with a molecular focus
Hours and times per week normally spent researching: 3 hours or so, coming in one or two times per week
Was it summer research or research while taking classes at GCC?: while taking classes
Name of the professor(s) you worked under: Dr. Jenkins, Dr. Ray
Explain briefly what you accomplished: refined my techniques, troubleshooting abilities, and about to purify and sequence a PCR product of the cytochrome oxidase subunit
Give insight on a typical day of research: I come in and meet with Dr. Jenkins to discuss the day/week plan, get to it in the lab, possibly seeking consultation from Dr. Ray on techniques or result interpretation
Best thing about your research experience: Learning about the process, working with great professors, seeing those positive results!
Worst thing about your research experience: hitting stumbling blocks or delays
Do you plan on working on a similar project at a later time?: Yes
Have you presented your research (ex. Paper, poster, speech, etc)?: Not yet
Would you recommend this experience to a student with similar career aspirations as yourself?: Yes
4. Name: Michael Bortz
Major (including any concentrations): Molecular Biology with a minor in Religion
Current class status (ex. Senior): Junior
Career aspirations (ex. Grad school, med school, researcher, other specialty): med school
Research experience (ex. # semesters, months or years): none officially- just lots of looking
Class status when you first applied for/thought about research (college years only): sophomore year
Location(s) where you did research (ex. GCC or ___ University etc…): Case Western Reserve University
Was it summer research or research while taking classes at GCC?: summer research
5. Name: Kiersten Bower
Major (including any concentrations): biology major, psychology minor
Current class status (ex. Senior): senior
Career aspirations (ex. Grad school, med school, researcher, other specialty): nursing school
Research experience (ex. # semesters, months or years): none yet
6. Name: Oliver Wagner
Major (including any concentrations): Biology/Psychology double major with a Pre-Med concentration
Current class status (ex. Senior): Senior
Career aspirations (ex. Grad school, med school, researcher, other specialty): Medical School
Research experience (ex. # semesters, months or years): Two summers
Class status when you first applied for research (college years only): Freshman year (college)
Location(s) where you did research (ex. GCC or ___ University…): Hershey Medical Center
Field of research (ex. Dev bio, molec bio, ecology, medical, etc.): Molecular cloning, cancer research
What did you study? (ex. Neuro pathways in mice, etc.): I studied the effects of regulation of the novel gene HtrA1 and its role as a possible tumor suppressor
Was it an enjoyable experience?: It was a very enjoyable summer, the other lab members were very helpful and friendly and I learned a lot about research over the course of two summers
What type of bio student would find this type of research interesting?: I think that any molecular biology student would be interested in this sort of research, it used many of the techniques that we talked about in Cell Molec
Hours and times per week normally spent researching: I spent about 40hrs a week in the lab
Name of the professor(s) you worked under: I worked under Dr. Gary Clawson
Explain briefly what you accomplished: Over the two summers, I excised the desired gene and purified it from the plasmid, inserted it into an expression vector, and initiated the protein production in E.coli. I also did many other small tasks for other researchers.
Give insight on a typical day of research: My typical day of research consisted of cleaning glassware/updating databases in the morning for the lab, then setting up some procedure to run for a while (inoculating a culture, set up a gel to run, incubate DNA with restriction enzymes) and had a nice period of downtime over lunch. Then I would finish up any
more work that I needed to do in the afternoon, and set-up anything that needed to be left overnight. I typically only did bench work for about 3 hours on any given day, and the rest of the time was spent observing other researchers, reading up on things for my project, or doing other small tasks.
Best thing about your research experience: The best thing about my research was the experience that I gained, I now know how to do many things that I didn’t before, and I understand basic molecular biology much better. It also gave me confidence in thinking independently and tackling difficult problems.
Worst thing about your research experience: The worst part about the experience was the repeated failures, it is very frustrating to run something very complicated correctly only to have it not work for some unknown reason. This is a large part of research however, and is something that you need to deal with if you want to become a researcher.
Do you plan on working on the same project at a later time?: I will not be continuing work on my project in the future as far as I can see
Have you presented your research (ex. Paper, poster, speech, etc)?: I did not get far enough to present my research, but that option was open for me
Would you recommend this experience to a student with similar career aspirations?: I would highly recommend this type of experience, it looks great on a resume and can give you a clearer picture of what your aspirations are within biology
7. Name: Kimberly Ross
Major (including any concentrations): Molecular Biology
Current class status (ex. Senior): Senior
Career aspirations (ex. Grad school, med school, researcher, other specialty): Something clinical.
Research experience (ex. # semesters, months or years): 2 semesters
Class status when you first applied for/thought about research (college years only): Junior
Location(s) where you did research (ex. GCC or ___ University etc…): GCC
Field of research (ex. Dev bio, molec bio, ecology, medical, etc.): Medical
What did you study? (ex. Neuro pathways in mice, etc.): Effect of a Chinese herb, Matrine, on cancerous and normal mouse cells.
Was it an enjoyable experience?: Yes.
What type of bio student would find this type of research interesting?: A bio student interested in alternative medicine
Hours and times per week normally spent researching: 3 hours per week for 1 credit.
Was it summer research or research while taking classes at GCC?: GCC class
Name of the professor(s) you worked under: Dr. Ray
Explain briefly what you accomplished: I tried to determine what concentration would be potent enough to kill cancerous cells, but not harmful to normal cells.
Give insight on a typical day of research: After introducing cells to the Matrine, the following days are spent taking images of the cells and counting the cells in order to produce growth charts.
Best thing about your research experience: Seeing science happening at your own fingertips.
Worst thing about your research experience: You’re at the mercy of the cells and their growth.
Do you plan on working on a similar project at a later time?: I probably won’t be able to continue after graduation.
Have you presented your research (ex. Paper, poster, speech, etc)?: I will be in the Janicki Competition.
Would you recommend this experience to a student with similar career aspirations as yourself?:
I would recommend this type of research to anyone because it gives you a comprehensive view of science. Medicine stems from these types of experiments and doctors that I have talked to practice medicine and also oversee a lab to conduct their own research. It’s an aspect of science that couples nicely with any avenue in the health field.
8. Name: Christina Genareo
Major (including any concentrations): Biology
Current class status (ex. Senior): Junior
Career aspirations (ex. Grad school, med school, researcher, other specialty): Veterinary Medicine
Research experience (ex. # semesters, months or years): Two hour observation of research and helping to write up research findings concerning using over approximately three semesters
Class status when you first applied for/thought about research (college years only): I was a sophomore when I both observed research and began helping to write up literature review research papers.
Location(s) where you did research (ex. GCC or ___ University etc…): Grove City College
Field of research (ex. Dev bio, molec bio, ecology, medical, etc.): Ecology
What did you study? (ex. Neuro pathways in mice, etc.): I witnessed a research student study the DNA of deer to track population movement and breeding patterns. I helped to write about avian DNA use in tracking bird migration and controlling the spread of avian influenza.
Was it an enjoyable experience?: Yes. I hope to participate in more research in the future.
What type of bio student would find this type of research interesting?: Students that are comfortable following procedures and using laboratory instruments would probably excel performing the actual research. Students that enjoy summarizing findings to suggest a solution would most likely enjoy writing the ecological review papers. However, to write the papers, a student also must try to understand research methods and have a grasp of genetics concepts.
Hours and times per week normally spent researching: N/A
Was it summer research or research while taking classes at GCC?: Research while taking classes at GCC
Name of the professor(s) you worked under: Dr. Brenner
Explain briefly what you accomplished: I helped a paper on DNA usage tracking bird migration become published.
Give insight on a typical day of research: N/A
Best thing about your research experience: The time I spent observing research really helped me to gain a better understanding of research methods.
Worst thing about your research experience: I was horrible at using the pipettes!
Do you plan on working on a similar project at a later time?: I hope to sign up for research for the fall ’09 semester
Have you presented your research (ex. Paper, poster, speech, etc)?: I have never written about research I performed myself; however, I was given an opportunity to write about the research others have performed.
Would you recommend this experience to a student with similar career aspirations as yourself?: Yes; I am very thankful to have had an opportunity to learn about research methods and to try to summarize research results.
9. Name: Michelle Peck
Major (including any concentrations): Molecular Biology
Current class status (ex. Senior): Junior
Career aspirations (ex. Grad school, med school, researcher, other specialty): Grad school – possibly forensic science, molecular biology
Research experience (ex. # semesters, months or years): 2 semesters
Class status when you first applied for/thought about research (college years only): sophomore year
Location(s) where you did research (ex. GCC or ___ University etc…): GCC
Field of research (ex. Dev bio, molec bio, ecology, medical, etc.): molecular biology – cancer research; DNA fingerprinting
What did you study? (ex. Neuro pathways in mice, etc.): growth of cancer cells; cancer-killing ability of matrine; DNA fingerprinting of deer
Was it an enjoyable experience?: yes, it’s a great way to start to see first-hand a relevant application of what you are learning in class. It is also a great experience for getting used to working with biological techniques, beyond use in the labs for class.
What type of bio student would find this type of research interesting?: A student who enjoys being in the laboratory and is willing to sometimes do tedious work. Also, a student who enjoys problem solving.
Hours and times per week normally spent researching: 3 hours/week
Was it summer research or research while taking classes at GCC?: research while taking classes
Name of the professor(s) you worked under: Dr. Ray
Explain briefly what you accomplished: I was able to grow up many cancer cells that are going to be used for future experiments. We determined that matrine does in fact have an inhibitory effect on the growth of T2 HA cells, and at the highest concentration it was evident that the cells were all arrested in the same phase of the cell cycle. Currently, we are investigating different primers for identifying alleles for deer that will be used to identify the deer.
Give insight on a typical day of research: You are typically in the lab for 2 or 3 hours depending on what you are doing. You’ll check on any samples that you were working with last time you are in lab. I would consult with Dr. Ray about where we were and what needed to be accomplished that day. Then I would be at the lab bench either harvesting cells or performing some procedure like gel electrophoresis. Some days were spent analyzing data or counting cells.
Best thing about your research experience: Seeing how all the different biological procedures work together when researching a particular area.
Worst thing about your research experience: Tedious. Often you will be doing the same procedure over and over. Also, sometimes it is difficult to grasp the whole picture.
Do you plan on working on a similar project at a later time?: Yes I plan on doing research next year, continuing the research on deer fingerprinting
Have you presented your research (ex. Paper, poster, speech, etc)?: No
Would you recommend this experience to a student with similar career aspirations as yourself? Highly!
10. Name: Richard Toth
Major (including any concentrations): Molec Bio, Pre-Med
Current class status (ex. Senior): Junior
Career aspirations (ex. Grad school, med school, researcher, other specialty): med school
Research experience (ex. # semesters or years): 2 semesters
Class status when you first applied for research (college years only): end of sophomore year
Location(s) where you did research (ex. GCC or ___ University…): GCC
Field of research (ex. Dev bio, molec bio, ecology, medical, etc.): cell/molecular biology
What did you study? (ex. Neuro pathways in mice, etc.): a forensic method of uniquely identifying white-tailed deer based on nuclear DNA samples.
Was it an enjoyable experience?: Yes, it uses basic techniques such as PCR, gel electrophoresis, and fluorescent tagging and expands upon them to create a unique procedure to aid in the forensic goal of DNA fingerprinting.
What type of bio student would find this type of research interesting?: Molec bio or gen. bio student
Hours and times per week normally spent researching: 3 hours per week, usually from 2-5 like regular labs are scheduled.
Summer research or research while at GCC: while at GCC
Name of the professor(s) you worked under: Dr. Ray
Explain briefly what you accomplished: Found new primers to identify the Short Tandem Repeat sequences of the white-tailed deer. Working to finalize a step-by-step method that uses a multiplex kit to ID deer by using DNA samples, which is similar to what the FBI uses in human DNA kits.
Give insight on a typical day of research: Usually I go into the lab and do one step in the overall procedure, analyze any data, record it and the procedure in the lab notebook, and figure out what to do for next week.
Best thing about your research experience: Working on a student-run project is nice. It helps you become more independent in lab and you have some freedom to choose what experiment to run next. Of course, if your research progresses at all, you have the opportunity to present it either in a speech, poster, or scientific article paper.
Worst thing about your research experience: Whenever an experiment doesn’t give you the result you were hoping to see. You then have to go back and figure out if you did something wrong or if the step in the procedure needs tweaked.
Do you plan on working on the same project at a later time?: I plan on continuing it as a senior
Have you presented your research (ex. Paper, poster, speech, etc)?: Speech and poster presentations.
Would you recommend this experience to a student with similar career aspirations?: Yes, research is definitely a good idea for a student looking to go into med school. Research is a great experience that gives you amazing opportunities that you may not have otherwise encountered. I would also recommend research to any student aspiring to go into any other health profession or grad school.