Fresh from presenting the research he has been working on all summer to a room of students and researchers at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Sean MacConnell, a senior from Tulane University, said he now has a clearer picture of his future.
He has the Summer Research Scholars (SRS) Program at UT Health Science Center to thank for that. The program is hosted by the College of Graduate Health Sciences to introduce undergraduate students to health science research and interest them in future careers in biomedical research. The participants are matched with UT Health Science Center faculty in this eight-week paid internship program held in June and July.
MacConnell’s project, titled “Analyzing SCAN!: Process Evaluation of a Community Pharmacy Sun Safety Program,” looked at the effectiveness and implementation of a sun safety education program and whether community pharmacies can help in educating the public on sun protection.
“I think this program really affirmed my desire to go into the field of research,” he said. “I think these early experiences, especially for undergrads to get this good foundational research experience, are so important. Working in a lab during the school year is often really hard because we have such busy schedules. But in this environment, we can really get into the research, contribute significantly, and come out with a project that is not only meaningful, but also fulfills our desire to get further involved into research, so that we can tackle our future directions for grad schools.”
MacConnell, who is considering pursuing an MD/PhD degree, was one of 12 students in this year’s Summer Research Scholars Program.
The SRS Program offers opportunities for undergraduate students to enhance skills in biomedical information retrieval, participate in a scientific presentation workshop and a scientific abstract writing workshop, strengthen communication skills in biomedical sciences, and access research opportunities in biomedical engineering, epidemiology, health outcomes and policy research, integrated biomedical sciences, nursing science and pharmaceutical sciences.
“Research in biomedical sciences provides understanding of disease processes, which undergirds discovery of new medications among others to improve human health,” said Isaac Donkor, PhD, associate dean of students in the College of Graduate Health Sciences. “Therefore, it is critically important that we maintain a steady stream of very well-prepared, passionate biomedical research scientists, hence the reason for the SRS Program.”
Participants must be enrolled in a college or university, have a minimum 3.0 GPA in required science courses, and have completed at least one semester of general biology and/or general chemistry.
This year’s program concluded Friday and Saturday with the closing presentations Friday morning in the General Education Building on campus, and a community poster session at Rhodes College hosted by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Saturday afternoon.
“The students made excellent presentations,” Dr. Donkor said. “Additionally, their comments epitomize the goal of the program in that it helped them solidify their future goals regarding postgraduate education in the health sciences”
Areej Khan, a senior at Rhodes College, explored how pharmacologic weight loss using the GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide (Ozempic) affects the risk and progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in the context of obesity. Khan worked under the mentorship of Sandesh Marathe, PhD, in the lab of Liza Makowski, PhD.
“Being placed in an environment where curiosity and critical thinking was always encouraged helped me be able to step out of my comfort zone and approach challenges with an open and adaptive mindset,” Khan said. “I am incredibly grateful for this experience. I would wholeheartedly recommend this amazing program to my fellow peers.”
Claudia Font Torres, a senior from Christian Brothers University, studied the gut microbiome and its relationship to breast cancer tumors. She worked under the mentorship of recent College of Graduate Health Sciences graduate, Margaret Bohm, PhD, in the Makowski lab. In her project titled “Manipulation of the Gut Microbiome Slows Breast Cancer Progression,” Torres found that manipulation of the gut microbiome reduced tumor progression in preclinical models.
“I’ve always known that I wanted to go to grad school and get my PhD, but you have to start somewhere and it’s very hard to get opportunities that will give you a great mentorship and just really good guidance for these first steps for studying to be a scientist,” said Torres, who is originally from Torredembarra, Spain, a small town outside Barcelona.
“I just feel that the SRS Program has given me the opportunity to be able to join a great lab with great resources in an institution that is really well respected,” she said. “It also gave me the opportunity to be able to get some classes and some training to set our baseline. And it has given me, not just teaching and what I learned, but also has given me so many people, so many networking opportunities. Also, it has really cleared a path for my future, and it has assured me that this is exactly what I’ve always wanted to do.”
Torres said she had not considered graduate school at UT Health Science Center previously. The SRS Program has changed her mind. “It’s been very nice to see the university has such great resources and great people, and not just in the labs but also in administration and the organization. It is a small campus that really everyone takes care of you. In the beginning, I didn’t really consider it, but now I’m definitely going to apply for grad school to stay here in Memphis.”