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Tiffany Griffin of Shreveport, La., works with MUC4 gene expression found in pancreatic tumor cells. Photo by Kelley Gaughan. |
In her first summer at UNMC, Makena Hammond of Newport News, Va., already is planning a return trip.
Hammond, who will be a junior at Virginia State University, is one of nearly 100 summer undergraduate research students from across the country exploring research questions inside UNMC laboratories.
“We have a really good group of students on campus,” said Mary McNamee, Ph.D., associate director of the Office of Student Equity and Multicultural Affairs.
Some are here for the first time. Others are making return trips. But, for the first time ever, they are all participating in a summer enrichment session spearheaded by Dr. McNamee and Jamboor Vishwanatha, Ph.D., assistant dean for graduate studies and professor and vice chairman of UNMC’s department of biochemistry and molecular biology.
Each Thursday night, the students gather in the Durham Research Center for an enrichment program designed to maximize their research experiences.
“We wanted to make the summer program more than just a lab experience,” Dr. Vishwanatha said.
During the eight-week session, the students meet for dinner and learn about such topics as UNMC’s Institutional Review Board, how to give scientific presentations, financial considerations for education, study skills and test taking tips, scientific writing, stress reduction, preparing PowerPoint presentations, copyright laws and fair use practices, and research ethics.
The students also learn more about UNMC and the educational opportunities available in the Graduate College, the School of Allied Health Professions and in the Colleges of Dentistry, Pharmacy, Medicine and Nursing.
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Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs, talks with the summer research students. Photo by Karen Burbach. |
“Whatever you want to achieve, you can achieve it here,” Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs, told the group at its first gathering.
The enrichment sessions are designed to enhance the student’s summer lab experience, said Jeanne Ferbrache, program coordinator in the Office of Post-Doctoral Education. In the past, each department has had its own orientation session. “This year we tried to coordinate all the programs into a more comprehensive learning experience,” she said.
Overall, there are 25 minority students in summer research internships at UNMC this summer. The students are from such institutions as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Dillard University, Virginia State University, Stanford University, St. Mary’s University and Omaha’s Mercy High School.
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Sadari Fisher obtains a reading of bacterial growth. Photo by Kelley Gaughan. |
Sadari Fisher of Dillard University in New Orleans is in Omaha for her third consecutive summer because she wanted more research experience and likes the research facilities and environment.
Hammond, too, is finding lots to like. “I’m learning a lot,” she said, adding she has never been in a lab with such high tech equipment and looks forward to returning next summer.