First eight students chosen in new biology-chemistry program
March 16, 2007
With support from a prestigious grant by the Merck Institute for Science Education and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), eight University of Richmond students have been selected as the first group of Richmond students to participate in advanced research projects led by paired biology and chemistry faculty. The projects range from an analysis of genes important in the development of the eye to studies of the impact of expected temperature increases in the Chesapeake Bay.
The $60,000 grant will fund four joint research projects over the next three years. A total of 24 students—half supported by the university—will work on the projects, dividing their time between labs in the two departments to become equally familiar with the techniques of both.
The grant program was created by Merck/AAAS to foster interaction between the two departments and to encourage students to pursue graduate education in chemistry and the life sciences. It is the third such grant that has been awarded to University of Richmond.
The following faculty members and students will be participating in the program this summer:
Team 1: Natural Product Chemistry of Sponge: Microbial Symbioses
Faculty members: Jonathan Dattelbaum (chemistry) and Malcolm Hill (biology)
Students: Bryan Der, graduating 2008, biochemistry-molecular biology major, hometown: Colonial Heights, VA Giles Thomson, graduating 2009, biology major/anthropology minor, hometown: Danville, VA
Team 2: Disrupting Kinesin – Cargo Interaction
Faculty members: Carol Parish (chemistry) and Joe Ginhardt (biology)
Students: Jeffrey Emrich, graduating 2008, chemistry major, hometown: Voorhees, NJ Shana Middelton, graduating 2008, chemistry and criminal justice major, hometown: York, PA
Team 3: Binding Interactions of Conserved Transcription Factors
Faculty members: Lisa Gentile (chemistry) and April Hill (biology)
Students: Max Bloom, graduating 2008, political science major, hometown: Raleigh, NC Brandon Cieniewicz, graduating 2009, biology major, hometown: Durham, CT
Team 4: Ultrastructural, Bioinformatic and Proteomic Approaches to Biomineralization
Faculty members: Ellis Bell (chemistry) and Roni Kingsley (biology)
Students: Hilbert Billones, graduating 2009, biochemistry-molecular biology and math major, hometown: Philippines Sayed Abdi, graduating 2009, biochemistry-molecular biology major, hometown: Arlington, VA