Now accepting applications for Summer 2019

STEPS participants hiking the Red River Gorge

Our applications site is now available for our Summer 2019 program-https://pharmns.med.uky.edu/pharmns-summer-research-fellowships-internships

Overview

Our summer undergraduate research pro-grams are designed to provide 17 highly motivated students with research experience and to help them develop their ca-reer plans. The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program emphasizes different areas of pharmacology. The Summer Undergraduate Research in Environmental Sciences (SURES) focuses on environmental health sciences.

The 10-week programs run from May 28th until August 2nd. Students receive a stipend and must be available for the entire 10-week period. After participating in an orientation session, students will then engage in hands-on research in a faculty member's laboratory. SURF and SURES participants will meet for weekly discussions on research, other topics of interest and career development. In addition, students will participate in weekly field trips. The programs will culminate in a poster session.  More information is available here.



Who Should Apply?

Undergraduate students who are rising juniors or above and are currently enrolled at a university in the United States are eligible to apply. Student participants will be selected based on their academic standing, career interests and faculty recommendations. Eligible students should be in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Prior research experience is preferred. Successful applicants will have demonstrated a commitment to research and interest in biomedical careers.



End of 2018 Program-Poster Session

On August 10, our 2018 participants shared their work at our poster session and reception.  The work was outstanding, the audience was impressed and the session was lively.  It was hard to say goodbye after such an action-packed summer.  Thanks to all who participated in assisted in making this summer a success!

Alltech Tour

    

 

 

We had a terrific tour of Alltech based in Nicolassville, Kentucky.  We learned how the founder, Dr. Pearse Lyons started the company with an idea and $10, 000.  It is now an international company involved in addressing agricultural-related problems.  Alltech has a very active research program; their scientists often collaborate with universities and involve student interns.  In addition, Alltech is a strong supporter of the central Kentucky community.

The first week of August

      The first week of August found the SURF students meeting with Dr. Eric Blalock, an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences.  Dr. Blalock discussed his training and in pharmacology and the steps that he had taken to secure his faculty position.  He also told us about his experiences working with applicants for the Integrated Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program and gave us tips on how to write a good personal statement.   He also discussed his research interests that focuses on the influence of stress and sleep on aging brain function-https://pharmns.med.uky.edu/users/emblal#profileTab4.  In his work, he utilizes a number of approaches that rely on rodent models, electrophysiology, molecular analyses and bioinformatics analyses of large data sets.

         The SURF and SURES students then met with Dr. Brian Jackson, a Professor in the Department of Physiology and the Dean of the Graduate School (https://physiology.med.uky.edu/users/jackson).  Dr. Jackson described his training in the United Kingdom, the events that led to his decision to do research in the United States and the problems that he was addressing in his work on kidney function.  He also talked to us about graduate school and the changes that will be incorporated into graduate training in the future.

The last two weeks of July

     During our last two weeks of July, the SURF students met with Ms. Marion Coe, a senior graduate student in the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences.  Ms. Coe discussed her research on drugs of abuse and the rewards and challenges associated with doing behavioral pharmacology and clinical trials.  She also discussed her experience as a fellow in the Office of Technology Commercialization (https://www.research.uky.edu/office-technology-commercialization/staff/marion-coe) and her career plans.

     The SURES students met with Dr. Erin Jackson, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences.  Ms. Jackson discussed her career journey (which included getting a teaching certificate) and the important role that mentors have played in her career success.  She also talked about  her research in drug metabolism and studying the impact of environmental contaminants in obesity and the next steps in her  career.

     The SURES students also met with Dr. Kevin Pearson.  Dr. Pearson described key steps in his career decisions and the important in work/life balance.  He also talked about how he found a research topic that he is passionate about—improving maternal health such that it improves the health of the offspring.  See the video describing “Why Kevin Loves Medical Research” here.

ImproviSCIation by Brittany Rice (Near-Peer Mentor)

 

Lights, camera, acting? Science - a production? Make way as the SURES participants prepare to take the center stage! When you mix science with theater, you get more than the series titled “The Big Bang Theory.” You actually get a BIG BANG of CREATIVITY. Who would have ever thought the quest of knowledge through experimentation and research was akin to the theater? Like theatrics, science thrives on creativity.

On July 26, 2018, SURES students stepped out of their lab coats and goggles, and stepped into the stage lights. Students performed a host of mirroring, charades, dialogue challenges, abstract human sculpture building, and de-stressing exercises. Imagine the difficulty of releasing your constraints and flowing freely in front of others… for some of the activity participants this was not an issue. However, for others it was challenging to enter the ‘stage’ and exude confidence. Remarkably, by the end of the workshop everyone’s inner thespian had been unleashed. SURES participants’ creativity and confidence overflowed and filled the room. We had an improvingly fun time! The quote by Joe Namath sums up our collective experience of the Improvisation Workshop and reads as follows, “When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.” I for one cannot wait to see the fun and amazing things the students will do with their research and while presenting it during the final research presentations on August 10, 2018! 

 

 

Week of July 19

This week, the SURF students met with Dr. Harry Levine who discussed his work in developing assays for the study of Alzheimer's Disease and the role of misfolded proteins in disease progression.  He also talked about how his career began as a scientist in industry and advised us to be open to different opportunities.

The SURES students met with Colleen Kaelin of the Bluegrass Sierra Club.  She talked about her career as an epidemiologist and developing a tracking network called EnviroHealthLink.  She also described her current work with the Sierra Club evaluating the impact of climate change on human health.

On Thursday, we watched the movie Erin Brockovich and discussed what the movie got right about environmental health concerns and other topics.
  The movie is based on an inspiring true story.  You can read more about Erin here.

Our week of July 9

      On Monday, we joined the  UK Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences (UK-CARES)  COMPASS Science Communications Training. COMPASS is a pioneer in the practice of science communication, and their coaches help scientists build the knowledge, skills, and networks they need to effectively engage in public discourse about the environment.  We learned  about using a message box as a tool for finding the right words to say and honed our skills in giving a “3-minute elevator” talk.

     Then  on Tuesday, the SURES participants will met with Dr. Olga Tsyusko-Unrine.  She talked about her journey from being a student in Ukraine to a professor at the Univesity of Kentucky.  She also described her work using c.elegans to study the toxicity of nanoparticles-https://pss.ca.uky.edu/person/olga-tsyusko.

For our Thursday activity, we joined Dr. Blake Newton who taught us about field work and showed us how to assess the health of a stream and assess the status of our ladybug population.  We rewarded our scientific efforts with ice cream at Crank and Boom.

One of our SURES participants, Stephanie, joined the UK Superfund trainees for a science and policy institute event in Washington, D.C.

Our week of June 11, 2018

We had a very active week.    

On Monday, the SURF participants met Dr. Nikolajczyk to talk about her career and her work -https://pharmns.med.uky.edu/users/bni226#profileTab4.  We learned about the interplay between our immune system and diabetes. 

On Tuesday, the SURES participants met Dr. Patrick Hannon, a postdoctoral scholar in Dr. Thomas Curry’s laboratory-https://obgyn.med.uky.edu/obgyn/curry/people.  Dr. Hannon discussed his work on phthalates, environmental contaminents that have been used in plastic consumer goods and ovulation.  He also described the pros and cons associated with using mouse models and human specimens.    We had a great discussion on strategies that he uses to make sure that his life is balanced.

On Wednesday, we had a picnic at Jacobson Park  with  participants of another undergraduate research program, the STAR (Summer Training in Alcohol Research) program directed by Dr. Kim Nixon.  Dr. Brett Spear also joined us and talked about the Integrated Biomedical Sciences (PhD program) at the University of Kentucky.

On Thursday, we first honed our career skills by practicing interviewing, worked on our three minute research talks and discussed how to write a good personal statement.  Dr. Swanson previewed some of her contacts via LinkedIn and showcased a number of individuals representing careers in industry, academics, government and medicine.

We then got our creative juices flowing by tie-dying our lab coats.    We will be “styling” them at our poster presentation.

 

 

Summer 2018-Our first week

 

We got off to a great start to our summer by getting to know each other and getting familiar with the campus during our scavenger hunt.  Our stops included a photo-op with Bowman, the Wildcat sculpture and rubbing Dr. John Patterson's show for good luck.  Since we are in horse country, we learned how to draw a horse as a group during our team building/leadership session.

Now accepting application for Summer 2018

We are currently accepting applications for the upcoming summer.  We have 5 positions available within the SURF program and 12 within the SURES program.  I am currently confirming the availability of the faculty mentors and have recruited a few new ones.  I am also working on some new activities and tours. 

The applications are available here.  You may also access it from the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky website (Summer Internships).

Let me know if you have any questions,

Dr. Swanson