A Strong Finish

Unbelievably, 10 weeks have flown by. The SURES students have officially completed their respective summer research experiences. Each budding scientist finished the marathon successfully! To ensure that the SURES students finished strong, the marathon had several built-in pits for ‘refueling’. Weekly, students met with University of Kentucky Faculty to learn more about environmental health sciences career paths and research areas. Additionally, students participated in many activities to demonstrate the practicality of science and the importance of bench work in everyday life. To wrap up the marathon, a poster presentation was held. Students did not just describe their research findings; they also detailed the significance of their work via eloquent dissemination. Poster topics varied - the audience learned about the dangers of abdominal aortic aneurism, the effects of arsenic on the immune system, antibiotic resistance in canines, how liver zonal regulation in zebrafish better helps us understand liver cancer, and much more. Poster presentations were judged by overall presentation, visual presentation, documentation of sources, quality of sources, and spelling and grammar. A good ‘problem’ arose at the conclusion of the presentations. Each SURES students displayed such expertise, confidence, and passion about their topic – which made it hard to determine the ‘winner’ of the 10-week scientific marathon. Luckily, enough we had enough ‘medals’ for each student.  We congratulate each of the 2019 SURES student researchers for the completion of their journeys and encourage them to have continued success!

By Brittany Rice
PhD Candidate, Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences
2019 Near Peer Mentor

Reflections from a near peer mentor

The author (4th from left) attending an outreach event in Whitesburg, KY with the University of Kentucky Superfund trainees

Hello all!

My name is Tyler Gripshover, I am a Near-Peer Mentor for the SURES 2019 program and was also a SURES student during the 2017 run and would first off like to say that it was a privilege to be involved at both levels. Students accepted into this summer research program have the opportunity to get additional or possibly their first look into how modern research is conducted. They are able to select their preferred department or laboratory to work in early on so that they can explore one of the vast regions of science that interests them. During this program, they are also exposed to career and educational paths, research or work that a typical person may not be aware of, and general well-rounded development opportunities weekly. Students work hands-on in their laboratories with their faculty mentors and obtain a sense of pride and ownership of all the hard work they did over the summer while also preparing them for professional programs, graduate school, or the workforce. I highly recommend this program because of how much one can learn and make a difference for themselves and their community. The student’s involvement alone can make a dull, uneventful summer into a fun, educational, and developmental one. My first time ever conducting formal research and mentoring a student was during the 2017 and 2019 SURES program, respectively. If I could narrow down and emphasize my experience into one word from both of my times with the SURES program and Dr. Hollie Swanson, it would be progression. I strongly believe my experience as a student and Near-Peer Mentor in the SURES program has contributed to my development as a person and as a future researcher. Before the summer of 2017, I had an idea of what careers I wanted to pursue, but it wasn’t quite concrete. Because of my involvement, I have finally found my passion in life while also giving me the tools for my current and future success. I also would like to add that if you are a student who is looking for this sort of opportunity while also needing to pay for rent/bills/food etc., look no more, the grant funding this program provides a stipend to the student and it is pretty great! Just remember if you are doing something you love, staying curious, and working hard, you can achieve anything you want! The SURES program is a fantastic way to begin your journey on making your mark on the ever-growing process of understanding we call science.

Week of July 22nd

On Monday, the SURF participants talked with Dr. Kendra Staggs, who is a Postdoctoral Scholar in Dept. Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences.  Dr. Staggs told us about her career journey, her research on sleep, cognition and aging, her fellowship in technology transfer and her internship as a data manager for startups at the University of Kentucky.  The SURES participants talked with Dr. Gang Chen who is an Associate Professor the Dept. Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences.  Dr. Chen  told us about his career journey and his research on ethanol neurotoxicity and carcinogenesis induced by arsenic and chromium.

For our Thursday activity, we first joined Dr. Pete Mirabito and the Kentucky Biomedical Research Infrastructure Students (KBRIN) and watched the documentary called The Human Element.  We then discussed the implications of this movie and some of the lessons learned about communicating human health issues associated with climate change.  Dr. Mirabito shared a podcast that was also very informative (Listen to Facts Aren't Enough from Hidden Brain in Podcasts).

After all of that serious stuff-we then turned on the creative side of our brains by tie-dying our labcoats and painting our science projects. 

Week of July 15

This week, the SURF student talked to with Dr. John Littleton (MD/PhD) who is the founder of Naprogenix.  Check out his web site to learn more the approaches he uses to identify new medicine from natural products.  The SURES students chatted with  Dr.Brett Spear who studies liver gene expression and is also the Director of Graduate Studies for the Integrated Biomedical Science program for the College of Medicine.    Check out his web site to learn more http://microbiology.med.uky.edu/users/bspear#profileTab3

For our Thursday activity, we learned about entomology, by taking a tour of several entomology laboratories in the College of Agriculture, Food and the Environment.  Laura Rosenwald was our tour guide (https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/person/laura-rosenwald).  After the tour, we met with Dr. Carmen Agouridis who will tell us about environmental engineering, water resources and climate change.  You can read more about Dr. Agouridis here.   She also has a  very interesting podcast--https://kyh2o.podbean.com/. 

Since climate change is predicted to bring about an increase in vector and water-borne diseases as described in the attached report-this type of knowledge will be invaluable for us as we start to envision solutions.

Our training with COMPASS

On July 11, we joined the UK CARES and other scientists at the University of Kentucky to work on our communication skills with our COMPASS workshop facilitator, Heather Maddix.  We learned how to create a message box and give 3 min elevator speeches by practices and providing each other with constructive feedback. 

Discussions this week with the SURF participants involved learning about detecting substances like cannabinoids in serum and urine from Erin Crum.  The SURES participants learned about graduate school and the study of kidney physiology from the Dean of the Graduate School, Brian Jackson.

Hiking the Red River Gorge

Our hike was wet-but gave us a new appreciating of "Forest Bathing".  Great conversations, expansive views and of course at the end of the hike...terrific pizza was enjoyed.

Improvising while being a scientist

 The highlight of our week was our Thursday afternoon activity that was facilitated by Dr. Marianne Phelps 

who is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Theatre Department (https://finearts.uky.edu/theatre-

dance/faculty-staff/marianne-phelps).  This workshop was inspired by a book written by the actor, Alan Alda 

(“If I Understood You Would I Have This Look On My Face?”).  We worked on  a variety of  how to use theatre 

improvisation techniques and discussed how they would be useful for improving our ability to communicate 

with others.

On Monday, the SURF participants met with Dr. Harry LeVine, Associate Professor, Dept of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.  Dr. LeVine has a very interesting career journey and works on approaches for improving diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.  You may learn more about Dr. LeVine here.

On Tuesday, the SURES participants met with Dr. Kevin Pearson, Associate Professor, Dept. Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences.  Dr. Pearson is very interested in understanding how maternal exposures to environmental contaminants may impact the health of their offspring and whether  maternal exercise can be an effective intervention.  More information about his work is here.

The Marathon Begins!

       On your mark, get set, pipet! Students participating in the 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience in Environmental Health Sciences (SURES) Program have been in their respective labs for about a little over a week to date. Jeez! Time is flying! To commemorate the students for embarking on their summer-long marathon to research independence and environmental health awareness, the University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research sponsored an undergraduate research kick-off. SURES students had plenty of fun and won a bunch of prizes! During the discussions at the lunch hour, SURES students and near-peer mentors were overheard discussing strategies to efficiently and successfully complete the ‘marathon’. The seasoned vets (near-peer mentors) lead discussions on self-care, summer fun in Lexington, lab etiquette, and scientific confidence amongst a host of other things. Support, encouragement, and engagement filled the air as chatter buzzed.  At the completion of the event, students appeared super-charged! Stay tuned for more updates as the marathon continues!

Post by Brittany Rice, M.S.

Nutritional Sciences Ph.D. Candidate

SURES Near Peer Mentor