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

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.