Goucher Summer Science Research

Release date: July 16, 2009 |

Seventeen Goucher science and mathematics students who have spent the summer doing research will present their findings on Thursday, July 16, in G59 of the Hoffberger Science Building. Talks will be held 9-11:30 a.m. and 1-3:30 p.m. All members of the Goucher community are invited to attend.

A number of these students will also be presenting their work at a conference on Wednesday, July 22, at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA.

A sampling of some of the research topics is given below.

Abigail Bickford is participating in a research program to develop new approaches for the treatment of malaria through rational drug design and/or drug modification. This effort involves the determination of pathways by which the malaria parasite, plasmodium, protects itself from heme toxicity and the development of chemical methods to overcome this barrier to effective, long-lasting drug treatment. Key to this program is the use of a newly developed method for monitoring the formation of hemozoin, the “malaria pigment.” This work is being carried out with research mentor Dr. Esther Gibbs of the Department of Chemistry.

Mary Cadwallender and Hillary Merrill are investigating a simple and versatile methodology for the construction of spirocyclic amines. Results from this study will lay the foundation for future synthetic work targeting selected biologically significant compounds. Cadwallender and Merrill work with Dr. Ruquia Ahmed-Schofield in the Department of Chemistry, and their research is supported by a National Institute of Health Academic Research Enhancement Award.

Cassidy Crook and Reema Khanchandani are studying the enzyme RNA polymerase, which begins the process of expressing the information contained in DNA by copying that information into an RNA molecule. Defects in the regulation of this enzyme can lead to disease or abnormal development. Crook and Khanchandani are looking specifically at the effects of DNA structure on the ability of RNA polymerase to carry out its job. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, this work is being conducted with research mentor Dr. Judy Levin of the departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry.

Kathleen Hearl is conducting laboratory and field experiments in the Chesapeake Bay marsh habitat. To better understand the structure and function of the marsh community, Hearl is investigating predator-prey interactions, focusing on the feeding preferences of the salt marsh periwinkle snail (Littoraria irrorata) for a variety of marsh grasses, to explain feeding and plant traits, such as toughness, silica content, and chemicals. Hearl worked with research mentor Dr. Cynthia Kicklighter, Department of Biological Sciences.

Jennifer Jordan and Ariel Kramer are using mathematics to build a model of gastric emptying in children. To do so, they extensively researched the biology, biochemistry, and physiology of digestion in humans, and they learned how to program in Matlab. This interdisciplinary project is a continuation of the award-winning work begun by Jordan Yoder ’09 and is funded in part by a CURM Mini-Grant. The work will continue through the academic year and is supervised by Dr. Gretchen A. Koch, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.

Amanda LeSueur is working to chemically modify infrared-fluorescent dyes and to incorporate them into silica nanoparticles. These nanoparticles have promise for optical detection of cancer. LeSueur is working with research mentor Dr. Scott Sibley, Department of Chemistry.

Sean Lonsdale is using light echoes from supernova 1991T in the Virgo galaxy NGC 4527 to study the progenitor’s circumstellar dust. Lonsdale received funding from a Hubble Space Telescope Grant GO-10607 and worked with Dr. Ben Sugerman, Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Rick Vaughan is using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV/visible spectroscopy to investigate the effect of the dye molecule Chicago Sky Blue on the mechanism of insulin aggregation. The study of protein aggregation is relevant to diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. He is working with Dr. Scott Sibley, Department of Chemistry.

Eli Woodoff-Leith is studying charge transfer processes in mixed-valence photochromic molecular switches. Photochromic molecules are promising for use in optoelectronic devices such as memory media because they can undergo a reversible photo-induced transformation to produce a “conducting” or “non-conducting” state. Woodoff-Leith is using Hush’s equation to probe the degree of conductance in mixed-valence photochromic switches. He is working with research mentor Dr. Kevin Schultz.