Facilities Management and the Office of Accessibility and Disability Services are hosting a review of recent, current and potential construction projects that enhance accessibility, improve the physical environment of UMBC, and benefit the entire community. There are new projects on the horizon, and your ideas, suggestions and feedback will inform the process for UMBC's continued participation with the AccessMD Program. 

If you have any remaining questions or suggestions prior to the discussion contact Celso Guitian in Planning and Construction Services via cguitian@umbc.edu / 410-455-5578 or Stephanie Lazarus, ADA/Section 504 Coordinator via slazar@umbc.edu / 410-455-5745. If you cannot attend, but have ideas for additional projects, please reach out to us, we want to hear from you!

Congratulations to Leah Prescott for receiving the Undergraduate Research Award from Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 22 for her amazing SLO Project at URCAD!!

Leah just received her undergraduate degree in Jazz Studies with Music Education Certification.

Sept. 5, Noon – 12:50 p.m.
Sherman Hall-A 113

Zain is a Biological Sciences major who will graduate in 2018. He is President of the Golden Key International Honor Society, has made the Dean’s List and President’s List multiple times, and the recipient of President’s Scholarship Award.

Title of yourresearch project: Novel Reporter System To Quantify Missense Errors During Translation In Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Translation is the process by which information from DNA is used to make proteins. We are studying proteins responsible for accuracy of the process of Translation.

Who is your mentor(s) for your project? How did you find your mentor? Why did you choose them? My mentor is Kartikeya Joshi under the supervision of Philip Farabaugh, Department of Biological Sciences. Kartikeya Joshi was a grad TA in BIOL300L when I took it. After taking that lab, I became extremely interested in research and started asking different professors as well as friends who were working in labs. One of my friends was working under Kartikeya Joshi’s mentorship. After he graduated, he referred me to this lab. I also sent a formal request along with my resume, requesting Mr. Joshi and Dr. Farabaugh to allow me to give me the opportunity to work in the lab. After an interview I was accepted. I chose my mentor because I had already experienced his mentorship in BIOL300L as mentioned above. I was very impressed and wanted to learn more from him.

How did you become interested in this project? The processes that we are researching in this project are very important for the healthy development of human cells. Although mostly overlooked or taken for granted, the process of Translation is essential for the proper functioning of every system, organ and even every cell in our body. The idea that I can research and report something new about this vital process was very appealing to me. Additionally, I had studied about this process for many years in different courses. Being able to practically observe it and study it up close was really like a dream come true.

What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher? The most unexpected thing about my research was the uncertainty of results. Research is dynamic process. While one method may work for researching one process in one organism, it may not work the same way for another process in another organism. The frequent application of “trial and Error” is something that was quite unexpected.

What has been the most rewarding part? There is an infinite amount of scientific knowledge available to us. The realization that my research was providing new knowledge, new facts and new insights into cellular processes that have never been known before has been most rewarding.

How will you disseminate your research? I have presented my research at Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD), Summer Undergraduate Research Fest (SURF) and Undergraduate Research Symposium. We are trying to publish a paper next year reporting the research as well.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research? I would advise students to get involved as early as possible, learn from your mistakes and never give up. Research is a long process that requires an amazing amount of patience and perseverance. But the results are just as rewarding, if not more.

What are your career goals? I hope to go to medical school and study Ophthalmology. I intend to practice as well as get involved with clinical research.

Have mentored research and want to be featured as a Researcher of the Week? Contact aprilh@umbc.edu.

Kevin is a Biology major who will graduate in 2019. The major focus of his work is to explore issues at the interface between development and human disease, with a view towards identifying novel points of therapeutic intervention. He works in Dr. Charles Bieberich's lab on the ongoing question of homeobox gene function in mouse development intersected with human prostate cancer with the discovery of the mouse Nkx3.1 gene.

How did you find you mentor? I work with Dr. Charles Bieberich in the Biological Sciences department. I originally came to hear of his research through searches for researching professors in cancer biology at UMBC. I then emailed him and checked by his office persistently until I was able to schedule a time to meet with him.I began researching in cancer biology during a biophysics high school summer internship at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology in radiation dosimetry. I was enthralled by cancer research ever since and knew after meeting Dr. Bieberich that his research in prostate cancer would be a perfect fit for me.

Is this your first independent research? This is my second independent research project with the first being my radiation dosimetry project at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

How much time do you put into it? I spend about 15 hours an academic week in the laboratory with a 35-hour week during academic breaks and vacations.

How did you hear about the Undergraduate Research Award (URA) program? I heard about the Undergraduate Research Award from my mentors in the Honors College. I am currently preparing my application for the 2018-19 award.

What has been the hardest part about your research? The hardest part of conducting my research is that since I work with mice, I must be available at any given hour during the day to check on the mice and handle any circumstances that may arise from working within a murine model. It becomes difficult at times to manage working in the laboratory and working on schoolwork.

What was the most unexpected thing? The most unexpected thing to occur from working in Dr. Bieberich’s prostate cancer laboratory is that after two years of working in the laboratory, I would be working on proposing a dietary study that involves the surprising link between prostate cancer, diabetes, and obesity. I never thought that diabetes could actually decrease prostate cancer risk.

How does your research relate to your work in other classes? My work in the laboratory relates to many of the laboratory procedures that I learned about in BIOL141, BIOL302, and BIOL303. My newest research in the effects of diet on prostate cancer relate to my Honors College seminar on the science of obesity.

What else are you involved in on campus? I am Treasurer of the Honors College Council, a Red Cross Volunteer, and Student Brand Ambassador for Kaplan Test Prep.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research? My advice to other student about getting involved research is to never be too shy to approach a mentor about their research. Mentors are busy and may seem cold at first, but they genuinely do want to teach students about research and inspire students to become involved in research.

What are your career goals? My career goal is to become a professor in cancer biology researching the effects of macromolecule receptors and microtubule stabilizing proteins on cancer progression.

Want to be featured as a Researcher of the Week?
Email aprilh@umbc.edu