{"id":221490,"date":"2023-07-17T00:01:24","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T04:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=221490"},"modified":"2023-09-05T15:53:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T19:53:24","slug":"hot-summer-days-ignite-scientific-minds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2023\/07\/17\/hot-summer-days-ignite-scientific-minds\/","title":{"rendered":"Hot Summer Days Ignite Scientific Minds"},"content":{"rendered":"

As temperatures soared in July to the hottest in Earth\u2019s modern history, Emily Cepin toiled inside a Montclair State University lab gaining insights into today\u2019s climate crisis by extracting pollen fossils from rock sediment formed 56 million years ago. The work is both tedious and timely. \u201cIf we don\u2019t do something soon, it\u2019s going to be that much harder to overcome and it\u2019s going to lead to severe and consequential events,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Cepin\u2019s research looks at how plants and vegetation are changing today compared to a long ago extreme climate event, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a geologic period of intense global warming. To analyze pollen from that period she removes minerals like carbonates and silicates from ancient rocks using a series of chemical reactions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnalyzing the pollen samples will allow me to understand how plants and vegetation responded to the PETM event and compare it to how plants are changing in response to the current climate crisis,\u201d explains Cepin, a senior Earth and Environmental Science major mentored by Assistant Professor Ying Cui.<\/p>\n

Cepin\u2019s research is among nearly 40 projects underway this summer conducted by Montclair undergraduate students. The student researchers are tackling some of the world\u2019s toughest scientific and engineering challenges, everything from finding a cure for malaria to building technology for classrooms and protecting swimmers from jellyfish in the coastal bays of New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe commonality,\u201d says Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor Yvonne Gindt, \u201cis that these students have research mentors who care deeply about making them into the next generation of scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Student
Noah Ramadan, a senior Biology major, counts the number of bacteria colonies in a petri dish.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The undergraduate research program is supported by a combination of funding. More than half of the students receive stipend support from the National Science Foundation Garden State LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) program, an alliance of New Jersey universities to broaden participation of underrepresented groups in science and engineering research. This support is matched by a New Jersey Opportunity Meets Innovation Challenge Grant and generous donations by alumni and friends of the University who support student experiential learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program focuses on teaching the students what it means to be a scientist, understanding their professional obligations and understanding what scientists really do,\u201d says Gindt, who helps oversee the program.<\/p>\n

As a comprehensive public research university, Montclair provides opportunities for students to work in labs early in their undergraduate studies. \u201cI started doing little things, weighing sediments or helping with graduate-level work my freshman year and slowly progressed,\u201d says Cepin. She has presented her work to the Geological Society of America, and in 2022 won the University\u2019s Mario M. Casabona Future Scientists<\/a> competition for her ability to explain her scientific research to the general public and non-science professionals.<\/p>\n

\"Student
Rachel Gushikem, a junior Biochemistry major, tests molecules against an enzyme that is a potential target for the treatment of malaria.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Faculty members play a key role in identifying and training undergraduates. \u201cI encourage them to think on their own because that’s where the real creativity comes from,\u201d says Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor David Rotella, director of the Sokol Institute for Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences.<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessors know that you’re new and that you’re learning,\u201d adds Rachel Gushikem, a junior Biochemistry major mentored by Rotella. \u201cThey\u2019re excited about being a part of your process, which makes it easy to have the vulnerability to try new things in the lab and be unafraid to ask the questions you need to ask to grow as a scientist.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students\u2019 research choices reflect what they care about and problems they want to solve. \u201cThat\u2019s where the passion comes from,\u201d observes College of Science and Mathematics Dean Lora Billings. \u201cOur faculty are very good at keeping projects moving, at teaching students resilience and persistence, and when things don’t go as planned, that there’s always a silver lining in there somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noah Ramadan, senior Biology major, is comparing the genetic information of a virus discovered at Montclair to a closely related species. \u201cScientists have been able to determine with some confidence the identity of the genes that comprise the genome. But until those genes are produced in the lab as proteins and we analyze those proteins, we can’t say with confidence that one protein is what we think it is,\u201d explains Ramadan, who is mentored by Biology Professor Quinn Vega.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to take these viral genes, produce their protein products and see what they are for the purposes of identifying them. Once we have identified them, it gives us a lot of room for experimentation,\u201d Ramadan says.<\/p>\n

\"Student
Rylee Allen studies the tiny \u2013 but toxic \u2013 clinging jellyfish that live in the coastal areas of New Jersey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rylee Allen, a sophomore Biology major, is studying how fast clinging jellyfish polyps clone themselves under different salt environments to try and pinpoint where they might be most abundant in the wild.<\/p>\n

Jellyfish polyps are small and hidden, so it is almost impossible to find them. However, understanding the environment that they grow best in will help identify areas where the polyps survive and thrive, she says of the research mentored by Biology Professor Paul Bologna, director of the Marine Biology and Coastal Sciences program.<\/p>\n

Since the polyp stage survives the winter and makes the next years\u2019 adult jellyfish, knowing where the polyps are could help find ways to minimize or eradicate this invasive species, while protecting families enjoying the coastal bays of New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\"Student
Athenia Ibragimov, a senior Biochemistry major, studies the effect of boosting visualization through TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) on task performance \u2013 in her experiment, the ability to hit basketball free throws.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The full-time summer research positions give students the time to delve deeply into the work. \u201cDuring the school year, you\u2019re trying to balance your classes and research. But in the summer you can focus on the research that you’re doing. It\u2019s definitely a different experience,\u201d says Athenia Ibragimov, a senior Biochemistry major.<\/p>\n

Ibragimov says she appreciates the mentorship from Biology Professor Julian Keenan, director of the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory. \u201cI\u2019ve made some mistakes, like anyone. It\u2019s definitely nice for someone to point that out to you, but in a way that’s constructive, so you don’t make those mistakes again. Ultimately you become a better student, a better researcher and a better leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

A sampling of other work taking place at Montclair this summer includes:<\/p>\n

\"tudent
Anthony Condegni, a senior Computer Science major, mentored by Assistant Professor Rui Li in the Multimodal Interaction and Affective Computing Lab, creates virtual reality games for elementary students to enhance their coordination, memorization and problem-solving skills.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Student
Victoria Udoetuk, a junior Chemistry major, is working on an educational project mentored by Chemistry and Biochemistry Assistant Professor Eli Lee. The research includes developing course materials for experimental biochemistry where students can use fluorescence microscopy and computer-assisted imaging to study lipid membrane-protein interactions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Two
Seniors Katherine Saravia, left, a Molecular Biology major, and Manuel Arellano, a Biology major, study crab behavior. \u201cSince you can’t ask an animal how stressed out it is feeling, we need indirect ways of measuring where the animal is between \u2018chill\u2019 and \u2018freaking out\u2019,\u201d says their mentor Biology Professor Scott Kight, associate dean in the College of Science and Mathematics. The students are observing a behavior called “turn alternation.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Student
Katie Corcoran, a senior Computer Science major, channeled the challenges and anxieties of driving to design 3D imaging that stimulates and teaches how to respond to dangerous road conditions. \u201cI love being given this time to work on something that I’m truly passionate about,\u201d she says.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The undergraduate research training is just part of the science happening on campus this summer:<\/p>\n