Graduate School’s Summer Program Offers Undergraduates Research Opportunities
| The latest edition of the Graduate School’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) gave 15 students a chance to explore various areas of biomedical science at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
SURP is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The nine-week program ran from May 26 to July 24 and consisted of students from 12 different colleges and universities.
Billy Thomas, M.D., professor and neonatologist in the College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, serves as the program director.
“It’s a really good program. It gives students a start not only in basic science but in clinical and translational research,” he said. “I’ve been involved in many programs, and SURP is one of the most productive. We’ve had a lot of students who have come through SURP and have gone on to medical school or earn doctoral degrees.”
Bailey Kittrell listens to a question from SURP program director Billy Thomas, M.D., during final presentations.Image by Nathan Tidwell
Graduate School Dean Sean Taverna, Ph.D., echoed those sentiments.
“SURP is an excellent opportunity for undergraduate students to get an idea of what a professional research environment is like,” said Taverna. “The program also helps them discover future career paths in medical sciences that are available here at UAMS.”
Latrina Prince, Ed.D., the Graduate School’s associate dean for academic affairs and SURP coordinator, managed the application process. Requirements for the program include being a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, having two faculty letters of recommendation, and completion of at least one year of undergraduate study. Students received a stipend of $4,320 for the nine weeks.
Students spent most of their time in labs with their mentors. They also attended seminars on subjects such as mentee-mentor relationships, preparing a curriculum vitae, responsible conduct of research, and writing and talking science.
The students’ primary focus was conducting a research project with guidance from their mentor and lab assistants. Students initially discussed the progress of their research during mid-summer presentations June 22 at Rayford Auditorium in Biomedical Research Center II. Final presentations were held at Rayford Auditorium on July 23, where students revealed the results of their project.
“The presentations were outstanding. It was refreshing to see what the students were able to put together,” Thomas said.
Elena Coleman, Elijah Stanton, Kaci Harris, and Brooke Garlington give final presentations.Image by Nathan Tidwell
He also praised faculty who served as mentors. Antiño Allen, Ph.D., associate dean of Pipeline and Career Development in the Graduate School and a professor in the College of Pharmacy, paired students with mentors.
“Without the mentors, we couldn’t do this program,” Thomas said. “They take students into their lab, teach them, and we’re very grateful.”
“Being a mentor is a rewarding experience,” said Michael Bauer, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Biomedical Informatics who mentored Skylar Walls of Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas. “Getting to see students gain exposure to cutting-edge research and witnessing their tremendous growth over a relatively short period of time is truly gratifying.”
Ping-Ching Hsu, Ph.D., associate professor in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health Department of Environmental Health Sciences, had glowing praise for SURP participant Bailey Kittrell of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
“Bailey is hardworking, motivated, and capable of conducting independent research,” Hsu said. “Through her efforts, we identified several new research hypotheses I am trying to investigate further, and I am very grateful for her contributions to our project.”
Students expressed appreciation about the chance to do research.
Mid-summer and final presentations were held at Rayford Auditorium.Image by Nathan Tidwell
“It’s been a wonderful experience,” said Amaya Hutchinson of Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. “I was able to shadow some surgeries, and I learned a lot.”
“Everyone in my lab was very helpful,” said Ian LeCrone, who attends the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville. “I came in with no research experience, so they’ve taught me everything I know.”
“It was exciting spending the summer getting research experience and learning in the lab,” said Joumana Sanad, who attends Hendrix College in Conway.
Howard University’s Chelsea Cliff and Arkansas State University’s Ava Lang worked together on their project in the lab of Mulu Tesfay, Ph.D.
“It was nice to have someone to bounce your ideas off of,” Cliff said. “We had to do multiple experiments — it was great.”
“We each handled different parts of the project,” said Lang. “You would think it would be competition, but it was a great way to share the workload.”
A total of 146 undergraduate students have participated in the program to date.
“We want the students to remember UAMS and what we have here. Hopefully they will consider us when it’s time for their graduate education,” Thomas said.
This year’s students and their mentors were:
- Chelsea Cliff, Howard University (Mulu Tesfay, Ph.D., instructor in the College of Medicine Department of Pathology)
- Elena Coleman, Rhodes College (Rupak Pathak, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences)
- Brooke Garlington, University of Arkansas at Little Rock (Tamer Kaoud, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences)
- Kaci Harris, Prairie View A&M (Ricky Leung, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology)
- Amaya Hutchinson, Tennessee State University (Vladimir Lupashin, Ph.D., professor in the College of Medicine Department of Physiology and Cell Biology)
- Erin James, Xavier University of Louisiana (Rushita Bagchi, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Physiology and Cell Biology)
- Bailey Kittrell, University of Arkansas at Little Rock (Ping-Ching Hsu, Ph.D., associate professor in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health Department of Environmental Health Sciences)
- Ava Lang, Arkansas State University (Mulu Tesfay, Ph.D.)
- Ian LeCrone, The University of the Ozarks (Abdel Fouda, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology)
- Ravyn Mays, University of Arkansas at Little Rock (Miranda Wallace, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Microbiology and Immunology)
- Joumana Sanad, Hendrix College (Abdel Fouda, Ph.D.)
- Elijah Stanton, University of Central Arkansas (Antiño Allen, Ph.D., associate dean of Pipeline and Career Development in the Graduate School and a professor in the College of Pharmacy)
- Vivian Tran, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (Mokarram Hossian, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences)
- Skylar Walls, Prairie View A&M University (Michael Bauer, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Biomedical Informatics)
- Raven Weng, City University of New York Hunter College (KyoungHyun Kim, Ph.D., assistant professor in College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology)
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