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Sarah Breevoort, who is interested in cancer research, has been working with Walter Schmidt, an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, on a project she hopes to present at the CURO symposium. (Photo by Joelle Prine)

Spring symposium showcases undergrad research activities
By Joelle Prine
jprine@uga.edu
Junior Sarah Breevoort spent the summer working on a cancer-related biochemistry project and is now setting up Believe in the Cure, a nonprofit organization to raise money for cancer research. Sophomore Andrew Durso is evaluating aquatic minnow traps in Whitehall Forest after using similar trapping techniques on aquatic snakes at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory in the summer.

Both undergraduates hope that their research efforts will be among projects selected for presentation at the 2007 spring symposium sponsored by UGA’s Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities, part of the Honors Program. The symposium showcases students’ projects, artwork and performances to a larger community.

Breevoort, a CURO summer fellow and Honors student in biochemistry, and Durso, a CURO apprentice and Honors student in ecology, are part of an increasing number of UGA students participating in research programs directed by faculty mentors. While much of the undergraduate research at UGA is supported by CURO, the symposium is open to all students involved in research in any discipline.

“It is not enough for students to conduct research,” said Pamela Kleiber, associate director of the Honors Program. “It is critically important that research questions, methods and findings are shared. The CURO symposium offers an important opportunity for any undergraduate who is conducting faculty-guided research to expand their conversations about research and their findings beyond their own mentors and fellow researchers.”

Breevoort was interested in cancer research when she came to UGA after losing her father to lung cancer and sought out such opportunities when she met her mentor Walter Schmidt, an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. The CURO summer fellowship, sponsored by UGA’s Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute, enabled her to continue the research she conducted last year and helped her decide to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in cancer biology and oncology after graduation.

Andrew Durso evaluates aquatic minnow traps in Whitehall Forest after using similar trapping techniques on aquatic snakes at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. (Photo by Joelle Prine)
“Teaching students how to pursue research has been very rewarding to me,” said Schmidt. “Having undergraduates around keeps the research environment intellectually and culturally lively.”

Durso had been interested in herpetology—the study of reptiles and amphibians—since he was a child and even conducted research when he was enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program in high school. He placed first for best undergraduate poster at the first symposium of UGA’s Academy of the Environment in October.

“I find that analyzing data that is real and not for a class is very rewarding and meaningful,” saidDurso, whose career aspirations include being involved in international conservation policy. “Doing research takes discipline and focus, but if you are asking questions that really compel you, you can have a great experience.”

Faculty from all disciplines are encouraged to invite their students to submit an application and abstract to present at the CURO symposium to be held April 9 at the Tate Student Center. Submissions are due by Jan. 12. Students selected to participate in the symposium will be notified by mid-February.
 


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