Monday, July 7, 2003

WRITER: Joelle Prine, (706) 583-0727, jprine@uga.edu
CONTACT: Pam Kleiber, (706) 542-0530, pkleiber@uga.edu

UGA’S UNDERGRADUATE SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWS ANNOUNCED

ATHENS, Ga. –– Twenty-eight University of Georgia students are currently working on research projects with faculty mentors through a summer fellowship program funded by the Provost’s office. UGA’s Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute (BHSI) has provided additional awards for students in biomedical research.

The program is administered by the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO), part of the university’s Honors Program. Twenty of the CURO Fellows each received a $2,000 research award, while the eight BHSI-sponsored Fellows were each given a $2,500 fellowship.

The CURO summer fellowships give undergraduates an intensive research experience in which they can become immersed in individual projects guided by faculty members in the arts, humanities, social sciences or life sciences. Projects range from studying public spaces in Cortona, Italy to improving techniques for plant health detection. Projects of the biomedical fellows involve faculty from cellular biology, psychology, veterinary medicine, genetics, biochemistry and molecular biology, and foods and nutrition.

The students’ projects can translate into fourth-year thesis papers, publishable journal articles or symposium presentations. Students find that the projects also enhance admissions applications to graduate schools and medical colleges, which specifically look for research experience.

"Some CURO Fellows have continued on to receive national scholarships such as the Marshall and Goldwater Scholarships and be admitted to top medical and graduate schools," said Pamela Kleiber, CURO coordinator and an associate director of the Honors Program. "When these students are asked to describe their overall research experiences, they credit the fellowship program as one of the many benefits at UGA."

All the students will earn six academic credit hours and participate in CURO’s annual spring symposium featuring undergraduate research. They also will present their projects to first-year and second-year students who are taking the undergraduate research forum, a one-hour credit course that gives an overview of methods, issues and applications involved in conducting a research project.

Although participation is not limited to those enrolled in the Honors Program, students need a 3.4 grade point average and 30 credit hours to be considered for selection.

The recipients of the CURO 2003 summer research fellowships are:

Name Hometown Major Classification Tony Anfuso Woodstock biology fourth year Robert Brady Box Springs psychology fourth year Josef Broder Watkinsville biological engineering second year Martha Calamaras Cumming psychology third year Dustin Dyer Hartwell agricultural engineering second year Sarah Fritts Athens wildlife fourth year Patrick Gosnell Duluth photography fourth year Christopher Hughes Snellville art (digital media) fourth year Steven Jocoy Macon genetics fourth year Leena Kulkarni Doraville biology second year Valerie Marshall Roswell anthropology fourth year Ashley Neary Martinez microbiology third year Ngozi Ogbuehi College Park pre-med, child and family development second year Melissa Payton Macon psychology fourth year John Drew Prosser Statesboro pre-med, genetics third year Ryan Rhome York, S.C. genetics and psychology third year Ben Solomon Atlanta biology third year Mary Catherine Tolcher Hampton microbiology third year Ryan Wilson Carnesville landscape architecture fourth year Thomas Wood Atlanta biochemistry and molecular biology fourth year The recipients of the CURO 2003 biomedical summer research fellowships are: Tiffany Beal Alpharetta nutrition science fourth year Daniel del Portal Metairie, La. cellular biology third year Elizabeth Goodwin Charlotte, N.C. social work second year Paulette Green Athens pre-med, biology third year Andrea Haltiner Augusta biology fourth year Luke Hoagland Lawrenceville cellular biology fourth year Susan Ritger Lawrenceville biological science second year Meghan Wilson Baton Rouge, La. cellular biology and genetics third year

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