Chemistry and Biochemistry News

Biochemistry senior Nate Nash is investigating whether or not red harvester ants can be conditioned to respond to the odor emitted from ammonium nitrate, a common component for IED (improvised explosive devices). The inspiration for this research is based on previous work in which silky or dusky ants ants have been trained to seek out volatile organic compounds that are evolved from solid tumor cells in vitro. Ants show promise in serving as rapidly trainable biological detectors for different organic volatiles.

Biochemistry alumna (BS ’19) Sehlah (Butt) Ahmad is pursuing a masters in fashion design at Drexel University. She recently designed, in collaboration with Varlo Sports Inc. , a multi-sports hijab for Muslim female athletes.  It is being sold as the NOUR collection and includes full coverage triathlon suits including a Hijab. Follow the Link to her story. Sehlah adds: “My motto is ‘for Muslim women, by Muslim women,’” Ahmad says. “It’s such an honor to be part of such a great process, to be the designer to create the first hijab for Varlo.”

Biochemistry major Aanchal Deol is completing her intership at JVS Rehabilitation as a Physical Therapy Technician who helps with basic exercises, heat, ice, and electrical-stimulation set up. She is learning about all aspects of a Physical Therapy office including the front-desk and customer service side by also answering the phone, scheduling patients, and verifying insurance information. One thing that Aanchal was surprised to learn about was all the precautions physical therapists take to avoid lawsuits and the scope of what Physical Therapy Assistants and Technicians can and cannot do. For example, she isn’t permitted to do something as simple as walk a patient to their car after dark. This is because if they fall, the Physical Therapy techs are not certified to handle that situation. She has valued the whole experience as allowing her to see another aspect of healthcare, and it has shown her that she prefers an office setting to a hospital setting.

Biochemistry major Darah Araheem-Waters is conducting a research capstone internship with SU Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty member, Dr. Dawn Ward. She is performing organic synthesis with the goal of synthesizing a potential Hepatitis C inhibitor that is more flexible than HCV inhibitor UK-1 and its analogs. She feels very prepared for research as she quickly realized throughout the first 6 weeks that most of the lab skills required for synthesis reactions are a review of what was learned in previous courses. This experience has helped Darah realize that she loves working in a laboratory setting and that research is definitely something she’d like to do as a career.

Biochemistry major Y Luu completed her internship at Lauring Dermatology, where she learned about many different skin diagnoses, and all the different treatment plans and cosmetic procedures done in the office. This internship was pivotal in Y’s career decisions. She sees that as a physician, there is so much energy that is put into the work every single day, and that they rely on their care team to be successful. She notes that physicians “must be energetic, caring, and charming 24/7”. Y’s goal is to help people, but after her experiences shadowing pharmacists, doctors, and physician assistants, she may reconsider medical school. This is why the internship experience is so valuable for Stevenson students; they can have a small taste of what different careers are like, before committing fully to that path.