Chemistry and Biochemistry News

“The NCNR is a national center for research, that uses neutrons to study a wide variety of materials and physical phenomena.  To do this it creates and operates a large number of neutron instruments specifically designed for particular types of measurements.   These facilities are available for scientist and engineers from industry, university and other government agencies from throughout the US as well as internationally for their research.  The Center for High Resolution Neutron Scattering (CHRNS) is a national user facility jointly funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) and the National Science Foundation (NSF)  which develops and operates several state-of-the-art instruments at the NCNR.”

The summer students had the opportunity to tour the research facility with several faculty. It was a pretty amazing opportunity to see a facility of this magnitude. If students are interested in pursuing internships at NIST, check out the NIST-Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program.

Biochemistry major Zoe Dennis has been an intern at AthenaES in the Biotech Park near Arbutus, MD. Her duties have included: aliquoting, labelling, media testing, purification of media using filtering techniques, packaging shipments, and shipping packages. She has really enjoyed the collegial vibe at Athena: “Everyone who works there is extremely sweet and supportive. They have really set my expectations high for what I believe a workplace environment should be like. When Athena has a question which cannot be answered by a member of their staff, we reach out to the other scientists within [the Biotech family] for a potential solution…and visa versa.”

Grace Debelius

This summer, biochemistry major Grace Debelius has been completing an internship at Pinnacle CT labs in Westminster, MD. This independent testing laboratory serves the medical cannabis and hemp industries, using advanced technology to perform all testing required by the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission. Grace has been learning different testing procedures and is gaining more and more responsibility in the lab. She was impressed by the strict regulations in place, becuase of the fragility of the patients that depend on medical marijuana. This position has confirmed her goal of working in a laboratory environment, and Grace will continue working at Pinnacle in the fall semester.

Chemistry major Justin Navoa is interning at The Valley Hospital in Paramus New Jersey, where he is shadowing different pharmacists in different areas of the hospital. Justin has been learning the various roles and responsibilities pharmacists can have depending on the field they work in. His experience has been accenutated by being made to feel welcome, as all of the pharmacists he has worked with have been friendly and inviting. This internship has confirmed for Justin that he wants a career in the pharmaceutical industry in the future.

Biochemistry Student Arianna Pulik is interning in the lab of Dr. Paul Shapiro at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. She is working on determining the structure activity relationship of a protein kinase ERK2 in cells and how it can be manipulated to inhibit inflammation and cell proliferation in cases of melanoma. She does a lot of reading, which surprised her, but she is learning how much planning goes into research. She is also enjoying learning new skills and knowledge, and is appreciative of the collaborative atmosphere. She is truly excited by her work, and hopes this experience helps her to become a competitive medical school applicant.