Pictured from left to right are Monica Krummen, Kristi Martinez, Carla Hernandez, Richard Southgate, Marlene Cano, Ondine Quinn, Will Heilbut, Michael Campesino, and Juan Sanchez.

Will Heilbut has a goal: to develop biotechnology innovations that can benefit humanity. Taking a big step toward his goal, he joined the quest for a cancer cure this summer. Will, a biochemistry major and honors student, spent his summer conducting experiments on various compounds that could suppress tumors in laboratory mice. Meanwhile, Carla Hernandez studied the learning behavior of eight chimpanzees housed at the OSU Chimpanzee Center. These were part of a study designed to test whether they could learn to use a hook tool and understand the physical connection of its usage. With five years of experience working in zoos, Carla, a senior in EEOB (Zoology), is committed to protecting endangered animal species.

These are but two of the exciting research projects completed by Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) fellows this past summer. Eight Latin@ students, some from OSU and others from as far away as Texas and California, spent their summer conducting research projects under the supervision of a faculty mentor. To support their research, SROP fellows received a living stipend, a research allowance and a housing allowance. In addition, they attended a research conference with peers doing research at other major research universities. SROP supports all areas of research, although the program gives priority to students who are interested in pursuing graduate school rather than professional school (business, law, medicine).

If you will be a sophomore or junior in summer 2004, and you would like to participate in the Summer Research Opportunities Program, send an email to sumres@osu.edu. Applications should be available by mid-November and will be due mid-January. If you have questions about the program or the application process, contact Yolanda Zepeda (zepeda.3@osu.edu).

Participants this summer also included:
Ondine Quinn (Political Science)
Ondine examined the politics and history of Turkey to understand why Muslim- majority countries are not democracies. She developed a more complex understanding of the state of democracy in this westernized, Muslim-majority country by analyzing structures of gender, class and ethnicity.

Michael Campesino (Computer Science Engineering)
Michael developed a research video game training tool that will teach computer programmers new “object oriented” techniques. This training incorporates principles of preconscious learning and positive attitude to help the learner acquire object oriented concepts.

Kristi Martinez (Medical Technology)
Kristi examined the herpes simplex 1 virus, how it establishes latency and then causes infection. Her findings can help the development of gene therapy technologies for treating diseases such as herpes and multiple sclerosis.

Monica Krummen (Psychology, Sociology and Criminology)
Monica’s project explored the relationship between adolescents and lying, examining kinds of lies and motivations for lying. Her research found that boys generally lied more about money, while girls lied more about relationships.

Juan Sanchez (Genetics)
A native of Mexico City, Juan came to OSU from Baja California to conduct genetic research on plants to learn how they defend themselves from fungus and bacteria. His research helps to further develop technologies for genetically modifying metabolic pathways. Applications include treating diseases and pest control.

Marlene Cano (Chemistry and Biology)
Marlene visited OSU from San Antonio, Texas, to test two drugs used in the treatment of attention processing. Her research contributes to the understanding of brain mechanisms and the development of treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.

Richard Southgate (Chemistry/Biology)
Richard studied cardiac proteins in rats that had diabetes and found evidence that diabetes affects two proteins which may be responsible for problems in the blood system and obesity of diabetic patients, helping refine the understanding about diabetes and improving the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.