SUPER Program for 2017 - May 30, 2017 to August 4, 2017
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The MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine offers “SUPER”, a SummerUndergraduatePhysician-scientist-training Education & Research program, to undergraduate students, who are planning to pursue a career as a physician scientist. Students interested in combined DO-PhD training for a career as a physician-scientist are offered an opportunity to conduct research, be exposed to clinical care and the excitement of an academic medical environment. The MSUCOM Summer Undergraduate Education and Research program is a 10 week program that begins May 30, 2017 and concludes August 4, 2017. (Because of university housing availability, program dates are not flexible).
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Applications are invited from undergraduate students who are currently in their sophomore, or junior year, have a GPA of 3.5 or higher, and have a minimum of two full semesters of research experience. Students who have a GPA of less than 3.5 but have extensive research experience are also encouraged to apply. Applicants should be involved in research and be interested in graduate and medical education in biomedical sciences leading to a DO-PhD. Eligible students must be US citizens or permanent residents, who anticipate graduating with a bachelor’s degree in the biological or physical sciences. Graduating seniors are not eligible.
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Up to six awards will be given to qualified undergraduate applicants. The program includes both clinical & laboratory experiences. Students will work in a research laboratory under the guidance of selected faculty in the biomedical sciences, shadow physicians in a clinical setting, and attend seminars emphasizing the intersection of science and medicine. All students will be required to participate full-time (40 hours per week) in their research.
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Students will be required to make a poster presentation at Mid-SURE (Mid-Michigan Symposium for Undergraduate Research Experiences) sponsored by Michigan State University and to their fellow SUPER participants, faculty mentors, and others at the end of the program.
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Students who successfully complete the SUPER program will be strongly encouraged to apply to the MSUCOM DO-PhD Program and will receive early review. The deadline for receipt of all application materials is March 31, 2017. Decisions will be made by April 14, 2017.
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Each SUPER undergraduate participant will receive $2,500 for the 10-week, full-time research experience. Accommodations in University Housing will be provided for any student outside of the greater Lansing, East Lansing area. In order to participate in the clinical portion of the program (shadowing in physicians’ clinics) students are required to have their own vehicle for transportation off campus.
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Selection of students is based on the completed application that asks for a description of academic interests, career goals, and research experiences. Students must state specific scientific interests and any particular research areas or techniques they wish to explore in order to be matched with research faculty. Also required are two letters of recommendation (one from faculty and one from an advisor) and an unofficial transcript from the student's undergraduate institution(s). Minority students are encouraged to apply.
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Two letters of recommendation are required regarding your qualifications for SUPER and attest to your motivation and ability to carry out research. These can be emailed to: mccormi1@msu.edu
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Email application form, unoffocial transcripts, and a CV/Resume to mccormi1@msu.edu Justin McCormick, PhD, University Distinguished Professor, Director, D.O. Ph.D. Program, & Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies, College of Osteopathic Medicine –1129 Farm Lane, Room 341, Food Safety & Toxicology Bldg., Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1302 by March 31.
2017 SUPER STUDENTS
Nicholas Chargo is a senior Kinesiology undergraduate student at MSU. He is most interested in disorders of the musculoskeletal system and in bone morphology and bone remodeling. Since 2015, he has been working under the direction of Dr. Darrin Karcher, Dept of Animal Science, focusing on morphological changes to the keel bone of laying hens. He has been investigating the incidence/prevalence of fractures and deviations throughout the laying hens’ life cycle. To investigate this, he has utilized CT scanning and Mimics analysis software to create 3-dimensional images of each bone in an attempt to study the best representation of the bone without harming/sacrificing the chicken. Nicholas hopes to pursue a career in medicine with a specialization in orthopedics. In the SUPER Program Nicholas is working in the lab of Laura McCabe researching bone density issues and its associated increase in fracture risk. Nicholas is passionate about participating in sports and has been playing football and snowboarding for most of his life.
Ben Franco will be a senior at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, majoring in Medical Physics and minoring in English Writing. His most recent project is focused on Raman spectroscopy, a spectroscopic method that relies on inelastic scattering, and how it can be utilized to detect cancer more accurately through molecule fingerprinting. He also carried out research at the University of Missouri-Kansas City investigating biofilms and drug resistance; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus were inoculated onto plates containing different concentrations of EDTA, ZnO, cassia oil, and antimicrobial peptides to observe whether biofilm formation was hindered. This summer, Ben is working in the laboratory of Dr. Christopher Waters on a project related to the bacterial motility of the classical and El Tor biotypes of Vibrio cholera. His project aims to understand if there are any genes related to the motility of either biotype that affect their pathogenicity. Ben would like to become a physician-scientist specializing in oncology and perform research regarding new treatments for serious diseases, such as cancer and HIV. He was born in the Philippines and has been residing in the US since 2007. Ben enjoys art in all its forms; he plays the guitar and is an avid fan of live jazz, and also recently completed writing his first three-act play.
Quinn Hanses is a senior at Michigan State University majoring in Psychology. Quinn has worked for several semesters in the lab of Dr. Greg Bonito, Dept of Plant Molecular Biology investigating fungal morphology utilizing scanning on the SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) through the Engineering Dept. to study known and unknown species. She continues to work in the Dept of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences. Quinn made a presentation at the Fall 2015 University Undergraduate Research & Arts Forum on undiscovered species of truffles and fungi, which is published in the Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. More recently Quinn has worked under the direction of Dr. Susan Ravizza, Dept of Psychology, Division of Cognitive Science, on semantic and episodic memory deterioration in Alzheimer’s Disease. Quinn is in the Osteopathic Medical Scholars Program and is interested in applying to the DO-PhD Program. She has also been very active in many volunteer organizations, Loaves and Fishes, Volunteers of America, and worked in an orphanage for Back2Back Ministries in Mazatlán Mexico. Quinn is working in the laboratory of Dr. Karen Liby, Dept of Pharmacology & Toxicology this summer for SUPER. Dr. Liby studies the role of inflammation in cancer to develop and test new drugs for the prevention or treatment of cancer. Quinn is working on testing treatments for breast and lung cancer in mouse models. Treatment studies involve testing PARP and BET inhibitors as well as Vitamin A derivatives, such as Triterpenoids and rexinoids.
Meredith Herman
Meredith Herman is an MSU senior majoring in Biomedical Laboratory Science, in the Honors College, and expects to graduate December 2017. She worked in the Dept of Neurology & Ophthalmology as a clinical assistant, where she became interested in clinical research. During the summer of 2016, she worked on a challenging case with Dr. Amit Sachdev, Director of the Neuromuscular Medicine in the Department of Neurology. Meredith was able to correlate clinical data to pathology, collaborate with specialty providers, and make a unique discovery. The abstract "Neuropathic Distal Foot Pain As An Atypical Presentation Of A Treatable Plantar Plate Tear," was accepted for a presentation at the Michigan State Medical Society Annual Scientific Conference in October 2016. In January 2017, Meredith began working in the laboratory of Stacie Demel, DO, PhD, Dept of Pharmacology & Toxicology. Her project focuses on the role of genetics and hypertension in cerebrovascular remodeling, further understanding the mechanism of aneurysm formation. For SUPER Meredith continues to work with Dr. Demel. Meredith is interested in applying to medical dual degree programs and the DO PhD Program at MSU. At MSU Meredith is a member of the MSU Spartan Marching Band and plays the baritone; she played at the Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA 2014) and Cotton Bowl (Dallas, TX 2015). She has also volunteered with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Global Medical Brigades in Honduras, and Tower Guard as a coordinator of the Shamrock 5K to raise support for the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities. Meredith received scholarships to study abroad in Southeast Asia, and notably received the Dan Bolin Award in the College of Natural Science for recognition of leadership, community service, and academics.
Nate Kauffman is a member of the Lyman Briggs College and the Honors College while majoring in three programs: Genomics & Molecular Genetics, Psychology, and Human Biology. Nate’s research experience in biomedical science began by working under the direction of Dr. Elena Demireva in the Transgenic & Genome Editing Facility (TGEF) at MSU. There he learned basic laboratory skills then moved into advanced techniques such as generation of knockout (KO) cell lines and validation assays. While in the TGEF, Nate began a project with Dr. Jamie Bernard, Dept of Pharmacology & Toxicology, where he used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate 4 different KO cell lines lacking certain growth receptors in order to discover the carcinogenic effects of growth factors released from adipose tissue on mouse and human epithelial cells. For SUPER, Nate is working in the laboratory of Dr. Sofia Lunt, which focuses on understanding the role of metabolism in cancer proliferation, heterogeneity, and metastasis. As an undergraduate, Nate has been an Ambassador for prospective Lyman Briggs students, an Izzone member for three years, member of the American Society of Microbiology MSU chapter, and the treasurer of MEDLIFE, which volunteers to improve the health of communities both locally and abroad.
Brittany Ladson is a senior at Michigan State University majoring in Human Biology and expects to graduate December 2017. Brittany has a rich research background as an undergraduate. As a freshman, she worked under the direction of Dr. Mei Hua Lee, Dept of Kinesiology studying motor development in infants and young children. She move later to the laboratory of Dr. Michaela TerAvest, Dept of Biochemistry where she studied the diversity of respiratory electron transport chains in Shewanella oneidensis, discovering the mechanisms that allow bacteria to harvest energy from a wide range of electron donors and acceptors and learn how to exploit these mechanisms to optimize energy and cofactor production. This past year Brittany has been working in the laboratory of Dr. Schwartz and Dr. Anastasia Kariagina. There she worked on a project investigating the role of hormone disruptor BP3 in development of different types of mammary cancer in the mouse. For SUPER, Brittany is working in the laboratory of Dr. Donna Kozlowsky, Dept of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics. The research focus is on mechanisms involved in the regulation of mitochondrial gene expression. At MSU Brittany is in the Osteopathic Scholars Program and has participated in MEDLIFE traveling to Esmeraldas Ecuador to work with mobile medical clinics and she has also participated in a study abroad program in Merida Mexico to study community medicine.
Audrianna St Germain is a senior at Michigan State University majoring in Neuroscience and Physiology and also a 2016 Beckman Scholar. The Beckman Scholar Program is a very prestigious program at MSU which takes only top students and has a very rigorous interview process. Audrey has had various research opportunities at MSU starting with Dr. Brian Gulbransen’s laboratory where she learned about the disorders of the Enteric Nervous System, how to micro dissect the mouse colon, use epifluorescent optical imaging techniques, and trouble shoot antibody issues. She also worked with Dr. Devin McCauley, Dept of Psychology & Director, MSU Cognitive Science Program, learning to understand human intrinsic rhythms and how malfunctions of this rhythmic ability are present in disorders like non-physiological hearing loss. This past year Audrey has been working in the laboratory of AJ Robison, Dept of Physiology, focused on studies of depression and cocaine addiction using mouse models, and also looking at the changes in neuronal morphology that underlie these disorders. The results of this study will be in a manuscript for submission to the Journal of Neuroscience. Audrey is also presenting her data at the Spring Hippocampal Research Conference in Sicily this summer. Audrey was a member of the MSU Riding Club, chair of specialty programs committee in the Neuroscience Club, Big Sister of Livingston County and a Foster Teen Tutor for Ingham County.
Tyler Natof is a senior at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign majoring in Molecular & Cellular Biology and plans to graduate December 2018. Tyler is interested in immunology and oncology. At the University of Illinois Tyler works in the laboratory of Dr. Isaac Cann, Dept of Microbiology, on research aimed at unraveling how human gut bacteria of the phylum Bacteroidetes capture energy from diet fiber that is inaccessible to the human host. Tyler and laboratory team members have successfully expressed eight of the genes from the gene cluster and have demonstrated that two of the genes that are widely spread in bacteria, and currently understood to be without assigned functions, are indeed bi-functional enzymes with ferulic acid esterase and acetyl xylan esterase activities. This summer in the SUPER program, Tyler is working in the laboratory of Min-Hao Kuo, Dept of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology to develop an assay to measure the aggregation kinetics of tau, a microtubule-associated protein implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease. Tyler is very interested in applying to dual medical degree programs, including the DO PHD Program at MSU.
