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UD students actively involved in research
8:24 a.m., Nov. 22, 2006--Michael Dumas is on the hunt for a new drug that will destroy prostate cancer tumors. Matthew Rein is working on a new computer network protocol to enhance the speed and security of Internet transmissions. And Sacha Derevianko is determining if ozone can be used by food processors to destroy harmful bacteria and parasites in apple cider without affecting the drink's flavor. Pretty neat stuff, eh? Michael, Matthew and Sacha are all students at the University of Delaware. Dumas and Rein are among some 700 undergraduates who are actively involved in research, working on projects with their faculty advisers. And Derevianko is one of more than 3,500 graduate students who ordinarily conduct research in the lab, library or field on the path to an advanced degree. Currently, all three students are working on studies supported by the University of Delaware Research Foundation (UDRF). Students involved in 10 UDRF projects reported on their progress in a poster session at the foundation's annual meeting on Nov. 10 at the Courtyard Newark-University of Delaware hotel. The foundation, a private corporation, was chartered in 1955 to support research at the University. Awards of up to $25,000 per project are made annually to tenure-track faculty, early in their careers, in all fields of science. The foundation provides up to $15,000 per grant, which is matched by $5,000 from the provost and $5,000 from the faculty member's respective dean. The UDRF grants are designed to supplement funding that researchers receive from other sources, such as federal and state agencies, according to Carolyn Thoroughgood, vice provost for research. Her office administers the grants. The foundation is governed by a board of trustees representing engineers and scientists from area industries. The board announces the awards each spring and receives progress reports on the funded projects at its fall meeting. “I'm impressed by the quality and variety of projects I've seen here tonight,” board member Thomas Connelly Jr. said, after visiting with each of the students and reviewing their posters. Connelly is executive vice president, chief innovation officer and a member of the office of the chief executive at DuPont. He oversees the company's electronic and communications technologies platform. “I'm always struck by the emphasis on undergrad exposure to research here at UD. I feel this is one of the great strengths of the University,” Connelly said. “That's very important to us at DuPont. “I believe the U.S. is approaching a crisis in terms of careers in science and technology,” Connelly said, “so exposure to science at the undergrad level is critically important.” Connelly worked three summers in a research lab when he was an undergraduate at Princeton University. “It really exposed me to the excitement of research,” he said. “Seminars are one thing, but getting to discover things hands-on is different. I had taken the MBA [master of business administration] boards at Princeton, and was really heading in that direction when I met Prof. John Gillham, who introduced me to polymer science. It was the turning point of my career.” Dumas, a senior biological sciences major from Wilmington, values the opportunities he's had to explore disease-related research at UD.
While thalidomide is notorious for causing severe birth defects in children whose mothers were prescribed the drug to ease morning sickness in the late 1950s and early 1960s, today the drug is being used to help manage various diseases, such as leprosy, and it is being explored as a cancer treatment. “However, it's pretty toxic,” Dumas said. “We're looking for a less toxic analog to thalidomide.” A compound named Sc-2-71 has shown promise in the group's laboratory studies, reducing the size of prostate tumors in mice. Dumas will be presenting more on the research next April in Los Angeles at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Dumas says the UDRF project has been “a really good experience” for him; however, his senior thesis actually focuses on other research he's conducting, on the effects of high glucose and insulin, associated with diabetes type II, on prostate cancer progression. “One of the reasons I'm working on it is because I have diabetes,” he said. “I want to be able to contribute in some way to a cure.” Rein, a senior from Florence, N.J., was invited to join a UDRF project focusing on a new method of Internet data transmission, after doing well in a computer science class taught by Martin Swany, assistant professor of computer and information sciences. “Data gets sent across the Internet in the form of packets of information,” Rein said. However, during any Internet transmission, some of that information routinely gets lost along the way.” Information currently is transmitted over the Internet from one computer to another in a single loop, according to Rein. The protocol he's helping to develop features a series of data loops, almost like “weigh stations” on the information highway, which would aid the recognition and recovery of data losses earlier on in a transmission. The new protocol also would improve Internet security through enhanced authentication procedures based on the user versus the computer. “When I talk with my friends who go to other colleges, they're like 'Wow, you're already doing research?' I think UD really provides unique opportunities for undergrad research,” Rein said. That research experience also can help students launch their careers. Rein said he already has two job offers on the table, and both include strong tuition assistance programs that will enable him to continue his education if he so chooses. Several graduate students also are involved in the UDRF projects, learning not only about the day-to-day challenges presented by laboratory research, but also the management of grants, the preparation of reports and the presentation of findings that ultimately can be used by industry, academia and the public. Derevianko, a master's student from Wilmington, is part of a research team working with Kalmia Kniel, assistant professor of animal and food sciences, on a new food processing technique for apple cider that would eliminate any harmful bacteria and protozoa in the drink without affecting its natural color and flavor. The researchers are subjecting the cider to ozone, a highly reactive form of oxygen that is increasingly being used as an antimicrobial agent, from purifying drinking water to laundering clothes. In laboratory tests, the researchers have proven the technique successful in eliminating microscopic parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium, which can cause severe diarrhea in victims, and the pathogenic bacterium E. coli O157:H7. “The recent problems with contaminated spinach really underscore the importance of this kind of food science research,” Derevianko said. “This project could have wide applications in the food industry,” she added. “Not only is the ozone technique inexpensive--small businesses would only need to invest about $500 for equipment--but it also would extend the shelf life of products ranging from fruit juices to whole fruits.” Article by Tracey Bryant
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