URSP Student Highlights: Anna McLernon

Hi there! My name is Anna McLernon and I am a rising junior majoring in Applied Global Conservation at George Mason University. I am working with Dr. Doris Davis of the Psychology Department to study both chicken grain preferences and rooster-to-chicken communication via food calls. Sometimes it is hard to imagine the cognition abilities of animals, especially of animals that some of us eat regularly. Even so, more and more research is being done to understand different species for different reasons. Investigating that hens do indeed have food preferences could mean farmers could give their chickens better well-being and increased happiness, making it possible that the chickens could lay more eggs. It is well-known that birds are connected to the dinosaurs that once roamed the earth, so understanding more and more about Avian species could very well lead scientists to understanding more about their prehistoric counterparts!

For four to five days every week, I drive an hour out to the beautiful countryside of Virginia to Dr. Davis’ personally-owned farm and conduct my research there. I place two bowls of different grains in a cage and let a hen eat whichever one she wants for thirty minutes. I weigh the bowls before and after a chicken’s consumption of the food to assess which grain she likes better. So far, extraordinarily, all four hens have had a consistent preference of grain. Therefore, it is clear to see that domestic chickens have an advanced choice behavior.

            Meeting Dr. Davis and conducting research on her farm with her beloved pets is an amazing experience, thanks to the OSCAR program. It has taught me what research with animals is like; a lot of chasing and capturing. It can be a bit of a hassle, but it is also very funny to look back on how I’ve had to run after the chickens. Working with animals can also be fragile, such as an animal getting wounded and therefore not eating as much as they did before, hurting the data. The many variables in research is what makes data-gathering in the field harder, but this research project has given me an inside look on how to solve my way out of a problem. Which, I think, is a very valuable skill indeed.

URSP Student Highlights: Brian Schnoor

Hello, my name is Brian Schnoor and I am a bioengineering major working in the Nanotechnology Lab with Dr. Salvador-Morales.  I am currently working on a project applying nanotechnology to agriculture and weed control. I hope to develop a Nanoherbicide that will provide more effective protection against harmful weeds while avoiding the major environmental problems caused by the widespread use of herbicides. Current herbicides are washed into major waterways as runoff, contaminating the waterways and killing many of the native plants. By encapsulating this herbicide in a nanoparticle, I hope to reduce these environmental problems.

            Working on this project has been a great experience for me. I have learned so much from practical lab experience. Along with basic techniques, this project forced me to learn how to design experiments, properly analyze data, schedule my time wisely, and present my results in a professional manner. I cannot thank Dr. Salvador-Morales enough for mentoring me through this project. In addition to teaching me lab procedures and monitoring my work in the lab, Dr. Salvador-Morales was also very active in guiding me through the finer points of managing my own project. We sit down on a regular basis and have invaluable discussions on the progress of my project, what information is still missing, and a plan for how to fill in the holes in my project. The experience of actually working in a lab and tackling these issues has given me an education beyond what I have learned in my class work.

            And the URSP program has added another layer on top of this education. Between the grant proposal, and the poster presentation, I have learned a great deal about presenting and explaining my research in a professional setting. Additionally, the URSP seminars have connected me to some of the peers and mentors I can turn to for advice about my research project. Overall, I cannot be more grateful for this opportunity to conduct research at Mason because it has given me a practical, hands-on experience to enhance my education.

URSP Student Highlights: Kostyantyn Shcherbina

                  During an English class my sophomore year, I was asked to write a literature review on a topic in my field that interested me. After doing some reading, I decided to write about ultrasound in therapy. As a non-invasive tool most commonly used for imaging, it piqued my interest.  My mentor, Dr. Chitnis of the Bioengineering department at GMU happened to be doing research into therapeutic ultrasound, specifically ultrasound-actuated drug delivery, and I was excited to work with him on one of his projects.

            Dr. Chitnis and his colleagues have developed a hydrogel capsule that is filled with medicine and implanted at a given area, then heated, releasing the medicine in a localized area. The applications for such a system are vast, and most notably include chemotherapy, which typically results in nasty side effects due to the high dosages and systemic circulation of the drug. A localized capsule solves these issues by restricting the drug release to the targeted area, in this case a tumor.

            My research focuses on construction of a model for drug release based on the heating of the capsule. Because the hydrogel contracts when heated, and the contraction is stable at any given temperature, a mathematical model relating the two allows for real-time control of how much drug is being released, enabling doctors to tailor release profiles on a per-patient, per-drug basis.

            At this point, I am working mostly on the computer, scouring literature for the physical properties of hydrogels, and calculating the fluid dynamics present in them. The nature of the project and the circumstances this summer have confined me to physics and mathematics to characterize the temperature-release relationship, but the work is satisfying, if frustrating at times. In the future, I will most likely be working in the same field, hopefully with more opportunities for physical experiments. This project has opened my eyes to some of the realities of research, and the opportunity to work with Dr. Chitnis and alongside the other members of the Biomedical Imaging Lab has been extraordinary.

URSP Student Highlights: Amir Maghsoudi

Since I started working with Doctor van Hoek (at the MVH lab) in the Science and Technology campus, I have been exposed to many inspirational and driven individuals. Working alongside masters and PhD students, I have already learned so much about a real microbiology laboratory. From working with bacteria to autoclaving equipment, I have realized that working in a lab is fun, exciting, fast-paced, and most importantly, serious!

                  Currently, I am working with various bacteria and yeast found in our oral microflora. Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans are microorganisms found in the oral cavity, which are responsible for common diseases, such as carries (cavities). The goal of this project is to determine how these microorganisms grow and how we can inhibit them. In the MVH lab, I am the only person who is working on this project with the assistance of my managers/mentors, Stephanie and Dr. van Hoek.

                   Though working in the lab is very fast-paced, working with microorganisms can be very slow. Since the majority of my work relies on growing bacteria and yeast, sometimes it may take two to five days to achieve results. If the results are not desirable, the experimental procedure has be modified to acquire the desired results. On a weekly base, I will do many things, including growing bacteria, sterilizing equipment, and testing antibiotic resistance against bacterial growth! After many trials this week, I confirmed that Stevia extracts can inhibit the growth of bacteria!

                  Since my long-term goal is to enter dental school and practice as a dentist, I think this project will help me achieve a greater understanding of the oral microflora, which is a key component of having a healthy mouth! Thus, having this knowledge will help me be a better dentist. With further knowledge and outstanding research, groundbreaking results may be found, which may benefit the medical community. My ultimate goal is to help move science forward and allow the community to achieve better health!

URSP Student Vinh Mai Researches Infrastructure Projects

Most economists agree that functioning infrastructure is crucial to economic development. A dollar invested in new roads, energy powers, water system can generate not only more than a dollar in the money term but also non-monetary social benefits. However, economists predict that current global infrastructure investment portfolio cannot keep up with the rising investment demand in the next decades. Therefore, engaging private sector through Public Private Partnerships to provide infrastructure becomes indispensible.

Infrastructure projects are typically financed through project finance mechanism rather than corporate finance one. As a result, one of the major concerns is how to develop and structure infrastructure projects to be bankable and financially appealing to lenders. Also, PPP projects involve numerous project risks that might have a great impact on project bankability. If a project is not bankable, then there is no project being built. Therefore, my project is concerned with how to structure a project to achieve bankability and how commercial banks assess different project risks.

As mentioned above, I certainly believe that PPP is the future of infrastructure development. Therefore, I plan to become a PPP expert and to contribute my efforts in finding solution to our investment gap problem. My project involves a lot of readings about project finance, project case studies, and commercial banks lending criteria. Typically, I read more than 500 pages per week. Once a week, I have a 30-minute with my mentor who is the Director of Center for Transportation Public Private Partnership Policy. This week, I found a great case study book about project finance in highway projects, which might help me compare and contrast different projects to draw some potentially useful lessons.