ARRA Administrative Supplements for Students and Science Educators Program

Photo ID: Mark Kohn (l) and Dr. Peter C. Amadio

Peter C. Amadio, M.D. Lloyd A. and Barbara A. Amundson Professor of Orthopedics Consultant, Department of Orthopedic Surgery  Mayo Clinic

Mark Kohn Senior, UC Berkeley

The ARRA Administrative Supplements for Students and Science Educators Program has allowed me to accelerate progress on my NIH grant, while at the same time offering an opportunity to mentor a student who otherwise would not have had the means to study at a location 1,500 miles from home. Creating a summer job, mentoring a future scientist, and making scientific progress it's a win-win-win situation, says Dr. Amadio.

The funding provided by ARRA has allowed me to pursue my interests in biomedical research as well as develop my experience working in the laboratory setting. As a medical school applicant, programs like this are an invaluable opportunity for me to contribute to the field of medicine at an early stage, says Kohn.

 

Dateline: San Diego, Calif.

Photo ID: (l-r): Chi Lee (student), Sanford Bernstein (P.I.), Stephanie Kuhl (ARRA summer fellow), Adam Azuma (ARRA summer fellow), Tom Huxford (collaborator), Adam Bialobrodski (ARRA summer fellow).

Sanford I. Bernstein, Ph.D.  Professor, Department of Biology San Diego State University

Stephanie Kuhl Graduate, San Diego State University

ARRA funding is allowing four talented university students to help us determine how a protein that is essential to muscle function interacts with other muscle components. Through their efforts, we are more rapidly examining the structure of this protein (UNC-45) by x-ray crystallography and electron microscopy, says Dr. Bernstein.

My time in the lab has been valuable because I have learned skills and techniques that will assist me in finding a long-term position in a lab, and the experience will be advantageous when I apply to graduate school, says Kuhl, who graduated in May 2010 with a B.S. in biology from San Diego State University.

Dateline: Lexington, Ky.

Photo ID: Stephen Hunt

Karyn A. Esser, Ph.D.  Professor, Center for Muscle Biology  Department of Physiology  University of Kentucky College of Medicine

Stephen Hunt Science Teacher East Jessamine Middle School Nicholasville, Kentucky

ARRA funding has benefited me in two ways, says Hunt. First, it has allowed me the opportunity to learn about physiological and cyclic phenomena in living organisms through my research in Dr. Esser's lab, and secondly, it has provided me with new ideas for teaching students in middle and high school science classes. This will hopefully inspire the scientists of the future in the classrooms in which I teach.

Dateline: Albany, N.Y.

Photo ID (l-r): Kristin Kirby, Dr. Bruce Herron, Krista Morales

Bruce J. Herron, Ph.D. Research Scientist, Mammalian Genomics  Wadsworth Center  New York State Department of Health

Kristin Kirby Advanced Science Research Program Student, Columbia High School East Greenbush, New York

Krista Morales Student, SUNY Plattsburgh

The summer student supplement was beneficial not only to the progress of our research, but it also provided a great opportunity to bring new people into our program as potential graduate students, says Dr. Herron.

Dateline: New York, N.Y.

Photo ID: Young Jin Kim

Howard J. Worman, M.D. Professor of Medicine and Pathology and Cell Biology Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Young Jin Kim Senior, SUNY Binghamton

The ARRA program has provided me an opportunity to concentrate on a summer research project, says Kim. The research project I have participated in has been an excellent learning experience because it has applied a broad range of biological research techniques. As I studied the effects of MAPK inhibitor on mice muscle cells on the level of RNA to protein, I've learned how different research tools can be utilized to answer a question from various angles. Even though there are many things I've learned, one summer is not enough to learn everything about muscle disease research. To pick the two most valuable things I've learned, they would be how to organize and design my own experiments. These very basic yet essential lessons were all possible through the ARRA program.