Students dive into hands-on projects in labs, fields and faraway places

For weeks this summer, Fatima Akin donned protective gloves and a lab coat before diving into her tasks for the day in work led by virologist Claude Krummenacher, an associate professor in the College of Science & Mathematics.

Maintaining cell lines and performing experiments was a nice break from her evening job as a restaurant hostess and server. 

Earning a paycheck for her work in the lab “feels so much better,” said Akin, a senior molecular and cellular biology major. “It’s going to help me in my future … It doesn’t even feel like work to me when I’m here.” 

Her perspective is widely shared by students across Rowan University’s summer research programs, which include undergraduates, graduates and even high schoolers excited to join projects on campus and in the field—sometimes far afield.

Off campus

Five undergraduates completed bioarcheological research with Maria Rosado, a professor of anthropology, and Anna Getler, a Rowan adjunct, at the Museo Arqueológico de La Serena, a museum of archaeology in La Serena, Chile. The group conducted hands-on work identifying human remains belonging to the ancient Diaguita culture of 1,000 years ago. 

They represented the Ric Edelman College of Communication, Humanities & Social Sciences and the School of Earth & Environment: Sam Scalio, geography; Theo Salgado, biomedical art/visualization; McKenna McIlvaine, environmental science; William Schneider, anthropology; and Victoria Rosado, modern languages and linguistics.

Others found opportunities across the country through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program funded by the National Science Foundation. 

Alexa Warren, a senior biomedical engineering major, spent her summer in the Kwon Lab at University of California San Diego, where she worked with lipid nanoparticles for their potential use in treating patients with traumatic brain injuries.

Jamie Kahle, an honors computer science major, worked with researchers at Princeton University to analyze bias toward queer and trans individuals within text-to-image models, a type of artificial intelligence that creates pictures based on written descriptions. 

Closer to home

Dozens of students from Rowan and other universities, community colleges, and high schools kept labs busy across campus, too. 

Civil engineering majors Analiz Caba and Gregg Valentine collected field data in Atlantic County for a state-funded survey on bus ridership led by Mohammad Jalayer, an associate professor in the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering. The project aims to increase ridership for specific South Jersey and shore bus routes.

Mechanical engineering major Kyle Knowles spent hours fine-tuning a self-powered refrigerated box in the Rowan Hall lab of Amin Nozari, an assistant professor. Nearby, Thomas Brown II, an electrical and computer engineering major, tested the output of a thermomagnetic electric generator at different temperatures. 

In Science Hall, Mei Reynolds, a biology senior, and Laurie Meadows, an assistant professor of biology at Rowan College of Burlington County, joined the lab of bacteriologist Jason Heindl, an associate professor of biological and biomedical sciences. 

Over 10 weeks, Reynolds worked elbow-to-elbow with the team, which included Ph.D. student Mosa Asia Begum, learning how to culture strains of a bacterium called Agrobacterium tumefaciens that can infect plants. The work is part of Heindl’s research to understand the role of certain enzymes involved in controlling the bacterium’s cell division.

Meanwhile, Zuri Essahli, a rising senior at Clearview Regional High School, was delighted to spend eight weeks in the lab of Lark Perez, professor of chemistry, where she introduced dyes to chemical solutions to study protein bonds.

Elsewhere at Rowan, 11 rising high school seniors spent time in Engineering Hall and Cooper Medical School labs, as part of the Research Immersion in biomedical Science and Engineering at Rowan (RISER) program, led by Sebastian Vega, Ph.D., and Darren Boehning, Ph.D.

Students representing Rowan, the University of Arkansas, the University of South Carolina and Bucknell University participated in the Department of Biomedical Engineering’s Entrepreneurially-Infused Summer Research Program for Undergraduates.

Summer poster sessions

Political science major Kayleigh Naprawa explored how alt-right movements use social media to target women in politics. She was among 20 honors students who presented during the Martinson Summer Scholars poster session on July 30. 

“This fall, I plan on diving deeper into this research to see how U.S. legislation conceptualizes hate speech,” said Naprawa, who is applying to law school. 

Also on July 30, more than 100 students presented work during the Summer Undergraduate Research Program poster session hosted by the College of Science & Mathematics and the School of Earth & Environment.

McKensey Crosby, a physics and music major at Rowan College of Burlington County, brought his perspective to the lab of James Grinias, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry. 

Standing in front of his poster in the crowded ballroom at Chamberlain Student Center, Crosby explained the design behind a miniature electromagnetic pump with potential biomedical applications. 

“It was a lot of fun,” said Crosby of his summer research project. “I definitely learned a lot. The Grinias Lab (members) were exceptional hosts. They were more than supportive and offered their help in any way possible.”