Over the summer, Natnael worked in the Transcription Regulation Section of a cancer research lab at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda. He plans to complete his B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 2015 and apply for an MD/PhD program or medical school.

What research have you been doing this summer?
I have been working in a lab at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. I specifically work in a Transcription Regulation Section of a cancer research lab at the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

How did you find out about this opportunity? Was there a formal application process?
I found about the internship through a friend who interned at NIH a while back and he recommended I apply.

Who did you work with on this project?
I directly work with the PI, Staff Scientist, a Postdoc (my daily supervisor) and a Postbac who actually graduated from UMBC last year.

Was this your first independent research project?
This is my second time in this same lab. I started last summer and they offered me a chance to come back and continue the work this summer.

Do you get course credit for this work or get paid?
Yes, I did get paid for the internship. I don’t know if Prac 98 counts as a credit but I did get that for last summer internship and I will also be getting it for this summer internship as well. I also got a notation on my Official School Transcript.

How much time do you put into it?
On average I put in about 6-8 hours a day for about 6 weeks.

What academic background did you have before you started?
My background is in Biology, Chemistry and Statistics.

How did you learn what you needed to know to be successful in this summer project?
The first and most important thing I learned is to ask questions about anything I don’t understand or am confused about. I learned I had to put in a good effort and hard work to succeed and get what I wanted from the internship. I also learned to talk to other summer interns and learn and exchange information.

What has been the hardest part about your work this summer?
Some of the scientific experiments I performed are really complex and far from the theories I learned in class. Also, I am not good at networking with different people so I had a bit of a hard time initiating a conversation with people I knew would be helpful.

What was the most unexpected thing?
How helpful and easy to approach people are in research; they are always eager to help as long as you ask for it. Also, the manner in which theories from class apply in a real scenario, it was simply amazing to witness.

How does this research experience relate to your course work?
I am currently in the Bio track of Chemical Engineering at UMBC, so I take Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry classes and this research has helped me understand the things I have learned during my years at UMBC . It has helped cement the concepts I have learned in class.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?
Start early, prepare a good application. This means getting to know your Professor early at class so you can develop a good relationship and you can get a good recommendation because often times your competition has either as good a GPA as you do or even better, so you need something that can set you apart and recommendation letters are one of those things. Go to the Shriver Center. Find students who have done internships before and ask questions.

What are your career goals?
I plan to complete my B.S in Chemical Engineering and either apply for an MD/PhD program or Medical school.

What else are you involved in on campus?
I am involved in AICHE, NSBE, Pre-Med Society and I am also involved in a new organization called “Unite Africa”.

Read his abstract here...

The 2nd Annual IvyPlus Symposium will be held March 13-15th, 2014 on the Harvard and MIT campuses.  Students are encouraged to apply from the sciences, social sciences and humanities. There will be 150 students selected to attend the conference.  Deadlines are currently mid-November.

More information will be coming soon and can be found at www.ivyplussymposium.com

Meet Samantha, she is an Anthropology and a INDS major. 

The focus of her research will be to preserve a part of Baltimore's history by documenting the memories of those living in Charm city. By investigating the many facets of Baltimore's identity (both positive and negative) through the stories of real people, she will fill a void in the publics perception of this city.

How did you find your mentor for year research project?
I met Professor Sarah Chard after taking her Anthropological Research Methods course last semester. I loved her passion and commitment to the field and thought she’d make an excellent mentor. To top it off, she teaches the Urban Anthropology course at UMBC-- it was as if we were meant to work together!

I’m a local titleholder in the Miss America Organization! As a titleholder I serve as a goodwill ambassador for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and a representative for the Miss Maryland Scholarship Organization. I frequently travel the state to perform my talent, speak at community events, and raise money for local charities.

Read her abstract here...

Was your childhood filled with the tales of Alice in Virusland?  Ann the Anopheles Mosquito?  Huber the Tuber?  No?

In the early 20th century, long before WebMD and daytime television, it was a struggle to get the word out about public health risks in a way that was both attention-getting and informative.  Using illustrations provided a double advantage- it was an easy way to depict what could not easily be photographed, and it also played off the huge popularity of daily newspaper comic strips at the time.

The American Society for Microbiology Book Collection, part of Special Collections at the Albin O. Kuhn Library, provides several great examples of the innovative use of illustrations and humor to get across some very serious messages.  ASM Archivist Jeff Karr shared three such publications for us to highlight.

Alice in Virusland is a slim volume containing the transcript of an address given in 1938 by Paul F. Clark, a professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin and president of the Society of American Bacteriologists (the predecessor of the American Society for Microbiology).  Clark borrows heavily from Lewis Carroll’s original work, mimicking many of Carroll’s songs as well as his prose style, in order to lament the dangers of anti-vaccine sentiment.  The book is filled with fantastical illustrations of microbes and viruses in traditional Alice in Wonderland situations, dating from a time when no one was really sure what many of these things looked like.

Printed in 1943, This is Ann is about Ann the Anopheles Mosquito, and the ways in which she and her type spread the dread disease of Malaria.  Produced by the War Department, this helpful little booklet lets soldiers know how Ann operates, and how to avoid her, by sleeping under mosquito nets and making sure their bodies are covered at all times.  The booklet is filled with the uncredited, but distinctive, drawings of one Captain Ted Geisel, AKA Dr. Seuss!  Additionally, it was written by Munro Leaf, author of Ferdinand the Bull.

While recovering from the effects of tuberculosis, Harry A. Wilmer, M.D. had quite a bit of time on his hands.  He filled his days by creating the character of Huber the Tuber, a tubercle bacilli who along with his friends, invade and infect Lungland.  Written in 1942 as World War II raged, Huber the Tuber: A Story of Tuberculosis features Wilmer’s Tubers as thinly disguised Nazis, including their leader, Nasty von Sputum.  For a medical doctor, Wilmer shows himself to be quite the talented illustrator, deftly combining medical drawings with cartoonish characters.

Although these three books are not exactly great works of literature,  they do provide a fantastic record of the early 20th century public education efforts of the medical establishment.  You can see them and more in person.  The American Society for Microbiology Book Collection is in the catalog.  You can also stop by the Special Collections Department to access them.  Special Collection is located inside of the Library Gallery, Monday-Friday from 1-4pm, and Thursdays from 1-8pm.  Other hours are available by appointment:  email speccoll@umbc.edu.  

This post was written by former Special Collections student assistant Steve Ammidown.

Related Resources 

American Society for Microbiology

This is Ann from the Navy Department Library

USDA digitized version of This is Ann

Alice in Virusland digitized

9 Things You May Not Know about Dr. Seuss