Meet Undergraduate Researcher Emily Slaby, Chemical Engineering class of 2018!

Title of Research Project: Boosting Immune Cells using Plasma Membrane-inserting Drugs to Combat Cancer

Who is your mentor for your research project? I emailed a few professors in my department about lab positions and I included my enthusiasm about cancer research when one of them connected me to Professor Gregory Szeto, Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering . I contacted Dr. Szeto with my resume and answered a few questions about my interests and goals. The lab had just opened in January 2016, so I helped with the startup and started learning about immunology. My mentor encouraged a few of my lab members to apply for an Undergraduate Research Award (URA) to help us explain our projects and get ready to present at the Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD). It really helped me understand the background and explain my project better to lab members who did not do similar work. The URA application was like writing a grant proposal, without preliminary results.

How did you know this was the project you wanted to do? I studied the relationship between stem cells, cancer, and aging during an English research paper my first year of community college. Cancer research interested me because of the complexity of the disease, and this was a wonderful opportunity to build my skills and apply myself. I have learned so much about cancer stages, therapies, and immunology through this project.

Do you get course credit for this work? I currently get course credit as an elective for my chemical engineering bachelor’s degree. A comprehensive report is required to compile results and relate the research back to chemical engineering cores. This helps me apply concepts learned in classes to research applications.

How much time do you put into it? During the semester, I put in about 15-20 hours of lab and outside research time. This time may be spent performing experiments, analyzing results, or making presentations to explain results. During the summer, I have much more time to explore my project and try new things, so I am usually there about 40 hours per week.

What has been the hardest part about your research? The hardest part of the research is troubleshooting after analyzing the results. This is also what makes research fun, interesting, and unexpected. New discoveries can come from unexpected results, so the hardest part is the most interesting. I love the challenge of finding the little things that affect results the most.

What was the most unexpected thing? It is amazing how close you become with lab members and how much input they have when something does not go quite right. We each have different strengths and background to help fill in the gaps, keep each other thinking on our feet, and keep us learning more about our projects each day.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?Think about a few areas of research that interest you, and look on the departments’ websites to find labs that you want to explore. Do not be afraid to go outside your department! You can gain tons of new perspectives with interdisciplinary research. Reach out to the professors about your interests, ideas, and how you think this collaboration would help both of you!

What are your career goals? My main goal is to stay in disease-based research by pursuing a Ph.D. to continue my education and passion for research. I want to combine my chemical engineering background with biomolecular engineering to discover therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer. During the next year, I want to get more exposure to research labs at graduate schools that align my interests in engineering and immunology to develop broadly applicable platforms as therapies for human diseases. After my Ph.D., I want to go into research and development in industry to continue designing therapies.

Have mentor-led research and want to be featured as a UMBC Researcher of the Week? Email: aprilh@umbc.edu

Do you enjoy watching sitcoms? Curious to see how sitcoms can influence the perception of genders and stereotypes? Study the relationship between changing gender roles and the leading ladies of television situation comedy between the 1950s and today with GWST 323 – Gender & Sitcoms. Watch 30 Rock for homework, paired with a text about the show’s discourses of feminism in popular culture, and debate if Liz Lemon’s feminism is the same as Tina Fey's!

Taught by Dr. Kathryn Kein, GWST 323 is a fully online course offered during UMBC Winter Session 2018. Students will participate in online discussions, videos with quizzes to follow, and other writing assignments.

Dr. Kein received her PH.D. in American Studies from George Washington University in 2016 and has been teaching in the UMBC Gender and Women’s Studies department ever since. During her studies, she presented at various local and national conferences (including ASA and PCA/ACA) and in 2013 received a research fellowship from the James and Sylvia Thayer foundation at UCLA for research on her chapter “Failing to Organize: Phyllis Diller and the Comedy of Domestic Failure.” Her research interests include gender and sexuality, popular culture, social movements, feminist and queer theory, race, and humor studies.

This winter, stay on track to graduate on time (or early) and move one step closer to starting your career.

Start planning now and pick up the Schedule of Classes from the Office of Summer & Winter Programs table in the Breezeway on October 20th, 11:30am-1pm!

For more information, visit http://www.umbc.edu/winter/.

The third and fourth floors of the AOK Library are Quiet areas.  These are good places to study if you don’t mind the occasional whisper or vibrating phone.

The fifth and sixth floors of the AOK Library are designated Absolute Quiet areas at all times.  If you need an environment free from talking, cell phones, or any other noise sources, these are the floors for you!  Library staff walk through the area periodically to enforce quiet rules, but you can also report violations to the Security Desk at 410-455-2331 or Circulation Department staff at 410-455-2354.

On behalf of the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships, we would like to congratulate you on a wonderful start to the new academic school year!  As a friendly reminder, all merit scholarship recipients are required to maintain a minimum grade point average (GPA) and successfully complete at least 12+ credits (6+ credits for transfer students) each semester. Since mid-terms are quickly approaching, we have provided you the following list of accessible resources on campus to ensure you successfully meet the terms of your scholarship agreement 

●      Arrange a meeting with an academic advisor at the Advising Services Department to discuss success strategies.

●      Utilize Student Support and Tutoring Services for peer and tutoring resources.

●      Visit the Learning Resources Center for learning assistance services.

●      Schedule a one-on-one meeting with your professors to validate you are obtaining the accurate information in lectures and/or labs.

At the end of the fall semester, the Merit Scholarship Review Committee will review your academic record and confirm compliance with your scholarship requirements.

If you have any questions regarding your scholarship terms and conditions, please feel free to contact us at: http://www.umbc.edu/financialaid/contact_form.html  or by phone at 410-455-3813.

Zephaniah 3:14-17 (NIV)

“Sing, Daughter Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”

“That Almighty God should derive delight from his own creation is significant in itself.  But that the Holy One should experience ecstasy over the sinner is incomprehensible.

God breaking out in singing!

God joyful with delight!

All because of you.

The mutuality of the loving response of Redeemer and redeemed is seen in the fact that some of the same terms used in the admonition to his people now describe the response of God himself to his people (cf. vv. 14 and 17). Zion is exhorted to sing; he rejoices with singing.  Jerusalem shall rejoice; he delights over Jerusalem with joy. The whole scene depicts a grand oratorio as God and his people mutually rejoice in their love for one another.” [Robertson, O. Palmer. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. NICOT.  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990, Grand Rapids, MI.]

Today, let us sing the song, “Singing Over Us” in response to the One who sings over us and pray that we will love and bring delight to our God as He loves and delights in us. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srVGlMQG94c

- BR