Summer research opportunities abound for students
Neuroscience major Alix Youngblood checks on the growth of breast cancer cells for a research project studying the circadian rhythm in peripheral tissues in the lab of Brian Rowan, professor of cancer research with the Tulane Cancer Center. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)
This summer, Tulane University senior Alix Youngblood lived by the clock, conducting research that required her to check on the growth of breast cancer cells at specific times throughout the day.
This research would have been almost impossible during the jam-packed school year.
“Having the opportunity to work in the summer has allowed me to make enormous progress that would not have been otherwise feasible,” says the neuroscience major, who studied the circadian rhythm in peripheral tissues with Brian Rowan, professor of cancer research with the Tulane Cancer Center.
Youngblood is one of a record number of 22 undergraduates awarded summer research grants through the Newcomb-Tulane College Honors Program to conduct studies alongside faculty members.
These opportunities were possible because of philanthropic support from generous Tulane donors, including Grace and F. Chapman Taylor, a 1982 Tulane graduate; Harold E. Glass, parent of Jesse Glass, a 2008 Tulane graduate; and Chris Austin, a 1980 Tulane graduate and member of the Newcomb-Tulane Dean"s Advisory Council.
Undergraduates in a variety of majors and fields conducted research.
Evan Walter, a senior economics major, worked with Richard Teichgraeber, professor of history, to study the 1923 Meiklejohn affair, when Amherst College"s president was asked to resign by the board of trustees, setting off a national controversy. After graduation, Walter hopes to continue studying universities from an economic perspective.
“This award has really let me branch out and examine this subject through a different lens,” Walter says.
These experiences offer undergraduates advanced research opportunities.
Olivia Wreford, a junior majoring in English and African and African diaspora studies, is working with Gaurav Desai, professor of English, to review the four-volume anthology Women Writing Africa.
“This is a great opportunity for me to make what I hope will be an important contribution to my field of study,” Wreford says. “That I can get this opportunity as an undergraduate is pretty amazing.”
Mary Sparacello is a communications specialist in the Office of Development Communications.
“Having the opportunity to work in the summer has allowed me to make enormous progress.”—Alix Youngblood, senior
