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Sherry F. Pruitt

JONESBORO -- Three upper-level undergraduates have been offered a rare opportunity to study alongside accomplished researchers during a summer internship program at Arkansas State University.

But if Arkansas Biosciences Institute and Honors College officials have their way, such programs may become the norm at the Jonesboro campus.

Dr. Carole Cramer, executive director of ABI, has made a point of reaching out beyond the community of biotechnology and beyond the doors of the ABI since she became the first director of the institute. Bringing in undergraduate interns is another way to complement student tours, teacher training and other outreach programs.

The goal of the Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Internship in Biotechnology is to put ASU's best students in a state-of-the-art research facility and allow them to interact with faculty researchers involved with medicine and agriculture.

The three students selected as the first interns are Ritika Gera and Swati Mishra, both juniors of Jonesboro, and Kristen Shelton of Benton.

Under the terms of the assistantship, students work 40 hours a week for 10 weeks, and the labs in which the students work receive $500 each for research supplies, Cramer said.

Dr. Gil Fowler, associate dean of the Honors College, said he sees the Honors College as a "special place where the best and brightest can enhance their education."

He said he is elated that these students can learn during the summer in "a world-class facility and work with some of the best minds in the country."

The undergraduates may work on their faculty mentor's research project, their own project or a master's thesis, Fowler said. And they can continue to build on their work. Their participation, he said, will build their resources and increase their marketability.

The students can be recognized for their experiences and their work, and it's "a way for them to bring forth their ideas," he said. "It's a positive working environment for students."

Shelton's faculty mentors are Dr. Fabricio MEDINA-Bolivar and Dr. Anne Grippo. Her major is chemistry with a pre-professional emphasis, and her minor is biology. She plans to attend pharmacy school.

Shelton is helping develop tools to produce chemical antioxidants, MEDINA-Bolivar said. She is learning how to make chemicals and derivatives shown to lower cholesterol levels. The mentor and student also are focusing on anti-cancer research.

Shelton already has presented some of her work to colleagues.

Swati Mishra, a biology-pre-dental major, and her mentor, Dr. Malathi Srivatsan, assistant professor of molecular biology, is learning to grow neurons in a dish and to study cell death among growing neurons, she said.

"In the future this research can help to protect neurons in the brain form oxidative stress using beneficial plant extracts," Mishra said. "Some day it may even help to find a cure for Parkinson's disease."

Student Ritika Gera started as a volunteer and is now under the direction of Dr. Anne Grippo, associate professor of biology.

Though Gera is only a junior, she has accumulated lots of experience at ASU, including research in an aquatic ecology lab, a virology lab and testing the cardiovascular effects of nicotine, ephedrine and caffeine.

Gera's current area of study is the brains of adult female rats.

Gera said she plans to become a physician and might specialize in anesthesiology and sub-specialize in pain medicine.

Organizers hope the ABI-Honors partner program can continue and noted that they hope the program can grow by pulling in community leaders to fund internships for top undergraduate students in business, nursing and other disciplines.

sherry@jonesborosun.com