For some students, summer is a time for travelling and relaxing, but for other students of the University of Portland it is a time to research alongside the University’s adept faculty. Many different areas in biology are being investigated on campus this summer including genetics, cell and molecular biology, marine biology, wetlands ecology and microbiology. Justin Rudd, Adel Barnes and Hailey Pfeifer are three of the few students on campus lucky enough to gain this experience as an undergraduate. Undergraduate research experiences are practically mandatory for students who want to continue on to graduate school. It is important for students to possess the insight of research, a skillset vital to any career in biology.
Dr. Ryan Kustusch hand-picked these research students out of many applicants, eager for this sought after experience. Dr. Ryan Kustusch, known around campus as Dr. K, is a beloved professor of microbiology and its corresponding lab. On top of teaching, Dr. K pursues research in this subject. One might think it would be challenging to handle a professor’s load as well, but Dr. K explains that he loves being able to work both sides of his brain as research is always changing and the two bring him a nice balance. Dr. K has been conducting research in this field since 2009, when it started with his post-doctorate at OHSU. Justin, Adel and Hailey assist Dr. K with his research on the Vibrio genus. Their main goal is to discover how a Vibrio bacterium is able to steal iron from a host cell. Because all bacteria bring in iron in the same way, anything discovered in this research can be applied to other human pathogens. Not to mention, Vibrio is the cause of horrible human pathogens including vibriosis which, according to cdc.gov, causes 80,000 illnesses a year.
Dr. K and his students describe their research as fairly straightforward and a bit time consuming because they are focusing on the genetics aspect. They are working to understand which particular genes are associated with the the act of stealing iron from the host. This requires many repetitions of gene deletions along with complimenting the gene back; this way each gene of the bacteria’s DNA can be tested for involvement.
Although Dr. K has been carrying out this research for quite some time, he shared that even though there are better and worse days, he never feels like giving up. Dr. K seems to always find a way to get around problems that arise because his methods of this research are fairly open and there are many different ways to solve issues. Dr. K shares that he wants to find out as much as he can, work to understand the system of these bacteria and would like to keep going as long as he can.
Adel is as enthusiastic; she knew she always wanted to work for the WHO, World Health Organization, or another research institute so she loves getting this exposure to her future. Adel wants to pursue microbiology research specifically so Dr. K’s lab is a good match. For Justin, this research is a great way for him to learn as he likes a hands-on approach. He also is grateful that the work so closely aligns with genetics. Hailey says that although she is a pre-med student right now, she has considered research as a career and this summer opportunity is helpful in her decision-making process. She also enjoys the learning aspect of what goes on as a researcher, the skills she is acquiring and also the area of microbiology.
While this opportunity is crucial to these students’ careers, they are also contributing to our society in a very beneficial way. We owe people like them for their passion in solving the world’s problems. Their research will continue into the school year, slowly putting together the massively large puzzle of better understanding Vibrio’s DNA.
~Ellessa Henion, Junior, Biology/Spanish Major