... all women, will present their research next month in San Diego. The first surprise was that six University of Arizona undergraduate researchers had been invited to present during a major national conference. And what turned out to be even more exciting was the fact that each student was a woman, which is a rarity, said Carol Bender, director of the UA's Undergraduate Biology Research Program.

The students will present in San Diego next month during Experimental Biology 2008, a meeting that brings together professional research societies and associations, as well as more than 13,000 scientists from around the world to share their work. "This isn't a conference for students, but for researchers. It's significant that so many students are going," Bender said, adding that the UA is a member of the Council on Undergraduate Research, a nonprofit whose members are committed to engaging students in research.

Bender also said that given the recent strides to improve the number of women and minorities moving into science and technology fields at the UA, it is important to point out that three of the four advisers supporting the undergraduate researchers are also women. Four of the six students headed to the conference are involved in Bender's program.

Dawn Geiser, who works with three of the undergraduate researchers, said she encouraged them to send their abstracts to the conference. "I really felt they were interested in the scientific process and that they should be rewarded for being serious," said Geiser, a research assistant professor in nutritional sciences who works with Lissette Velasquez, Stacey Borrego and Jamie Elliott.

Sarah Nelson, another one of the students, has been selected as one of the 20 finalists for The American Physiological Society's 2008 David S. Bruce Undergraduate Research Awards. As a result, Nelson will present her poster twice during the meeting. Winners will be announced at the meeting.

The five-day conference begins April 5.

" Sometimes I have a difficult time explaining how research enhances the educational mission for both the UA and our students," Bender said. "This is a clear indication of how research contributes to student learning," she said. "They've all done significant research worthy enough to be invited to a major conference."

Sarah Nelson, junior, biochemistry and molecular biophysics, molecular and cellular biology major -
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rice University and Carnegie Mellon University were among the private and high-ranking universities that accepted Sarah Nelson. But she chose to study at the UA. "The UA was by far the most affordable, and I felt that I would have all the opportunities I would have had at a private school," said Nelson, whose mentor is Heddwen Brooks, an assistant professor of physiology and BIO5 Institute faculty member.

Nelson, a Catalina Foothills High School graduate who has lived in Tucson for nearly eight years, is an ambassador for the UA department of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, a position that allows her to mentor others and encourage students to consider studying in the field.

Straight out of high school, Nelson knew her biology bent would drive her to inquiry. She began her undergraduate research during her sophomore year. Within a short period of time, she had become involved in three research projects.

One project, in radiology, involves figuring out ways to use magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, to study kidney functions noninvasively. Another will be completed this summer when she travels to England to work on an imaging project at the University of Cambridge, attempting to figure out new methods of detecting how tumors respond to different treatments. The third project - which is part of the abstract she will present next month - involves studying how vasopressin, a hormone, helps the kidneys to concentrate urine, which is a highly important biological process.

" There will be thousands and thousands of people there," Nelson said. "This is going to be a big learning experience, and definitely a necessary part of becoming a scientist."
Nelson will not go alone. The entire laboratory where Nelson works will be attending. "I love my lab," she said. "It's a unique environment because the majority of the lab is made up of women. It's a wonderful environment for a young scientist to grow up around a bunch of academic women."

But career-wise, Nelson said she is more interested in going to medical school and becoming a physician working with children, and maybe even focusing on kidney disease and diabetes in older populations. "I found this to be so much more applicable for me to learn about. These are problems that need to be solved in the United States and around the world today," Nelson said. "So little is known about some things that are so important," Nelson said.

Megan Paul, senior, biochemistry and molecular biophysics -
The truth of the matter was that Megan Paul needed a job. Paul was well aware of the UA's research strengths before arriving, but it was through her continuous involvement with research projects at the University that a job soon became a career choice. Paul is now an ambassador for the UA department of biochemistry and molecular biophysics and also president of the Undergraduate Biochemistry Club. "I cannot imagine going to school without having lab work be a part of my life. It matures your college experience," said Paul, who will be presenting her research for the fourth time during the Experimental Biology meeting - her first time attending a national conference. "It's a practical experience that gives you an edge up. It helps you to begin thinking like a scientist and you are actually producing," Paul said.

She is also involved with the Undergraduate Biology Research Program and the UA student chapter of InnoWorks, a science and engineering program that connects undergraduates with middle-school students from underrepresented backgrounds to encourage them to those fields. Paul, whose mentor is BIO5 Institute member and biochemistry and molecular biophysics professor Elizabeth Vierling, is studying plant proteins in an attempt to understand how plants respond to heat stress, which is beneficial to the areas of study that focus on agriculture, climate change, public health, the medical field and other areas.

In fact, Paul, who volunteers at a local hospice, is interested in someday enrolling in an MD-PhD program and focus on metabolic research. To her, the most important factor is having a background in both clinical work and research. "It's important," she said, "to have a connection to the people who are dealing with the problems you are researching."

Alice Ferng, senior, molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry and molecular biophysics -
One of Alice Ferng's first experiences with academic research was when her high school biology teacher encouraged her and other students to read research journals. Ferng, a Tucson native, couldn't have known this was part of a series of events that would lead her to become an undergraduate researcher at the UA with plans to eventually become a physician. "I've always wanted to be a doctor," Ferng said. She added that she didn't realize how much she would appreciate research, despite the fact that her Science Olympid team in high school won first place at state and made it to nationals several times.

During her junior year in high school, Ferng came upon a paper in Scientific American written by Richard Jorgensen, a UA professor of plant sciences and member of the BIO5 Institute. Later, she found out about a research seminar being held on the UA campus and decided to attend. During the seminar, she took interest in a postdoctoral student's presentation and decided to stay after to speak with him. It was during that conversation that she learned he was Jorgensen's postdoctoral fellow, which eventually led to her working in Jorgensen's lab.

Now Ferng, who also is involved in the Undergraduate Biology Research Program, is working on tissue engineering in research professor John A. Szivek's Orthopaedic Biomechanics Lab at the UA's Health Sciences Center. In her research, Ferng compares three types of nonembryonic human stem cells in a project that could help osteoarthritis patients regenerate damaged knee cartilage, as opposed to having the joint or cartilage replaced, she said. She hopes to eventually publish a paper on the subject.

"It's really nice to have the opportunity to go into the lab and know how to investigate a problem that can't currently be solved," she said. "And while I've done a few internships, I haven't presented at a national conference yet, so it'll be a very good opportunity."

Jamie Elliott, senior, nutritional sciences major -
The connection between Elliott's studies and her lab work focusing on mosquito populations may not seem clear. But Elliott, whose emphasis area is dietetics, said there is a direct correlation. The Sahuarita, Arizona, native wants the full scope of understanding, which she said requires experience in all the related areas, including research and clinical work.

" I'm getting an amazing amount of experience and it's helped me to realize that I want to continue in research," said Elliott, who added that her research experience is not required for her program. She is currently studying the effect of high-iron treatment on protein expression in mosquito cells and how iron intake is related to the production of eggs in female mosquitoes. Elliott said this would help support malaria research. "It's giving me a lot of new skills," Elliott said, adding that she will be presenting for the first time at Experimental Biology 2008.

With her eyes on graduate school, being part of a conference of such magnitude means much to Elliott, who is looking forward to learning about other research, especially in new areas in the nutrition field.

But, for now, it's all about the process of doing something she's never done before. "I'm happy to have the chance to put together a poster and talk to other researchers in the field," she said. "With this opportunity, I'll be ahead."

Stacey Borrego, senior, molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry and molecular biophysics major -

Borrego got her first stint in a research laboratory during her junior year. Now a senior, she works in the chemistry department's prep room and, to make ends meet, she also keeps a part-time job in the Student Union Memorial Center. "I financially support myself, so I need to work as much as possible," said Borrego, who holds a student position at the Union's Canyon Café.

Despite being extremely busy, Borrego has never given up on her research interests. Today, she works in UA nutritional sciences department head Joy Winzerling's lab studying mosquito metabolism and ways the insects regulate iron. It's been a strong appetite for new knowledge that has kept Borrego on the research track. "I want to be able to describe how things work and to further my knowledge about what is going on," said Borrego, who said she might pursue a career in cancer research.

" My drive is simply the fact that I find science incredibly interesting and beneficial," she added. "I want to be part of this field because I believe that the mechanics behind life are amazing and I want to contribute what I can to our continuously growing knowledge."

Earlier this year, she was one of the 30 students the UA's Honors College recognized for independent research. Borrego, like Velasquez, presented her work at the UA's 21st annual Undergraduate Research Forum. I look forward to meeting the people my research is based on," Borrego said. "Maybe I'll get new ideas about what's available in research."

Lissette Velasquez, senior, general biology major with minors in mathematics and chemistry-
In her first biology class as a high school sophomore, Velasquez recalls being struck with a heavy-hitting question: "I remember walking in and wondering, 'What is all this? What am I made of?'" So began her devotion to the pursuit of new knowledge.

Having taken a deep interest in research, Roswell, NM-born Velasquez sought out the UA because "I knew it was a really good research institution and I knew that's what I wanted." The work Velasquez now does is part of a larger project attempting to figure out how female mosquitoes process blood meals. The hope is that a more comprehensive understanding would lead researchers to ways to effectively control the mosquito population. This could result in solutions to problems with malaria and the West Nile virus, both major problems in developing countries.

" Mosquitoes are notorious vectors for human diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. Specifically, it is the female mosquito that is responsible for the spread of these diseases because she requires a blood meal to produce eggs," Velasquez noted. Velasquez, who is also involved in the Undergraduate Biology Research Program, is trying to make sense of gene expressions in two iron-binding proteins - Transferrin 1 and Transferrin 2. While quite a bit of research has been completed on the first, little is known on the second.

" Therefore, upon publication, this study will be the first to feature Tsf2 (Transferrin 2) in insects," she said. "Overall, the results of my research may contribute to our understanding of mosquito reproduction and its connection to the spread of human disease."

The conference will be an immediate outlet to inform others in the scientific community about her research and also to connect with others who formed the basis for her study.
" Presenting is good practice for me," she said. "The scientific methods I have learned will be useful for my future graduate studies and career.

Lisette Valasquez works in Dr. Joy Winzerling's lab, UA nutritional sciences department.

La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications, 888 N. Euclid Ave. Room 413, Tucson, Arizona 85721