Pat Underwood, '12, Studies at Georgia Health Sciences University

"In the summer of 2011, I participated in the Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU) Student Training and Research (STAR) program. The program gave students an opportunity to spend 9 weeks of the summer in a biomedical research lab.

I worked 40 hour weeks in Dr. Darren Browning’s lab doing research on the therapeutic activation of Protein Kinase G (PKG) by Phosphodiesterase Type 5 (PDE5) Inhibitors in the colon. In the most basic terms, I was looking to see whether or not PDE5 Inhibitor drugs could possibly help prevent or treat colon cancer. During my time in Dr. Browning’s Lab, I learned to culture cells, transfect DNA into cells, Western Blot, run Assays, and many other biomedical techniques. The research culminated in a poster session with all of the other STAR students so that we could learn to present our research.

The 9 weeks I spent in Georgia were both very fun and interesting. It allowed me to live in a new part of the United States for a period of time. The culture, cuisine, and accent were all different and I really enjoyed spending time in Augusta. The STAR program staff were excellent. They set us up with research mentors in our respective areas of interests and made sure everything ran smoothly.

Prior to leaving GHSU, they asked me to recruit more Albion College students to apply to the program. It is a great program and my hope that other Albion College students will get to have the same excellent experience that I had.