Students conducting scholarly research side by side with faculty
members has a long and distinguished history at Wells. An ongoing
undergraduate research project at the college has received international
recognition with the publication of an article in a major scientific
journal, Biochemistry (Vol. 36, No. 33, 1997). This project
exemplifies a spirit of collaboration and reveals the benefits
of this distinctive aspect of the college's liberal arts curriculum.
Associate Professor of Chemistry Christopher T. Bailey co-authored the study with a group of his former students: Cheryl Byrne '96, Kristi Chrispell Forbes '93, Catherine Molkenbur-Newman '93, Marcy Sackett '92, Katherine Reid-Birch '90, Kärin McCollum 91, Denise Vibbard 90, and Rose Catelli West '89. Entitled "Effect of a Covalently Attached Synergistic Anion on Chelator-Mediated Iron-Release from Ovotransferrin: Additional Evidence for Two Concurrent Pathways," the publication is the result of students from different class years sharing their knowledge.
Bailey's research group has been studying transferrin, a protein which is responsible for shuttling iron around the human body. He explains, "Transferrin is also implicated in the treatment of iron-overload disorders. The condition is treated by injecting the patient with a small, iron-binding molecule called a chelator. The chelator removes the iron from transferrin and allows it to be excreted by the body. Our research has focused on determining the mechanism by which the chelators remove the iron from the protein."
The chelator currently used clinically is toxic and slow acting. "When patients require chelation therapy they have to go into the hospital where the chelator is administered by continuous, intravenous infusion over many hours, usually overnight," says Bailey. "Because this treatment may be required several times a week, the biggest obstacle to its success is patient non-compliance. By helping to decipher the mechanism by which the chelator works with the protein to remove iron, we hope our research will allow others to design and develop more effective chelators."
This research, which has been a part of the education of Wells science students for nearly a decade, is an extension of work Bailey did while he was in graduate school at the University of Vermont. He brought the project to Wells when he began teaching, and a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in 1989 enabled the first wave of Wells students to join him during the summer.
Rose Catelli West '89 was the first student to work on the project. She is now a project scientist at Triangle Laboratories, Inc., in North Carolina, which is a leader in the field of testing environmental samples for highly toxic dioxins and related compounds. Her contribution to the research was getting basic procedures to work properly in the Wells lab. Looking back she recalls, "I was a junior when Dr. Bailey arrived at Wells fresh from graduate school. At the time, I hoped it would not become the long-term project that it has; however, I left Wells secure in the knowledge that the natural gumption of the Wells woman would win out over the initial difficulties and the sheer amount of work involved."
Marcy Sackett '92 is in her sixth year of graduate school at Indiana University and plans to finish her Ph.D. in biochemistry this May. She takes great satisfaction in viewing the research as the cumulative effort of several different "generations" of Wells students. "The generations aspect of the project is exemplified by the fact that we were each trained by the generation before us. Then, before we graduated, we passed our experience and protocol on to the next generation. This gave each of us an opportunity to learn and then give our knowledge - like the college motto 'To have and to share,'" she says.
Kristi Chrispell Forbes '93 is working on her Ph.D. in the department of genetics at the Harvard Medical School in Boston. She views the use of generations of students as a way to overcome natural time constraints facing undergraduate researchers. Forbes says, "I didn't realize it at the time, but now that I have worked full-time on projects, I can see Dr. Bailey is doing a great job integrating the limited amount of work each student has time to do during a couple of semesters at Wells into a full-scale, scientific investigation. At the time, I also didn't realize how many of us would be involved in the project as it progressed."
Currently a first-year graduate student at Cornell University in the field of animal science, department of reproductive physiology, Cheryl Byrne '96 joined the project in its latter phase and used her work as a senior thesis project. The right balance of challenge and support in Chris's approach to teaching made the experience meaningful for her. Byrne says, "Once I was familiar with equipment and procedures, Dr. Bailey only came into the lab if I asked him. He let me have all the autonomy I felt I needed. The confidence and appreciation for accountability I developed have already been important factors in the current phase of my life."
Nearly all the co-authors have pursued careers in science or attend graduate programs in the sciences. While they have come away with different perspectives, they are in agreement that involvement in the project gave them a competitive edge. Sackett says, "My undergraduate research with Dr. Bailey prepared me for graduate school because I had the opportunity to learn about research and to gain confidence in the laboratory. Wells is a wonderful setting for a woman to develop into a scientist."
November, 1997