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C-SC tapped as full member in nationwide genomics project
Thursday, December 17, 2009

CUTLINE: Dr. Indiren Pillay works with Culver-Stockton students participating in the current genomics research project. C-SC has received funding to expand the program.

CANTON, Mo. – After only one semester as an associate member in the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) Science Education Alliance, Culver-Stockton College has been selected as a full member. The upgrade ensures that the research program will continue for another three years with greater financial support, which means that C-SC can recruit more freshmen and sophomores to be part of the project, according to Indiren Pillay, associate professor and chair of the C-SC Natural and Mathematical Sciences Division.

C-SC was first selected for the National Genomics Research Initiative last January as one of only 16 colleges and universities nationwide to be chosen in 2009. Culver-Stockton is only the second college in Missouri to be part of the project, along with Washington University in St. Louis.

The Science Education Alliance joins various colleges and universities in working together to deliver innovative science education programs and “bring the excitement of the doing of science directly to students in a novel, collaborative way,” according to the HHMI, a non-profit medical research organization, headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It has committed $4 million over the past four years to the Science Education Alliance (SEA).

“We are honored that Culver-Stockton is part of this research initiative,” said C-SC President Richard Valentine. “It enables our students to join their peers around the country in conducting relevant hands-on research while gaining hands-on experience they can use in their future careers. Programs like this, which provide real-world experiences for our students, are an important part of our unique EXP@CSC curriculum.”

The SEA’s first project is the National Genomics Research Initiative, a two-part, year-long research course designed to create a national database about phages. Phages are viruses that attack bacteria, and the national research project could be significant in identifying a phage that can help combat bacterial infections, Pillay said.

Students selected for the C-SC project pursue two semesters of laboratory work in which they collect local phage samples, which are then purified, identified, and analyzed through DNA annotation. Ten Culver-Stockton students are participating in the current C-SC research project, and Pillay expects to recruit 15 additional students to begin the course in Fall 2010. To be eligible for the course, students must have earned an ACT score of at least 23, have an excellent high school grade point average, and exhibit a strong interest in biology or biological chemistry.

“Students who are currently pursuing this research at Culver-Stockton are completely engaged in the effort and excited about the work they are doing,” Pillay said. “Not only could this national collaborative research project lead to a medical breakthrough in how to treat bacterial infection, but the project gives our students an incredible opportunity to gain experience that just isn’t available on most other campuses.”

Other colleges named as full members in the research project in 2010 include: Baylor University, Bucknell University, Gonzaga University, Jacksonville State University, Loyola-Marymount University, North Carolina Central University, Purdue University, University of Alabama – Birmingham, University of Texas - El Paso, University of Wisconsin - River Falls, and Virginia Commonwealth University.