RISE-ing to the Challenge - The University of North Carolina at

April 2014
Volume 1, Issue 3
UNCP-RISE Cohort 8
Special Points of Interest
RISE-ing to the Challenge
C. A.S.L. Journal Club
 NC RISE Retreat
 Lab Tours
 Summer Research
 NCAS
 Workshops
 Mentor Interests
Tar Creek Site
SPIRE Scholars Dr. Conner Sandefur (R) and Dr. Claire Gordy (L) designed and implemented a
non-credit seminar course aimed at improving students' skills and confidence in reading
scientific journal articles at UNC - Pembroke. The C.A.S.L. Club (pronounced ‘Castle Club’)
provides UNCP undergraduate students with training in Critical Analysis of Scientific Literature.
During the first half of the semester, the students worked as a group to develop a strategy for
critically reviewing a scientific article and practiced on a facilitator-selected paper that introduced
the students to the history and environmental impact of mining-related pollution at the Tar Creek
Superfund Site in Oklahoma. In the second half of the semester, the students learned how to
use electronic databases to search for scientific articles. The students then selected papers
related to the Tar Creek disaster to present in small groups. Drs. Sandefur and Gordy tracked
the students' perceived skill level and confidence in reading and analyzing scientific literature at
the beginning and end of the course and plan to report their findings in an upcoming publication.
(Contributed by Conner Sandefur, PhD)
Pictured are (left to right): Back row: Dr. Claire Gordy, Carlisha Hall, Caleb Stubbs, Alex Cole
Foster, Cary Mundell, Robert Lamb, Dr. Conner Sandefur; Front row: Sarah Ruiz, Marsalis
Smith, Christopher Long, and Jordan Smink. (Not pictured: Catheryn Wilson)
Page 2
RISE-ing to the Challenge
Graduate Schools & Internships
Cohort 8 has certainly earned their bragging rights. All four graduating Seniors were accepted into
competitive graduate or post baccalaureate research training programs. Each of the returning fellows were
offered summer research internships at some very prestigious locations. Caleb Stubbs will conduct his
internship at Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA), and Alex Foster will be completing an REU at
Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN). Sarah Ruiz will conduct her internship at UNC-Chapel Hill with
the SPIRE Program, and Carlisha Hall will intern with Animal Behavior Research at Indiana University.
Catheryn Wilson will head to Anchorage, Alaska for an REU program, and Christopher Long will
conduct research in the William C. Friday lab at UNC-Pembroke before returning to active duty with the
National Guard in the fall. Graduating seniors and the University which they will attend post-graduation
are shown below.
Robert Lamb
B.S. in Chemistry
Mississippi State University
PhD Program
Marsalis Smith
B.S. in Biology
Northwestern University
PhD Program
Armando Corona
B.S. in Chemistry
University of NC at Chapel Hill
PREP Program
Jordan Smink
B.S. in Biology
Mississippi State University
Combined DVM/PhD Program
Page 3
Volume 1, Issue 3
End-Of-Year Celebration
On Friday, May 2nd, UNCP-RISE held its annual End-of-Year celebration for the RISE Fellows, Mentors,
Steering Committee, and other key players who support the RISE program. While addressing the attendees,
Provost Ken Kitts shared his thoughts on the importance of the work of the RISE program and how proud
the university is of the RISE scholars and their mentors.
Thank You, Dr. Zeigler
The students and staff of the RISE program would like to
say a big Thank You to Biology Department Chair, Dr.
David Zeigler. His support for the RISE program since its
inception has been tremendous. We wish him the best of
luck as his term as Department Chair ends.
RISE Scholars Conduct Lab Tours
This semester each RISE Fellow conducted a tour of their research lab
at UNCP. They shared their research and highlighted some of the
unique tools and equipment used in their labs. These tours spanned
across Biology, Chemistry & Physics. Fellows enjoyed learning
about the work their peers are doing in areas outside their own.
(They especially enjoyed the tours that took them outside with turtle
trackers!)
RISE-ing to the Challenge
Page 4
Congratulations, Dr. William Brandon
Dr. Bill Brandon (Associate Professor with the UNCP
Department of Chemistry and Physics and long-time RISE
Mentor) was recognized at the Faculty Awards Banquet and
presented with a 2014 Outstanding Teaching Award.
Faculty members are nominated by their peers for this
highly competitive award. Congratulations to Dr. Brandon
for an honor well-deserved.
Two UNCP Faculty Members Conduct Workshops for RISE Fellows
Support and
involvement of
UNCP Faculty
and Staff is
Biology Lecturer Jonathan Hopper facilitated a “Critical
Thinking in Science” workshop for RISE Fellows. He
challenged participants to think beyond what is known
and to search for new ways of thinking. Participants
enjoyed his informative, and sometimes comical,
presentation and gained a lot of knowledge about new
ways to approach science as they step out into graduate
school and summer internships.
one of the
greatest
assets to the
RISE program.
Instructor Jesse Rouse plays a critical role not only in
the Geography Department at UNCP, but also as the
primary resource for printing posters that students use
to display their research. Rouse facilitated a “Creating A
Poster” workshop for RISE Fellows who had never
before put together a presentation poster of their work.
Thanks to his efforts, many of those Fellows went on to
win at various poster presentations around the country.
HAVE QUESTIONS??
Sonda Rogers
UNCP-RISE Program Coordinator Joanna Kinlaw Cole and
Administrative Support Associate Sonda Rogers are here to answer
questions about the program, its initiatives, and events. The RISE office
is located in Room 2204 of the Oxendine Science Building.
Joanna Kinlaw Cole
Page 5
Volume 1, Issue 3
RISE Co-Director Recognized for Teaching Efforts
RISE Co-Director Sailaja Vallabha was recently lauded
for her teaching efforts with a promotion to Senior
Lecturer. Vallabha is the Co-Director of the UNCP-RISE
Program and has been a member of the UNCP faculty
for 8 years. She is a great asset to both the University
and the RISE Program.
National Science Foundation Grant
Congratulations to Dr. Maria Santisteban and Dr. Rebecca
Bullard-Dillard who co-authored a grant proposal that will
provide selected students with $6,000 in annual
scholarships. This COMPASS (Creating Opportunities for
Students in Science) grant will provide support for students
in STEM concentrations. Dr. Santisteban is a long-time
RISE Mentor, and Dr. Bullard-Dillard serves on the RISE
Steering Committee. For more information about the grant,
visit http://www.uncp.edu/news/nsf-grant-paves-way-future
-scientists.
Consortium Retreat
Staff and scholars from each of the North Carolina
RISE Programs met in February for a Consortium
Retreat. National RISE Program Director, Dr. Robin
Broughton (NIGMS, Washington, DC) was also in
attendance. The programs shared best practices and
developed a format for sharing ideas and resources
across campuses.
Page 6
RISE-ing to the Challenge
Pembroke Undergraduate Research & Creativity Symposium
RISE Scholars had a wonderful showing at the 2014 UNCP PURC
Symposium:

Marsalis Smith, Second Place, Oral Presentation: “Optimizing Whole
Animal Auditory Measurements”

Sarah Ruiz (co-author), Second Place, Sciences, Poster: “First Oral
Dosing Study with a Lysosomal Modulatory Compound Being
Developed for Alzheimer’s Disease and other Dementias”

Carlisha Hall, Third Place, Sciences, Poster: “How Deep are Eastern
Box Turtles (Terrapene c. Carolina) Burying to Escape Severe Winter
Conditions?”

Catheryn Wilson, Honorable Mention, Sciences, Poster:
“Anticipating Hibernation Emergence of Eastern Box Turtles in
Southeastern Fire-Managed Systems”.
Page 7
Volume 1, Issue 3
North Carolina Academy of Science
Several RISE Scholars presented posters at the
2014 NCAS Annual Meeting in Raleigh, NC.
Caleb Stubbs presented a poster titled
“Investigating Mutant Suppressor or Synthetic
Lethality Between htz1Δ and RPB2-2SL in
Saccharonyces cerevisiae”. Armando Corona
won Second Place for his poster “Drug Discovery
Efforts to Enhance Neuroprotective Endocannabinoid Signaling Through Dual Inhibition of
FAAH and MAGL Enzyme". Christopher Long
won Third Place for his poster titled “A Clearance
Pathway for Treating Age-related Diseases:
Enhancing the Lysosomal Pathway with PADK
Promotes Protein Clearance in Models of
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.”
RISE Scholars Present at Other Conferences
UNCP-RISE Scholars attended conferences across the country to participate in workshops and present and
share their research with other undergraduate students:

Catheryn Wilson, Alpha Chi National Convention, St. Louis, Missouri, research poster: “Anticipating the
Hibernation Emergence of Eastern Box Turtles in Southeastern Fire-Managed Systems”. Catheryn also
presented this poster at the National Herpetology Conference in Florida where she received an Honorable
Mention.

Carlisha Hall, National Herpetology Conference, Florida, research poster First Place: “How Deep are
Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene C. Carolina) Burying to Escape Severe Winter Conditions?”

Christopher Long, Southeastern Neuroscience Conference, research poster: “Strategy for enhancing
lysosome efficiency reduces multiple types of proteinopathies”.
UNCP-RISE Scholars continue
to excel and it is wonderful that
they have opportunities to
share their research with others
and to gain recognition for
their work.
Page 8
RISE-ing to the Challenge
Two Former UNCP-RISE Graduate from ECU
Two of the 2014 graduates from ECU who earned
medical degrees were former UNCP-RISE Fellows.
Aaron Locklear (second from left) and Hannah Woriax
(far right) were both among the early cohorts of the
Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) at
UNCP.
Page 9
Volume 1, Issue 3
An Amazing Year with Amazing People
Introducing Cohort 9
UNCP-RISE
With the start of the 2014-2015 academic year, UNCP-RISE will welcome
it’s ninth cohort of RISE Scholars:
Justin Branch, Biology
Morgan Pait, Chemistry
Carlisha Hall, Biology
Alex Foster, Physics
Sarah Ruiz, Biology
Cary Mundell, Biology
Paul Lascuna, Biology
Caleb Stubbs, Biology
Catheryn Wilson, Biology
Alexander McGirt, Chemistry
Aaron Byrd, Biology
Sara McEwan, Bioloyg
Helping create a more diverse
research workforce.”
A very special Thank You to Dr.
Kenneth Kitts (L), Provost and Vice
Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and
to Dr. Bill Gash (R), Associate Vice
Chancellor for Academic Affairs for
their continued support of the UNCPRISE Program. They have played
instrumental roles in the success of the
RISE program on campus.
Department of Biology
1 University Drive
P.O. Box 1510
Pembroke, NC 28372
Phone: 910.775.4428
Fax: 910.522.5745
[email protected]
www.uncp.edu/rise/
Facebook: Uncp Rise
What Is UNCP-RISE And How Does It Impact Our University?
UNCP-RISE is a grant-funded program for students who are considering a career
in the area of biomedical or behavioral research. The goal of this program is to
help create a more diverse research work force by working to: prepare UNCP
students to be the research scientists of the future, support and enhance an
atmosphere conducive to undergraduate research in the sciences at UNCP, and
allow students to participate in activities that will enhance their confidence,
academic skills, and technical abilities. The UNCP-RISE program is open to
students of all classifications majoring in biology, chemistry, physics or a related
field with plans to pursue a graduate degree. RISE is a program funded by the
National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
UNCP-RISE supports student research and academic activities at all undergraduate levels. Students will receive financial benefits as well as professional
experience and training that will better prepare them to enter and succeed in a
graduate program. RISE Fellows are offered faculty and peer-led Supplemental
Instruction for gateway courses and attend workshops in time management,
writing, and problem solving , among others. They engage in hands-on research
with faculty mentors and receive assistance for internships at other research
institutions. Financial support is available for travel to attend and/or present at
conferences. RISE students earn a wage of $12.50/hr to participate in program
activities.
The Oxendine Science Building is
home to UNCP-RISE. Administrative Support Assoicaite Sonda
Rogers is a key program leader!