Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Westminster College senior molecular biology major Anna Montgomery completed a ten-week research training program at the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience in St. Augustine, Fla.
Montgomery was one of eleven students selected from over 100 applicants nationwide to participate in the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Whitney Lab. Undergraduates accepted as research trainees receive a basic salary, assistance with travel expenses, and free housing in an on-site dormitory. Field trips are a regular part of the program.
Montgomery worked in the lab of Dr. Paul Linser to quantify the expression of the mRNA of selected anti-microbial peptides in mosquito larvae after the ingestion of high doses of bacteria; and to define if any up regulation takes place in the gut, the carcass (fat body), or both (systemic). The significance was to understand the immune system for a potential target for controlling the larvae of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. From a public health perspective, mosquitoes in the An. gambiae complex in sub-Saharan Africa are the most important disease vector insect group in existence today; they are the major transmitter of malaria in this region.
"Medical school is my career plan, and my work at the Whitney Lab has helped advance my goals," Montgomery said. "Collaborating with several researchers and working on multiple projects has shown me that the research process builds and develops in many ways. The results provide a basis of understanding that can be used in the clinical world. My happiest moment was the day all my results were analyzed and showed that my summer-long project worked!"
Montgomery, a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Montgomery of Cortland, Ohio, is a graduate of Lakeview High School.
Contact Dr. Joshua Corrette-Bennett, assistant professor of biology, at (724) 946-7208 (e-mail corretjc@westminster.edu) or e-mail Montgomery (montgoaj@westminster.edu) for additional information.
