Biochemistry Students Win Award for Research
Posted on Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Natasha Kassim and Nicholas Mizenko, Westminster College junior biochemistry majors, won the third place poster award at the sixth annual International Microwaves in Chemistry conference May 14-16 in Cambridge, Mass.
Their research, "Fluorescence Flow System for Near Real-Time Analysis of Protein Conformational Changes: Effects of Microwave and Conventional Heating," was performed under the direction of Dr. Helen Boylan, Westminster associate professor of chemistry.
Boylan explained, "The effects of microwaves on biological molecules is not well understood and is an emerging area in the field of microwave chemistry. Findings of this preliminary research suggest that microwaves induced structural changes in a model protein differently than what is observed by heating in a waterbath."
"The students were up against stiff competition for the award, as most of the posters were products of research universities and industry," Boylan added.
Kassim is a daughter of Laurie Kassim of Canfield, Ohio, and a graduate of Canfield High School.
"Attending the conference was a great learning experience," Kassim said. "By listening to presentations and viewing posters of recent research by top scientists in the microwave chemistry field, I not only learned more about the uses and effects of microwaves, but also learned about a variety of research and analytical techniques important to academic and industrial chemistry."
Mizenko is a son of Nicolas Mizenko and Jeanette Porvbovich-Mizenko of Medina, Ohio, and a graduate of Highland High School.
"To see a scientific community come together to present new ideas and theories, while at the same time providing suggestions and advice, is a wonderful thing," Mizenko commented. "Attending the conference was both an amazing and an inspirational experience."
Travel to the conference was made possible in part by undergraduate research grants from Westminster's Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
Contact Boylan at (724) 946-6293 or e-mail boylanhm@westminster.edu for more information. Visit www.westminster.edu/drinko to learn more about the Drinko Center.
More Stories
