Student-Faculty Research
Faculty members in the sciences are actively engaged with our students in hands-on research adding to the body of knowledge about our world. The college is committed to assisting faculty in seeking external support for their research.
•Amy Sullivan, Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Physics
Dr. Sullivan does experimental research in optics, the study of light and the interaction of light with materials. Research opportunities including setting up a sophisticated imaging system using visible light to image micrometer-scale objects in large volume samples. These methods can be applied to engineering and materials applications such as characterization of manufactured systems and new materials as well as biological tissues for looking at live samples.
Melissa Meister '11 (Marietta, Ga.) worked with Dr. Sullivan in the summer of 2009 on “Imaging Waveguides with Optical Diffraction Tomography.” She will present results from her work at the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Ga. in Fall 2009.
Two professors are currently engaging in research supported by the college's NIH EARDA grant:
• Tim Finco, Associate Professor of Biology
Dr. Finco's laboratory studies the transcriptional regulation of the human LAT gene, and has tentatively identified a number of transcription factors that bind to the promoter to control its expression. Dr. Finco and student researchers will further investigate transcriptional regulation of LAT, with the long-term goal of understanding its cell-type specific expression pattern.
• Srebrenka Robic, Assistant Professor of Biology
Dr. Robic continues her research into exogenous orally-administered microbial proteases as potential new treatments for celiac sprue, an autoimmune disorder that results in inflammation and destruction of the villi lining the upper intestine in humans.
The college's Goizueta Foundation Grant and the Julia Gary Collaborative Research Grant have both supported faculty/student research in past years:
• Eileen Cooley, Associate Professor of Psychology
Jessica Bolton '08 (Sharpsburg, Ga.) and Cidne Lemon '08 (Harrison, Tenn.) worked with Dr. Cooley on a project entitled “The Impact of Individual Factors on the Development of Counseling Skills: The Role of Social Skills, Attachment Style, and Mood."
• Doug Fantz, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Soojin Yim '08 (Vancouver, Wash.) worked in Dr. Fantz's lab on "Determination of the transactivation potential of the T08D10.1 transcription factor."
• Tim Finco, Associate Professor of Biology
Sarah Swygert '08 (Decatur, Ga.) and Caitlin Whitten '08 (Charlotte, N.C.) conducted laboratory investigations with Dr. Finco during summer 2007. This team worked on two different aspects of LAT gene regulation.
• Lilia Harvey, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Oladele Akinsiku '08 (Gainesville, Fla.) began her work on "Synthesis and Mechanistic Photochemistry of Substituted Naphthoxy-acetophenones" with Dr. Harvey in summer 2007.
• Jennifer Hughes, Associate Professor of Psychology
Rebekah Jaynes '08 (Irmo, S.C.) worked with Dr. Hughes on "An Investigation of Stress from Single-occupancy Automobile, Carpool, Vanpool, and Mass-transit Commuting".
• Ruth Riter, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Sheneve Butler '10 (Lithia Springs, Ga.) spent the summer after her first year at Agnes Scott as a student researcher in Dr. Riter's laboratory. Their work was an investigation of photoinduced electron transfer across aerosol-OT (AOT) reverse micelle interfaces.
• Srebrenka Robic, Assistant Professor of Biology
Dr. Robic had two student researchers during summer 2007. Valentina Dimitrova '09 (Pleven, Bulgaria) worked on "Bacterial proteases as potential treatments for celiac sprue." Kristin Linscott '10 (Cincinnati, Ohio) conducted experiments designed to answer the question, "Exploring the biochemical profile of Lactobacillus helveticus prolyl endopeptidase: Could this enzyme be used for treatment of celiac disease?"
• Karen Thompson, Associate Professor of Biology
Vanessa Herring '08 (Seattle, Wash.) worked in Dr. Thompson's laboratory on "Comparison of Grasshopper Neural Circuits" during the 2007-2008 academic year.
• T. Leon Venable, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Evan Joslin '08 (Atlanta, Ga.) worked with Dr. Venable for a second summer on "Optical Activity in (Arene)Ruthenaboranes" and continued this work as an independent study course during 2007-2008.