SunRISE Summer 2008

Desert SunRISE

T he NMSU Graduate

Student Council

hosted the annual Graduate

Research and Arts Sympo-

sium (GRAS) on April 26-27

in the Corbett Center audito-

rium. RISE graduate student

Nabeeh Hasan led efforts to

organize the regional sym-

posium where RISE grads

Jose Banuelos, Richard

Elicier, Iliana Ruiz-Cooley,

Gloricelys Rivera, Aerial Sin-

gleton, William Soto, and

Nabeeh, himself, presented

research. Along with in-

creasing submissions, Na-

beeh directed GRAS toward

an artistic renaissance and

to becoming the first GRAS

to include presenting grads

from regional universities.

Following in the path of the

GRAS scholars and in

preparation for future ca-

reers focused on scientific

inquiry, RISE undergraduate

participants presented post-

ers at the Undergraduate

Research and Creative Arts

Symposium (URCAS), which

is a yearly “celebration of

undergraduate creativity in

all fields” that is organized by

the NMSU Honors College.

The symposium highlights

excellence in undergraduate

research and in creative art

works. URCAS also accred-

its the faculty mentors who

guide the research and pro-

jects. Nineteen RISE under-

grads and their RISE-

sponsored research were

represented at this year's

13th annual URCAS.

Former NMSU RISE scholar

and fall 2007 doctoral gradu-

ate, Olivia George, has ac-

cepted a post-doc position at

St. Jude‟s Research Hospital

in Tennessee. Dr. George

recently published an article

in ACS-Chemical Biology,

titled “Bisphenol A directly

targets tubulin to disrupt

spindle organization in em-

bryonic and somatic cells,”

which was highlighted as the

issue‟s cover article. In a

recent RISE interview, Dr.

George discussed how her

RISE experience influenced

and guided her professional

development: “As a RISE

student all of my networking

occurred at conferences like

SACNAS and [at] national

meetings like the American

Society for Cell Biology—

RISE always provided me

with access to funding so I

could attend those confer-

ences...We had a peer-led

group where we tried to help

each other with critiques and

suggestions of manuscripts

that we were thinking of pub-

lishing”. Dr. George received

her doctorate in Biology un-

der the mentorship of Dr.

Brad Shuster.

NMSU NIH Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement Bus i ne s s N a m e

Summer 2008

Volume 1, Issue 1

RISE Spotlights 2-4, 7

RISE Grad-Writing Skills

Workshop

3

RISE GRE Preparation

Workshop

3

Images at GRAS 5

Images at URCAS 5

Medicinal Plants of the South-

west Program Admits 24

6

Responsible Conduct in

Research Seminars

6

RISE Program Contact 8

Letter from the Director 8

RISE Program Fall Events 8

Inside this issue:

Dr. Olivia George, Researcher at St.

Jude‟s Research Hospital, Tennessee

URCAS poster by Toni Kinstle, 2008.

IDEAS AND GOALS

“...always think about the

next step,...and if you

don‟t have any ideas, then

try to find good mentors

that will help you reach

that next goal.”

Olivia George, Ph.D.

RISE Scholar Presentations at the NMSU

Spring 2008 Student Research Symposia

RISE Post-doc Spotlight on Dr. Olivia George

Dr. James W. Herndon Jr.,

who is a member of the

RISE Mentor Graduate Re-

view Committee, was

awarded NMSU‟s highest

award for excellence in re-

search, the Westhafer

Award. Recognition is

awarded in memory of Dr.

Robert L. Weshafer, an

NMSU professor in the De-

partment of Mathematical

Sciences from 1946-1957.

Curious about Dr. Herndon‟s

research trajectory, the RISE

staff interviewed him and

inquired about his first

sparks of interests in chem-

istry research and academia;

he vividly described his first

"experiment" during his high

school years when the coun-

try was in the midst of the

energy crisis of 1974: “North

Carolina was thickly forested

with pine trees and I read

somewhere that the sap was

mostly hydrocarbons—just

like gasoline. I therefore con-

cluded that it would burn,

and tested this theory on an

injured pine tree near my

house. It worked like a

charm and fortunately

burned itself out after the

sap was consumed.” Dr.

Herndon quickly cautions us:

“Do not even think about

trying this in the dry forests

of New Mexico.” Reflecting

back to his early college

years and reasons why he

chose chemistry as his area

of research inquiry, Dr.

Herndon added, “I was very

impressed by the operation

of my undergraduate re-

search advisor, and was

surprised that undergraduate

researchers at regional U's

could make publishable con-

tributions to the field. I de-

cided to go into academia

during my senior under-

graduate year based on my

undergraduate research ex-

periences.” Dr. Herndon has

a RISE-inspired lesson and

sound advice for us all: “Do

something that you like and

that you find interesting, and

worry less about its per-

ceived „hotness.‟ NMSU

does not hire „dinosaurs‟ for

its faculty, and all of the

RISE mentors would provide

some level of important

practical training for a scien-

tific career.”

that our faculty often fail to

recognize during our tenure

at NMSU. It is nice to be

recognized for contributions

other than the number of

papers published or grants

procured.” Hasan‟s leader-

ship presence at NMSU in-

cludes administrative and

academic enrichment contri-

butions to graduate life in

positions as the 2007-08

President of the Graduate

Student Council, as coordi-

nator of the Phylogenetics

Analysis and Discussion

Group, as organizer of the

Ecology and Evolutionary

Biology Brownbag Series,

RISE graduate scholar Na-

beeh A. Hasan is recipient of

a coveted Mike Watts Out-

standing Leadership Fellow-

ship, which is awarded by

the NMSU Graduate School.

In a recent RISE interview,

N a b e e h c o m m e n t e d ,

“Receiving the Watts Lead-

ership Fellowship from our

graduate school was a great

way to start off the year. The

Watts Leadership Fellowship

is a way that the school rec-

ognizes the leadership con-

tributions we have made to

our departments, colleges,

the university community,

Las Cruces, and beyond,

and as active member in the

Biology Graduate Student

Organization. Dr. C. Donovan

Bailey mentors Hasan in the

RISE Program.

Desert SunRISE Volume 1, I ssue 1

Dr. James W. Herndon, Professor,

NMSU Department of Chemistry

and Biochemistry

RISE-INSPIRED LESSON

“Always write and apply

for available opportunities.

A few hours spent crafting

manuscripts, applications,

and proposals can bring

tremendous respect of

your colleagues and can

contribute thousands of

dollars toward your

research and personal

income.”

Nabeeh A. Hasan, Biology

NMSU RISE Graduate

Student

THE NEXT STEP

“Publication is vital for a

graduate student to

complete the next step of

their journey…”

Dr. James W. Herndon,

Jr., Professor of

Chemistry, NMSU

RISE Mentor Spotlight on Dr. James Herndon

RISE Grad Spotlight on Nabeeh Hasan

Josefina E. Dominguez of-

fered a RISE Graduate Writ-

ing Skills Workshop this

summer on English lan-

guage mechanics, grammar,

conferencing, and in self

editing. Dominguez has 25

years experience as a high

school English instructor of

courses ranging from reme-

dial to regular to Advanced

Placement (AP honors

classes). The challenges

she has met over the years

made Dominguez a great

match for leading the inten-

sive writing workshop.

D o m i n g u e z a s s e r t s ,

“Students have to learn to

write well quickly in graduate

school. The better the first

draft becomes, the better the

revisions that follow. [In The

Craft of Scientific Writing],

this means diminishing the

„zero phrases‟ or dead

weight. A cleaner, more pre-

cise first copy comes with

lots of practice.” She eagerly

adds, “The most exciting

moment for me is when the

student takes over editing. In

a sense, they take my

„editor‟s reading glasses‟

and put them on...The stu-

dent starts seeing that tran-

sitions are missing from one

paragraph to the next, that

ideas could be better ex-

plained, or that a step is

missing from an explana-

tion.” Workshop participant

Nabeeh Hasan reflected on

his experience and stated, “I

developed an increased way

to critically assess my writing

that can only increase my

chances of properly convey-

ing my message to my audi-

ence.”

helping the students to write

better and to think more

complexly.“ When asked

about which strategies were

most effective in reaching

the workshop objectives,

West added “The students

seemed to respond to read-

ing published essays, and

they also seemed to respond

to any modeling we did in

class. Also, one-on-one ses-

sions, in which I was able to

articulate more clearly the

students' particular tenden-

cies, seemed to speed the

learning process. It is hard to

teach writing, because the

students' skills vary so

widely, but I think the one-on

-one approach helped the

most.”

This summer the RISE pro-

gram offered an intensive

GRE Preparation workshop.

The workshop prepares stu-

dent applicants for a com-

petitive advantage in the

graduate application proc-

ess. GRE prep instructor

Allyn West stated that “my

main objectives, for the

RISE workshop, included

through humor.” Linda

spends her days multi-

tasking and ensuring every-

one is on the books. She

adds, “The most exciting

part about working in the

RISE To Excellence pro-

gram is seeing an undergrad

student suddenly realize the

opportunity and possibilities

Linda Amezquita is the RISE

Records Specialist and Web

Master who greets new

RISE applicants with her

sweet sense of humor. Linda

says, „I think my sense of

humor is a good quality. It

helps me remember that

there are few situations or

occasions that can't be

helped by finding balance

for their future that the RISE

program offers them. I be-

lieve I have actually had the

opportunity,...to witness the

moment when the realization

hits and everything begins to

fall into place. It truly is like

watching a light come on in

the eyes of that special stu-

dent.”


“The „Meet the Mentors‟

coupled with other

professional development

sessions helped students

understand themselves as

part of a larger structure:

lab, department, university,

national cohort. It occurs to

me that the RISE Program is

and must be the catalyst for

organizing such

opportunities.”

Josefina Dominguez, RISE

Professional Skills Facilitator

RISE Grad-Writing Skills Workshop SUMMER 2008

RISE GRE Preparation Workshop SUMMER 2008

RISE Staff Spotlight: Linda Amezquita

NMSU RISE participant and

spring 2008 graduate,

Jenifer C. Fleming is enter-

ing the Ph.D. Biomedical

Sciences program at the

University of California, San

Francisco, this fall. Before

Fleming started this exciting

phase of her career, RISE

staff asked about her par-

ticular area of research in-

quiry and interests. Fleming

commented “I have always

been fascinated with science

and found biochemistry to be

the most exciting when tak-

ing college courses. I there-

fore decided to work in a

biochemistry laboratory and

found research enjoyable. I

am going to get my PhD and

work in industry doing re-

search.” Fleming has care-

fully planned her academic

trajectory; she exclaims, “I

already knew what I was

going to do with my life be-

fore entering the RISE pro-

gram. I had been in MARC

for the two years before I

was in RISE, so I had

planned before.” She adds,

“I am very excited to leave

NMSU—the only downfall is

I will no longer be close to

my family.” Reflecting back

on her experiences, Fleming

advises new RISE partici-

pants to “do as many sum-

mer internships as possi-

ble—they may be hard and

far away but they really help

in the long run.” Dr. Peter J.

Lammers mentored Fleming

during her RISE tenure.

members. I will also have

gained more networks and

great references if I need

them.” Yazzie is a Biology

major with an expected

graduation date in spring

2009. She plans on applying

out-of-state to earn her Ph.D.

Yazzie‟s enthusiasm for bio-

logical research will continue

in grad school; she adds,

“...the RISE graduate school

preparation is a great experi-

RISE undergraduate student

Natasha Yazzie is a summer

2008 recipient of an intern-

ship opportunity at the Fred

Hutchinson Cancer Re-

search Center (FHCRC) in

Seattle, WA. Yazzie has

practical expectations for

this experience; she says, “I

expect to gain more knowl-

edge and learn more lab

techniques that I can use

and share with other lab

ence and inspired me to

continue my education...The

goal of my research gives

me the opportunity to give

back to the community.”

Yazzie will present two post-

ers at SACNAS this fall..

One presentation is on her

summer cancer research

and the other is on her RISE

environmental biology re-

search with mentor Dr. Anto-

nio Lara.

studies are performed. It

was a once-in-a-lifetime ex-

perience and I won‟t forget

it.” When questioned about

the transition to the next

level of his career, Guerra

remarked, “I‟m a little nerv-

ous about the next step in

my academic development

but am eager to finish with

school altogether. I think the

lab I am working in and the

RISE program have both

prepared [me] enough that I

will not be hit too hard by the

difficulty of a Ph.D. program.

I would like to thank both my

lab and the RISE program

for preparing me so well...It

would have been a lot

harder without that guidance

and preparation.” Dr. Timo-

thy F. Wright mentors

Guerra in the RISE program.


Jaime Guerra is recipient of

a summer 2008 internship

opportunity at Cornell Uni-

versity. One opportunity

leads to another recalls

Guerra who said, “RISE al-

lowed me to go to Costa

Rica as a field assistant for a

grad student. This experi-

ence was great and it en-

abled me to learn how field


OPPORTUNITIES

“...do as many summer

internships as possible—

they may be hard and far

away but they really help

in the long run.”

Jenifer Fleming, Ph.D.

student in Biomedical

Sciences, UCSF

RESEARCH GOALS

“The goal of my research

gives me the opportunity

to give back to the

community. This

[environmental biology]

research is beneficial to

both the environment and

people, especially those

that have limited income.”

Natasha Yazzie, Biology,

NMSU RISE

Undergraduate Student

RISE UG Spotlight on Jenifer Fleming

RISE UG Student Spotlight on Jaime Guerra

RISE UG Student Spotlight on Natasha Yazzie


RISE Scholar Presentations at GRAS

RISE Scholar Presentations at URCAS

The Medicinal Plants of the

Southwest Workshop (MPSW)

is a component of the NIH

RISE program at NMSU.

MPSW is a collaborative

teaching venture between Dr.

Mary O‟Connell and Dr. Anto-

nio Lara. The MPSW program

offers intensive research ex-

perience for RISE participants

to study medicinal properties

of southwest native flora at

NMSU. The MPSW program

admitted 24 students for the

summer 2008 workshop se-

ries. A typical workshop

schedule consists of lectures

and lab activities. Participants

search the literature, design

experiments, harvest plant

materials, extract compounds,

run separation analyses, de-

velop bioassays, populate the

MPSW database with results,

write, and critique peer papers

for web publication. The work-

shop series encompass a

holistic approach of inquiry

with guest lecturers, including

phys i c ians , herba l i s ts ,

curanderas (healers), story-

tellers, community scientists,

and visiting professors. Six MPSW participants have transi-

tioned to the RISE to the Doctorate component of the RISE

program, and are working in RISE mentor laboratories. The

MPSW participants showcased their summer research energies

by presenting their work at the Medicinal Plants of the South-

west Workshop Poster Presentation. The poster titles are listed

below:

1. “Tropane Alkaloid Concentrations in Datura innoxia Located

in a Rural Versus industrialized Setting.”

Julian Sandoval, Sara Samani, Erica Perras

2. “Comparative Analysis of Leaves and Seeds for Tropane

Alkaloids in Datura innoxia.”

Jamira Virk, Raymundo Chavira, Darryl Reano

3. “Effects of Heat and Light on Lycopene in Tomato Fruit.”

Karla Almaraz, Pablo Coss, Elena Taylor

4. “Comparative Analysis of Capsaicin in Habanero and

Japanese Red Jalapeño Pepper.”

Jarret Williamson, Kelli Buchanan, Tasha Rodriguez

5. “Comparative Analysis Between Representatives of an Array

of Capsicum fruit varieties for the Presence and Bioactivity of

the Chemical Constituents: Capsaicin and Carotenoids.”

Emilia Casillas, Mariela Jimenez, Charmaine Vega

6. “Analysis of Processing Effects on Organic and Non-Organic

Solanum lycopersicum Levels of Lycopene and β-carotene.”

Kathy Donoher, Lekeah Durden, and Jesus Martinez

7. “Evaluation of Levels of Steroidal and Tropane Alkaloids in

Solanum elaeagnofolium and its Antimicrobial Properties.”

Janeth Sanchez, Brittany Herrera, Trevor Wilhelm

8. “Analysis of Solasodine Extracted from Solanum elaeagno

folium as an Anticancer Compound.”

Alexandru Boje, Jessica Fitzgerald, Jessica Perez

Visit the MPSW Web site for more info at: http://medplant.nmsu.edu/


Medicinal Plants of the Southwest

Workshop Program (images above

and below).

Medicinal Plants of the Southwest

Program Admits 24

Responsible Conduct in Research Seminars

ties that surround the practice

of science in the 21st century

require that scientists work

together to develop and es-

tablish the ethical standards

of their profession.” The 2008

summer seminar series of-

fered an opportunity for all

members of the RISE com-

munity to attend and discuss

presentations on four topics:

1) “RCR Education Require-

ments in NSF and NIH Train-

ing Grants” (Elba Serrano,

The RISE Program launched

the Responsible Conduct in

Research (RCR) Seminar

series, the first of its kind on

the NMSU campus. “It is the

responsibility of all scientists,

whatever their professional

stage, to maintain abreast of

RCR education and to ensure

adherence to the highest

standards of scientific integ-

rity,” says Dr. Serrano, RISE

Program Director. “Moreover,

the legal and social complexi-

Professor of Biology), 2)

“Introduction to Ethics and

Philosophy” (Timothy Cleve-

land, Professor of Philoso-

phy), 3) “NMSU Research

Ethics Policies” (Robert Czer-

niak, Associate Vice Presi-

dent for Research), and

4) “NMSU Policies and Pro-

cedures for Research with

Human Participants” (Manuela

Quezada-Aragon, Director,

NMSU Office of Compliance).


Kellie Ann Jurado is a spring

2008 recipient of the NMSU

Honors College Scholarship

for International Research,

which provides a summer

internship opportunity for her

at the Max Plank Institute in

Leipzig, Germany. The

Award is for outstanding

sophomores and juniors in

the third year of undergradu-

ate study. Recipients are

challenged “to refine a world

view or philosophy of life that

will complement and bring a

higher level of understanding

to his/her undergraduate

education.” Remarkably,

Jurado‟s accomplishments

include spearheading the

Las Cruces Transitions pro-

gram, which provides assis-

tance to foster children in the

form of lifebook packages

and material resources. “A

lifebook is designed to en-

able the foster child to un-

derstand significant events

in the past, confront the feel-

ings that are secondary to

these events, and become

more fully involved in the

future planning of their lives”

states Jurado. She adds,

“After my arrival back at

NMSU, I will have accom-

plished two of my career

goals: I will have research

experience at a prestigious

institution with superb scien-

tists; and, I will have per-

sonal progression from ob-

taining an independent inter-

national experience with a

widened cultural [view of]

diversity.” Drs. Laura

Thompson and Wenda Tre-

vathan have served as Ju-

rado‟s mentors in the RISE

Program. In summer 2008,

Kelly transitioned to our NIH-

MORE sister program,

MARC (Minority Access to

Research Careers Program).

an account of the benefits

tied to joining a program—

such as RISE—that guides

and supports professional

development, career plan-

ning, networking, and pub-

lishing. She remarked,

“Programs like RISE, MARC

and AIP have contributed to

my ongoing success.

They've coordinated work-

shops, info sessions,

classes, seminars, etc. that

allowed me to develop skills

socially, academically, and

in choosing a career.”

Benally attributes much of

her success to the active

support of these programs.

She eagerly adds, “I am fas-

cinated by science. Working

toward a biochemistry de-

gree has opened doors to a

NMSU RISE and participant

and May 2008 graduate,

Savannah Benally is enter-

ing the University of Wash-

ington Ph.D. program in Mo-

lecular and Cellular Biology

this fall. In a recent RISE

interview, Benally provided

life I am sure will bring en-

joyment, and supplement my

curiosity of the inner work-

ings of life...While I was in

RISE, I didn't have a clear

concept of what was re-

quired in graduate school.

RISE essentially allowed me

to decide to actually attend

Grad school. Once I joined

MARC and approached my

senior year, the details of

publishing became apparent.

I do anticipate publishing the

new findings of the research

I've contributed these past

three years. I also know how

important and beneficial a

publication in an upstanding

journal could influence

where I take my career,

which prompts me to set

high goals for my graduate

research.”


RESEARCH FOCUS

“Human reproductive

ecology focuses on

reproductive physiology

and the regulation of

reproductive effort in

natural human populations.

I plan to dedicate my life to

this naturalistic approach to

the science of reproduction.”

Kellie Jurado, Psychology

NMSU RISE Undergraduate

Student

VALUES OF NETWORKING

“...I am fortunate to have a

former Aggie help me get

settled into Seattle, and a

graduate student's way of

life. I couldn't give a better

example of the benefits of

networking. ”

Savannah Benally,

Ph.D. student in Molecular

and Cellular Biology,

University of Washington

RISE UG Student Spotlight on Kellie Jurado

RISE UG Spotlight on Savannah Benally

Our RISE (Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement)

Community at New Mexico State University is committed to

scientific research that will promote human health and re-

duce illness and disabilities. RISE is a National Institutes of

Health (NIH) initiative that supports student scientific devel-

opment activities in minority-serving institutions through

awards from the Minority Biomedical Research Support

(MBRS) program. The goal of NIH-RISE is to diversify the

scientific workforce by increasing the number of students

from underrepresented groups who complete Ph.D. degree

programs in biomedical and behavioral research.

Dr. Elba Serrano

Professor of Biology & RISE Program Director

Cathilia Flores, Program Coordinator

Linda Amezquita, Records Specialist

Josefina Dominguez, RISE Professional Skills Facilitator

Citlalin Xochime, Editor, RISE Professional Skills Facilitator

Minority Biomedical Research Support

Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (MBRS-RISE)

New Mexico State University MBRS-RISE Program

1200 S. Horseshoe Circle, Room 365, Foster Hall,

PO Box 30001 MSC 3AF

Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001

http://biology-web.nmsu.edu/nmsurise/index.html

RISE Undergraduate Applicant Preparation

Workshop. This workshop offers practical experi-

ence in the planning and development of applica-

tion materials for graduate school programs, intern-

ships, or post-baccalaureate positions (Citlalin

Xochime, Workshop Facilitator).

RISE Graduate Professional Skills. BIO698 fo-

cuses on fellowship preparation, conference pres-

entation skills, and strategies for identifying and

securing postdoctoral positions. The course was

developed for RISE Graduate Scholars and is

open to all NMSU predoctoral students (Dr. Elba

Serrano, Professor of Biology).

SACNAS National Conference. Eighteen RISE

Scholars will present their research at this year‟s

conference on “International Polar Year: Global

Change in Our Communities,” October 9-12, 2008

in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Applicant Interview Preparation Workshop. This

workshop covers best practices and lessons

learned for navigating the graduate interview proc-

ess (Citlalin Xochime, Workshop Facilitator).

RISE Scholar Portfolio Preparation Workshop.

This workshop reviews essential genres of a port-

folio package. The focus is on genre preparation

and revision for a competitive edge for positions

across academia, industry, and government

(Citlalin Xochime, Workshop Facilitator).

RISE Program Fall Events

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 575-646-8040 | Fax: 575-646-7011

RISE Office

RISE is supported

by NIGMS award R25GM061222

Letter from the Director

RISE Program Staff

Jesus Cuaron, RISE Graduate Representative

Yvonne Diaz, RISE Undergraduate Representative

Amanda Munoz, RISE Undergraduate Representative

Emigdio Reyes, RISE Graduate Representative

RISE Student Advisory Committee

RISE on the Web!

SunRISE Summer 2008

Education

Transcript of SunRISE Summer 2008