“The full-time research environment is great; it’s not something that you can find in just any internship. Plus, the experience to work with a renowned professor, make other connections, and expand my own horizons has been extremely beneficial. I’m incredibly lucky to have been offered this opportunity.”

Research fellow: Kiserian Jackson
Hometown: Brockton, MA
School: Roger Williams University
Majors: Biology, Chemistry

Kiserian Jackson first entered the Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program last year and embarked on a project investigating a fatal disease, neoplasia, in hard clams.

This summer, the rising senior is back in the lab of Assistant Professor Roxanna Smolowitz for his second SURF experience, studying bacteria — Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) —  found in oysters and the level of sickness it causes in humans. While the Vibrio strain does not harm oysters, the foodborne illness can cause severe stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and chills in humans who consume the oysters raw.

As climate change increases the average water temperatures of Narragansett Bay and coastal ponds of Rhode Island, scientists anticipate that the abundance of Vp will follow suit. What remains unknown is whether oysters infected with three common diseases — Dermo, MSX, and SSO — are more prone to accumulate more of the bacteria than an uninfected or mildly infected oyster, possibly explaining why some people eating raw animals from a source become sick, while others eating the same source oysters do not.

“We’re looking at whether there is a correlation between the disease, the presence of the bacteria, and the level of sickness,” Jackson says. “How much of the bacteria is present vs. the disease in the oyster.”

He explains that levels of disease and amount of Vp will be determined by using the quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR), a method that allows researchers to multiply a specific gene sequence to billions of copies. Jackson says he will use this to amplify the specific genes from each disease allowing him to quantify the levels of disease as well as the amount of bacteria.

Through his SURF experience, Jackson contributes to the project by testing oysters to determine the level of disease and identify how much bacteria is present. The work builds on the experience he gained last summer and has set him up for continued success.

“Last summer, I was relatively new to the lab experience aside from my classes,” Jackson notes. “It was my first full-time lab setting and really prepared me to work with the principal investigator and tackle my own project. Now, this summer, I’m doing my own thesis work. I’m learning how to set up my own experiments and improve my problem solving skills.”

Reflecting on his SURF experiences to date, Jackson adds: “Overall, last summer prepared me not just for this summer, but also for a career in science. Just being in the lab, I know I want to go onto graduate school. I like research and I want to continue.”

He says he likes working with marine organisms, but remains open to other opportunities.

“SURF overall has helped me a great deal,” says Jackson. “The full-time research environment is great; it’s not something that you can find in just any internship. Plus, the experience to work with a renowned professor, make other connections, and expand my own horizons has been extremely beneficial. I’m incredibly lucky to have been offered this opportunity.”

Story and photo by Amy Dunkle