Friday, July 31, 2015, the University of Rhode Island hosted the 8^th Annual RI SURF Conference, a showcase of summer undergraduate research from across the Ocean State. The event featured opening remarks from Rhode Island Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and student presentations of scientific posters.

The conference is co-sponsored by Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR and Rhode Island INBRE. Carol Thornber, RI NSF EPSCoR lead principal investigator; Zahir Shaikh, INBRE director; and former INBRE SURF student Craig Irving joined the Governor in providing the event’s welcome.

Two years out of his Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF) experience with Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR, Noe Mercado is exactly where he imagined he might be — in a lab.

Mercado, a 2014 Salve Regina University graduate, spent his SURF summer of 2013 working with Associate Professor JD Swanson. His research project focused on the life cycle dynamics of macroalgal blooms in Narragansett Bay and determining the genes responsible for propagation of the blooms.

At the time, Mercado, a biology major with a minor in chemistry, had his sights set on being a lab technician or heading to graduate school. Today, he is a research assistant at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Medicine/ Division of Virology and Vaccine Research, working in the Barouch lab.

For Mercado, the impact of his SURF experience is clear:

“I gained valuable experience and techniques that I apply in my current position. I think, more importantly, I found my passion for research and became a better scientist.”

Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR has provided support for 252 SURFs since 2007. Students at RI EPSCoR partner institutions earn the fellowship awards through a competitive application process. Once accepted, the fellows engage in full-time, independent research projects in the laboratory of a faculty mentor.

The intensified summer research experience allows undergraduates to fully engage in their science without the responsibilities that come with the academic year. The SURF program also advances technical and cognitive skills and provides professional development opportunities to give students a clearer picture of potential career paths.

The research projects are markedly different from most course-based lab work in that the SURF projects are open-ended and usually a part of a much larger research program.

Researching climate change impact

Under the Swanson’s guidance for his 2013 fellowship, Mercado analyzed the expression patterns of the LhcSR gene, which is upregulated in green alga of the genus Ulva during warmer time periods. The project goal was to determine the link between temperature fluctuation and macroalgal bloom formation; finding the gene responsible for the blooms would aid in preventing their occurrence.

Mercado explains his role: “I collected tissue samples from two species, Ulva rigida and Ulva compressa, during three different time periods. Then, I isolated the RNA from the tissue samples and ran reverse transcription to synthesize cDNA for RT-qPCR. I compared the different bloom periods and expression patterns between the two species.”

At Beth Israel, Mercado says his responsibilities include developing adenoviral vectors though the application of several molecular and tissue culture techniques. He performs assays to grow, isolate, and purify viral vectors and he maintains different cell lines to infect the vectors and measure their growth potential. He also uses software platforms to analyze PCR sequencing results and to select enzymes for restriction enzyme digests.

Although his duties are more technique-based, Mercado says the vectors he designs are used to develop vaccines to treat HIV/AIDS, which he says is the most important aspect of the lab. The purpose of a vaccine is to sensitize the immune system to a particular antigen. The work Mercado does culminates in the development of a vaccine for HIV/AIDS that currently is not available. Most of the current drugs, he says, suppress the disease but do not serve as a permanent cure, therefore, making it important to test different vaccines on patients and observe their overall response.

Mercado looks to the fluid mosaic model as the perfect example to describe research in science. He says, “Several components including phospholipids, proteins, and ions compose the cell membrane, thus making it dynamic. Research is always changing, growing, and involves different disciplines. These components come together to form a complex structure known as science and the scientific method.”

Reflecting on the SURF experience, he says the program gives undergraduates the ability to discover their passion, continue their research, and make discoveries along the way. This is important, he notes, because support for and provision of undergraduate research experience develops the next generation of scientists.

“There are several phenomena in the world that have yet to be understood and diseases without cures,” says Mercado. “Science is continually evolving, thus fresh new minds are required to continue the scientific quest for discovery.”

Postscript: Mercado says he hopes to pursue his master’s degree, that his current position in the Barouch lab has set the stage and opened his mind to immunology and the medical health field.

Story by Amy Dunkle