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Most undergraduate science majors would leap at a chance to work alongside a highly regarded industrial scientist. They are unlikely to be able to do that until they are out in the workforce – unless they are students at Drew University.

The Charles A. Dana Research Institute for Scientists Emeriti (RISE) offers Drew undergraduates a unique opportunity to engage in research under the supervision of retired professional scientists. RISE fellows in residence at Drew come from very different professional backgrounds, yet they share a common desire to continue their research and impart their experience by involving new scientists who are just starting their careers.

The program engages students in the type of high-level research currently being conducted in industrial laboratories. Areas of focus have included biochemistry, microbiology, parasitology, biotechnology, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, analytical chemistry, polymer chemistry, chemical physics, theoretical physics and applied mathematics.

RISE students work with their mentors throughout the school year, with an ongoing, part-time agenda that fits their academic schedules. Participants typically receive course credit for their RISE research. More than half of the students who have been involved in the program have written theses on their work, leading to graduation with honors. Virtually all have gone on to graduate or professional schools.

“The exposure to research is extremely important to undergraduate education in the sciences, and RISE gives our students real-world experience that promotes their understanding of the process,” says Jon Kettenring, the program’s Director. “Working with RISE fellows complements their experience with academic faculty by providing a different, and highly valuable, perspective on scientific research. At its core, RISE truly is a unique, cooperative effort between the professional and academic scientific sectors – and it works extremely well.”

Established in the early 1980s, RISE is believed to be the only program of its kind in the nation. In 1989, it received the prestigious Merck Innovation Award for Undergraduate Science Education “for fresh thinking and imaginative use of resources.”

In their own words…

Kellie Joyce, a Drew biology major, is currently doing cancer research with Dr. Arnold Demain. Together they are testing chemical compounds synthesized by a Drew chemistry professor as potential cancer treatments. By examining the effects of the compounds on various micro-organisms, it is possible to obtain clues as to which of them are more likely to be effective against cancer in people. So far, the researchers have found two compounds that merit further investigation.

“RISE is allowing me to take all of the things that I loved about the lab courses I took during my first two years at Drew and try them, on my own, in a real-life setting. The program is enabling me to become more critical of how I would run my own experiments, and I am proving to myself that I can succeed.

Working with Dr. Demain is very, very fun. He has so much experience to share with me, and he is providing a lot of insight. He is a great guide in showing me how to handle different situations in the lab and what I can do to improve.

It is so gratifying when I go into the lab and find something that we have done is working. One of the most interesting aspects of our experiment is that it ties in to the larger project going on in both the chemistry and biochemistry departments.

I already can see that being involved in RISE is going to help me in the future. My work with Dr. Demain definitely has reinforced the fact that I want to be in the field of biology. I have learned that I really like research, and it is something I will consider doing in my career.”

As a RISE participant, Raegan O’Lone was involved in a study of an important anti-parasitic drug that Dr. William Campbell helped develop while working at an industrial laboratory. The two of them examined the effect of temperature variation on the potency of the drug against nematode worms. The results were published, with Raegan as lead author, in the Journal of Parasitology. Raegan graduated from Drew in 1999. She earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology, cell biology, and biochemistry from Boston University in 2007. Her thesis focused on the study of the molecular basis of responses to estrogen.
 
“My RISE experience was excellent preparation for graduate school. It was my first exposure to a genuine research project. Prior to that, I had only experienced directed labs, where there was a predetermined answer.

I found out how a project starts and how to modify it when it doesn’t work to achieve success. Running my own experiment – identifying and working through the problems, and analyzing the results – was an incredible opportunity.

Dr. Campbell was an amazing advisor. He is absolutely brilliant. Working around him, seeing the career he had and discoveries he made, was such a motivating force. He worked his experiences into his teaching. It was almost like having a history lesson in the lab.

Looking back, the thing that stands out the most from my time at Drew is my experience in Dr. Campbell’s lab. I started as a junior and had two full years with him. I was so happy to go there every day, and I got such a strong foundation from my work there.

Through RISE and Dr. Campbell, I really discovered where my career could take me if I followed this path.”

RISE Fellows

William C. Campbell, parasitologist, Fellow since 1990, formerly Senior Director, Basic Parasitology, Merck & Company, Inc. Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1957. Research interests: parasitology, chemotherapy of parasitic infections.

Arnold L. Demain, microbial biochemist, Fellow since 2001, formerly Professor of Industrial Microbiology in the Biology Department, MIT, formerly Founder and Head of Department of Fermentation Microbiology at Merck & Co., Inc. Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley and Davis, 1954. Research interests: regulation of microbial fermentations, biotransformations, natural products.

Vincent P. Gullo, organic Chemist, Fellow since 2007, formerly Vice President of Drug Discovery, Cetek Corporation.  Previously, Senior Director of New Lead Discovery, Schering Plough Research Institute, and Research Fellow, Natural Product Chemistry, Merck & Co., Inc. Ph.D., Columbia University, 1975.  Research interests:  drug lead discovery, natural products, high throughput screening, and medicinal chemistry.

Jon R. Kettenring, statistician, Director of RISE, Fellow since 2004, formerly Executive Director, Bellcore and Telcordia Technologies. Ph.D., University of North Carolina, 1969. Research interests: multivariate methods, robust methods, outlier detection, cluster analysis, data analysis.

Allen I. Laskin, microbiologist, Fellow since 1989, formerly President, Matrix Research Laboratories, formerly Head of Biosciences, Exxon. Ph.D., University of Texas, 1956. Research interests: microbial transformations of organic compounds, bioremediation, biotechnology.

James McKenna, mathematician, Fellow since 1997, formerly Executive Director, Bellcore. Ph.D., Princeton University, 1961. Research interests: applied mathematics, applied physics, communication science, queuing network theory, asymptotic analysis.

James M. Miller, chemist, Fellow since 1997, formerly Professor of Chemistry, Drew University. Ph.D., Purdue University, 1960. Research interests: analytical chemistry, chromatography, capillary electrophoresis.

Barbara Petrack, biochemist, Fellow since 1997, formerly Research Fellow, CIBA Pharmaceutical Company. Ph.D., New York University Medical Center, 1957. Research interests: enzymology, regulation of metabolism, induced nitric oxide synthesis, diabetes research, catecholamine biosynthesis.

Kenneth A. Thomas, biochemist, Fellow since 2004, formerly Director of Growth Factor Research, Merck & Company, Inc. Ph.D., Duke University, 1974. Research interests: activities and mechanisms of protein growth factors and their cellular receptors, the structure and function of proteins, bioinformatics.