“I learned too many new skills to count:” dREU students share what they learned and what’s next

The Distributed Research Experience for Undergraduates (dREU) program lets selected North Dakota undergraduates fast-track their research skills by giving them an opportunity to work under the supervision and guidance of faculty researchers from the New Discoveries in the Advanced Interface of Computation, Engineering, and Science (ND-ACES) Center for Cellular Biointerfaces in Science and Engineering (CCBSE). The program is designed to strengthen North Dakota's STEM ecosystem by catalyzing bioscience research and career development opportunities for undergraduates.

Participating students get a salary for the time they spend doing research, professional development, and associated tasks. In addition, dREU students are required to participate in virtual professional development seminars which enhance their career readiness by teaching them skills like writing a resume, applying to graduate school, and preparing and delivering presentations.

Some dREU students participate at their home institutions, while others spend time at research institutions. For students from primarily undergraduate institutions, “a dREU experience at a research-intensive university such as UND and NDSU is a great opportunity because it broadens their horizons and gives students the opportunity to meet and work alongside graduate students, broaden their scientific network, work with equipment that is not typically available to them, and learn new technologies they can bring back to their home institutions,” says Dr. Hilde van Gijssel, Professor of Science at Valley City State University (VCSU). “An additional benefit is that it strengthens and fosters collaborations between the faculty at the students’ home institutions and the research universities.”

We talked to this year’s group of dREU students to find out why they joined the program, what they learned, and where they will take their new skills next.

George Davisson, Mayville State University

Advisors: Dr. Hossain (Mayville State University) and Dr. Mallik (NDSU)

ND-ACES topic area: triple-negative breast cancer cell spheroids

George Davisson came to Mayville State University (MaSU) from Concord, California, which is located in the Bay Area. He chose Mayville State because of the small class sizes and because he was recruited to play on the football team.

As a dREU student, George researched an alternative delivery form for the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin. “We researched different hypoxia responsive linkers. The ultimate goal is to get our polymersome to release the doxorubicin within the cell to avoid the side effects of the doxorubicin. We were looking for a more targeted method of drug delivery for triple-negative breast cancer cells. Triple-negative is one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer.”

George was interested in this research because it hits home. “My family has a history of breast cancer, so anything that I could do to help was a no-brainer for me.

“I learned too many new skills to count, but the biggest ones are I learned how to synthesize polymersomes and culture cells in hypoxia as well as normoxic conditions. I also learned how to image cells using a confocal microscope. I learned how to create and culture polymersomes.”

George says that his dREU internship has helped him choose a career path. “Before this summer I was not sure what I wanted to do post-graduation, but after the past several months it is clear to me that this is what I want to do going forward. I am currently applying for graduate schools to continue my education in pharmaceutical sciences.”

Chloe Jacobson, Mayville State University

Advisors: Dr. Hossain (MaSU) and Dr. Sui (UND)

ND-ACES topic area: novel therapeutic nanoparticles

Chloe also attends Mayville State University. She is from Pisek, North Dakota, a town of 89 people about an hour northwest of Grand Forks.

“This summer, I worked with Dr. Sui in his chemistry lab at UND. I helped conduct reactions and worked on chemically producing polymers. I learned basic chemistry skills, how to work with NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), and organic synthesis. During this school year, I will be working in Dr. Hossain’s lab at Mayville State. I will be working with cell cultures and further the skills I know with that.”

Chloe says that she has always been interested in biology and chemistry, and participating in dREU has enhanced her understanding of chemistry. “I had to think more deeply about what I was doing and how it all applied to everything in life. I also learned more about chemistry in general. I enjoyed doing the reactions and furthering the research that we were working on.

“I feel like working on this project has influenced a love for research for me. I never really saw myself going into the research field, but I have enjoyed what I have done so far in this project.”

Peyton Zaun, Valley City State University

Advisors: Dr. van Gijssel (VCSU) and Dr. Kim (NDSU)

ND-ACES topic area: molecular subtype changes in metastatic breast cancer

Peyton is from Valley City and chose VCSU for its small campus, friendly professors, and affordability.

“The dREU project I have been working on is exposing melatonin to DU-145 prostate cancer cells in order to increase the E-cadherin expression. Increasing E-cadherin is important in cancer treatment and therapy, because it makes the tumor more epithelial-like, which also makes the tumor more stable and easier to treat.”

Like George, Peyton was drawn to his research by a family connection to the subject matter. “I was motivated to study cancer after my grandpa passed away from cancer in February of 2023. The research topic of exposing melatonin to prostate cancer cells was done because of the available resources and an interest in melatonin, as it is widely used in everyday life.”

Peyton says he has gained a lot from his dREU experience, including basic lab techniques, how to research based on a hypothesis, and how to make a presentation and present his research to other scientists and researchers. Peyton presented a poster at this year’s Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society meeting and received a travel award from the EMGS.

“Working on this project has influenced my future plans greatly. Before, I had no idea what the future would hold, but now I find that graduate school could be in the near future as I can further my education and work in another lab.”

What is one non-academic activity our dREU students are looking forward to this academic year?

George: “I am looking forward to December because I will be able to go back home and see my family.”

Chloe: “I am looking forward to my golf season, as I am on the Mayville State women’s golf team. We have recruits and I have enjoyed getting close with my new teammates.”

Peyton: “I am looking forward to spring break in the middle of March, as I will have time to tour graduate programs. I am also looking forward to getting married during that time!”