December 14, 2005
This summer, Courtney Fox and May Liu have access to the School of Pharmacy ‘s world-class research facilities and resources, usually available only to UNC graduate students and professors.
The School of Pharmacy has welcomed two high school students into its labs for the summer. Courtney Fox and May Liu, rising seniors at the North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham , are working at the School as part of a summer partnership program between the NCSSM and research institutions across the state. Fox and Liu were selected to work in the glycobiology laboratory of Jian Liu, PhD .
Glycobiology is a discipline of biology that deals with the structure and function of oligosaccharides (chains of sugars). Jian Liu’s research focuses primarily on developing anticoagulant drugs, which stop blood from clotting, in addition to antiviral drugs. As part of the NCSSM summer program, Fox and May Liu are studying heparin, an anticoagulant used to prevent clots from forming in blood vessels, as well as to prevent clotting during open-heart surgery, bypass surgery, and dialysis.
“We are working on using enzymes to synthesize the drug heparin, a commonly-used and widely known anticolagulant,” May Liu said. “We have made enzymes that can modify a polysaccharide found in E.coli to produce the anticoagulant drug and have developed multiple methods to test our final product to be sure it truly is heparin.”
The opportunity to conduct research at the School of Pharmacy has given both students first-hand knowledge of what its like to work in a scientific laboratory, as well as a glimpse of future possibilities.
“The work we are doing at the School of Pharmacy this summer will benefit both of us in several ways,” Fox said. “I am looking at a possible career in pharmacy or pharmacology so exposure to this type of work is great.”
May Liu agreed.
“Working in a real, well-funded laboratory with professors and graduate students who have such a large knowledge base and passion for research has helped me realize how important, yet fun, scientific research can be,”she said. “It has definitely been an eye-opening experience and exposed me to a field of science that I previously only had a superficial understanding of.”
Fox and May Liu are no strangers to the world of scientific research. As part of their high school science project with two other students, Suman Medda and Quinn Morris, they created bacteria-powered fuel cells using E.coli’s metabolism of glucose. Their project was selected by NASA to fly aboard a sounding rocket in June, enabling the students to test the effects of gravity on the fuel cells. Their project has also won a special award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair as well as honorable mention at the International Sanofi-Aventis BioGENEius Challenge Competition, part of the annual Biotechnology Institute Organization Conference.
Jian Liu is delighted to have such talented high school students working in his lab.
“Serving the local community is part of the School’s mission,” he said. “I am very pleased to see that our research attracts talented high school students and helps to improve their knowledge in the biomedical sciences. Working with them reminds me of what it’s like to be young and full of energy, passion, and dreams for the future. I really enjoy working with both of them.”
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