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WILLIAMS COLLEGE OFFERS RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 15, 1999--Between semesters at Williams College is one month known as Winter study, where student take a single intensive course. This year a number of students had their first taste of real research--thanks to Assistant Professor of Biology Wendy Raymond's decision a few years ago to launch a Winter Study research class in molecular genetics, with students as active participants rather than passive observers.
The idea for the course originated from informal discussions that Raymond had with students in her genetics class. Several students said they would like to have a real research experience over winter study, and Raymond set to work designing the course.
Two years ago, when Raymond first offered the class, nine students participated in the research.
"It was an amazing success from every point of view," Raymond said. "The data that we obtained in that course went into a grant proposal to the National Institute of Health, and the proposal was subsequently funded."
Last spring Raymond received a grant of $113,000 from the NIH to study the role that CDC14, a cell division cycle gene, plays in exit from mitosis. This research stems directly from the discovery of certain mutants in the 1997 winter study class.
Raymond researches the regulation of the cell division process, in hopes of uncovering clues as to the how the failure of normal regulation can lead to cancer.
This January, 10 students in Raymond's class investigated a gene that scientists have identified as important in the process of regulating cell division.
She and her students worked with a very simple organism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly known as baker's yeast, since evolution has conserved all of the important molecules that work in cell division from yeast to humans.
Jeremy Faust, a sophomore from San Francisco, Calif., said students spent their time learning a variety of different procedures, from streaking out yeast on plates to microscope analysis.
Faust was inspired to take the winter study after taking genetics with Raymond in the fall. He thought the class would provide him with some of the practical experience that he needs to get a job in a research laboratory.
Raymond said she thinks it's a good idea for first-years and sophomores to take the course because they "find it nearly impossible to get summer research positions with no experience in the laboratory."
"What I do is let these first and second year students get their foot in the door--which is exactly what they n"ed to go on and do some of the other kinds of research they are interested in," she said.
Andrew Nguyen, a senior from Williamsport, Penn., who took Raymond's winter study two years ago, said taking the class enabled him to net specific research opportunities.
"After taking Professor Raymond's winter study course I had laboratory experience and had learned some techniques commonly used in labs. Knowing these skills was advantageous when I applied for summer research internships."
Working in Raymond's lab also encouraged Nguyen to become a biology major and pursue further research opportunities. He is currently working on his thesis with Associate Professor of Biology Marsha Altschuler.
"I got hooked on the feeling you get when things work," he said. "It makes all the times the experiment doesn't work worth it. Raymond's course was beneficial because it allowed students without independent research backgrounds to be in an environment where they are able to discover the unknown, to think and analyze the results and to glimpse what research is all about."
Several students in Raymond's class have found the biology research to be addictive. Faust said he usually made it to the lab six or seven days a week, to work for a few hours.
Students agree that putting in the extra time has been rewarding.
"I definitely think it was worth it," said Susan Levin, a first-year student from West Long Branch, N.J. "And it was great to have the extra time during winter study, because during the regular semester I definitely wouldn't have."
Raymond noted that some of her most favorite time at Williams has been spent in the lab with students. She joined the Williams faculty in 1994. She received her B.A. from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University.
END ___ news: Sarah Carr
Williams College is consistently ranked one of the nation's top liberal arts colleges. Founded in 1793, it is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college of 2,000 students is located in Williamstown, which has been called the best college town in America. You can visit the college in cyberspace at http://www.williams.edu
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