Academics

A PASSION FOR RESEARCH

Eyeing a career in medical research, biochemistry major Laura Sanchez ’19 has spent the last two summers participating in advanced study at major universities.

Laura Sanchez has known she’s wanted to be a researcher since she was a high school student in Bensenville, Ill.

Through several experiences at Monmouth College, Sanchez is well on her way to being accepted into medical school and, ultimately, embarking on a career in medical research.

“It’s been a lot more than I expected,” said Sanchez ’19, a biochemistry major. “I had no idea about what an REU was my freshman year.”

An REU is Research Experiences for Undergraduates, a program that supports student research in an area funded by the National Science Foundation.

Sanchez completed an REU in each of the past two summers. Her most recent experience took her to the University of Michigan’s School of Pharmacy, where she worked with cytochrome P450 enzymes, which are proteins that metabolize toxins and/or drugs in the body.

“She was given a challenging problem—expressing a variant of a cytochrome P450 enzyme from mammalian cells in a bacterial system—and was successful in isolating protein,” said Monmouth chemistry professor Laura Moore, Sanchez’s academic adviser.

Moore said that she and fellow chemistry professor Brad Sturgeon hope that Sanchez might be able to isolate some of the cytochrome P450 enzyme at Monmouth.

“How these molecules are metabolized is something that Brad has long been interested in,” said Moore. “He’s just never had the opportunity to work with isolated cytochrome P450.”

Sanchez said she was attracted to the project at the University of Michigan “because it’s in a field of study similar to what I want to do in grad school.”

“I want to go into medicinal chemistry research, working on trying to develop new drugs,” said Sanchez. “I’m really interested in trying to find alternatives to some of the drugs that are out there, such as opioids. I want to try to develop drugs that are non-addictive.”

Sanchez participated in a 2017 summer research program at Southern Illinois University, where she worked on developing inexpensive, printed electrodes that can be used for immunoassays.

Sanchez is also part of Moore’s research team that is examining the aggregation properties of protein found in corn.

“She is testing the effect of different reducing agents on the aggregation of the protein in hopes that one can be found that will be suitable for use in the food industry,” said Moore. “Laura has learned to do gel electrophoresis and how to think about designing experiments. She has shown that she can independently learn how to analyze data.”

Moore said the hard-working senior is a quiet leader and trusted student.

“What I think Laura excels at is her independence in her laboratory work and her determination in solving problems that she encounters,” she said. “While she may be quieter than the other students, I notice her making important contributions as the group works through the lab. Because of her excellence in the lab, she was chosen to be a teaching assistant in the organic chemistry lab last year. Her lab skills, excellent communication and work habits suggest to me that she will be successful in any research environment.”

Sanchez has yet to decide where to apply to graduate school, but she’s already reached a major milestone. In May, she’ll become the first member of her family to graduate from college.

“Not a lot of people in my family have gone to college,” said Sanchez, who also received an American Chemical Society scholarship this year. “I’ve put pressure on myself, because I’ve wanted to set a good example. My parents have also told me about the challenges they had going to school, so it makes me want to persevere that much more, knowing that they had it tougher than me.”

ROMAN COINS TO MODERN AGRICULTURE

New Annual Lectures Examine Diverse Academic Topics

Baylor University art professor Nathan Elkins (left) poses with Professor Emeritus Thomas and Anne Sienkewicz, in whose honor the annual classics lecture is named.

Dean Kim Kidwell of the University of Illinois College of Agriculture (left) visits with lifelong farmers Jeanne Robeson ’60, who endowed the Wiswell-Robeson Lecture, and Professor Ken McMillan.

Two recently created annual lecture series explored vastly different academic topics in November.

The second annual Thomas J. and Anne W. Sienkewicz Lecture, honoring the emeritus Capron Chair of Classics and his wife, brought to campus Baylor University professor Nathan Elkins, who spoke on “The Significance of Images in the Reign of Nerva, 96-98 CE.”

Elkins, who is a professor of art at Baylor, spoke about how the engravings on period Roman coinage open a window onto understanding the brief reign of Nerva, since his principate left little in the way of public building and monumental art.

The third annual Wiswell-Robeson Lecture, established by Jeanne Gittings Robeson ’60, featured University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consurer and Environmental Science dean Kim Kidwell, speaking about challenges facing the agriculture industry.

Kidwell, who is the first woman to lead the college, told the audience that agriculture needs to do a better job telling its story because most consumers no longer live on a farm and they also don’t realize the sector’s depth and breadth. She said that only about 20 percent of consumers are aware of where their food comes from or how it is produced, and that they don’t realize how many jobs are connected to the ag industry.

Kidwell also talked about the importance of drawing more young people into careers in agriculture. “People don’t understand how high-tech it is and how exciting it is,” she said. “When people see drones flying around fields, I don’t think they know that’s computer science interfacing with agriculture. When people say farming is boring, they haven’t been inside a combine that’s like being inside a video game. ... It’s fascinating to see how much high technology is used in agriculture these days, and we just don’t sell it well.”

EXPLORING THE ART OF MATHEMATICS

Natalie Curtis ’18 drew from her expertise in math to create a unique senior art show.

Monmouth College students majoring in mathematics typically spend most of their classroom and study time in the Center for Science and Business.

Natalie Curtis ’18, who graduated in December, certainly spent a lot of time in the CSB. But she was equally at home in the art studios of McMichael Academic Hall and Wells Theater, where she designed sets and programs.

One of Curtis's mathematics-inspired sculptures hung on the top floor of the Center for Science and Business.

A double major in mathematics and art, Curtis showed how those two disciplines intersect at her senior art exhibit, “Experience Math.”

“Most of my artwork is based on math or some kind of abstraction of math,” she said. “I wanted the show to be an outlet for people who don’t necessarily like math or have an interest in math to experience math without having to read it in a textbook or take a class.”

Mathematical influences on Curtis’ work include prime numbers, fractals (self-repeating patterns), circular polar graphs and triangles, which she used to create stars in the exhibit.

“The topics vary,” she said. “It’s just about finding cool patterns within them and exploring them visually without all the numbers. ... I like to keep the colors of my work bright and inviting, to keep the idea going that math can be bright and fun and engaging.”

When Curtis arrived as a freshman from Arlington Heights, Ill., she was undecided about a major. She then pursued art and switched to math before ultimately deciding that she could make both work.

“I used to think I either had to be a math major or an art major, or if I wanted to be both I was separately a math major and an art major,” she said. “Now, I’ve done both at the same time and I’m doing work that brings them both together. I don’t think I saw that opportunity at first, but I’m glad I found it.”