Hope College students Danielle Goodman and Bryan Kunkler have each received competitive awards from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) in support of their summer research experience at Hope College.
The ASBMB presents up to 12 of the $1,000 awards nationally each year, two for each of the six regions into which the institutional chapters of its Undergraduate Research Network (UAN) are divided. Hope is one of 13 colleges and universities with chapters in the North-Central Region, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Goodman and Kunkler are each conducting research full-time this summer in collaboration with members of the faculty. They are each biochemistry and molecular biology majors.
° Danielle Goodman, who is a junior from Big Rapids, is working for 10 weeks this summer with Dr. Joseph Stukey, who is a lecturer in biology. Their project is "Investigating the cytotoxic effects of mycobacteriophage Vix Gene 75."
° Bryan Kunkler, who is a senior from Ada, is working for eight weeks this summer with Dr. Maria Burnatowska-Hledin, who is the Frederich Garrett and Helen Floor Dekker Professor of Biology and Chemistry. Their project is "The Regulation of VACM-1 by Thalidomide."
The ASBMB is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization with more than 12,000 members worldwide. Most members teach and conduct research at colleges and universities. Others conduct research in various government laboratories, at nonprofit research institutions and in industry. The society's student members attend undergraduate or graduate institutions. The UAN has more than 50 chapters across the United States and more than 700 members.