Junior to do muscular dystrophy research

HHMI NUCLEUS student Shaila Parker

2:10 p.m., June 1, 2005--Shaila Parker, who will be a junior this fall in biochemistry major this fall at UD, is heading north to the Children’s Hospital of Boston this summer to carry out research on the use of adult muscle stem cells in the treatment of muscular dystrophy, under the supervision of Louis Kunkel, professor of pediatrics at Harvard University.

Parker was selected to participate in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Exceptional Research Opportunities Program (EXROP) for underrepresented scholars. The EXROP award includes a $3,500 stipend, plus housing and travel expenses.

Harold White, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, who directs the HHMI Science Education Program at UD, was asked to select a student to take part in the research program. White’s choice was Parker, who has participated in the HHMI NUCLEUS (Network of Undergraduate Collaborative Learning Experiences for Underrepresented Scholars), which funded her work as an apprentice in the lab of Clifford Robinson, assistant professor of biochemistry, where she assisted Yu-Sung Wu, a research associate, in her research on protein purification.

“Parker is a very good student who has been successful in her courses and has an active interest in doing research,” White said. “The HHMI EXROP Program is terrific because it provides students with an opportunity to work for a summer in the laboratory of a world-class scientist--a learning experience that she will value for the rest of her life.”

Parker has just returned from an EXROP conference in Chevy Chase, Md., where she met the other 56 participants in the program. It was a great experience, she said, and the group will meet again next spring and present their research projects.

Parker said she is excited about the opportunity to work in the lab at the Children’s Hospital this summer. “I’m a commuter student so this also is my first time away from home. My mother and little sister will fly up to Boston with me to help me get settled. First, I stay in a bed-and-breakfast for two weeks before moving to the Harvard campus,” Parker said.

A graduate of the Charter School in Wilmington, Parker said she has enjoyed her two years at UD and the opportunities it has provided. Her long-term goal is to attend medical school.

Now in its third year, EXROP was created to expand the pool of students who enter graduate studies to become academic scientists. Last summer, the program enrolled 53 students with 45 mentors at 25 institutions throughout the country. This is the first year UD has been asked to participate.

Article by Sue Moncure
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson

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