Additionally, Firtina was awarded a $1,250 Young Investigator Travel Award by the Board of the National Foundation for Eye Research to allow her to attend the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Cataract Research Group meeting in Kona, Hawaii, last December, where she presented an abstract of her recent research at UD to professors and clinical researchers from the United States and Japan.
Firtina said she was encouraged to apply for the Sigma Xi grant by her adviser, Melinda Duncan, associate professor of biological sciences at UD.
“My adviser suggested that I apply for the Sigma Xi grant, so last October I went online and read the requirements and submitted a proposal,” Firtina said.
The highly competitive grant from the prestigious scientific research society, which varies in amount, is awarded to only 20 percent of applicants, who often receive less than the amount they request. Firtina received the full amount for which she applied and said that she believes the nature of her research was the deciding factor.
“I'm working on the lens of the eye, and I'm trying to figure out the mechanics of soft cataract formation,” she said. “I think the research has clinical value, because cataracts are a very common disease, and I also am approaching a new mechanism of cataract formation that not many people are investigating now.”
Firtina said that she will use the money to purchase supplementary reagents for her lab work. But, she added, more than the money, she is pleased with the honor. “This is my first small grant, and it has a good reputation,” she said.
A native of Turkey, Firtina earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Sabanci University in Istanbul before coming to the University of Delaware, where she has been pursuing her doctoral degree. After graduating in spring 2009, she plans to complete postdoctoral work before returning to Turkey to teach and conduct research at a university-affiliated lab.
She said that she chose to pursue her doctoral-level studies at the University of Delaware based on its faculty and reputation.
“I looked on the Internet at different universities, and I really liked the faculty in the biology department at the University of Delaware,” she said. “I also really like the location, because it's between New York City and Washington, D.C.”
Article by Becca Hutchinson
Photo by Kathy Atkinson
