On Friday, Muskogee High School graduate Laura Jardine finished eight weeks as a Sir Alexander Fleming Scholar at OMRF.
OMRF’s Fleming Scholars work side-by-side with senior medical researchers on an in-depth, individual research project. At the end of the summer, the students write scientific papers and present their research results in formal seminars for OMRF’s scientific staff.
Jardine, a sophomore cell and molecular biology major at Oklahoma City University, has worked this summer with Patrick Gaffney, M.D., in OMRF’s Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Research Program. In the lab, she has studied a six-generation pedigree of a family with a history of cancer to identify potential rare or unknown deleterious mutations that are causing the hereditary nature of the disease.
“The greatest thing I’ve gained this summer is an understanding of what a career in research truly entails,” said Jardine. “I don’t think anyone realizes the actual experience of anything until they are in the midst of it. I’ve had tastes of research, but being able to devote eight weeks solely to one project has been such an enlightening experience.”
After graduation, Jardine hopes to pursue a career in public health and epidemiology. This summer has presented challenges, like mountains of data to analyze, but Jardine has found that she enjoys the logical and methodical processes that scientific research requires.
“I’ve had to take full responsibility for my project, so I have been in control of how I go about analyzing my data which has allowed me to study it in many, mind-stretching ways,” she said. “Because of this freedom, I’ve also had an unbiased view of the frustrations that come along with research.”
Still, after eight weeks of intellectual and personal growth, Jardine said she intends to incorporate research into her future plans. “The things I have learned, the research I have been able to actively participate in, and the people I have encountered at OMRF have given me an incomparable summer.”
Founded in 1956, the Fleming Scholar Program has provided advanced science training to more than 500 Oklahoma high school and college students. Named for Sir Alexander Fleming, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who discovered penicillin and in 1949 dedicated OMRF’s first building, the one-of-a-kind program annually attracts up to 100 applicants. Two current OMRF scientists, Judith James, M.D., Ph.D., and Rodger McEver, M.D., started their research careers as Fleming Scholars.
For more information on the Fleming Scholar Program, visit: www.omrf.org/fleming.
