Students from a variety of majors devoted their time to serious research at the University
of Houston (UH) this summer, delving into a number of complex projects during an intensive
10-week program.
With a record number of 56 participants this year, the Summer Undergraduate Research
Fellowship (SURF) program is open to UH undergraduates from all colleges and disciplines.
SURF provides students with a concentrated, full-time research experience under the
mentorship of faculty members, with each student receiving a $3,500 stipend.
“I hope that in the future this work will be one more step in the fight against disease,”
said biology student Scott Moncrieff. “The SURF program is an excellent springboard
for students interested in doing research.”
Studying under assistant professor Preethi Gunaratne, Moncrieff’s project centers
on trying to figure out why stem cells become the types of cells that they become.
Specifically, by understanding why stem cells turn into bone and skin cells, they
can then progress to seeing if scientists can influence the process using nucleic
acids, similar to DNA.
“I became interested in doing research like this when I found out that it could be
used to fight cancer,” Moncrieff said. “My dad died from cancer in 2007 after a 12-year
battle, and that really motivated me to try to do all that I could to fight it, going
forward. This particular project stems directly from that original motivation.” 
“If the polymerization can be stopped or controlled, then the disease can be,” Schuette
said. “To do this, we must study the polymerization process that our microfluidic
device will be able to do. Ultimately, we hope this will allow a vaccine to be administered
that can prevent this disease.”
Lessons these SURF students learn include the importance of setting goals, the value
of teamwork and the ability to apply their book knowledge to real-life problems.
“I’ve learned that good science is not made in a day,” said biology junior Jaime Carrillo.
“I learned to establish long-term goals and to develop them with discipline, commitment
and dedication. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to work in a team, contributing
to the group’s scientific advancement.”
Lead poisoning and the retina are at the heart of Carrillo’s research, focusing on
lead and its effect on retinal development. Working with professor Donald Fox, Carrillo
hopes this research will contribute to increasing the awareness about the adverse
effects of low-level lead on the developing retina and visual system.
Under the direction of assistant professor Jokubas Ziburkus is another promising project.
Hoping his team’s research into basic neural mechanisms provides new context to help
later researchers understand and cure a variety of diseases, biology student Matthew
Styskal is specifically looking into how Dravet syndrome, a genetic disorder causing
seizures in young children, works.
“Sufferers of Dravet syndrome currently have no real cure, and the disease is sometimes
fatal,” Styskal said. “Our research could find a specific neural defect that could
be targeted with a drug.”
Also majoring in biology, Jihad Harmouche is working in the lab of associate professor
Gregg Roman on better understanding how we perceive the world around us through the
olfactory system. By studying sense of smell in fruit flies, his project involves
trying to understand how the olfactory systems of animals can distinguish between
odor molecules that are structurally and chemically very similar. With this knowledge,
he says scientists can better understand how certain aspects of animal behavior are
tied to sense of smell. Applying this to humans, he envisions one day being able to
build technology, such as more accurate and less expensive sensors, that helps us
better understand the physical world surrounding us.
“The SURF program has been very rewarding, I’ve learned a lot about the scientific
process through participation,” Harmouche said. “I have designed and carried out experiments,
analyzed the data and thought about how the results support our hypothesis. Through
SURF, I am able to take the knowledge I learned from science classes and apply it
to my experiments.”
At the end of the program, the SURF students will be prepared to present research
posters on their substantive projects at UH’s annual Undergraduate Research Day Oct.
11. For more information, visit http://uh.edu/honors/undergraduate-research/uh-research/urday2012/index.php.
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About the University of Houston
The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university
recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s best colleges for undergraduate
education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing
world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located
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