This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Marquis Scholar Hannah Tuson ’06 (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) has conducted research in a number of areas within chemistry and biochemistry, but her current honors thesis work, studying a protein found in an aquatic bacteria commonly called blue-green algae, has captured her interest the most.
“Protein chemistry is fascinating because there are so many directions from which it can be approached and so much that is still unknown about the structure and function of proteins,” says Tuson, a biochemistry major.
Her adviser, Yvonne Gindt, assistant professor of chemistry, has been working on a larger project on protein folding and aggregation for the past several years. Gindt and many Lafayette students have studied proteins that serve as a model of those found in the brains of people suffering from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other diseases, and researchers are hoping to learn more about them in an attempt to discover new therapies or even cures.
Tuson’s research involves studying the protein phycocyanin, examining how ions present in the solvent that contains the bacteria affect the thermodynamics of the protein’s folding. Thermodynamics involve the relationships and conversions between heat and other forms of energy.
“This will give us some insight into the structure of the folded protein,” she says.
The project builds on EXCEL research she conducted with Gindt last year — and is much different from EXCEL research she conducted during summer 2004 and the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program she participated in last summer.
“After having experience doing research in several different branches of chemistry, I found that biochemistry was the most interesting to me because even when an experiment does not work the way you expected, it teaches you something,” she says.
Tuson adds that she enjoys working with Gindt “because she knows a great deal about the field and is able to suggest productive research pathways, but she still allows me a great deal of freedom to pursue the specific aspects of my project that are most interesting to me. She also cares quite a bit about all of the students working in her lab and is very helpful to all of us by advising us about our classes and grad school decisions and the like.”
Gindt received a $100,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue her research with Lafayette students on protein folding and aggregation, which has applications to a number of terminal diseases. She investigated improper folding of proteins with three students who presented their findings at the Intercollegiate Student Chemists Convention and recently accompanied three of her research students to a national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Tuson, who hopes to study biochemistry or biophysical chemistry in graduate school, credits Lafayette for providing an ideal environment for her project and others like it.
“We have very advanced facilities, as well as the opportunity to work more closely with our professors than we would at a school with a graduate program,” she says, adding that she believes her professors “are very good and genuinely like their students.”
Tuson is a member of the track and field team and captain of the cross country team, earning placement on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. She’s also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection and serves as a peer tutor, a campus tour guide, and alumnae relations/ritual coordinator of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.
As a national leader in undergraduate research, Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Thirty-nine students were accepted to present their research at last year’s conference.
Chosen from among Lafayette’s most promising applicants, Marquis Scholars like Tuson receive a special academic scholarship and distinctive educational experiences and benefits, including a three-week, Lafayette-funded course abroad or in the United States during January’s interim session between semesters or the summer break. Marquis Scholars also participate in mentoring programs with Lafayette faculty and cultural activities in major cities and on campus.