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Biology major and Marquis Scholar Cheryl Christianson ’03 (Sea Girt, N.J.) is conducting an intensive summer research project that may help purify lakes polluted by heavy metals. Christianson is working as an EXCEL Scholar with Laurie Caslake, assistant professor of biology, on two research projects that examine mercury-resistant bacteria.
“In the first project, we are trying to determine why certain bacteria can live in the presence of heavy metals, and we’re trying to zero in on the proteins responsible for this phenomenon,” says Caslake. “The bacteria we are researching flourish in Onondaga Lake, a body of water in New York State that is heavily contaminated with mercury.”
Christianson is researching proteins that help sequester heavy metals in the bacteria. She is also examining gene transcription, the process by which RNA is replicated by copying DNA, to find a genetic explanation for why certain proteins are expressed under stress conditions such as the presence of nitrogen or carbon.
Christianson may attend graduate school for biomedical research and finds EXCEL good preparation for her future academic endeavors.
“In graduate school, you’re involved in research, and eventually you have to think independently and come up with your own ideas,” she says. “EXCEL is similar in that if you run into a problem and don’t know its cause, you really have to be creative and try to find an answer on your own.”
Christianson thanks Caslake and other Lafayette faculty for providing her with a constructive, nurturing atmosphere for her research.
“Professor Caslake is always available if I run into a problem,” says Christianson. “I feel very close to all of the faculty at Lafayette. It’s almost like a family here. Because of the school’s small size, you feel like you know everyone.”
Christianson is a member of the soccer team and participates in the peer tutoring program.
A National Leader in Undergraduate Research. Cheryl Christianson ’03 made a presentation on her collaborative research with Laurie Caslake, assistant professor of biology, at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science.