This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only.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.
In addition to earning two awards and publishing his research in a scientific journal, Marquis Scholar Ryan Evans ’05 (Mohrsville, Pa.) is one of the few undergraduate students in the nation selected for a highly competitive fellowship at Siteman Cancer Center, a nationally recognized center for patient care and research based at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
A biochemistry major, Evans will spend 10 weeks analyzing a mouse in which a gene encoding a protein believed to be necessary for DNA repair has been deleted in breeding. He will work on the project with distinguished researcher Barry P. Sleckman, associate professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine.
According to Sleckman, only about 10 percent of applicants received the fellowship.
“This shows what a great student he is and that he has potential for research,” says Sleckman. “It is a true testimony to the quality of the applicant. The program will give him some experience with basic biomedical research in a medical school settingI am thrilled to have him in the lab for the summer.”
Evans recently received the American Chemical Society Division of Polymer Chemistry Award, given to the Lafayette sophomore or junior chemistry or biochemistry major with the most outstanding performance in the first two semesters of organic chemistry.
He and Sleckman both have conducted undergraduate research with Joseph Sherma, Larkin Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, and Bernard Fried, Kreider Professor Emeritus of Biology. Evans’ work with the professors as an EXCEL Scholar has resulted in a coauthored publication in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology.
“It is a real tribute to Ryan and his work ethic to be able to produce enough work in one summer that we were able to be competitive for a journal such as CBP,” says Fried. “It’s something that Ryan can be very proud of.”
In Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, students conduct research with faculty while earning a stipend. The program has helped to make Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the more than 160 students who participate each year share their work through articles in academic journals and/or conference presentations.
In the summer-long research project, Evans fed, infected, observed, and dissected tiny, disk-shaped Helisoma trivolvis snails.
“We were hoping to more closely see what diet and parasitism do to these snails, since they are an important model in the life cycles of countless parasites that also infect humans,” says Evans.
Feeding some snails egg yolks and others lettuce had a “dramatic effect” on pigmentation. Fried also says that Evans used sophisticated techniques to analyze the data he gathered on the parasite-infected snails. “No one in the past has used these more sensitive quantitative techniques.”
Last fall, Evans received the Organic Chemistry Scholarship from the Lehigh Valley Section of the American Chemical Society. He scored the highest on an organic chemistry test administered by the group and wrote a short paper on a topic in the field.
“Ryan is undoubtedly one of the best students we have ever had in organic chemistry at Lafayette over the past 16 years,” says Charles Nutaitis, associate professor of chemistry. “Organic chemistry has the reputation of being one of the hardest courses at Lafayette or any college. Yet Ryan breezed through the course.”
Among approximately 1,200 students who have taken organic chemistry since Nutaitis has taught the class, only a handful have earned marks as high as Evans’, the professor notes.
Evans’ other classes have included an interim-session course in London on theater. He is a member of the campus chapter of the American Chemical Society and the Physics Club, serves as a campus tour guide, and competes on the Volleyball Club, which recently advanced to the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Volleyball Conference’s championship tournament for the third time in as many years of existence.
As a Marquis Scholar chosen from among Lafayette’s most promising applicants, Evans has received special financial aid and distinctive educational experiences and benefits, including a three-week, Lafayette-funded study-abroad course during January’s interim session between regular semesters. Marquis Scholars also participate in cultural activities in major cities and on campus, and mentoring programs with Lafayette faculty.
Evans hopes to continue his biochemistry studies in graduate school.
“I like using chemistry techniques on biological applications, since this is probably what I will be doing in the future,” he adds. “I also enjoy the freedom I am given to explore these situations and the excitement of finding new knowledge when the results come in.”
He appreciates the guidance offered by Sherma and Fried during their collaboration.
“They directed me in the right way, but gave me ample freedom to explore, perform experiments, and come to conclusions on my own,” he says.
Author of more than 575 research papers, books, and reviews, Sherma has spent much of his career advancing the fields of pesticide analysis and chromatography, a procedure for separating closely related compounds for analysis. A recipient of the Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution by the American Chemical Society, Sherma has involved 145 different students as coauthors for 204 research papers published in peer-reviewed journals.
Included in the current edition of Who’s Who in America and once featured on the Discovery Channel, Fried is one of the world’s foremost experts in the field of parasitology, with three organisms named in his honor. His research has led to important advances in the effort to conquer tropical diseases caused by parasitic flatworms.