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While some students spend their summers working at the mall or relaxing on the beach, Jaryd Freedman ’08 (Ambler, Pa.) is conducting cutting-edge biochemistry research that may lead to the production of new medicines.
He is collaborating with William Miles, professor of chemistry, through Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, in which 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.
Miles has shared his research through a total of 50 academic journal articles, several coauthored with Lafayette students, and presentations at scientific meetings. The American Chemical Society awarded him a grant to continuehis work with students to develop synthetic forms of Vitamin D. He has served as a reviewer for the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Organometallics, and several other journals since 1986. He also is a past recipient of Lafayette’s Marquis Distinguished Teaching Award.
Along with fellow biochemistry majors Daniela Duca ’09 (Chisinau, Moldova)and Elliot Goodzeit ’08 (Princeton, N.J.), Freedman is building on Miles’ lab work with gamma-hydroxy butenolides found in natural products like sea sponge extracts. Gamma-hydroxy butenolides have recently interested the research community because of their pharmaceutical potential.
“When I was offered this opportunity, I was elated to be offered a summer job that would be of great educational and professional benefit to me, would be interesting, and might lead to something beneficial to all of society,” says Freedman.
This summer, the team is building on Miles’ previous results and laying the foundation for creating compounds with the ability to fight diseases like cancer. Such lab work requires good technical skills and use of the high-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, an instrument routinely used in graduate school.
“Lafayette is a great place to be conducting this type of research because the facilities enable us to work efficiently and become familiar with and take advantage of current technology,” explains Freedman.
Students are working closely with Miles and gaining hands-on experience that is rare on the undergraduate level.
“Students in my lab have the responsibility typical of second-year graduate students in a synthetic organic laboratory,” asserts Miles. “They are responsible for setting up and monitoring reactions, isolating and purifying products, and identifying them by spectroscopic methods.”
Though these tasks appear intimidating, Miles has great confidence in Freedman’s abilities.
“Jaryd is a very intelligent and quick student,” he says. “He has the technical deftness to handle the experimental demands of this project and the intellectual power to understand what he is doing in the lab.”
The experience Freedman is gaining in the lab will give him valuable experience in pharmaceutical research, which will be a benefit as he pursues a medical degree.
“The EXCEL program is a wonderful means of introducing students to the world of research, and giving them a glimpse of why faculty are so excited about their scholarship efforts,” says Miles. “The faculty, certainly in the department of chemistry, feels research is the ultimate intellectual exercise, one that requires all of the training and skill students have learned in their academic careers. We are delighted that our students are capable of making meaningful and publishable contributions to our scholarly efforts.”
Named to the dean’s list and a gold category student-athlete, Freedman is a member of the varsity swim team, receiving its academic achievement award. He was named to the Patriot League academic honor roll last year. He is a graduate of Upper Dublin High School.
As a national leader in undergraduate research, Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Forty students were accepted to present their research at this year’s conference.