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Neuroscience major Osarenomase Egharevba ’07 (Bronx, N.Y.) normally wouldn’t hurt a fly, but in his independent research, he is using fruit flies as a model to study pain.
“I think pain is a physiological condition that is not studied very heavily in neuroscience, and is touched upon lightly in the courses that I take in the department, so I wanted to personally shed light on some aspect of it,” explains Egharevba.
Inspired by the research of his mentor Elaine Reynolds, associate professor of biology, Egharevba is researching neuropathic pain, a condition characterized by an increased sensitivity to painful stimulation. Reynolds previously studied a painless gene in fruit flies.
Reynolds has been working with fruit flies for about 20 years, and has mentored more than 30 students in fruit fly research, including a dozen students who have coauthored papers that have been published or accepted for publication in scientific journals. She has received several National Science Foundation grants, including a $168,779 grant for her work with fruit flies in 2003 and has published her own findings in scientific journals.
She also has partnered with Lafayette students on more than 20 published abstracts and papers presented at conferences such as the Meeting on Neurobiology of Drosophila, Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science, and National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Reynolds is a past recipient of Lafayette’s Delta Upsilon Distinguished Mentoring and Teaching Award.
“Osa is looking at the mechanism of pain in the fruit fly,” explains Reynolds. “This pain model was just developed a few years ago in Seymour Benzer [James Griffin Boswell Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience]’s lab at California Technical Institute by Dan Tracey. Osa is looking to see if this model mirrors the type of responses we see in humans or higher animals. For example, humans can develop a hypersensitivity to pain and Osa is looking to see if the flies can too. If so, the fruit fly might be a good model to study this problem. There are fewer ethical issues with the fly model, and flies have been successfully used to look at the underlying cellular mechanisms of many biological processes.”
Egharevba is excited to work with Reynolds and believes her expansive knowledge will help him with his research.
“Because [neuroscience] is such a fresh field of academics, there is so much to discover that has not even been touched upon yet, and Lafayette is part of this discovery process, including professors and students,” Egharevba says.
Egharevba is applying what he learned in the classroom to solve a practical scientific problem. Reynolds adds this type of problem solving is beneficial training for postgraduate work.
“Osa has taken coursework that prepared him for this work, and he is an intelligent young man with a good work ethic,” she says.
Reynolds notes that Lafayette provides resources for undergraduates to conduct research with faculty that is often done only on the graduate level.
“Lafayette is a good environment because it supports student research by committing laboratory space, equipment, and funds,” she says.
“Lafayette is an excellent environment for these types of projects because, especially in neuroscience, a great deal of focus is placed on the research side of the field from an early onset, cultivating scientific minds,” adds Egharevba, who plans to attend medical school and specialize in neurology or neurosurgery.
Last summer, Egharevba served an internship at Duke University School of Medicine with David Albala ’78, professor of urology and director of minimally invasive surgery, where he shadowed the physician and had a chance to observe surgeries. He is a member of Association of Black Collegians, Brothers of Lafayette, and Rugby Club, and volunteers with the Landis Community Outreach Center. He is a graduate of Hostos-Lincoln Academy of Science.
Independent study is among several major programs that have made Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. The College sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year; 40 students were accepted to present their research at this year’s conference.