Lab Experience: Students Study at Renowned Research Institution | BSU

MBL Note: In early March, undergraduates from Bridgewater State University came to the MBL to participate in an intensive lab-based experience to expand their knowledge of molecular biology. BSU’s Kristen Porter-Utley, Dean of the Bartlett College of Science and Mathematics and Vinny deMacedo, Director of Regional Partnerships visited the students for a first-hand glimpse of the new program modeled on MBL’s renowned Advanced Research Training Courses.

Promega Corporation donated materials related to the HaloTag project, which the students used to track embryo development in a variety of marine organisms, and the Massachusetts Blue Economy Internship Program funded the mini-internship for these students.

Guided by what she could see in the eyepieces of a microscope, Alexis Anzalone, ’22, deftly maneuvered a small, needle-like tool to inject messenger RNA into a fish embryo. The delicate procedure was a crucial step in research the biology major and her Bridgewater State University peers recently conducted at a world-renowned scientific organization.

“This has been such an exciting experience,” Alexis said of spending spring break with 11 classmates at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. “I never pictured myself at a research institution like this.”

The combination class/internship challenges students to investigate the effectiveness of systems of tagging proteins. Tagging is important because it allows scientists to track where proteins go in cells and understand their functions.

This is the kind of high-level science that is done regularly at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), which was founded in 1888 and is today a private nonprofit institution that primarily explores issues around biodiversity and the environment. BSU has a longstanding partnership with this prestigious research institution. Read the full story...

Source: Lab Experience: Students Study at Renowned Institution | Bridgewater State University