USD President's Report 2002

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Faciug page: }1111ior Jessica Ratto (left) mm- " tor,dJreshmau Sarah ;. ·:. .Peitz 011 DNA research. • Fr,01i1 left: Ratto a11d Profe'!~,. Deborah Tiilm111ssebi c_ollaborattd

Q z ::, arah Perez spent the past summer in the basement laboratories of Camino Hall, researching the hydrogen bonding properties of DNA alongside chemistry Professor Deborah Tahmassebi. Such experiences are nor unique among students, bur Perez was an unusual case, because she had yet to attend a universiry class. Perez, a freshman chis fall, conducted her research as ~art of the Pre-Undergraduate Research Experience, an innovative undertaking chat encourages firsr-generanon co!lege students to pursue science careers. PURE and its sibling, rhe Summer Undergraduate Research Expenence_ (SURE), are focal points in the universiry's promotion of original research among undergraduates - ternrory char formerly was rhe exclusive domain of graduate students. e Research Undergraduate Research UndergraduE graduate Research Undergt [ ate e ndergrad~,~te Re~e8ifh Undergrac .. $- . •,11_&, •JI-~ ..... . I ~ 1- - . '., , , 1nm

''At many colleges, students don't even see the inside of fl lab until theirjrmior yeflrs, but that is not the cflse flt USD. Our undergmduates have the advantage of extensive hands-011 !fib experience. "

"Ar many colleges, students don't even see the inside of a lab until their junior years, bur rhac is nor che case at USO," Tahmassebi says. "Our undergraduates have the advamage of extensive hands-on lab experience." Each PURE participant is paired with an older student mentor who provides a great deal more than science training. "She took me to the bookstore before the semester started and showed me how to find my books," Perez says of her partner, junior biochem- istry student Jessica Ratto. "She helped me get my student ID card, showed me where to eat, and even went with me to check out my dorm so I would know exactly where to go. I am a lot more comfortable starting school because of Jessica." The professors believe increased comfort leads to elevated confidence and improved chances for the students to succeed. One of their shining examples is Jaclyn Torres, a 2001 PURE partici- pant. Torres worked with biology Professor Marie Simovich on research involving fairy shrimp, an endangered freshwater crustacean native to San Diego's vernal pools. Lase spring, she presented her findings at an academic conference. "I discussed whether the size of the shrimp eggs affects survival," Torres says. "There were professors and graduate students at che confer- ence, and most of chem were blown away chat I was only a freshman." Torres says the research experience also helped her figure out what she wants to do professionally. "I was leaning coward marine mammal behav- ior, but chis experience really got me interested in conservation biology," she says. "Getting involved with chis research changed my life."

"As the academic qualiry of our students increases, we must find ways to challenge their intellectual abilities," says Provost Frank Lazarus. "PURE and SURE allow students to exert more control over their education. The reacher is col- laborator and colleague as students learn to ask original, scholarly questions, and devise and con- duct their own experiments." PURE, launched in 2001, is rhe brainchild of chemistry professors Deborah Tahmassebi and Leigh Plesniak. The duo designed the program as a springboard for students who traditionally don't consider advanced work in the sciences. "There isn't a lot of diversiry at the upper lev- els of science, so we want to increase the number of women and people of color at the undergradu- ate level, and prepare them to pursue postgraduate work," Tahmassebi says. "These are students who, in many cases, don't have role models to prepare them fo r success in a universiry environment. "PURE gives them a chance to meet fellow students and faculry, and get acquainted with the campus," she adds. "Ir gives them a head start on their freshman years. " Tahmassebi and Plesniak work with the regis- trar's office to identify local students who meet PURE criteria - those from under-represented groups who are interested in a science major, and are the first in their families to attend college. They contact the students with program informa- tion before they finish high school. Perez, who graduated from West Hills High School in Santee and intends to majo r in chem- istry, was one of five students accepted for PURE's second class. The students worked on several dif- ferent projects - analysis of animal environments in Mission Bay, studies on how climate change affects am nesting patterns, and research on the double-helix structure of DNA.

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