05/05/2008
Contact:Susan Bentjen, Coordinator, College of Sciences, 509/335.6881, bentjen@wsu.edu
From the Emerald Isle To The Nevada Desert To The Palouse Hills, WSU Microbiology Undergraduates Are Going Into Research Work This Summer
PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University undergraduates Ian Thomson, Amanda Yates and Kristen Sukraw will all be working hard in the laboratory this summer, thanks to microbiology fellowships they have received.
Ian Thomson, of Kenmore, Wash., will travel overseas to the National University of Ireland through the international UREKA program run by the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science. He will be working on new test methods for quick identification of infectious bacterial diseases in humans.
Amanda Yates, of Brier, Wash., will be heading off to work at the Undergraduate Research Experience site of the University of Nevada – Las Vegas, funded by the National Science Foundation. Yates was one of only eight students selected for the 10-week program. Her work will focus on the environmental microbiology of the unique desert habitat there.
Kristen Sukraw, of Chehalis, was awarded the American Society for Microbiology Undergraduate Research Fellowship, a highly competitive national program. She will be staying here in Pullman working on illnesses caused by food-borne organisms in the laboratory of WSU professor, Michael Konkel, who sponsored her application.
“All three of these outstanding students successfully competed for fellowships at the national or international level. They are going to be working across the spectrum of microbiology on food, environment, and human health issues,” said clinical assistant professor of microbiology, Philip Mixter. “
This is an exciting array of challenges that our students are meeting around the world,” Mixter said.