10月23日, 2023 — 教师-mentored undergraduate research is one of the more distinctive ways Marist students get to learn and contribute to transformative change on an issue they’re passionate about. 

在 理学院, a team recently earned a unique opportunity to join a national-level training program where students and their faculty mentors learn how to connect with government officials, 资助机构, 还有媒体.

The Scholars Transforming Through Research (STR) program is a prestigious six-month training organized by the Council for 本科研究. Only a select group of colleges from across the country are accepted into the program, bet亚洲365欢迎投注加入了俄亥俄州立大学等机构, 加州大学洛杉矶分校, 和范德比尔特大学. During the program students get both virtual and on-site training in Washington, D.C. Dr. 梅根·丹尼斯, 生物学副教授, 还有学生Ryan Wise, 24岁, 玛姬·格拉瓦诺，25岁, and Chelsea Venters ‘25 will soon be joining other accomplished students and faculty on Capitol Hill.

“It feels like a real accomplishment to be accepted into STR,24岁的瑞恩·怀斯说, 生物医学专业. “I feel like this opportunity will expose me to new aspects of my ever-changing and competitive field.” 

这个研究项目对李博士很重要. 丹尼斯和她的学生目前的研究, which focuses on studying cellular defects in Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome (HPS) — a rare, genetic disease characterized by oculocutaneous albinism and bleeding disorders. This research is essential because it helps find better treatments and potential cures for this disease and others like it. The training will be helpful since it can be challenging to get funding and support for rare diseases.

Left to right: Ryan Wise’24, 玛姬·格拉瓦诺，25岁, and Chelsea Venters '25. 图片来源:Nelson Echeverria/bet亚洲365欢迎投注.

“有机会促进bet亚洲365欢迎投注HPS的研究, 对找到治愈和治疗方法至关重要吗,25岁的切尔西·文特斯说, 化学专业的学生. “从STR出来, we all hope to better communicate and explain our research to the public, which will hopefully encourage visible change and an increase in undergraduate research.”

在培训期间, 学生发展他们的沟通和宣传技巧, empowering them to effectively convey the importance of high-impact practices of undergraduate research and scholarship in a way that gets policymakers invested.

玛姬·格拉瓦诺，25岁, 生物学专业, said acceptance into the program is very rewarding for many reasons, including how it “allows us to advocate for the students who were just like us waiting for the chance to impact the science community through research."

在D中.C., 学生和教师网络, 向国会议员发表讲话, and go through an in-depth science advocacy boot camp that carries over into virtual sessions throughout the year.

Dr. 梅根·丹尼斯 looking through microscope in class with students. 图片来源:Carlo de Jesus/bet亚洲365欢迎投注. 

“My students have postgraduate plans to go on to graduate and medical school, so the tools that they'll learn will be important for them to advocate for their own research or patients in the future,” Dr. 丹尼斯说. “对我来说, the most important message to share is that undergraduate research can be a transformative experience for students, and we should work to expand support and resources so that all students can benefit from these high-impact opportunities.”

This is the second year in a row that a team from Marist was accepted into STR. 去年, Dr. 锡安绝, Associate Professor of Environmental 科学, and his students Carli Piretra ’23 and Emma 22岁的巴兹勒在STR获得了宝贵的见解. The training the team received helped Carli and Emma in their experiences postgrad, as Carli is specializing in environmental consulting and Emma is pursuing a Ph.D. 地理空间分析.

Dr. 绝说 Scholars Transforming Through Research taught his students how to make their research more relevant to lawmakers and the research community, and helped them translate their research into impactful changes for the world at large.

“STR truly prepares students for their future work as scientists and shows them that their research can actually help address environmental issues and other real-world problems,” Dr. 绝说. “My team from last year became very attuned to how their research could be integrated with policy connections and key stakeholders, 是什么导致了影响我们所有人的变化.”