{"id":26364,"date":"2017-04-06T15:20:48","date_gmt":"2017-04-06T21:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=26364"},"modified":"2022-05-25T10:51:34","modified_gmt":"2022-05-25T16:51:34","slug":"uccs-undergraduate-research-academy-develops-lifelong-bonds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=26364","title":{"rendered":"Undergraduate Research Academy develops lifelong bonds"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Meghan Lybecker (left) and Lukas Kaugars (right)
Research Project: “The Role of Small Non-coding RNA in the Pathogenesis of Lyme Disease”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Lukas Kaugars came to UCCS as a student in 2012, he had zero interest in cell biology.<\/p>\n

After enrolling in a cell biology class taught by by Meghan Lybecker, assistant professor, Biology Department, he found himself looking forward to going to class. By the time the semester was finished, he was hooked. Kaugars is a biology major and plans to attend medical school after graduation in May.<\/p>\n

Not only did Lybecker inspire Kaugars\u2019 interest in the field, she also agreed to become a faculty mentor to him through the UCCS Undergraduate Research Academy.<\/p>\n

The Undergraduate Research Academy, started in 2013, provides a mutually beneficial experience for students and faculty. Students are paid as they engage in experiential research within their chosen field, gaining valuable experience in data collection, analysis and presenting in professional forums. At the same time, faculty members’ research programs are advanced by the work of student research assistants.<\/p>\n

Lybecker and Kaugars were awarded $2,500 from the academy to support their research, “The Role of Small Non-coding RNA in the Pathogenesis of Lyme Disease,” for the 2016-2017 academic year. Though the grant allows for an honorarium to be paid to the faculty member, Lybecker chose to allocate 100 percent of the grant to support Kaugars’ time in the lab as a paid researcher.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost faculty mentors choose to put the entire award towards paying their mentees and allowing them more time to complete their research,\u201d said\u00a0Eugenia Olesnicky Killian, assistant professor, Biology Department, and academy director.<\/p>\n

\n

Undergraduate Research Academy 2017 summer research program award winners<\/h3>\n

Department of Biology<\/strong>
\nMentor: Jeremy Bono
\nStudent: Abigail Frier<\/p>\n

Mentor: Jeremy Bono
\nStudent: Alexis Ryan<\/p>\n

Department of Geography and Environmental Studies<\/strong>
\nMentor: Cerian Gibbes
\nStudent: Austin Hawley<\/p>\n

Mentor: Cerian Gibbes
\nStudent: Caitlin Parsons<\/p>\n

Department of Electrical Engineering<\/strong>
\nMentor: Gregory Plett
\nStudent: Josh Minnetti<\/p>\n

Mentor: Scott Trimboli
\nStudent: Aaron Pauls<\/p>\n

Department of Psychology<\/strong>
\nMentor: Kristin Samuelson
\nStudent: Frank Gourley<\/p>\n

Mentor: Elizabeth Daniels
\nStudent: Katie Shirran<\/p>\n

Department of Physics<\/strong>
\nMentor: Anatoliy Pinchuk
\nStudent: Nicholas Jenkins<\/p>\n

Department of English<\/strong>
\nMentor: Michelle Neely
\nStudent: Jessica Valvo<\/p>\n

Department of Mathematics<\/strong>
\nMentor: Sarbarish Chakravarty
\nStudent: Tristan Neighbors<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Students’ experience with research can be invaluable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am grateful for Dr. Lybecker\u2019s investment in me,” Kaugars said. “She has introduced me to her colleagues in the field and opened doors to opportunities I would have not have had on my own. The financial assistance provided by the URA has allowed me to dedicate more time to scientific research. I have gained knowledge that will help me become a more well-rounded physician and help people to lead healthy lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being involved with undergraduate research, students go beyond what they learn in the classroom and deepen their knowledge through critical analysis. They can present their work at professional conferences and build a strong and competitive resume in preparation for graduate school. And \u00a0participation in the URA almost always comes with the opportunity to build a lifelong relationship with a mentor in their field.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuccessful mentorship in scientific research is vital to career success for both the mentee and mentor,” Lybecker said. “The mentor-mentee relationships we form persist throughout our careers, providing professional experiences to draw from, including networks of colleagues and collaborators, scientific advice and career development.”<\/p>\n

Lybecker and Kaugars are working to find the targets of a specific non-coding RNA to expose how it\u00a0is involved in the pathogenesis of Lyme Disease. The two, along with the rest of Lybecker\u2019s research team, will present to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins,\u00a0April 7. Kaugars credits the URA and his mentor with the opportunity to present to such a prestigious audience and to make connections in the field.<\/p>\n

Mentor\/mentee relationships are essential in setting the stage for a successful career, Lybecker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch mentors become intellectually and emotionally invested in the success of their students, not only in their research projects here at UCCS but in their success in their academic and career endeavors. These mentoring relationships last a lifetime,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Staff, faculty and undergraduate students interested in participating in a research the fall are invited to review deadlines requirements on the Undergraduate Research Academy site.<\/a><\/p>\n

To learn more about the Undergraduate Research Academy, contact Ali LaForce (719) 255-3057 or Eugenia Olesnicky Killian (719) 255-3527.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Undergraduate Research Academy, started in 2013, provides a mutually beneficial experience for students and faculty. Students are paid as they engage in experiential research within their chosen field, gaining valuable experience in data collection, analysis and presenting in professional forums. (More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":26367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[439],"class_list":["post-26364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","tag-ura"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Meghan-Lybecker-and-Lukas-Kaugars.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-6Re","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26364"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140183,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26364\/revisions\/140183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}