Desert SunRISE T he NMSU Graduate Student Council hosted the annual Graduate Research and Arts Sympo- sium (GRAS) on April 26-27 in the Corbett Center audito- rium. RISE graduate student Nabeeh Hasan led efforts to organize the regional sym- posium where RISE grads Jose Banuelos, Richard Elicier, Iliana Ruiz-Cooley, Gloricelys Rivera, Aerial Sin- gleton, William Soto, and Nabeeh, himself, presented research. Along with in- creasing submissions, Na- beeh directed GRAS toward an artistic renaissance and to becoming the first GRAS to include presenting grads from regional universities. Following in the path of the GRAS scholars and in preparation for future ca- reers focused on scientific inquiry, RISE undergraduate participants presented post- ers at the Undergraduate Research and Creative Arts Symposium (URCAS), which is a yearly “celebration of undergraduate creativity in all fields” that is organized by the NMSU Honors College. The symposium highlights excellence in undergraduate research and in creative art works. URCAS also accred- its the faculty mentors who guide the research and pro- jects. Nineteen RISE under- grads and their RISE- sponsored research were represented at this year's 13th annual URCAS. Former NMSU RISE scholar and fall 2007 doctoral gradu- ate, Olivia George, has ac- cepted a post-doc position at St. Jude‟s Research Hospital in Tennessee. Dr. George recently published an article in ACS-Chemical Biology, titled “Bisphenol A directly targets tubulin to disrupt spindle organization in em- bryonic and somatic cells,” which was highlighted as the issue‟s cover article. In a recent RISE interview, Dr. George discussed how her RISE experience influenced and guided her professional development: “As a RISE student all of my networking occurred at conferences like SACNAS and [at] national meetings like the American Society for Cell Biology— RISE always provided me with access to funding so I could attend those confer- ences...We had a peer-led group where we tried to help each other with critiques and suggestions of manuscripts that we were thinking of pub- lishing”. Dr. George received her doctorate in Biology un- der the mentorship of Dr. Brad Shuster. NMSU NIH Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement Business Name Summer 2008 Volume 1, Issue 1 RISE Spotlights 2-4, 7 RISE Grad-Writing Skills Workshop 3 RISE GRE Preparation Workshop 3 Images at GRAS 5 Images at URCAS 5 Medicinal Plants of the South- west Program Admits 24 6 Responsible Conduct in Research Seminars 6 RISE Program Contact 8 Letter from the Director 8 RISE Program Fall Events 8 Inside this issue: Dr. Olivia George, Researcher at St. Jude‟s Research Hospital, Tennessee URCAS poster by Toni Kinstle, 2008. IDEAS AND GOALS “...always think about the next step,...and if you don‟t have any ideas, then try to find good mentors that will help you reach that next goal.” Olivia George, Ph.D. RISE Scholar Presentations at the NMSU Spring 2008 Student Research Symposia RISE Post-doc Spotlight on Dr. Olivia George
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Desert SunRISE
T he NMSU Graduate
Student Council
hosted the annual Graduate
Research and Arts Sympo-
sium (GRAS) on April 26-27
in the Corbett Center audito-
rium. RISE graduate student
Nabeeh Hasan led efforts to
organize the regional sym-
posium where RISE grads
Jose Banuelos, Richard
Elicier, Iliana Ruiz-Cooley,
Gloricelys Rivera, Aerial Sin-
gleton, William Soto, and
Nabeeh, himself, presented
research. Along with in-
creasing submissions, Na-
beeh directed GRAS toward
an artistic renaissance and
to becoming the first GRAS
to include presenting grads
from regional universities.
Following in the path of the
GRAS scholars and in
preparation for future ca-
reers focused on scientific
inquiry, RISE undergraduate
participants presented post-
ers at the Undergraduate
Research and Creative Arts
Symposium (URCAS), which
is a yearly “celebration of
undergraduate creativity in
all fields” that is organized by
the NMSU Honors College.
The symposium highlights
excellence in undergraduate
research and in creative art
works. URCAS also accred-
its the faculty mentors who
guide the research and pro-
jects. Nineteen RISE under-
grads and their RISE-
sponsored research were
represented at this year's
13th annual URCAS.
Former NMSU RISE scholar
and fall 2007 doctoral gradu-
ate, Olivia George, has ac-
cepted a post-doc position at
St. Jude‟s Research Hospital
in Tennessee. Dr. George
recently published an article
in ACS-Chemical Biology,
titled “Bisphenol A directly
targets tubulin to disrupt
spindle organization in em-
bryonic and somatic cells,”
which was highlighted as the
issue‟s cover article. In a
recent RISE interview, Dr.
George discussed how her
RISE experience influenced
and guided her professional
development: “As a RISE
student all of my networking
occurred at conferences like
SACNAS and [at] national
meetings like the American
Society for Cell Biology—
RISE always provided me
with access to funding so I
could attend those confer-
ences...We had a peer-led
group where we tried to help
each other with critiques and
suggestions of manuscripts
that we were thinking of pub-
lishing”. Dr. George received
her doctorate in Biology un-
der the mentorship of Dr.
Brad Shuster.
NMSU NIH Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement Bus i ne s s N a m e
Summer 2008
Volume 1, Issue 1
RISE Spotlights 2-4, 7
RISE Grad-Writing Skills
Workshop
3
RISE GRE Preparation
Workshop
3
Images at GRAS 5
Images at URCAS 5
Medicinal Plants of the South-
west Program Admits 24
6
Responsible Conduct in
Research Seminars
6
RISE Program Contact 8
Letter from the Director 8
RISE Program Fall Events 8
Inside this issue:
Dr. Olivia George, Researcher at St.
Jude‟s Research Hospital, Tennessee
URCAS poster by Toni Kinstle, 2008.
IDEAS AND GOALS
“...always think about the
next step,...and if you
don‟t have any ideas, then
try to find good mentors
that will help you reach
that next goal.”
Olivia George, Ph.D.
RISE Scholar Presentations at the NMSU
Spring 2008 Student Research Symposia
RISE Post-doc Spotlight on Dr. Olivia George
Dr. James W. Herndon Jr.,
who is a member of the
RISE Mentor Graduate Re-
view Committee, was
awarded NMSU‟s highest
award for excellence in re-
search, the Westhafer
Award. Recognition is
awarded in memory of Dr.
Robert L. Weshafer, an
NMSU professor in the De-
partment of Mathematical
Sciences from 1946-1957.
Curious about Dr. Herndon‟s
research trajectory, the RISE
staff interviewed him and
inquired about his first
sparks of interests in chem-
istry research and academia;
he vividly described his first
"experiment" during his high
school years when the coun-
try was in the midst of the
energy crisis of 1974: “North
Carolina was thickly forested
with pine trees and I read
somewhere that the sap was
mostly hydrocarbons—just
like gasoline. I therefore con-
cluded that it would burn,
and tested this theory on an
injured pine tree near my
house. It worked like a
charm and fortunately
burned itself out after the
sap was consumed.” Dr.
Herndon quickly cautions us:
“Do not even think about
trying this in the dry forests
of New Mexico.” Reflecting
back to his early college
years and reasons why he
chose chemistry as his area
of research inquiry, Dr.
Herndon added, “I was very
impressed by the operation
of my undergraduate re-
search advisor, and was
surprised that undergraduate
researchers at regional U's
could make publishable con-
tributions to the field. I de-
cided to go into academia
during my senior under-
graduate year based on my
undergraduate research ex-
periences.” Dr. Herndon has
a RISE-inspired lesson and
sound advice for us all: “Do
something that you like and
that you find interesting, and
worry less about its per-
ceived „hotness.‟ NMSU
does not hire „dinosaurs‟ for
its faculty, and all of the
RISE mentors would provide
some level of important
practical training for a scien-
tific career.”
that our faculty often fail to
recognize during our tenure
at NMSU. It is nice to be
recognized for contributions
other than the number of
papers published or grants
procured.” Hasan‟s leader-
ship presence at NMSU in-
cludes administrative and
academic enrichment contri-
butions to graduate life in
positions as the 2007-08
President of the Graduate
Student Council, as coordi-
nator of the Phylogenetics
Analysis and Discussion
Group, as organizer of the
Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology Brownbag Series,
RISE graduate scholar Na-
beeh A. Hasan is recipient of
a coveted Mike Watts Out-
standing Leadership Fellow-
ship, which is awarded by
the NMSU Graduate School.
In a recent RISE interview,
N a b e e h c o m m e n t e d ,
“Receiving the Watts Lead-
ership Fellowship from our
graduate school was a great
way to start off the year. The
Watts Leadership Fellowship
is a way that the school rec-
ognizes the leadership con-
tributions we have made to
our departments, colleges,
the university community,
Las Cruces, and beyond,
and as active member in the
Biology Graduate Student
Organization. Dr. C. Donovan
Bailey mentors Hasan in the
RISE Program.
Page 2 Desert SunRISE Volume 1, I ssue 1
Dr. James W. Herndon, Professor,
NMSU Department of Chemistry
and Biochemistry
RISE-INSPIRED LESSON
“Always write and apply
for available opportunities.
A few hours spent crafting
manuscripts, applications,
and proposals can bring
tremendous respect of
your colleagues and can
contribute thousands of
dollars toward your
research and personal
income.”
Nabeeh A. Hasan, Biology
NMSU RISE Graduate
Student
THE NEXT STEP
“Publication is vital for a
graduate student to
complete the next step of
their journey…”
Dr. James W. Herndon,
Jr., Professor of
Chemistry, NMSU
RISE Mentor Spotlight on Dr. James Herndon
RISE Grad Spotlight on Nabeeh Hasan
Josefina E. Dominguez of-
fered a RISE Graduate Writ-
ing Skills Workshop this
summer on English lan-
guage mechanics, grammar,
conferencing, and in self
editing. Dominguez has 25
years experience as a high
school English instructor of
courses ranging from reme-
dial to regular to Advanced
Placement (AP honors
classes). The challenges
she has met over the years
made Dominguez a great
match for leading the inten-
sive writing workshop.
D o m i n g u e z a s s e r t s ,
“Students have to learn to
write well quickly in graduate
school. The better the first
draft becomes, the better the
revisions that follow. [In The
Craft of Scientific Writing],
this means diminishing the
„zero phrases‟ or dead
weight. A cleaner, more pre-
cise first copy comes with
lots of practice.” She eagerly
adds, “The most exciting
moment for me is when the
student takes over editing. In
a sense, they take my
„editor‟s reading glasses‟
and put them on...The stu-
dent starts seeing that tran-
sitions are missing from one
paragraph to the next, that
ideas could be better ex-
plained, or that a step is
missing from an explana-
tion.” Workshop participant
Nabeeh Hasan reflected on
his experience and stated, “I
developed an increased way
to critically assess my writing
that can only increase my
chances of properly convey-
ing my message to my audi-
ence.”
helping the students to write
better and to think more
complexly.“ When asked
about which strategies were
most effective in reaching
the workshop objectives,
West added “The students
seemed to respond to read-
ing published essays, and
they also seemed to respond
to any modeling we did in
class. Also, one-on-one ses-
sions, in which I was able to
articulate more clearly the
students' particular tenden-
cies, seemed to speed the
learning process. It is hard to
teach writing, because the
students' skills vary so
widely, but I think the one-on
-one approach helped the
most.”
This summer the RISE pro-
gram offered an intensive
GRE Preparation workshop.
The workshop prepares stu-
dent applicants for a com-
petitive advantage in the
graduate application proc-
ess. GRE prep instructor
Allyn West stated that “my
main objectives, for the
RISE workshop, included
through humor.” Linda
spends her days multi-
tasking and ensuring every-
one is on the books. She
adds, “The most exciting
part about working in the
RISE To Excellence pro-
gram is seeing an undergrad
student suddenly realize the
opportunity and possibilities
Linda Amezquita is the RISE
Records Specialist and Web
Master who greets new
RISE applicants with her
sweet sense of humor. Linda
says, „I think my sense of
humor is a good quality. It
helps me remember that
there are few situations or
occasions that can't be
helped by finding balance
for their future that the RISE
program offers them. I be-
lieve I have actually had the
opportunity,...to witness the
moment when the realization
hits and everything begins to
fall into place. It truly is like
watching a light come on in
the eyes of that special stu-
dent.”
Page 3 Desert SunRISE Volume 1, I ssue 1
“The „Meet the Mentors‟
coupled with other
professional development
sessions helped students
understand themselves as
part of a larger structure:
lab, department, university,
national cohort. It occurs to
me that the RISE Program is
and must be the catalyst for
organizing such
opportunities.”
Josefina Dominguez, RISE
Professional Skills Facilitator
RISE Grad-Writing Skills Workshop SUMMER 2008
RISE GRE Preparation Workshop SUMMER 2008
RISE Staff Spotlight: Linda Amezquita
NMSU RISE participant and
spring 2008 graduate,
Jenifer C. Fleming is enter-
ing the Ph.D. Biomedical
Sciences program at the
University of California, San
Francisco, this fall. Before
Fleming started this exciting
phase of her career, RISE
staff asked about her par-
ticular area of research in-
quiry and interests. Fleming
commented “I have always
been fascinated with science
and found biochemistry to be
the most exciting when tak-
ing college courses. I there-
fore decided to work in a
biochemistry laboratory and
found research enjoyable. I
am going to get my PhD and
work in industry doing re-
search.” Fleming has care-
fully planned her academic
trajectory; she exclaims, “I
already knew what I was
going to do with my life be-
fore entering the RISE pro-
gram. I had been in MARC
for the two years before I
was in RISE, so I had
planned before.” She adds,
“I am very excited to leave
NMSU—the only downfall is
I will no longer be close to
my family.” Reflecting back
on her experiences, Fleming
advises new RISE partici-
pants to “do as many sum-
mer internships as possi-
ble—they may be hard and
far away but they really help
in the long run.” Dr. Peter J.
Lammers mentored Fleming
during her RISE tenure.
members. I will also have
gained more networks and
great references if I need
them.” Yazzie is a Biology
major with an expected
graduation date in spring
2009. She plans on applying
out-of-state to earn her Ph.D.
Yazzie‟s enthusiasm for bio-
logical research will continue
in grad school; she adds,
“...the RISE graduate school
preparation is a great experi-
RISE undergraduate student
Natasha Yazzie is a summer
2008 recipient of an intern-
ship opportunity at the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Re-
search Center (FHCRC) in
Seattle, WA. Yazzie has
practical expectations for
this experience; she says, “I
expect to gain more knowl-
edge and learn more lab
techniques that I can use
and share with other lab
ence and inspired me to
continue my education...The
goal of my research gives
me the opportunity to give
back to the community.”
Yazzie will present two post-
ers at SACNAS this fall..
One presentation is on her
summer cancer research
and the other is on her RISE
environmental biology re-
search with mentor Dr. Anto-
nio Lara.
studies are performed. It
was a once-in-a-lifetime ex-
perience and I won‟t forget
it.” When questioned about
the transition to the next
level of his career, Guerra
remarked, “I‟m a little nerv-
ous about the next step in
my academic development
but am eager to finish with
school altogether. I think the
lab I am working in and the
RISE program have both
prepared [me] enough that I
will not be hit too hard by the
difficulty of a Ph.D. program.
I would like to thank both my
lab and the RISE program
for preparing me so well...It
would have been a lot
harder without that guidance
and preparation.” Dr. Timo-
thy F. Wright mentors
Guerra in the RISE program.
RISE undergraduate student
Jaime Guerra is recipient of
a summer 2008 internship
opportunity at Cornell Uni-
versity. One opportunity
leads to another recalls
Guerra who said, “RISE al-
lowed me to go to Costa
Rica as a field assistant for a
grad student. This experi-
ence was great and it en-
abled me to learn how field
Page 4 Desert SunRISE Volume 1, I ssue 1
OPPORTUNITIES
“...do as many summer
internships as possible—
they may be hard and far
away but they really help
in the long run.”
Jenifer Fleming, Ph.D.
student in Biomedical
Sciences, UCSF
RESEARCH GOALS
“The goal of my research
gives me the opportunity
to give back to the
community. This
[environmental biology]
research is beneficial to
both the environment and
people, especially those
that have limited income.”
Natasha Yazzie, Biology,
NMSU RISE
Undergraduate Student
RISE UG Spotlight on Jenifer Fleming
RISE UG Student Spotlight on Jaime Guerra
RISE UG Student Spotlight on Natasha Yazzie
Page 5 Desert SunRISE Volume 1, I ssue 1
RISE Scholar Presentations at GRAS
RISE Scholar Presentations at URCAS
The Medicinal Plants of the
Southwest Workshop (MPSW)
is a component of the NIH
RISE program at NMSU.
MPSW is a collaborative
teaching venture between Dr.
Mary O‟Connell and Dr. Anto-
nio Lara. The MPSW program
offers intensive research ex-
perience for RISE participants
to study medicinal properties
of southwest native flora at
NMSU. The MPSW program
admitted 24 students for the
summer 2008 workshop se-
ries. A typical workshop
schedule consists of lectures
and lab activities. Participants
search the literature, design
experiments, harvest plant
materials, extract compounds,
run separation analyses, de-
velop bioassays, populate the
MPSW database with results,
write, and critique peer papers
for web publication. The work-
shop series encompass a
holistic approach of inquiry
with guest lecturers, including
phys i c ians , herba l i s ts ,
curanderas (healers), story-
tellers, community scientists,
and visiting professors. Six MPSW participants have transi-
tioned to the RISE to the Doctorate component of the RISE
program, and are working in RISE mentor laboratories. The
MPSW participants showcased their summer research energies
by presenting their work at the Medicinal Plants of the South-
west Workshop Poster Presentation. The poster titles are listed
below:
1. “Tropane Alkaloid Concentrations in Datura innoxia Located
in a Rural Versus industrialized Setting.”
Julian Sandoval, Sara Samani, Erica Perras
2. “Comparative Analysis of Leaves and Seeds for Tropane
Alkaloids in Datura innoxia.”
Jamira Virk, Raymundo Chavira, Darryl Reano
3. “Effects of Heat and Light on Lycopene in Tomato Fruit.”
Karla Almaraz, Pablo Coss, Elena Taylor
4. “Comparative Analysis of Capsaicin in Habanero and