Colorado State University System
07/31/2024 | Press release | Archived content
‘Eye-opening’ research experience at CSU Spur provides more than a taste of lab work
'Eye-opening' research experience at CSU Spur provides more than a taste of lab work
As a biology major preparing to graduate from Colorado State University next May, Aiden Nave has already completed upper-level courses in immunology, disease pathology, and microbiology. She's closing in on a minor in biomedical engineering because it also connects with her interest in a research career in immunology.
And yet, in four years of undergraduate work, despite wanting to find the kind of position that would let her take a deep dive into research and adjust to a laboratory's day-to-day rhythms, she faced an obstacle that kept such experiences out of reach. "They're not usually paid," she explained.
That changed this summer when Nave joined 10 other CSU System undergraduate students for a summer research program at the CSU Spur campus in Denver, offered through CSU's Office for Undergraduate Research and Artistry, or OURA. After an initial two-week immersion in lab techniques from Gram staining to pipetting, the students, representing a range of majors and two campuses, spent six weeks embedded in one of the labs at Spur.
After a final two-week segment of the program focused on science communications and techniques for engaging diverse audiences, the students will discuss their experiences and findings at a showcase eventin The Shop building at CSU Spur from 4-6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9.
"I'm challenging students to think about how they can communicate and share the work they did over the summer in different ways through different platforms and through different forms of engagement," said Courtney Ngai, OURA's associate director. "How can they consider more audiences beyond the traditional researcher?"
During the first two weeks of the program, students learn basic lab techniques, including how to perform Gram stains.
In her role leading the summer program, Ngai has taught lab techniques while also serving as an advisor and mentor for the students. While parts of the program replicate OURA programming on the Fort Collins campus, Ngai sees the showcase and the overall emphasis on engagement as part of an effort to customize the experience to CSU Spur, a campus established with the goal of making science accessible, understandable, and relatable.
Like many of the researchers, Xenia Guardado Rivera, an anthropology major who grew up in Aurora and is now a junior at CSU, started the summer with little if any lab experience. The six weeks she spent working on the campus's two research green roofs taught multiple lessons, some relating to the grasshoppers that took up residence on the rooftops this summer and found the buffet of tomato, squash, and other food crops growing there to their liking.
One possible line of research Rivera considered involved the use of basil as a grasshopper deterrent, but the insects cast doubt on that hypothesis by devouring 64 basil plants in a single night. Instead, her plan for the showcase is to create a 3D diorama to help people understand the layout of the green roofs. For Rivera, who is interested in going to graduate school and becoming a high school counselor, the biggest lesson may be about having the confidence to try something new.
"I learned you are taught how to do things along the way," she said. "You don't have to know everything to apply."
The focus of the students' research at CSU Spur varied. Abrão Pereira, an international student from East Timor, is a senior majoring in human dimensions of natural resources. During a previous summer, he roved the state doing field work for the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, and one goal this summer was to see what lab work is like and how it compares to doing research in the field.
Pereira, who plans to continue his studies in graduate school, spent the summer in the Soil-Water-Plant Testing Laboratory, which is located at CSU Spur and analyzes soil, water, and other samples for farmers and others interested in improving crop growth. His work involved assessing soils and also looking at the relationship between soil quality and water-holding capacity. One afternoon, while testing a dozen soil samples to see how much clay, silt, and sand was contained in each, Pereira explained that he likes the precision of lab work and the opportunities for problem-solving.
"I think I like lab work better," he said with a smile.
Over in the Food Innovation Center, Sophia Okland, a sophomore majoring in zoology and fine arts, worked in a different type of laboratory setting. On a recent Wednesday morning, she finished loading trays of ramekins filled with "references" for a tasting panel that would soon be arriving to describe and discuss the experience of tasting different kinds of strawberries grown at CSU Spur.
In the Soil-Water-Plant Testing Laboratory at CSU Spur, Abrão Pereira tests 12 soil samples to determine the amount of sand, silt, and clay contained in each.
In a previous meeting, members of the group had used words such as "tough" and "ripe" to describe their experiences, and so part of the work involved coming up with references to help standardize those words. In consultation with Martha Calvert, the center's sensory manager, she had filled ramekins with firm cherry tomatoes to convey "tough;" mashed strawberries would serve as a reference for "ripe."
Okland also conducted research on sourdough cultures grown using natural spring water from different sources. Participants in that study were asked to sort eight spring-fed sourdough starters and a control according to their aromatic similarities, with the goal of assessing how the sourdough aromas varied and whether any differences might relate to the mineral content of water from each spring.
With interests in marine biology, photography, and even in baking, Okland said she appreciates the way the work at the Food Innovation Center brings scientific rigor to the creation of different food products and to communication about tastes and textures. "I never knew this existed before," she said.
Ten of the undergraduate researchers at Spur are students at CSU in Fort Collins. Jalen Gordon, a senior at CSU Pueblo studying cannabis biology and chemistry, also participated, conducting hydroponics research at the CSU Spur greenhouse. Ngai sees potential to expand the program in coming years, particularly as research labs and even local businesses recognize the value of hosting trained student researchers for the summer.
Courtney Ngai, right, and Sophia Okland examine agar plates teeming with bacteria cultivated in the lab.
Scott Compel, co-founder and CEO of AEMS Corps, an agricultural technology company based at CSU Spur, spoke enthusiastically about the program and the work done by Aiden Nave in the company's lab in the Hydro building. He encouraged Nave as she talked about the three main experiments she conducted this summer, all of them related to finding materials to keep medications stable so they can be delivered through different pathways.
The work is precisely what Nave sees herself doing, and the experience in the lab has been "eye-opening" and affirming. "It's such a relief to see it's something I can continue doing," she said.
Photo at top: Participants in the summer research program at CSU Spur gather on the second floor of the Hydro building. Back row, left to right: Abrão Soares Pereira, Atticus Swigris, Jalen Gordon, Jax Ramos, Kira Matthews, Karley Fisher. Front row, left to right: Gissele Bueno Castaneda, Xenia Guardado Rivera, Bertha Mendoza, Sophia Okland, Aiden Nave.