Two research projects developed by Lone Star College-Montgomery students were selected to the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative (CCURI) Colloquium. One of those projects, Medicine on Mars, was also selected to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), which included projects from major four-year universities.

Alexis Custer presented her project Could Typhoid Mary Have Been a Carrier for Cystic Fibrosis? at CCURI. She developed the idea during a discussion in a non-majors biology class with her mentor, Julie Harless.

“We were talking about how two copies of cystic fibrosis would likely have killed you in the past, but one copy would protect against typhoid, tuberculosis and a couple of other disorders,” said Custer. “I thought to myself, if cystic fibrosis protects against typhoid that could solve a lot of historical inconsistencies in Typhoid Mary’s story. I went forward with the research and the geographical data supported it, the cause of her death supported it as did the numerous other factors surrounding her life.”

Custer plans to continue her education and use this topic as a graduate research thesis.

“I think this project could continue,” said Custer. “There is much more to look at and unpack from a psychological aspect, from a sociological aspect and from a cultural studies aspect.”

Minerva Gillis and Marnie Shaughnessy are exposing fungi to Martian conditions to see if they can develop different antibiotics for their project Medicine on Mars. It was selected to both CCURI and NCUR.

“The idea came about after we saw an article in Popular Science,” said Shaughnessy. “A professor at a school in California was doing something similar, but on the International Space Station, so we thought what if we tweaked it to be Martian conditions?”

Of course the experiments are taking place on earth, so you may be wondering how Gillis and Shaughnessy are creating Martian conditions here. That is where the cool toys from the Biotechnology department come in.

“We have been using a growth chamber for our regular conditions,” said Gillis. “Then we have an anaerobic chamber where we can vary the nitrogen levels to match Mars and we have a pressure chamber where we can lower the pressure of the earth.”

Both were excited and nervous to take their research on the road to these academic conferences.

“It was a shocker to be accepted to NCUR because it is not community college specific and it is open to all universities and all fields,” said Gillis “Getting chosen was an honor.”

“I kept asking our mentor Professor Iyer, ‘Are you sure we are ready for this?’ and she was always supportive,” said Shaughnessy. “She said, ‘Go. Do it.’ The experience was really fun, I am so glad we went.”

All the students say these research opportunities have taught them valuable lessons.

“Research at LSC-Montgomery has broadened what I expect from myself,” said Gillis. “I came into the Biotechnology program as a career change. My instinct was get in, get out and get a job, but once I started doing this research project and presenting it at conferences I thought, ‘I can do this and I am pretty good at it, so I have been thinking about doing something else research-related. I want to do a Ph.D. now.”

“Research taught me to value the work I do at LSC-Montgomery,” said Custer. “I think research is necessary at community colleges. It helps the students feel like they are engaging with a learning community.”

“Working on Medicine on Mars has taught me a small idea can turn into something huge,” said Shaughnessy. “Talking to other people and their mentors at conferences we were really encouraged. They thought we were going in a good direction. This experience has been amazing I can not believe I get to do everything I am doing at a community college.”

“It is critical that as professors we open up every opportunity we can to students,” said Anitha Iyer, biology professor and mentor for the Medicine on Mars project. “Marnie and Minerva’s project was an idea they happened to see in a magazine and they thought ‘This is something we can try on our own.’ When you ignite that kind of a passion in a student and you let them go, design and do experiments on their own, they have fun in the process and I think that makes learning a lot more successful. After conducting research, the way students approach a concept or problem changes. They are less intimidated because they feel like they have done it before and they can tackle even more complex problems.”

Lone Star College offers high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education to 99,000 students each semester. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., serves as chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area with an annual economic impact of $3.1 billion. LSC consists of six colleges, eight centers, two university centers, Lone Star Corporate College and LSC-Online. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.