URGO alum Mathia (Tia) Colwell ’15 was recently awarded the Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) through the University of Minnesota. According to UMN, “The Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) gives the University’s most accomplished Ph.D. candidates an opportunity to devote full-time effort to an outstanding research project by providing time to finalize and write a dissertation during the fellowship year.” If this award is not enough to convince you of Colwell’s academic prowess, she was also awarded the F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award through the National Institute of Health (NIH), which provides two years of funding for her research.
These incredibly impressive accomplishments come after years of study and research that began during Colwell’s time at Augsburg. A graduate from Augsburg’s biology department, her research experience in 2015 under Dr. Ralph Butkowski was a catalyst for her career as a research scientist. “Participating in URGO established a basic foundation of what I could expect in graduate school with developing the logic behind research design,” she said. “I enjoyed the URGO experience so much, that I was thrilled to learn I could pursue a career in research by attending graduate school.” Colwell is currently in the third year of her Ph.D. program, designing and working on a project that investigates the multigenerational effects of arsenic exposure during pregnancy on the epigenome.
Congratulations Tia for your impressive work as a scientist!
One of URGO’s primary roles on campus is to offer academic year and summer research opportunities to students across campus. Additionally, URGO helps students find off-campus research opportunities that diversify their portfolio and build their research skills. One alum who chose to look off-campus was Laura Fricke ’19.
Fricke conducted research under Dr. Matthew Beckman in the summer of 2018. URGO helped her discover that a future of scientific research may be the career for her, but Fricke wanted to verify that hypothesis in a new, exciting environment. She turned to the National Science Foundation (NSF). The foundation funds Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) all over the nation; this was the avenue through which Fricke found her REU at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City. She used her interests from URGO’s lab (functional genomics as well as evolutionary and developmental biology) to find a specific project and mentor that interested her. Fricke spent the summer of 2019 living in NYC with a cohort of 9 other researchers; they attended classes through the AMNH’s graduate school every Monday and spent the rest of the week on their respective research projects. Fricke conducted research on the cuticular pattern formation of hexapods and did so mostly independently after learning new protocols and research methods. Her summer concluded with the submission of a research paper and an oral presentation to 50-70 scientific professionals at the museum. While this off-campus research offered valuable exposure to new methods, equipment, and skills, Fricke emphasized the lessons from URGO that prepared her for her REU. “I took the protocols and methods from URGO [to New York],” said Fricke, “as well as time management, navigating a lab, speaking to a mentor, and writing scientific papers.” The two experiences built upon each other to help Fricke learn about herself as a scientist and confirm her career goals as a researcher.
Upon completion of her REU, Fricke applied to graduate school and will now be being pursuing a Ph.D. in Entomology and Microbiology at the University of Minnesota this fall. Additionally, she was awarded a Diversity of View and Experience Fellowship (DOVE), a prestigious award that funds two years of graduate study to 18 students at UMN.
Fricke believes there are many reasons current Auggies should pursue off-campus research.
A second research experience sets apart graduate school and scholarship applicants.
More people can attest to your abilities as a researcher and student and provide meaningful recommendations.
If you conduct research in a new place, you are exposed to a different culture and way of life that widens your worldview.
Without her NSF REU, Fricke does not think she would be in the position she is today, confident in her career as a scientist and pursuing a field of study she could never have imagined without her research experiences. If you have not considered pursuing an off-campus research opportunity, let Fricke’s story inspire you to do so.
This past week I attended the virtual National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions national conference. I am sharing a lot of information, but read to the end, especially if you need to take the MCAT, DAT, OAT, or PCAT.
One theme that resonated throughout presentations is the broad and deep impact of COVID-19. Schools are forced to do a more holistic review of applications because of the impact on academics and experiences. Be prepared to speak to those impacts and what you have done to address those impacts. Continue reading “Pre-Health Newsletter: July 7, 2020”→
URGO is proud to share that we have four Fulbright winners this year!
Winni Godi ’17 has received an ETA Fulbright to Rwanda.
Abdulkadir Sharif ’20 and Eh Soe Dwe ’20 each won an ETA Fulbright to Malaysia.
Natalya Arevalo ’20 was granted an ETA Fulbright to Honduras.
URGO’s history with Fulbright is a long and successful one. In February, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs listed Augsburg University among top 5 producers of Fulbright students at master’s level institution, the sixth time Augsburg was ranked on the list.
The Fulbright program offers recent graduates and graduate students opportunities for research, study, and teaching in more than 140 countries. Since 2007, Augsburg University has had 34 Fulbright students selected for their academic merit and leadership potential.
The global pandemic that has swept the world has put a bright spotlight on public health, an important healthcare avenue that directly affects populations across the globe. We spoke with three recent Augsburg graduates pursuing careers in this field, allowing them to shed light on their experiences and the special role public health plays in this crisis.
Sydney Busch ’18
Sydney Busch ’18 is an URGO alum who will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Biostatistics at Emory University in their Rollins School of Public Health come fall. Her interest in this discipline stems from a love for biology and statistics that was nurtured through her research with Dr. Bankers-Fulbright at Augsburg in 2016. Her B.S. in mathematics and biology laid the foundation for her work as a biomedical modeler at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center where she creates data models that help the public comprehend the tracking and timeline of COVID-19. “Public health has the capacity to reach so many [people] versus one person at a time,” says Busch. Her current work gives her extraordinary experience in her Ph.D. specialty of infectious disease modeling. Busch is excited to continue her education in a field that has become more relevant than ever before.
Chung Lip ’18
Chung Lip ’18 graduated from Augsburg with a double major in biology and psychology before continuing in a Masters of Public Health Program at Columbia that he graduated from this spring. With his current master’s degree, he is a Public Health Education Specialist specializing in population and family health. According to Lip, his specialty is not designed for times like our current epidemic, so he is continuing his education on a somewhat untraditional path. He will join an accelerated nursing program at Mount Aloysius College so he can one day provide health education in a clinical setting, working directly with patients. Lip says that public health is usually behind the scenes, but this pandemic has allowed for it to be visible and recognized as imperative to our nation’s health.
Hamdi Adam ’18
Hamdi Adam ’18 followed his B.S. in biology from Augsburg with a Master of Public Health degree at the University of Minnesota. His specialty is epidemiology, a domain that he found through his research experiences at URGO and UMN. Adam loves that URGO allowed him to see “science in real life,” Following that “real life” calling, and feeling boxed in by biomed research or med school tracks, led Adam to public health. As a man of East African immigrant heritage, Adam is interested in chronic disease and cardio research that will directly impact his community. His goal is health equity, finding the causes of disparities to develop tailored intervention. Seeing as COVID-19 disproportionately affects African American communities, his goal to expand specialized community research is relevant and imperative now. Adam will continue his education with a Ph.D. in Epidemiology at UMN this fall.
HealthPartners Institute, researchers at the University of Minnesota, and Modern Logic have teamed up to create the SafeDistance smartphone application and website, a new tool that helps users track COVID-19 outbreaks using crowd-sourced information from anonymous users.
Brian Krohn ’08
The free app sends notifications as users travel through high-risk areas. “As you’re moving around, you’ll actually see if you’re going into a higher risk area or you’re coming from a higher risk area,” Brian Krohn ’08 told Kare 11. Krohn is a project manager and entrepreneur-in-residence at Minneapolis-based Modern Logic and technical lead on the SafeDistance project.
Users of the app take a short COVID-19 symptom survey and then see a map of their neighborhood, as well as other neighborhoods. Data will not be used for-profit and users will not be asked for identifiable information. The app also offers tips about health risks and how to maintain social distancing.
Krohn, a Rhodes Scholar, has been described as a “Minnesota “Genius”. His undergraduate research at Augsburg University led him to a “Good Morning America” appearance in which he talked about a process to produce environmentally-friendly fuel, which was later commercialized in the development of a $9 million pilot plant. Among Krohn’s creations are surgery tools,wizard staffs, a cycling workout app, the Soundly app, and more recently, SafeDistance.
While the app launched recently in Minnesota, it is expected to expand across the country soon.
