lizards, SER C and chemistry on a plate S pring

Transcription

lizards, SER C and chemistry on a plate S pring
Spring 2012
lizards, SERC and chemistry on a plate
Touchpoint
TUteach
A Message from the Dean
Support Tomorrow’s Great Teachers
The College of Science and Technology is full of people — professors,
students and alumni — ready to take on any challenge. In this issue of
Touchpoint we profile three students in the Undergraduate Research
Program. Each turned their first — and transformative — research experience into award-winning presentations and posters at URP’s annual
research symposium.
At the faculty level, Tonia Hsieh and Rob Kulathinal have brought
together an unprecedented interdisciplinary team not only to study the
genome, physiology and medical potential of lizards but to transform
the way data is shared in the biological sciences. Alumnus James Guare,
after a successful career working on groundbreaking HIV drugs, is now
taking on a new chemical challenge: culinary school.
Many CST people are succeeding in the lab and classroom and in
their lives, and the result is a college moving forward in many ways.
Since 2007, the number of full-time undergraduate and graduates
student has increased by more than 20 percent. External funding for
research grew from $7 million in 2007 to $17 million in 2011. Research
expenditures are expected to top $18 million in 2012. Across all six
departments, including many interdisciplinary efforts, our researchers
are being recognized by the National Science Foundation, National
Institutes of Health and other funders.
To increase our research potential, we are augmenting the college’s
common instrumentation facilities. The Materials Research Facility, a
centralized location for analytical instrumentation, houses three X-ray
diffractometers, a transmission electron microscope, Raman mass
spectrometer and more. We recently added an electrospray quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer, a state-of-the-art instrument
for identifying and quantifying compounds.
TUteach is an innovative way to train the next generation of great
math and science teachers. Once they graduate, TUteach teachers will
go on to improve science education in hundreds of schools and inspire
thousands of kids.
Needed endowment for
lasting success
TUteach’s success depends on a strong endowment to support scholarships for Temple
students, salaries for the master teachers
who train them and other program features.
Make a gift today
Your commitment will support deserving
students who want to become great teachers.
Make your gift at www.temple.edu/tuteach
or by using the enclosed envelope. For more
information, contact Victoria Blevins at
215-204-4704 or vblevins@temple.edu.
TUteach, CST’s program to train the next generation of math and
science teachers, continues to grow. Since 2008, enrollment has
jumped from about 20 students to nearly 200. A recent event brought
together students and civic and science leaders for a lively discussion of
the challenges facing science education. (See page 12.)
To attract world-class researchers and talented students, we must
continue to improve our technical capabilities and infrastructure. That is
why we are building the new Science Education and Research Center.
You can read about our progress on page 2. The support of alumni and
friends has been critical to CST’s success. I look forward to partnering
with you to achieve even more in the years ahead.
Join the million-dollar match
The National Math and Science Initiative is
offering a $1 million gift match challenge
to create a TUteach endowment. Every gift
made to endowment through July 2012, will
be matched by NMSI!
Sincerely,
Hai-Lung Dai
Dean and Laura H. Carnell Professor of Chemistry
TUteach is a partnership between the College of Science and Technology and the College of Education.
Touchpoint | Spring 2012
1
Advanced facilities
Biology • Chemistry • Computer & Information Sciences • Earth & Environmental Science • Mathematics • Physics
Update: Science Education
and Research Center
Design Approved
More than 230 Students
Take Part in Winter Graduation
speaker was Michael Zeldin
(PhD ’65, Bio).
the largest in the college and
one of the largest at the university. The first floor also will
include two smaller lecture halls
and a cafe as well as a video and
electronic information wall
visible from both the lobby and
Polett Walk.
SERC will contain the
latest communications,
safety, HVAC and
other technologies
needed for advanced
scientific research.
The College of Science and
Technology and Temple
University will soon break
ground for the new, 246,000square-foot Science Education
and Research Center (SERC).
Located on Polett Walk adjacent
to Gladfelter Hall and the
Engineering Building, the
advanced facility, financed by a
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
capital grant and a Temple
University bond issue, is schedule
to be completed in spring 2014.
The seven-story structure will
contain laboratory and classroom space to attract talented
scholars to CST’s already
outstanding research community and provide CST students
with abundant opportunities for
exploration and investigation.
Behind its dramatic glass curtain
wall, SERC will contain the
latest communications, safety,
HVAC and other technologies
needed for advanced scientific
research, including biosafety
level 2 laboratories.
The building’s first floor will
feature a 420-seat lecture hall,
2
Temple University | College of Science and Technology
The second floor will house
teaching labs for the departments of Physics, Computer &
Information Sciences (CIS) and
Earth & Environmental Science,
storage and support areas, and
seminar and conference rooms.
The third floor will be the new
home for CIS, with research labs,
break-out rooms, and offices for
faculty, postdocs and graduate
students. The fourth floor, slated
for the Department of Physics,
will have a similar layout.
The fifth floor will support
interdisciplinary efforts in the
fast-growing materials science
field and will include level 100
and level 1000 clean rooms,
where the concentration of
airborne particles is controlled
to specified limits. SERC’s sixth
floor will offer fully-hooded
laboratories and other spaces for
the chemistry and biology
departments. The Institute for
Computational Molecular
Biology will be housed on the
seventh floor.
More than 230 students
participated in the College
of Science and Technology’s
winter graduation ceremony on
Feb. 3. The event was held in
historic Mitten Hall’s Great
Court. More than 190 students
earned bachelor’s degrees, with
the largest majors being biology,
biochemistry and chemisty.
Twenty-six students earned
doctoral degrees and
16 students earned master’s
degrees, including the first
graduates of the new master’s
degree in Information Science
and Technology.
Speakers for the ceremony
included Dean Hai-Lung Dai
and Forrest Evan Zimmerman
(BA ’12, CIS). The featured
After earning his doctorate from
Temple, Zeldin went to Brandeis
University for postdoctoral work.
After serving as a professor of
biology at Tufts University and
then as a fellow at the Biological
Laboratories at Harvard
University, he joined Venture
Founders Corporation, a venture
capital firm investing in start-up
companies in information technology and biotechnology. He
subsequently was founder and
co-founder of several biotechnology companies, serving in
various capacities, such as CEO
and director of research.
In 1991, he formed Cambridge
Biomedical Management,
which assists global biophar­
maceutical firms and IT
companies in developing and
executing corporate strategies
for new medicines, devices and
healthcare information systems.
Zeldin currently serves on
CST’s Board of Visitors.
Top: Michael Zeldin (PhD ’65,
Bio), a venture capitalist in the
biotechnology field, was the
featured speaker at the CST
winter graduation ceremony.
Below: Dean Hai-Lung Dai
spoke to the more than 230
graduates and their families
who gathered in historic
Mitten Hall.
SERC is part of Temple 20/20,
an ambitious framework for
transforming Main Campus
into a 21st-century environment that supports the goals of
the university’s Academic
Strategic Compass. Look for
more information about the
Science Education and
Research Building in the next
issue of Outlook magazine and
at www.temple.edu/cst.
Touchpoint | Spring 2012
3
Guiding Young Researchers
Research opportunities
4
Biology • Chemistry • Computer & Information Sciences • Earth & Environmental Science • Mathematics • Physics
URP Symposium
Students experience the transformative
power of discovery
The Undergraduate Research
Program (URP) gets CST
students into the laboratory
with world-class Temple
researchers, offering a chance
to participate in advanced
research projects as undergraduates. Each year, URP hosts a
research symposium at which
students present their research
findings either through a
presentation or a poster. This
year’s top award-winners were
Uduak Udoeyo, Khristina
Pavlenko and Petra Brayo.
Uduak Udoeyo
First Place Winner for the
Presentation Session
Titanium dioxide doped with
palladium nanoparticles for
sensing hydrazine
Right before she left the
match event, she noticed
Professor Eric Borguet’s table.
“They all smiled at me so I
went over,” says Udoeyo. “His
graduate students asked me a
few questions.”
After the match event, she met
with Professor Borguet. “We
talked about what I was interested in, what I wanted to get
out of my first research experience and how I could contribute to his sensor research
group,” remembers Udoeyo.
Udoeyo’s research project
focused on using palladium
nanoparticles to create a sensor
that could detect hydrazine, a
highly toxic compound used
in various rocket fuels. “My
Uduak Udoeyo, a junior biolpresentation focused on results
ogy major, entered URP in the
from using the transmission
summer of 2011 after attending
electron microscope to view
the program’s match event,
the nanoparticles,” says Udoeyo,
where students meet with many “and my future plans to work
faculty researchers. “I wanted
with a surface acoustic wave
to work with someone whose
device.”
research area was new to me,”
Udoeyo had always dreamed
remembers Udoeyo. “I thought
of being a physician, but now
that would be much more
she is considering a career in
interesting.”
research. “Because of URP
Temple University | College of Science and Technology
I developed a passion for
research,” says Udoeyo, who
participates in Temple’s
Minority Access to Research
Careers initiative. “You can’t
understand what it means to
be a researcher until you bring
your knowledge from all your
courses into a real lab.”
Research is now another
viable career option. “URP
showed me how everything
is related in research,”
Pavlenko says. “My project
was more of a neuroscience
project but it gave me insight
and experience related to the
chemistry field.”
Khristina Pavlenko
First Place Winner for the
Poster Session
Cannabidiol and mechanisms
in preventing chemotherapyneuropathic pain in female
mice C57/Bl/6
Pavlenko describes URP as
the “best opportunity Temple
could offer. It made me realize another great way I can
help people.”
Khristina Pavlenko’s research
explored neuropathic pain — sensitivity to cold, heat or
touch — commonly experienced by cancer patients
undergoing chemotherapy.
“Sometimes the treatment has
to be stopped because they
can no longer handle the
pain,” explains Pavlenko, a
junior chemistry major. “We
need a drug that can stop the
pain and allow patients to
remain on chemotherapy.”
In Pavlenko’s project mice
are injected with paclitaxel, a
drug commonly used to fight
breast and lung cancers, and
then tested for their sensitivity
to touch. Another set of mice,
among other control groups,
is injected with both paclitaxel and cannabidiol, a nonpsychoactive compound found
in cannabis. “Mice were less
sensitive with the drug combination,” says Pavlenko, who
worked with Sara Jane Ward,
research assistant professor at
the School of Pharmacy.
“Cannabidiol appears to be
effective in reducing neuropathic pain.”
Petra Brayo
Second Place Winner for
the Poster Session
Role of Purα in Temodar
Induced DNA Damage
According to Petra Brayo, one
of the best decisions she ever
made was choosing to minor
in philosophy. “It comes in
handy,” says the junior cellular
and molecular neuroscience
major. “It sharpens your
analytical skills and helps you
think about things from a
different perspective.”
protein that plays a role in
diverse cellular functions,
including transcriptional
activation and repression,
translation and cell growth.
By silencing Purα expression
in glioblastoma multiforme
(GBM) — the most common
and most aggressive malignant
primary brain tumor in
humans — the cancer cells
were more sensitized to treatment with Temodar, the main
cytotoxic drug used in treatment of GBM.
For Brayo, conducting research
demonstrates the difference
between the practical and the
theoretical. “In cell biology
class we can talk about how
cells function, genes, proteins
and different separation techniques,” she says, “but that is
a lot different than actually
running gels daily.”
“Over the summer I was in
the lab every day,”says Brayo.
“Research is very demanding
but it just grows on you.”
Brayo was still adding new
Brayo began her research
data
to her poster on the day
project in January 2011, workshe sent it to the printer.
ing in the lab of Shohreh
“Winning the symposium
Amini, professor of biology
award was a bit of a surprise,”
and associate dean for research
and graduate programs at CST. she says. “URP is a great
opportunity to work with
The work focused on Purα,
incredible researchers.”
a ubiquitous acid-binding
Opposite page: The URP symposium offers students the opportunity
to present their research findings to their peers and a panel of CST
faculty judges.
Below: Khristina Pavlenko (left), a chemistry major, and Petra Brayo (right),
a neuroscience major, both earned top awards in the URP poster session.
Pavlenko switched her major
to chemistry last year. “For me,
chemistry is more about problem solving and analyzing
things using mathematics,”
explains Pavlenko, who had
always wanted to be a dentist
while growing up in Russia.
Touchpoint | Spring 2012
5
Innovative researchers
Biology • Chemistry • Computer & Information Sciences • Earth & Environmental Science • Mathematics • Physics
model, quite different from say, zebrafish,”
Kulathinal says. “Millions of years ago, zebrafish
experienced a genome duplication event, with
the consequence that a gene that is orthologous to a human gene may have a second pair
residing in the genome. This poses a problem
for researchers if there was an evolutionary
shift in function, which often occurs after
duplication events. Anoles don’t have this issue.
In addition, we have more than 350 species of
anoles, a rich trove of information, in terms of
species diversity, that we can eventually access
by first having sequenced this one anole lizard.”
As a model system, lizards are particularly valuable for medical research. When lizards regenerate their tail, rather than having the vertebral
segments reappear, they grow a solid cartilaginous tube. “It’s called hyaline cartilage, which
is the same material found in our nose and
ears,” explains Hsieh. “We can’t re-grow it, but
figuring out the developmental mechanisms
making this possible in lizards could help us
treat someone who suffered a traumatic injury
or severe frostbite.”
Expanding the lizardbase
A new collaborative GIS and genomic resource for
scientists and citizens
The state of Florida is overrun with lizards.
Temple University’s Main Campus is not, but
CST assistant professors Rob Kulathinal and
Tonia Hsieh — who both came to the college
from the University of Florida in 2010 — are
using geographic information systems (GIS)
and an online genome browsing tool to
increase scientific collaboration, connect disparate but related lizard research, and provide
middle- and high-school students with the
tools to conduct real, field-based research.
Their project is called lizardbase.
“In 2007, the genome of Anolis carolinensis, the
green anole lizard, was sequenced,” explains
Hsieh, whose work with lizards spans the
disciplines of ecology, evolution, morphology
and biomechanics “The genome is a remarkable resource, but we wanted to integrate it
with ecological and other data to make it
more useful to a range of researchers.”
only anole native to Florida — and the number
of brown anole lizards, which were introduced
from Cuba. They also measured environmental
parameters, including latitude and longitude
and sent us the data.”
“After mapping these data to lizardbase on our
GIS portal, we realized the awesome potential
that such a resource enables,” remembers
Kulathinal, an evolutionary genomicist.
“It gives the data a whole new life because the
rest of the world can see it and use it to ask
new questions.”
Today, researchers, middle- and high-school
students and “citizen scientists” can go to
lizardbase.org and map morphological, ecological, genetic and other data for several lizard
species. A second information portal on the
website lets users explore the genome of
Anolis carolinensis, in addition to gene-based
alignments to other vertebrate species.
While the lizardbase concept was in its infancy,
An emerging model system
Hsieh was contacted by a local high school
Since the initial release of the green anole
teacher looking for a way to get students
genome in 2007, lizards are emerging as a new
involved in scientific research. “I asked the
model system for interdisciplinary research.
students to survey an area over and over and
count the number of green anole lizards — the “Lizards present a very interesting vertebrate
6
Temple University | College of Science and Technology
Paradigm shift in data sharing
One key to establishing lizards as a model
organism is to build a solid community of
diverse researchers. The principal investigators
associated with the project — nicknamed “The
Anole Collective” — include a developmental
genomicist, an anatomist, a physiologist and a
cell biologist, all from Arizona State University;
researchers focused on ecology and biodiversity from the Smithsonian Tropical Research
Institute in Panama; and several others. “From
biomechanics and ecology to genetics and
medicine,” says Kulathinal, “this is one of the
most diverse collaborations I have ever seen.”
According to Kulathinal, one of the unique
characteristics of the genomics community is
that data are expected to be shared freely among
researchers. Few other biological fields take full
advantage of this “open-source” paradigm.
“How do we motivate researchers not accustomed to this open-source spirit to contribute
data to lizardbase and share those data with
others while also protecting the data and their
academic value?” asks Hsieh. “For many years,
scientific databases were meant to be a central
repository of data sets. They were a one-way
street for users to pull information. We want to
make it a two-way street. It is exciting to see a
community think about the idea of sharing
cutting-edge data in a more open way.”
Crowdsourcing
citizen scientists
Another important mission of lizardbase is
developing resources for science educators
and directly involving middle- and high-school
students in research activities with the potential for important scientific impact. Hsieh and
Kulathinal developed a curriculum in collaboration with teachers from Eastside High
School’s International Baccalaureate Program
in Gainesville, Fla., and the Center of
Precollegiate Education and Training at the
University of Florida.Today, they have partnered
with TUteach, CST’s innovative program that
trains tomorrow’s science and math teachers,
to develop inquiry-based curricula for use by
students attending the ExxonMobil Bernard
Harris Summer Science Camp held at Temple
University each year.
The lizardbase team also is working with highschool students in Panama to survey and
compare biodiversity in Panama City’s Parque
Natural Metropolitano. The Panamanian
students will connect to the Temple science
campers via videoconference and lizardbase.org
to compare biodiversity data. “The students are
learning basic principles in biology, but also
that science is not just about facts in a textbook.
It’s about exploring and questioning the world
around you.”
Hsieh and Kulathinal have traveled to Panama
several times, exploring the rainforest in order
to identify and collect different species of
lizards. “At night you can see animal diversity
at its peak — the lights from our headlamps
illuminate an eerie world of glowing eyeballs
staring directly at you,” says Kulathinal. For
Hsieh, the allure of anoles is even more
elemental. “I’m a lizard geek,” she says.
“For many years, scientific databases were meant to be a central repository
of data sets. They were a one-way street for users to pull information.
We want to make it a two-way street. It is exciting to see a community
think about the idea of sharing cutting-edge data in a more open way.”
—Tonia Hsieh, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
Touchpoint | Spring 2012
7
Talented people
Biology • Chemistry • Computer & Information Sciences • Earth & Environmental Science • Mathematics • Physics
Distinguished Faculty and
Student Awards
Held at Adventure Aquarium,
the awards recognized outstanding
achievement by CST faculty and
students.
Faculty Awards
The Italia–Eire Foundation
Distinguished Teacher of the
Year Award
Francis Spano, Professor,
Chemistry
The Steven Petchon
Distinguished Excellence
in Teaching Award
Rolf Lakaemper, Assistant
Professor, CIS
Schools of fish and a few
sharks were the backdrop
for the Distinguished Faculty
and Student Awards. The
ceremony honored nine faculty
members, nine graduate
students and 38 undergraduates for outstanding research
and teaching and exceptional
academic work in the lab
and classroom.
The William Caldwell
Memorial Distinguished
Mentoring Award
Evelyn Vleck, Assistant Professor
(Teaching/Instructional), Biology
The Dean’s Distinguished
Excellence in Mentoring
Award
Rose McGinnis, Director, Student
Professional Development &
URP
The Dean’s Distinguished
Teaching Award
Marilena Downing, Instructor,
Mathematics
Steven Fleming, Professor
(Teaching/Instructional),
Chemistry
Jonathan Nyquist, Chair and
Professor, EES
John Schiller, Associate Professor,
Mathematics
The Dean’s Distinguished
Award for Excellence in
Research
Daniel Szyld, Professor,
Mathematics
Graduate Student
Awards and
Scholarships
Computer & Information
Sciences Award for
Outstanding Graduate
Teaching Assistant
Kosta Ristovski, CIS
Der-Min Fan Chemistry
Graduate Student Scholarship
Matthew Sender, Chemistry
Distinguished Graduate
Student Research Award
Sushma Savarala, Chemistry
Sheng Xiong, Math
Distinguished Graduate
Student Teaching Award
Svitlana Kulyk, Chemistry
Jonathan Lynch, Physics
Avirup Sil, CIS
John Tatarowicz, Physics
Peter Havas Humanitarian
Scholarship for Outstanding
Physics Graduate Students
Jonathan Lynch, Physics
Undergraduate
Student Awards
and Scholarships
Abraham and Ruth Clearfield
Scholarship
Megan Jennings, Chemistry with
Teaching
Albert B. Brown Chemistry
Scholarship Fund
Carrie Carson, Chemistry
Alliance for Minority
Participation Award for
Academic Achievement
Alexander Gonzalez, Math
Andrea Broad Scholarship
in Biological Sciences
Jiali He, Biology
John Mikitsh, Biochemistry
Computer and Information
Sciences Student Leadership
Award
Matt Borowiec, Information
Science and Technology
Dr. Lorraine H. Kligman
Endowment Fund
Ashley Devoy, Biology
Florence R. Berg Scholarship
Jae Hyeon Lee, Physics
Hazel M. Tomlinson, PhD
Memorial Scholarship
Michael Cleaveland, Chemistry
Mateusz Dobrowolski,
Biochemistry
Vasile Donos, Chemistry
Nicole Haloupek, Biochemistry
Jin Leung, Chemistry
John Mikitsh, Biochemistry
Chigoziem Oguh, Chemisty
Akash Patel, Biochemistry
Joseph Trout, Chemistry
Haibin Zhu, Biochemistry
Henry A. Sloviter Student
Research Award in Chemistry
Jacqueline Mejia, Chemistry
J.A. Poole Award for
Exceptional Department
Service by an Undergraduate
Khristina Pavlenko, Biology
John T. Petrick Physics
Scholarship Award
Steven Consevage, Physics
Mark Berger Prize
Olivia Min, Biology
Morna Brennen Memorial
Scholarship Fund
Amy Gutekunst, Chemistry
with Teaching
Most Promising Mathematics
Major Award
Ian Harding, Math
Natan Luehrmann-Cowen
Award Fund
Ananthi Rajamoorthi,
Biochemistry
8
Temple University | College of Science and Technology
Paul and Beatrice Zackon
Physics Term Scholarship
Eric Hunter, Physics
Keith Rycek, Physics
Seda Tarzian Endowed
Scholarship
Lisa Gochee, Information
Science and Technology
Shirley and Bernard Brown
Scholarship in Chemistry
Cynthia Ly, Biology
Angela Snow, Chemistry
The Dean’s Scholarship
Zachary Ankuda, Computer
Science
Ashia Bibi, Biology
Petra Brayo, Neuroscience – Cellular & Molecular
Cheryl Doughty, Biology
Mateusz Dobrowski,
Biochemistry
Tessa King, Geology
Feisi Liang, Neuroscience –
Cellular & Molecular
Levi Mulladzhanov, Biology
For information about establishing
a named scholarship or
contributing to an existing
scholarship fund, please contact:
Victoria L. Blevins
400 Carnell Hall
1803 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122
victoria.blevins@temple.edu
215-204-4704
Touchpoint | Spring 2012
9
Engaged alumni
Biology • Chemistry • Computer & Information Sciences • Earth & Environmental Science • Mathematics • Physics
Chemistry on the Plate
From the Director
After a successful career at Merck, Jim Guare’s next
challenge is cookery
incredible feeling.” That work helped earn him
the Technological Achievement in Organic
Chemistry Award from the American Chemical
Society in 2002.
Since retiring, Guare has more time to devote
to one of his other passions, the College of
Science and Technology. He serves on the
college’s Alumni Board and meets with students
to discuss career options, work on resumes and
edit cover letters for applications.
“I fell in love with Temple and Philadelphia,”
says Guare who grew up in Lebanon, Pa., and
knew he wanted to be a scientist since the
fifth grade. “At Temple I had the chance to do
undergraduate research, which just thrilled me.
It started the ball rolling.”
Guare was inspired by two chemistry department faculty members, the late Edgar Howard Jr.
and Professor Emeritus Grant Krow. “It wasn’t
just taking classes and regurgitating facts,”
Guare says. “It was taking what you know and,
with the right guidance and direction, making
something no one else has ever made. That’s
the joy of chemistry.”
Newly retired in 2008, Jim Guare (BA ’77,
MA ’83, Chem) wasn’t quite ready to golf or
cruise. He was looking for another challenge.
“I seriously considered going to medical
school,” says Guare, who spent 28 years at
Merck & Co., Inc. “I did well on the MCAT
and spoke with several medical schools.”
Ultimately, Guare set his sights on food. “I had
always been interested in the chemistry of
food preparation, but I didn’t understand the
techniques of cooking,” he says. “That’s what
brought me to The Restaurant School.”
10
effectiveness against the virus was the breakthrough that transformed HIV infection from
a disease that brought certain death into a
manageable condition. It played a key role in
the treatment regimen know as HAART
(Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy), which
was introduced in 1996 and is still used today,
and has helped save millions of lives.
Today, Guare is donning chef ’s whites — yet
another lab coat? — while earning an associate’s
degree in culinary arts. “I like to do fun chemistry,” explains Guare. “Everything you cook is
chemistry, from browning meat to the latest in
molecular gastronomy.”
In 1997, he and his team earned the National
Inventor of the Year Award for work on
Crixivan. “Amid the ceremony’s pomp and
circumstance, a man came up to me and asked
for my autograph,” remembers Guare. “I
couldn’t believe it, so I asked him why. He
said, tears in his eyes, ‘Because your discovery
has given my best friend a new lease on life.’
That was the first time it hit home for me and
put a real face on the impact of AIDS.”
During his time with Merck, Guare “worked
with some of the best scientists in the world
during the company’s heyday.” He was one of
the first synthetic chemists to work on protease
inhibitors for the treatment of HIV, playing
a major role in the discovery of Crixivan.
More powerful than prior drugs, Crixivan’s
Guare continued his work on HIV treatments
at Merck and was a key contributor to Isentress,
the first integrase inhibitor approved by the
FDA and an even more effective HIV drug.
“A lot of the scientific community didn’t think
it was possible to develop an integrase inhibitor, but we did it,” says Guare. “It was an
Temple University | College of Science and Technology
Dear Alumni and Friends:
I have thoroughly enjoyed
my first year at CST. I have
met many alumni who
have told me how their
Temple experience shaped
their professional and
personal lives. Our goal is to provide a
world-class education and inspire students
to reach their full potential. We want you to
look back on your Temple experience as
life-changing. I hope we have succeeded.
Students today face many challenges, from
finances to anxiety about job prospects.
That’s why today’s students need the
support of alumni more than ever. Whether
it is establishing a scholarship, giving to the
annual fund or making a contribution to a
specific program, you can support CST in a
way that is most meaningful to you.
For example, you can support students in
TUteach, a program that trains the next
generation of great math and science teachers. These students have great promise, but
they need your help for scholarship support
and to help build a TUteach endowment.
CST is also introducing a mentorship
program aimed at connecting third-year
students with CST graduates. In just a few
meetings, you can help a student set career
goals, network and prepare for life beyond
Temple. If you want to learn more about
mentoring, please contact me. We hope to
start this fall.
Please keep up with CST by reading our
publications, visiting our website, liking us
on Facebook and joining the new CST
alumni group on LinkedIn. Thank you so
much for all you have done to move our
college forward. We appreciate your support.
Sincerely,
Victoria Blevins
Director of Development
vblevins@temple.edu
215-204-4704
Touchpoint | Spring 2012
11
Extraordinary teachers
TUteach’s “Get to Know”
event highlights successes
and challenges
The United States is facing serious challenges in education.
Children are not gaining the
knowledge they need in biology,
chemistry, math and other
subjects to compete in the global
economy. TUteach is turning
things around by training the
next generation of teachers who
understand both advanced
science and what it takes to
succeed in the classroom.
Now in its fourth year, TUteach
is a collaboration of the College
of Science and Technology
and the College of Education
funded by a grant of up to $2.4
million by the National Math
and Science Initiative (NMSI).
Get to Know panel participants: P. Roy Vagelos,
retired chair and CEO of
Merck, Master Teacher
Herb Greene, and TUteach
student Helena Sautner
Beginning with just 20 students
in 2008, there are now nearly
200 students in the program.
TUteach students graduate with
a bachelor of science in their
chosen math or science field,
as well as the academic and
experiential qualifications
necessary to earn a middle or
high school teaching certificate.
In contrast to many other
teacher preparation programs,
TUteach students start teaching
in real middle school classrooms
during their freshman or sophomore year.
In March, TUteach held a
gathering and symposium for
Temple alumni and friends and
education and science leaders
in the Philadelphia region. Held
on Main Campus, the Get to
Know TUteach event featured
remarks by CST Dean Hai-Lung
Dai and College of Education
Interim Dean James Earl Davis.
A roundtable discussion on
issues facing science education
and the United States’ leadership
in technology fields included
U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah
and P. Roy Vagelos, retired chair
and CEO, Merck & Co., Inc.
Talented students matched with exceptional researchers.
Advanced theory matched to hands-on experience.
Your contribution matched by our commitment.
Attendees also had opportunities to meet TUteach staff,
TUteach students and teachers
from the School District of
Philadelphia, and learn about
the program’s innovative, projectbased curriculum.
The Undergraduate Research Program offers CST students the
opportunity to work alongside Temple’s most experienced researchers.
But many URP students have to work at jobs off campus, and that
means less time in the lab working on today’s most difficult challenges.
Your gift to URP will provide students with hourly stipends for lab work.
TUteach is currently working
to raise an endowment to
support student scholarships,
salaries for master teachers and
other important features of the
program. Each gift made to
TUteach’s endowment will be
matched by NMSI, through
July 31. To learn more about
TUteach or to make a gift, go
to www.temple.edu/tuteach.
Temple University | College of Science and Technology
so that your gift will go twice as far.
Together, we can help URP students spend more time in the lab, earn
money for living expenses and learn what it takes to excel in advanced
research before they graduate.
To make a gift to the Undergraduate Research Program, use the
enclosed envelope or go to myowlspace.com/giving.
173-1112 RF
12
CST will then match your financial contribution—on a one-to-one basis—
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1803 North Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122
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