Two SANS students had the unique opportunity to work with top researchers, UMES’ Dr. Sadanand Dhekney (plant breeding and biotechnology) and University of California, San Diego’s Dr. Yunde Zhao (biochemistry and plant genetics), this summer. Joshua Claiborne, a junior majoring in agriculture, and Destiny Parker, a second semester junior majoring in biology (pre-med), were selected for a competitive, paid eight-week internship through UC, San Diego’s Summer Training Academy for Research Success program. Normally held in-person in San Diego, COVID protocol mandated that students attend virtual classroom sessions instead and do their hands-on research at their home institution.
The students were involved in collaborative projects between UMES and UCSD that received funding by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative and its Capacity Building Grant Program through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Dhekney said.
Claiborne was involved in research related to Dhekney’s study using CRISPR to combat fungal diseases in grapevines. The project aims to improve powdery mildew resistance in grapevine cultivars using genome editing technology. Claiborne worked in the field and lab to study plant pathogens and methods for effective management.
Parker spent her summer working with Vitis (grapevines) and hemp tissue cultures in Dhekney’s lab in Trigg Hall. To provide hemp growers with model stock plants free of viruses and disease, Parker performed tasks like isolating the meristem and conducting surface sterilization. She also looked at the influence of growth regulator concentrations on in vitro rooting of micropropagated grapevine shoots.
“I gained valuable knowledge in different growth media and how to maintain plant life,” Parker said. “What surprised me the most is that our control group faced mold in almost all of our samples, which goes to show how easily contamination can happen and really upped my awareness of being careful and precise with handling the material.”
Parker, who has worked in three labs at UMES, says the internships have expanded her love for research and have given her “the experience of what a scientist deals with day-to-day.”
“Each have given me a variety of techniques in the lab that have made me feel more prepared for my route to becoming a doctor,” Parker said. “UMES has provided me a great support system. Without the professors and mentors I’ve had, I wouldn’t have a career plan and know I could achieve it. Special thanks to Dr. Dhekney, Dr. Zhao of UC, San Diego and to my LSAMP advisors, Dr. Bell and Sherene Black, and my LSAMP cohorts for always supporting me.”
STARS students were selected based on their GPA, the relevance of their completed courses to their research interests, the compatibility of the applicant’s research interest with available faculty mentor research projects and their interest in pursuing a doctorate.
Funding for UMES students involved in the program was through the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Preparation.
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, gstephens@umes.edu, 410-621-3850.
Photo by Todd Dudek, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, agricultural communications, tdudek@umes.edu.
