COLUMBIA — Hundreds of undergraduate students at MU are involved with research each year, said Linda Blockus, director of undergraduate resource. Unlike a lot of the colleges across the state, MU offers students an array of outlets to obtain experience in research in one area or to combine areas of study for interdisciplinary research.

Kim Pope, a 2008 MU graduate, has taken advantage of undergraduate opportunities to do research. She first got involved her sophomore year. In the fall of 2007, Pope, a psychology major, received the 2008 Thompson Center Undergraduate Research Award. This award has given her funding for her research, which uses psychology and anatomy to look at correlations between behavioral analysis and the anatomic structure of the brain.

Q: How did you first get involved with research at MU?

A: I became involved with research a year ago, when one of the professors I work for taught a psychology class that I took that was all about the brain and its disorders, and he mentioned openings in his lab. The other professor I work for gave a presentation in that class. She brought in specimens of brains and it was really interesting to see. She also mentioned a lab opening so I contacted her for more information and began working for her shortly after.

Q: What attracted you to first get involved with research as an undergraduate?

A: For the research I’m doing now, the psychology aspect of it relates to my major. As for the anatomy portion of it, I just have an interest in anatomy. The people I work with are very helpful because I can take my two interests and put them together. I like to learn in a lab setting and to do things with more personal ideas instead of in a structured classroom-like environment.

Q: What process did you have to go through to receive the Thompson Center Undergraduate Research Award?

A: Both of my mentors are faculty at the Thompson Center. They received an email about the award that was going to be given so we all met to come up with the project idea.

We came up with an idea, did background research, came up with methods and envisioned what the project would be. Then we wrote up how we were going to present our idea in a project proposal. Once we completed the proposal we submitted it and waited to hear the decision.

Q: Who are the faculty mentors you work with?

A: I have worked with Dr. Kristina Aldridge in pathology and anatomical sciences and Dr. Shawn Christ is in psychological sciences.

Q: What has been the focus of your research and also the research being funded by the Thompson Center award?

A: Mainly neurological disorders and the anatomy and psychology associated with them. The project I am doing for the award is on phenylketonuria or PKU.

Q: What is PKU?

A: It is a recessive genetic disorder in which the metabolic pathway responsible for metabolizing the amino acid phenylalanine is disrupted which results in levels of phenylalanine becoming increasingly higher in the blood. This can lead to different developmental issues.

Q: When you do the research, what exactly are your duties?

A: I mainly work at a lab in the pathology and anatomical sciences department. I look at MRI images and I segment them using different kinds of computer software programs and drawing pads. I also help out with other projects that are going on. In the psychology lab, I recruit and run participants for some studies along with helping to conduct other studies. Therefore, I do my research project intermingled with all of that and my research brings both of the labs together.

Q: How many hours do you spend in the labs?

A: Roughly about ten hours in each lab for lab work and then additional time goes into the Thompson Center project that I am doing about PKU.

Q: Have you had any major findings come from the PKU research?

A: Not so far because we’re just getting started and still gathering data. Everything is preliminary right now, but hopefully we find interesting results.

Q: What do you hope will come out of the research you are doing?

A: Hopefully a publication can come out of it. That would be very helpful for me when applying to graduate school. It would also be interesting if we could find a connection between the structural and behavioral analysis. I would feel like I had made a contribution to the world of psychology, anatomy and anything that’s looking at those disorders.

Q: What has been your favorite part about your research experience thus far?

A: Probably coming up with a project and learning how to write a proposal on my own. I have learned a lot about that, as well as information about psychological and developmental disorders and all of the analysis that goes into some of the different methods we use, such as computer-based segmenting. I have gotten a lot of experience out of it, and it’s been really rewarding.

Q: What do you think are the major benefits of getting involved with research at an undergraduate level?

A: There are so many benefits to being involved with undergraduate research. The overall experience in general is rewarding because it helps you determine if that is the research you want to do or if it is the field you want to pursue. In addition, it helps you know what to expect for your future. I have changed my mind several times simply because I have gotten experience in one area, didn’t enjoy it and then went to something else.
Also, working with a mentor is really great because they kind of throw you into the academic world and tell you what to expect. They make you do research, present it and help you get money to fund it all. It’s really just like graduate school boot camp.

Q: How has it helped you personally prepare for graduate school?

A: Research has shown me everything I needed to do to prepare for graduate school. I had never thought about it (graduate school) before. I wanted to go to medical school originally, which is a completely different process. Becoming involved with undergraduate research has helped me understand the process of applying to graduate school and what to expect once I get there.

Q: After your experiences, what have you decided to do for graduate school?

A: I would like to stay here at Mizzou and work in the pathology and anatomical sciences department that I’m currently in and continue doing the research that I am involved with now. I enjoy anything that is neuroanatomy or neurologically based.

Q: If an undergraduate student at MU wanted to get involved with research, what advice would you have for them?

A: I would tell them to go to the Undergraduate Research website and explore the numerous possibilities shown on their Web page. The Office of Undergraduate Research is in 150 Life Sciences Center, and their goal is to spread the word about research to anyone on campus.

Other than that, if you have a class and you find the professor or their research interesting, talk to them about your ideas and they may be able to help you become involved or answer questions you might have. There are lots of ways to get involved, you just have to take the first step and decide how you want to get started.