THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 21, 1995 TAG: 9508210017
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HOLLY WESTER, CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Ask 21-year-old Erin Friedman about oligoasthenoteratozoospermia and he'll tell you more about the term than how to pronounce it.
After spending the summer at the Center for Pediatric Research in Norfolk, the rising senior at Old Dominion University knows more about this subset of the male infertile population than he ever thought he would.
Friedman is one of several local students who tapped into the real world of research this summer, during the center's third annual training program. The center is affiliated with Eastern Virginia Medical School and Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters.
Aimed at those who plan to pursue a medical education or biomedical research career, this scholarship program gives undergraduate and medical students the opportunity to design and work on their own laboratory research projects under the supervision of the center's faculty.
The seven students found the experience to be especially rewarding; most had no experience with their fields outside the classroom.
``They have seen a totally different aspect of research,'' said program director William G. Kearns, an assistant professor of pediatrics. ``You have to do it to really appreciate it.
``It's frustrating, but it's very rewarding. For them to be able to get a feel for it at this young age - it's very beneficial.''
Participants studied everything from apoptotic cell death to children with sickle cell disease. Each student was linked to a faculty member with a common interest.
The students began their research by writing a hypothesis and specific aims, which they presented to their peers and mentors. Kearns said that although the faculty didn't expect anyone to complete their projects, they made sure all the research was doable.
Students worked on high-tech equipment - such as computerized microscope systems to study polymerase chain reactions - and made rounds with doctors from King's Daughters. The minimal workday was 9-to-5.
``You do your job until you get done,'' said Friedman, who stayed in the lab until 3 a.m. some nights.
Friday morning seminars, in which professionals addressed everything from pediatric AIDS to insurance, were a favorite among participants.
``We're at an extreme advantage for having that kind of exposure,'' said 20-year-old Edward Frech, a rising junior at Mary Washington College.
Students were surprised by the respect and trust they received. ``They actually ask me my opinion, and they really want to know what I think,'' Friedman said.
But the responsibility got to 21-year-old Paris Heidt, who accidentally dropped a pH meter twice before it broke.
``I was traumatized by it,'' joked Heidt, a rising senior at Randolph Macon Woman's College. ``And then Jerry Garcia died and I could hardly function!''
From working with others in close quarters to dabbling with computer databases, students learned valuable lessons about research - ones they never would have picked up from textbooks.
Students presented their findings on the program's final days, Aug. 11-12. Nerves raged as they showed slides, threw charts on the overhead and passed out handouts, but students said the 10-minute summaries were the only way to cap the research.
``That's science,'' Friedman said. ``You bust your butt, stay up late, get up early and miss a lot of lunches, but then you get to share what you find with other people. That's the coolest part about it.'' MEMO: Holly Wester is a rising junior at Virginia Wesleyan College.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Erin Friedman, a rising senior at Old Dominion University, measures
a liquid in the lab at the Center for Pediatric Research in Norfolk.
Friedman's work this summer was rewarding, but difficult: He
remembers nights when he stayed in the lab until 3 a.m.
by CNB