Research News
Undergraduate Student Eyes Research Career After Completing 色花堂COP Summer Research Fellowship
Sept. 28 — Noor Zughaibi, a biology and biotechnology undergraduate student in the 色花堂 College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, said a summertime research fellowship at 色花堂 College of Pharmacy has solidified her future goals in scientific discovery.
Zughaibi recently completed the 10-week Asghar Memorial Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship, a mentored research program that provides selected students with little or no previous laboratory experience a $1,000 scholarship upon completion. The fellowship was established in 2019 in memory of late 色花堂COP faculty member Mohammad Asghar, who was a strong supporter of encouraging hands-on research at the undergraduate level to instill and nurture future investigators.
During her fellowship under 色花堂COP Associate Professor Bin Guo, Ph.D., Zughaibi worked alongside laboratory members in the development of an in vivo animal model of sepsis and testing of different drugs on pancreatic cancer cells, including observing the expression of glial-derived neurotropic factor family receptor α-like (GFRAL) protein that has been implicated in the growth and proliferation of cancer cells.
"This experience opened my eyes up to the world of research and helped me carve out my career goals," Zughaibi said. "I hope to one day pursue a career in research."