Photo courtesy of Dr. Matthew Stern
For most college students, summertime means interning, working, or taking classes. However, for eight students at Winthrop, they were able to have an opportunity most students cannot obtain until graduate school. These eight students were able to work on three different biomedical research projects with Dr. Matthew Stern, associate professor of biology at Winthrop.
In 2014, Stern created his research program with only two students and it has only grown from there.
The project he and his students are working on currently is in collaboration with USC School of Medicine, Clemson University, VCOM-Carolinas, and Claflin University.
Stern’s three projects focus on a variety of topics. “One project focuses on blood vessel tissue engineering, another focuses on the way different cell types organize and interact within three-dimensional environments, and the third is working towards the development of a complex three-dimensional culture model to better study esophageal cancer,” Stern said.
Carlos Escoto-Diaz, a sophomore biology major, was one of the students who was able to work in Stern’s lab.
Escoto-Diaz researched specifically on blood vessel tissue engineering. “Medical relevance would apply for patients in need of cardiac bypass surgery … we are specifically investigating how we can recellularize [pig] internal thoracic artery scaffolds with human aortic endothelial cells,” he said.
Escoto-Diaz learned through the course of three months how to work in a lab and gained skill sets that are crucial in furthering his career. “Organization, motivation, and collaboration have been very important skills that I’ve developed over the summer. Most importantly, gaining experience and having the task of presenting my research … have helped me the most,” he said.
Stern is able to continue his summer and school year research through the support of Winthrop’s Undergraduate Summer Research Experience program, the South Carolina Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research/Institutional Development Award, South Carolina IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence, and the Winthrop University Research Council.
Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering specifically provides student housing and payment while students continue furthering their scientific careers over the summer.
Escoto-Diaz explains the importance of joining SURE or any form of undergraduate research, “My career goals are to further my involvement in biomedical research and this SURE program experience has allowed that to happen. By starting in research at an early stage I will be more sure of what I want to focus on after Winthrop. I also have the valuable experience obtained from having wonderful mentors such as Dr. Stern,” he said.
For any student interested in undergraduate research Stern advises, “Contact a faculty member and arrange a meeting to discuss their interests. Students who end up in my lab for a summer often shadow or volunteer in the lab during the academic year to start developing skills and learning the systems we study.”.
Stern also advises that it does not matter what type of research you pursue. “Take advantage of any research opportunity [you] can find. Many students think that if they want to go to medical school or pharmacy school … they should only do research directly related to those fields … I strongly believe that the process of conducting research is more important than the specifics what you are researching … If you have a passion for research you’ll get into … and you’ll benefit tremendously from the experience,” Stern said.
