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Seven Lakeland Natural Science grads accepted into fall graduate programs

Lakeland College's Natural Science Division has announced that seven students who graduated from a program within the division have been accepted into graduate programs this fall.

The class includes:

• Sarah Neuman of Campbellsport, Ph.D. program in cell and molecular biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. She graduated in May with a bachelor's in biology and music-instrumental performance emphasis.
• Sean Johnson of Sheboygan, Ph.D. program in cell and molecular biology, Washington University (St. Louis). He graduated in May with a bachelor's in biology.
• Amber Koenig of Howards Grove, Ph.D. program in chemistry, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She graduated in May with a bachelor's in chemistry and mathematics.
• Kellen Grott of New Holstein, doctor of chiropractic program, National University of Health Science (Chicago). He graduated in May with a bachelor's in fitness & sport studies-fitness studies emphasis.
• Grace Jairo of Rongo, Kenya, Ph.D. program in biomedical sciences, Tulane University. She graduated in May with a bachelor's in biochemistry.
• Dominique Olds of Mequon, Ph.D. program in microbiology, Ohio State University. He graduated in May of 2009 with a bachelor's in biology.
• Phil Sontag of Altoona, Ph.D. program in ecology, Rutgers University. He graduated in December of 2010 with a bachelor's in biology.

All of these students have participated in Lakeland's LURE (Lakeland Undergraduate Research Experiences) Program, where students, under faculty supervision, pose scientific questions, then perform experiments to address their questions.

"Participants in this program have very different experiences than many of their peers at larger institutions," said Greg Smith, associate professor of biology and LURE co-founder and director. "Undergraduates are not asked to simply wash the dishes or learn to reliably perform a single assay. LURE participants are responsible for all aspects of experimental design, troubleshooting, data analysis and presentation of results and conclusions.

"We measure success not by whether the work got published, but by what the student researcher has learned about the scientific process, including the collection, analysis and presentation of publication-quality data."

In the last five years, 28 students have graduated after participating in the LURE program, and 15 of those students have gone on to graduate programs, including medical school, pharmacy school, genetic counseling, and 10 in research Ph.D. programs in biology, biochemistry and chemistry.

"We don't want our students to simply understand science in theory; we also want them to understand how science is performed," said Jeffrey Schwehm, associate professor of biochemistry and LURE co-founder.

"Prospective employers and graduate/professional school admissions committees prefer students who not only understand the theory of scientific concepts, but have actually performed original scientific research. That makes participation in the LURE program an essential component for the future career opportunities of many students."

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