Seventeen undergraduate students participated in the 2018 SURF program. They worked in eight different research laboratories in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Over a period of three summer months, they learned how to conduct research and got a good idea about the ongoing scientific research and expectations of UWM graduate students. At the end of the program, all students presented their work in form of a poster and summarized their work in a written report. Many of these results will be part of future publications. The best poster was presented by Marwat Salamin.

Award ceremony (Dr. Arnold and Marwat Salamin)

As a group, we visited Eurofins SF Analytical Laboratories in New Berlin, WI.  The company is a full-service testing laboratory situated in the greater Milwaukee area. The manager David Riggs and Tomas Garrett guided a tour of the facilities and provided excellent information about Eurofins. Our group is very thankful for this opportunity.

Group visit at Eurofins SF Analytical Laboratories

The best poster was presented by Marwat Salamin, who worked in the Group of Prof. Mirza. The title of her poster was: “Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry Trace Elements Detection in Urine: A review.

Marwat Salamin

Samuel D’Amico worked in the group of Prof. Schwabacher. The title of his presented poster was: Transition Metal Detecting Hydrogels: Synthesis of Perturbation Moieties.

Samuel D’Amico

Eric Edwards worked in the group of Prof. Woehl. The title of his presented poster was: Chemically Binding Fluorescent Compounds to Glass Slides.

Eric Edwards

Alec Huber worked in the group of Prof. Arnold. The title of his presented poster was: Continuing Study of the Immunotoxicology of Asthma Drug Candidate MIDD0301.

Alec Huber

Lexie Lanphere worked in the group of Prof. Altstadt. The title of her presented poster was: Development of novel approaches to determine designer amphetamines in confiscated forensic samples.

Lexie Lanphere

Ryan Majinski worked in the group of Prof. Hossain. The title of his presented poster was: A Detailed Study of Acid-catalyzed Reaction of Carbonyl Compounds with Ethyl Diazoacetate.

“My summer research experience has been the best of my two year career in Dr. Hossain’s group.  For the first time, I was able to work for countless hours uninterrupted each week, and I accomplished more than I ever have in the past.  I am continually excited about all of my findings, and I feel great satisfaction with every challenge I overcome.  I have truly grown as a scientist, and I am looking forward to spending more time in the laboratory.”- Ryan Majinski

Ryan Majinski

Kristen Meyer worked in the group of Prof. Mirza. The title of her and Hilda Ramirez poster was: Role of Acid Ceramidase in Xenografted Zebrafish Glioblastoma Model. Kristen and Hilda were awarded with the second Best Poster prize.

Kristen Meyer

Brandon Mikulsky worked in the group of Prof. Arnold. The title of his presented poster was: Finding a new treatment for Neuropatic pain: Targeting GABA(A) Receptor in Microglia. Brandon was awarded with third Best Poster prize.

“It was a pleasure to work with Dr. Arnold and my mentor, Amanda Nieman over this summer, and it has been tremendously helpful to experience the concepts I have been learning in class with a hands-on approach. I am looking forward to learning new techniques moving forward through the Arnold Lab, as this experience has already taught me many skills that will be valuable as I continue research and move forward with my chemistry career.” – Brandon Milkulsky

Brandon Mikulsky

Huy Ju Mun worked in the group of Prof. Woehl. The title of her presented poster was: Flatness Analysis of Optically Transparent Microfluidic Channels.

Huy Ju Mun

Emily Ortega worked in the group of Prof. Dietz. The title of her presented poster was: Butyl acetate as a “green” solvent for liquid-liquid extraction of aqueous dyestuffs.

As a biology student, chemistry can sometimes feel a little daunting. However, my experience in the Dietz lab has helped me to better understand chemical processes in my own work as well and in the other projects our lab works on. These experiences have made me more comfortable in a lab setting, and I’m more confident that research is a field I want to pursue as a career. I have so much more to learn, but I’ve realized that the right questions can teach you just about anything. – Emily Ortega

Emily Ortega

Mae Stepanski worked in the group of Prof. Arnold. The title of her presented poster was: The application of non-invasive airway mechanics to determine airway hyperresponsiveness for a steroid-resistance mouse model for asthma.

Mae Stepanski

Edgar Vargas worked in the group of Prof. Pacheco. The title of his presented poster was: Looking at Mycobacterium tuberculosis truncated hemoglobin.

Edgar Vargas