The Great Salt Lake is a prime example of the tenacity of life to adapt to its environment. With up to nine times the ocean’s salinity and surrounded by desert, common sense would dictate the area to be inhospitable to life.
In the field at Great Salt Lake.
Yet it has thrived, acting as both a habitat for brine shrimp and an anchor for the life cycles of migratory birds. Many esteemed scientists have been drawn to the region to study how life can adapt to such harsh conditions.
Science Research Initiative (SRI) postdoctoral researcher Andrea Halling takes this a step further. Not only does she spearhead studies into how life adapts in the lake, she also leads a cohort of students doing the same. In cultivating this environment for students to study evolution, she creates an ideal environment for the students to grow and adapt in turn.
While it wasn’t what initially drew her to higher education, Andrea quickly grew a strong interest in physics and biology. There she found “a purpose in building and contributing to our understanding of the world around us,” and her journey would lead her to the study of the advent of multicellular life, exploring how the Snowball Earth event might have kickstarted it for her Ph.D. dissertation.
To oversimplify, colder liquids are more viscous, making it harder for microorganisms to move through. Increasing their collective size by staying together as a group of cells would physically make it easier to move in the cold, viscous environment. It was a hypothesis supported by her studies, creating the perfect background to launch her further into the field of evolutionary study.
A trajectory of this nature is common in the postdoc demographic, but Andrea’s resume contains a particularly useful quirk in the form of a pre-PhD detour. She taught high school physics and biology, allowing Andrea to enter her mentorship role in SRI with far more momentum than most. “I feel that a lot of the time people assume that freshman level students don’t know enough,” Andrea explains, “that they are empty, that we need to fill their cup of knowledge. And I know from experience that’s absolutely not true. My students are brilliant and have amazing ideas. It’s so fun to be able to build them up from the knowledge they already have.”
Building and expanding this foundation of knowledge is what truly makes SRI so special. As Andrea notes, “Many of these students won’t want to study the Great Salt Lake forever, but there are so many applicable skills that they can learn, to better think like a scientist.” She further notes that “Many wish to go to medical school, where applications will have very similar traits. Doing something like this, like SRI, allows them to set themselves apart.”
Much like the life they are studying, these students have been introduced into a novel research environment rarely found outside of Utah. And thanks to the guidance of Andera Halling, the unique nature of that environment allows them to adapt and to develop equally unique traits and evolve into stronger versions of themselves in the process.
By Michael Jacobsen
SRI Stories is a series by the College of Science, intended to share transformative experiences from students, alums, postdocs and faculty of the Science Research Initiative. To read more stories, visit the SRI Stories page.
For Genesis Aquino, a junior majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry, stepping into a research lab as a freshman was both daunting and transformative.
Since joining the Student Research Initiative (SRI) as a freshman, Genesis has found her stride in the lab and the exciting world of chemistry. Under the mentorship of SRI fellow Ryan Stolley, she is contributing to new research on vinyl cyanamides, molecules with the potential to advance the production of plastics, fibers, and rubber.
“Chemistry always interested me, and I knew Ryan Stolley would be a great mentor from the start,” Genesis recalls. “I wasn’t very confident in labs, so by putting myself in an ‘uncomfortable’ setting, I was able to gain confidence and grow as both a student and researcher.”
Genesis’s research focuses on fundamental chemical transformations and synthesis — breaking bonds and creating new ones to develop molecules with unique properties. “We are able to achieve this by adjusting several variables, such as the choice of chemicals, their quantities and the temperature we run the reaction at,” she explains. The team’s goal is to synthesize a molecule called vinyl cyanamides, which has never been done before. Successful synthesis of the molecule would serve as an intermediate stage and open the door for developing other molecules with unique applications.
‘All in the same boat’
At the beginning of her academic journey, Genesis remembers feeling unsure of herself. However, her feelings quickly changed when she was met by SRI’s welcoming research environment: “When I first joined, I thought, there's no way I could do this.” she recalls. “But the environment is really friendly, and the students you're working with are all in the same boat. We all just kind of work together, and so it's not as intimidating as it might seem.”
Outside of academics, Genesis loves to embrace Utah’s outdoors, finding joy through hiking, trail running and skiing. Looking towards the future, Genesis is planning her future in dentistry. As a pre-dental student, she values the skills and knowledge gained through her research experience. “In dental school, there’s a lot of chemistry and reactions that I’m going to be working with,” she says. “So it's definitely helped me to get more comfortable in the lab.”
For students who are hesitant about getting involved in research, Genesis offers encouragement: “At first it can be super intimidating, but the coordinators are really flexible,” she says. “I think everyone should just give it a shot because then you'll learn if you like it. I knew I wanted to do research in college, and SRI really opened the door for me to get started.”
Creating stepping stones for students and mentors alike
If there were a single word to describe the Science Research Initiative (SRI), “mutualistic” would rank among the best choices. Most are aware that the program uniquely allows undergraduate students to build a strong undergraduate resume, connect with expertise in the field, and ultimately learn if the career path is right for them far earlier and easier than what tradition entails. But did you know a similar benefit exists for the mentors?
SRI mentors are able to build a resume of their own as they teach and foster their students’ growth, showing proof-positive results that they can help students thrive under their leadership. That’s useful in its own right, but they also get to “home-grow” a roster of assistants with tailor-made expertise to assist with their projects. These are assistants that then use that expertise as groundwork for projects of their own. It’s a system that benefits everyone involved
Kendra Autumn is a prime example.
Parasitic fungi adaptation
Kendra arrived at the U with a BA in Biology from Willamette University in tow and quickly became involved with SRI as a graduate student stream leader. Under the guidance of her PhD advisor Bryn Dentinger, she developed a research focus on how parasitic fungi adapt to their hosts and how they might adapt to switch to a new host. The study of parasitic relationships can lead to deeper understandings of the evolution and mechanism of parasitism and often leads to practical applications.
“Say you’re trying to grow a crop plant and a pathogenic fungus attacks that plant,” Kendra explains, “you can get a different fungus that is a parasite of the crop-attacking fungus to deal with the issue, which is a potential pesticide-free approach to mitigating fungal crop pathogens.” She is currently studying the DNA of several mushroom specimens and their mold parasites, building evolutionary trees to better understand how these parasites have adapted to counter their hosts' defensive measures.
SRI's signature mutualism
This sort of adaptive specialization is a potential goldmine of breakthroughs as parasitism is all around us. Its utilization could affect everything from medicine to waste reduction. But as these parasitic studies built momentum, so, in tandem, did the new SRI with its signature mutualism. Now in its fifth year, the program for undergraduates is perfectly poised to place a handful of undergraduates under Kendra’s leadership, allowing them to adapt and grow together, often in ways you might not expect.
Kendra explains that “Many streams are able to create a lab culture, where fresh SRI students will go on to become learning assistants or TA’s in their stream to help mentor new students. There’s an actual sense of community. It’s something [where] I’m looking around and asking, ‘How do I develop this more in my stream?’” It becomes not just a project that students are invested in, but an environment, a place, where they feel comfortable enough to plant a few roots and start growing in turn.
Even SRI's infancy, the benefits to both students and mentors, like Kendra, have been astounding. Now with her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology awarded last spring, she gets to lead her upcoming students as a fully fledged SRI Fellow, to ask more ambitious questions and find new ways to expand student’s horizons as the program continues to evolve.
Kendra Autumn has big plans, ranging from introducing genomic studies in an accessible way, to creating and involving her students with outreach programs to build their science communication skills. And all the while they will be helping her lift her own projects towards new heights. It truly is a mutualistic relationship, as the years continue to pass it's no longer a question of if SRI will benefit students. Instead, it’s a question of what kind of extraordinary new heights both mentor and students together will be able to reach.
By Michael Jacobsen
SRI Stories is a series by the College of Science, intended to share transformative experiences from students, alums, postdocs and faculty of the Science Research Initiative. To read more stories, visit the SRI Stories page.
“We were given the opportunity to ask novel questions,” Parker Guzman says of the Science Research Initiative (SRI) in the College of Science, “as well as the methods and process of experiments. That’s lacking in undergraduate research a lot of the time.”
Parker worked in the Briggs/Steffen SRI stream, which focuses on pollination biology. The lab, in which students actively participate in field research and molecular protocols, studies native bees and their molecular structure in order to better understand the plants they pollinate and how to help native bees in the environment.
Parker is majoring in biology, with an emphasis in ecology and evolution with a minor in integrative human biology.
“After I leave the U,” Parker says, “I want to work in the field and then apply for a PhD program in ecology and evolution. I could see myself staying in academia, I enjoy teaching or doing research.”
In 2023, Parker won the Department of Chemistry’s Kodak Educational Service Fellow Award for mentorship. He works as a teaching assistant for organic chemistry classes.
“A professional hero of mine is Hank Green,” Parker says. “He’s an author and science communicator and has done a lot of work on platforms like YouTube to make science more accessible.”
Parker is the president of the undergraduate chapter of SACNAS at the U, a club that promotes and supports diversity in STEM. SACNAS often attends conferences, such as the one in Portland, Oregon last year. Parker also organized a smaller, local conference at the U in April, where around one hundred people participated. SACNAS won the Recognized Student Organization award for belonging from the University of Utah.
Along with SACNAS, Guzman works in the Clayton/Bush lab in the School of Biological Sciences. He became interested in their research after attending a lecture on parasitology. Focusing on host-parasite coadaptation and diversification, the Clayton/Bush lab works with birds, using captive birds as well as field work to research these mechanisms.
Guzman’s research within the Clayton/Bush lab is on the relationship between molt and preening behavior in captive pigeons.
“Molt is a huge but necessary energy investment for pigeons,” explains Parker. “So we expect them to downregulate other behaviors. But preening may not be downregulated due to the role it plays in maintaining plumage health.”
“Despite what most people think,” adds Parker Guzman, “pigeons are one of the smartest animals in the world.”
Aug 16, 2024
Above: In the lab, Lauren Wigod, the author and member of SRI's inaugural cohort.
The Science Research Initiative celebrates the graduation of its first cohort.
April showers bring May flowers (and this year in Utah, snow), but more than just plants bloom each spring at the University of Utah. All over campus, students blossom into graduates after years of growth. Among the graduating class this year are many of the first cohort of students of the Science Research Initiative (SRI), marking the four-year anniversary of the program.
The SRI was created to involve undergraduate students in research from their very first day on campus. Former College of Science dean Henry White had the vision for this program and in 2019 passed the torch to Dean Peter Trapa at a critical time when there was a lot of investment. The main goal of the SRI is to facilitate relationships between faculty researchers and students. “We have a lot of great faculty researchers at the U, and there wasn’t a good mechanism to connect students with them, so the program helps eliminate those barriers,” says SRI Director Josh Steffen. The program puts students and faculty in contact and makes expectations of the partnership clear.
NAVIGATING THE PANDEMIC
During its inaugural year, the SRI was still able to engage with students despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Mathew Crawley
During its inaugural year, the SRI was still able to engage with students despite the COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted the majority of campus activities. For some first- and second-year students, the initial SRI cohort was their only connection with the College of Science during an extremely difficult time. “In the SRI, I felt so cared for and supported both during the pandemic and after," says senior Anika D’Souza. "The program really helped me feel like I can do science.”
“I feel lucky that I started with the SRI because we were taught the methods, and then we were given the opportunity to ask novel questions,” says senior Parker Guzman. With the motto “learn by doing” in mind, budding scientists in the SRI jumpstart their first fall semester at the U with an introductory class designed to teach them about how science happens, help them establish a community within the college, and discover where their research interests lie. The following spring semester, students are planted in a research stream that best fits their interests and begin their scientific journeys.
Current research streams span many scientific disciplines from mathematics to organic chemistry and to climate science. A sampling of projects include “Spintronics and Quantum Sensing,” “Pollination Biology” and “The Geochemistry of Noble Gases.” These streams aren’t just limited to the College either. Students can participate in cancer biology research with the Huntsman Cancer Institute, conservation projects with the Hogle Zoo or Red Butte Garden, or ecological inquiries with the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District.
At its core, the SRI is a program designed to engage students in research, but its impact stretches much further. Early data indicate that SRI students are more likely to stay engaged in the College, maintain a higher GPA, earn other scholarships, and pursue additional research opportunities. Junior Chelsea Bordon says the SRI was a pivotal part of her first year at the U. “Getting into STEM can be really hard, but the SRI helped me meet so many people with different backgrounds that I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise which made that process easier.”
SRI Post-doctoral researcher Rodolfo Probst with undergraduates in Costa Rica.
IMPACTFUL EMPIRICAL RESULTS
While the student experience is at the heart of the SRI, the program engages with and enhances the scientific community beyond the U. Research projects facilitated by the program produce tangible and impactful empirical results that are shared in publications and presented at conferences. Members of the SRI get the opportunity to interact with the broader scientific community at gatherings on the local and national level. SRI students and postdoctoral researchers have presented at a number of conferences including the Ecological Society of America, American Chemical Society, Joint Math Meeting, Wildlife Society Meeting, Math for All, and Southwestern Social Science Association.
In addition to generating empirical evidence, the SRI contributes to the scientific community by creating space for scientists early in their professional academic careers. Postdocs were introduced to the program as stream leaders two years in. Not only do they help the program provide access to more undergraduates, but the postdocs themselves learn as well. Very few positions exist for postdocs to develop their skills after graduate school. As stream leaders for the SRI, they get the opportunity to mentor larger groups of students and run their own research groups. Out of the five post-doc researchers in the first cohort, three have already landed professorships at other research universities.
The SRI is unique from other undergraduate research programs because the experimentation extends beyond the physical laboratory. The program itself is an exploratory space where students can discover their passions — whether that’s in science or elsewhere. As the students are performing experiments, they’re also testing out the experience of being a researcher. The program invites curiosity and innovation with no one criterion of what success looks like.
“Coming into college, I had no idea what I wanted to do. The SRI helped me realize my love for biology and gave me skills as a researcher that will help me succeed in grad school,” says senior Sydney Larsen. Like Larsen, the rest of the first cohort of students graduating this year have their sights set high. Many are continuing their scientific careers in graduate programs, some are headed to medical school, and others have found their path outside of the sciences (one is the author of the article you’re reading right now).
STAYING ROOTED IN SRI’s VALUES
SRI students "learn by doing" beginning their first year at the U.
Just four years ago, the SRI was seeded with 27 students spread over seven research streams. This upcoming academic year, the program is aiming for 400 participants and 65 streams. The goal is that every College student who wants to be involved in research has the opportunity and resources to do so. In addition, SRI leaders want to bring on more postdocs and build the scientific community by engaging with other programs on campus and community partners to create more research projects.
In the next four years, the SRI is projected to continue growing, but leaders of the program hope that they can stay rooted in their values as the numbers of students multiply. “We want to make sure we have the resources we need to still offer quality experiences and support students financially as we grow,” says Associate Director Heather Briggs. The SRI will inevitably continue to yield publications, send students to conferences, and spur new scientific inquiries, but the most valuable aspect of the program by far is the depth of connection it fosters between students and their peers and mentors.
When the SRI was first launched, no one knew exactly how it would help promote the reputation of the U as a Tier-1 research university. It turns out that students shape the SRI just as much as they themselves are shaped by the program. With the inclusion of many student voices and perspectives, novel questions are asked and innovative approaches are taken. Now, with the graduation of the Science Research Initiative’s first cohort, it’s clear what the program’s legacy will be: a robust community of researchers informed by student inquiry; a community that holistically supports and celebrates graduates wherever their ambitions may take them.
By Lauren Wigod
Lauren Wigod HBS’24 enters a PhD program in philosophy of science this fall at the University of California, Irvine. She is a proud member of the first SRI cohort.
This story is featured in Synthesis, the College of Science's annual magazine.
You can read more SRI stories here.
“I absolutely loved this trip to Costa Rica. I learned things I could’ve only learned by experiencing them firsthand. We all got really close with one another. I think it’s an amazing opportunity. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s probably one of the best highlights of [my experience at] University.”
This sentiment from Chloe Brackenbury is echoed by every student who shared her experience. Over the last two spring breaks, a handful of University of Utah students have had the opportunity to embark on a Science Research Initiative (SRI) trip across Costa Rica, affectionately referred to in Spanish as "Pura Vida" (or Pure Life). The trip was sponsored by the Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy.
Designed by SRI Postdoctoral Fellow Rodolfo Probst and with support from the Monteverde Institute (MVI), SRI students immersed themselves in a thriving environment for learning. There they interacted with local experts and community members and fostered new connections while tackling real-world climate issues and getting a first-hand sense of what long-term scientific endeavors look like.
Join us here for a virtual trip through the celebrated tropical clime of Costa Rica . . .
from the SRI student perspective!
On a research outing such as this, students could study the local wildlife up close while also assisting in rebuilding and enriching bird habitats. By catching and tracking different bird species (from tucanets to woodcreepers), students could confirm that birds were recolonizing areas recovered after deforestation. Ainsley Parkins, currently working under Rodolfo Probst’s SRI stream on identifying bird species using DNA tools, was overjoyed by the rich biodiversity surrounding her. In the accompanying video she delightedly shares just some of the fascinating lessons that would quite literally walk across the student’s path. No longer bound to the textbook to her, beautiful tropical birds could be freely observed in their natural habitats.
The many destinations of Costa Rica were also a wonderful source of learning. The MVI has been active in the country for decades, with a constant mission to integrate into the local culture. As such, students could see, via example, how scientific endeavors should actively strive to work with and assist local communities. That there are both benefits to and drawbacks of the growth of tourism, the importance of preserving the local culture as well as the local environment. An experience that made clear that conservation efforts are most effective when everyone is working together. I was lucky to speak with Jack Longino who views the institution as “One of the great success stories” of this kind. He sees a future where a constant cycle of undergraduate students could naturally slot into and assist these ongoing projects as part of their educational journey. To give them valuable firsthand experience in the field and show the importance of continually supporting scientific endeavors.
As exciting as these lessons can be, it's often the hard lessons that are the most valuable. Gabby Karakcheyeva (Photographer of the nature photos in the accompanying video!) describes how her experience helped tackle college burnout, clarify her future plans and discover that fieldwork was worth pursuing. Caden Collins realized the opposite: that while he enjoys fieldwork he'd “rather be the one the data is brought to.” A segment of the trip was led by bio-artist Rosemary Hall, whose focus on the soundscapes and exploration of natural spaces showcased the sheer variety of forms conservation efforts can take. And others still were caught off guard by the severe humidity and heat, or nocturnal creatures with no concept of personal space. One student in particular had a rude reality check as a scorpion dropped on their head. As amusingly put by Ainsley, “The outside doesn't like to stay outside!”
Regardless of the lesson learned, these experiences provide crucial context for students deciding their future careers. They’ve been devoting years of their lives to their studies, so to have avenues like this trip where they can clarify that the academic path they are walking is right for them is truly invaluable. And in this case, they got to do so while experiencing the beauty and culture of a new region and building strong friendships with their peers. The idea of going out into the world to make it a better place was an idea no longer. It was real, right in front of them, a beacon of hope that long-term conservation projects are thriving everywhere you look. With learning experiences like these and community partners eager to help, they know there’s a future where we join hands and walk down the path towards a better tomorrow.
Video and commentary by Michael Jacobsen
The students in this video story would like to thank post-doctoral researcher Rodolfo Probst, facilitator and director of the SRI field trip to Costa Rica. His expertise and generosity ensured students experienced an enjoyable, educational and safe experience in Central America.
“We were given the opportunity to ask novel questions,” Parker Guzman says of the Science Research Initiative (SRI) in the College of Science, “as well as the methods and process of experiments. That’s lacking in undergraduate research a lot of the time.”
Parker worked in the Briggs/Steffen SRI stream, which focuses on pollination biology. The lab, in which students actively participate in field research and molecular protocols, studies native bees and their molecular structure in order to better understand the plants they pollinate and how to help native bees in the environment.
Parker is majoring in biology, with an emphasis in ecology and evolution with a minor in integrative human biology.
“After I leave the U,” Parker says, “I want to work in the field and then apply for a PhD program in ecology and evolution. I could see myself staying in academia, I enjoy teaching or doing research.”
In 2023, Parker won the Department of Chemistry’s Kodak Educational Service Fellow Award for mentorship. He works as a teaching assistant for organic chemistry classes.
“A professional hero of mine is Hank Green,” Parker says. “He’s an author and science communicator and has done a lot of work on platforms like YouTube to make science more accessible.”
Parker is the president of the undergraduate chapter of SACNAS at the U, a club that promotes and supports diversity in STEM. SACNAS often attends conferences, such as the one in Portland, Oregon last year. Parker also organized a smaller, local conference at the U in April, where around one hundred people participated. SACNAS won the Recognized Student Organization award for belonging from the University of Utah.
Along with SACNAS, Guzman works in the Clayton/Bush lab in the School of Biological Sciences. He became interested in their research after attending a lecture on parasitology. Focusing on host-parasite coadaptation and diversification, the Clayton/Bush lab works with birds, using captive birds as well as field work to research these mechanisms.
Guzman’s research within the Clayton/Bush lab is on the relationship between molt and preening behavior in captive pigeons.
“Molt is a huge but necessary energy investment for pigeons,” explains Parker. “So we expect them to downregulate other behaviors. But preening may not be downregulated due to the role it plays in maintaining plumage health.”
“Despite what most people think,” adds Parker Guzman, “pigeons are one of the smartest animals in the world.”
SRI Stories: Bones of The Past Teach Us About The Present
April 22, 2024
Animal bones found in Utah’s caves are being used to study the impact of climate change on current animal communities. “I like to think of it as just one big puzzle,” Kasey Cole, Science Research Initiative (SRI) post-doctoral researcher and stream leader, states. “We can look at past records of animals and compare them to modern records of animals in that same area.”
Kasey has always been interested in studying the past. Originally from California, she graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a degree in anthropology. “I started as a history major,” Kasey says. “But I took an archaeology course, just as a general education requirement, and realized I can incorporate science and a more hands-on approach to learning about the past.” She then received her master’s from California State University, Chico, before coming to the University of Utah to get her PhD.
Left to right: Randall Irmis, NHMU’s curator of paleontology, Dr. Tyler Faith, NHMU’s chief curator, and caver Tom Evans examine and collect mammal bones on the floor of Tubafore Cave. Credit: Colin Stern
“My advisor, Jack Broughton, is a wonderful archaeologist, and he specializes in zooarchaeology of western North America, the exact thing I wanted to do,” says Kasey. “The anthropology program is unified by an evolutionary and ecological theoretical perspective, which is something I wanted to pursue more. I liked the connection with biology and the connection with ecology, so that’s what got me hooked. With my background in zooarchaeology, I study environmental change in the past.” Her expertise also includes paleoecology and she works as a research affiliate for the Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU) and the Department of Anthropology. The Utah Cave Paleo project started when citizen cavers began noticing bones at the bottom of caves they were exploring.
Enter Tyler Faith, chief curator and Randy Irmis, curator of paleontology at NHMU. They were interested in the findings and have since collected many bones from caves throughout Utah over the past four years. Last year, Kasey was brought in because of her expertise in North American fauna in order to identify and research the bones.
“At the time, I was one of Tyler Faith’s graduate students,” says Kasey. “He brought me into this project — perfect for a postdoc,” and she has been studying the bones from these Utah caves ever since.
The collaboration between the NHMU, SRI, and local cavers made this research possible, which is providing a glimpse into the past. The bones range in age, from only a few weeks old to hundreds of years old. In terms of archaeology, the caves are a gold mine, allowing researchers to understand animal communities before anthropogenic climate change. The data from the bones are then compared to current animal communities to see how they are affected by climate change.
Kaedan O’Brien, lead author of published findings from Utah caves, and anthropology Ph.D. candidate at the U, holds up a mummified wood rat at an undisclosed cave in the House Range of western Utah. Credit: Randy Irmis
“I use the term paleoecologist,” says Kasey when describing herself. “I study old environments. And the way I do that is by studying animal bones from either archaeological or paleontological contexts. I then use those animals to help me reconstruct what the environment looked like.”
Kasey’s research is interdisciplinary, involving biology, ecology, anthropology, chemistry, climate science, among others. By studying past environments through animal bones, Cole can ask questions about the climate and geologic record and even questions about human behavior.
Some of the insights provided by this research include records of the now-extinct Southern Rocky Mountain Wolf, from bones recovered in a cave in the Uinta Mountain range. These wolves went extinct in the early 1900s, and records of them are rare because of how quickly they disappeared due to eradication by humans.
The cave bones also indicate the presence of wolverines, animals that are extremely rare in Utah, with only eight confirmed sightings in Utah since the 1970s. However, bones in these caves imply resident populations of the animal.
Kasey Cole posing next to special exhibit at the Natural History Musem of Utah.
The project is beginning to expand out of the Wasatch and Uinta and into other mountain ranges such as Utah’s House Range located in Millard County. Within some of these caves, the remains of bighorn sheep are being discovered, which is fascinating since there is no historical or modern record of them in the region.
The SRI students in Kasey’s lab not only assisted with this research, but they get to explore their own individual research projects.
“It’s associated with the stream, but they’re focused on questions they’re asking,” says Cole about student activities. “The students all learn the process of identifying bones, but at the end of the semester, I want them all to have an individual project idea, so they can conduct that research the next semester. All of these research projects have transferable skills that pre-med students or other students can take with them.”
Kasey is involved with SRI because she’s passionate about teaching, and SRI is a great place for students to learn research skills and gain access to research opportunities. “The thing that brings me the most joy is talking to students and teaching them,” she says. “Also breaking down these antiquated barriers for people in science and giving people opportunities.”
Kasey Cole’s research is currently on display at the Natural History Museum of Utah in a special exhibit which opened April 1 and will be on display until early September.
By CJ Siebeneck
SRI Stories is a series by the College of Science intended to share transformative experiences from students, alums, postdocs and faculty of the Science Research Initiative. To read more stories, visit the SRI Stories page.
“I get to create things that have never existed in the universe before, hold them in my hand and share them,” says Ryan Stolley PhD’13 an associate director of the Science Research Initiative (SRI) at the University of Utah, and adjunct assistant professor of chemistry.
“Teaching students and giving them an opportunity to explore the nature of the universe and share that magic is incredible.”
If it sounds like Stolley is some kind of magician, he is, and not just as an established chemist, but as someone who mentors STEM undergraduates through hands-on, first-year-and-beyond research experiences arguably without equal in the US.
Stolley was recently acknowledged as one of 2024's “Forty Under 40” by Utah Business magazine which annually celebrates the professionals changing the Beehive State’s business landscape in big ways — all before reaching the age of 40. In addition to his work at the U, he is principal chemist of Glycosurf, LLC a local chemical and personal care product company that has garnered national attention in the field of critical minerals recovery.
This year’s honorees “embody the essence of leadership, resilience and forward-thinking that not only propels their success but also serves as a catalyst for the evolution of the business landscape in the state as a whole."
A penchant for conjuring
^ Ryan Stolley. Credit: 2024 Forty Under 40 awards photographed by MANICPROJECT for Utah Business. ^^ Banner Photo above: In the lab. Credit Todd Anderson.
The “magic” of learning that Stolley has a penchant for conjuring settles in his undergrad mentees on the molecular level — not only in the lab, busy with several chemistry-related projects — but in the internal, still rudimentary mind and imagination of a young scientist. Stolley knows something about that mysterious transfer of knowledge in higher education where students are paired with esteemed mentors who not only share their scientific expertise but, critically, also teach their students how to learn, and even why.
Stolley is from Aurora, outside Denver where, as a self-described “latch-key kid” he was largely left to his own devices. “I got into a lot of trouble and got bad grades,” he says. In part because of his membership in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, he enrolled in college where he played lacrosse and was a first team All-American. (In October, he was inducted into the college’s lacrosse hall of fame.) There he met Monte Helm (now at Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City) who made a measurable difference in the trajectory of Stolley’s life, first at Fort Lewis College in Colorado and then, with Helm’s assistance, through a post-doctoral fellowship at Pacific Northwest National Lab.
“Ryan’s curiosity and dedication to learning is inspiring, coupled with his natural gift for motivating and leading others, [he has been] propelled … to achieve remarkable accomplishments,” says Helm upon learning of Stolley’s Utah recognition.
Additionally, Stolley first met Cindy Browder, an undergraduate research mentor at Ft. Lewis. She would later earn her doctorate at the U in 2001 and is now on faculty at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Both were “a big inspiration for my current position with the SRI," says Stolley, “trying to help students find purpose through science and personal mentorship.”
“Ryan seemed destined to succeed from my first interactions with him,” Browder says. “But Ryan should know how he shaped me and how I work with students. My mentoring successes, especially with students from historically excluded populations, are rooted in what Ryan taught me.”
Their mutual influence has indeed come full circle, especially evident as Stolley continues his research with 21 SRI students distributed across eight projects that vary from organic methods development to natural products synthesis to condensed matter physics. A handful of papers, both independently and in collaboration with multiple other labs at the U, are being developed and will hopefully be published by the end of the year.
A natural fit
This research is a natural fit for Stolley’s work as lead chemist at the award-winning Glycosurf which manufactures surfactants, substances that, when added to a liquid, reduces its surface tension, thereby increasing its spreading and wetting properties – the major ingredient in a variety of soaps. Founded in 2013, the company’s ambition is to expand its creation of a green glycolipid version of surfactants for a variety of applications, including soaps, lotions and products for critical mineral extraction/purification. “We have a ton of new partnerships and products in development,” he says. “Putting them through their paces and bringing them to scale is very exciting."
In the SRI labs where observers can view Stolley and his undergrads through the fishbowl architecture on the third floor of the Crocker Science Center, the choreography of the lab can seem frenetic and intense. Gloved and gowned, students in their first-year can be seen skirting around fume hoods and manipulating assays to uncover new reaction paradigms using under-explored or entirely new functional groups, exotic ligands for rare-earth element coordination and a variety of exotic conducting materials.
The dance embodied in this research progress, product development and partnerships is just the walk-up to those eventual “pay-days” when the mentor-researcher holds in his hand the aforementioned “new creations” to share with students. It’s at that singular moment where the magic is transferred to a new generation, not unlike what Ryan Stolley, still under the age of 40, experienced himself as a very young scientist first getting his start in Colorado.
By David Pace
SRI Stories is a series by the College of Science, intended to share transformative experiences from students, alums, postdocs and faculty of the Science Research Initiative. To read more stories, visit the SRI Stories page.
Sole served a volunteer church mission in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland before pursuing a biochemistry degree in the College of Science. Her path at the University of Utah has been shaped largely by her experience with the Science Research Initiative.
Sole was personally motivated to join the SRI upon returning to the states and starting her degree at the U. “I’ve always been interested in health and science, and after losing my grandfather to cancer, I decided I wanted to learn more about the mechanisms of cancer and contribute to the field of oncology research.” says Sole. She found her home in Dr. Sheri Holmen’s oncology stream.
After a semester as an SRI student, Sole was hired to work as a researcher in Holmen’s lab at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. “I’m studying the role of concurrent NF1, BRAF, and NRAS mutations in melanoma and how they drive tumorigenesis.” Sole says. “The NF1 gene was successfully cloned first by the University of Utah back in 1990. It’s really cool to now continue the research initially made possible by the University of Utah.”
Her two years of research that began with the SRI stream (and a discovery at the U almost 4 decades ago) culminated in Sole being accepted to present at a handful of undergraduate research conferences. The most recent was Research on Capitol Hill where students are selected to showcase their posters to Utah State legislators. Sole is also slated to present at UCUR and NCUR later this semester.
Sole’s experience with the SRI didn’t end after becoming a researcher. She has worked as a TA in Dr. Gennie Parkman’s SRI stream for the past year. Sole says that Parkman is one of her biggest role models. “I admire her for many reasons, one of which is how successful she is as a woman in STEM. She has one of the busiest schedules of anyone I know, yet still puts her family first and makes time for others.”
Outside of the lab, Sole is a member of the Freeskier society and enjoys running, hiking, and yoga. After graduating from the U this spring, Sole aspires to attend medical school and continue her work in the field of oncology, in the spirit of her grandfather.
By Lauren Wigod
SRI Stories is a series by the College of Science, intended to share transformative experiences from students, alums, postdocs and faculty of the Science Research Initiative. To read more stories, visit the SRI Stories page.
