Wesley College Ignites Potential with Undergraduate Research Program

Two long-term grants from federal research and infrastructure-building programs are helping shape a sustainable campus-wide culture of undergraduate research at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware. Both interdisciplinary grant programs have been instrumental in expanding the undergraduate research capacity in science at Wesley and in increasing Wesley faculty members’ research collaboration throughout the state with partnering institutions, state agencies, and private industry.

The IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), funded by the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health, focus on building biomedical research capacity. The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) is a federal grant program of the National Science Foundation that seeks to strengthen research and education in science and engineering in states that historically have not been leaders in winning federal research grants. Besides helping faculty focus their research programs, the two programs bring undergraduates into closely mentored, high-tech science research projects. Students conduct research both during the academic year and in full-time summer internships. Most students in the programs participate throughout their four years at Wesley.

The research the students do has real and practical implications, and gives students research opportunities they would not otherwise have had. Some students are studying the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus transported into Mid-Atlantic rivers, exploring the reactivity of medicinally useful organic compounds, helping to improve a database of chemotherapy drug properties as an aid in the drug-development process, and developing a database of the many pesticides used in the state.

NIH and NSF established the programs to build research and education capacity through statewide programs, typically with a research university as the lead institution; the lead institution then partners with other clinical or academic institutions. In Delaware, the programs are led by the University of Delaware, and Wesley College is one of six partners in the state. In 2009 the Delaware network received its most recent grant from the NIH program, for $17.4 million over five years.

Biomedical Research Network Support

Wesley’s participation in the NIH-supported biomedical research network has generated new and exciting outcomes (see Tables 1-3) for Wesley. Wesley College is a private, primarily undergraduate co-educational college, fully-accredited through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education with about 2,500 students. Student participants have received 29 national awards for undergraduate research excellence since Wesley first received funding in 2002, and faculty have earned four. Thirty-nine students have been coauthors on refereed scientific journal articles, and 14 have been awarded scholarships either as undergraduates or graduate students. More than three-quarters of Wesley students in the program go on to graduate or professional school. Admissions officials at the institutions they later enroll in cite the research experience and co-authorship of peer-reviewed publications as deciding factors in the students’ admissions.

Table 1.

Outcomes for Wesley College participants in NIH INBRE undergraduate biomedical research program six months after graduation.

	Number of students	Percent of students
Seniors who participated in directed research 2002–spring 2011	30	100%
Admitted to PhD programs	7	23%
Admitted to medical or medical technology schools	7*	23%
Admitted to MS programs	5	17%
Biomedical-related industrial employment	7	23%
Employed as registered nurses	4	13%

^*3 M.D., 2 physician assistant, 2 medical technologist programs

Table 3.

Research productivity of INBRE-supported faculty at Wesley College, 2002–2010.

Faculty publications in peer-reviewed journals	37
Commercial and public databases developed	2
Follow-on grants received (excluding INBRE and EPSCoR)	$750,000
Faculty presentations at national and international conferences	> 50
National recognitions to honor mentoring of undergraduate research, received by INBRE-supported faculty	4

Before the NIH grant, in more than 125 years, only one Wesley graduate had gone on to medical school, and very few had gone on to graduate school. The science faculty had published only about ten peer-reviewed articles and had procured less than $10,000 in total external grant funding. Additionally, due to a lack of access to advanced instrumentation before the NIH INBRE funding, most science faculty were not involved in any statewide research program and, as a result, students had very few opportunities to participate in mentored research or to build contacts to further their education at the graduate or professional school level.

Since 2002, 54 students have participated in this NIH-sponsored undergraduate research program. In summer 2011, nine students completed intensive 10-week internships in four laboratories, both at Wesley and at other partnering institutions. Forty-five percent of sophomore science majors are participating in network-sponsored projects in 2011. All undergraduate participants are expected to present outcomes of their work first at a regional meeting and then, when adequately trained, at a national scientific conference.

The collaborative nature of this NIH program has empowered each partnering institution to grow and develop in its niche without the competitive wrangling that can often occur. Wesley has made progress because of the support from colleagues at each of the institutions connected with the grant.

Before Wesley became a partner in this effort, relatively few Wesley students participated in research due to a lack of core research faculty, resources, administrative support, and infrastructure. The network funds have now provided expanded research space, equipment, and supplies; cyber infrastructure, including an advanced computing bioinformatics laboratory; wet lab and storeroom improvements; faculty release time; undergraduate research stipends and conference travel funds; remote online library access; and access to advanced chemical instrumentation at partnering institutions. Since 2002, four of the eight tenured faculty members in the Wesley science department have participated in the network program.

Wesley curricular changes

Many Wesley students begin with deficiencies in mathematics skills. To address this issue and improve student motivation and retention, the science curriculum was restructured during a mid-1990s revision of the Wesley College core curriculum. In this core, the science majors take general chemistry I and then organic chemistry I in year one and organic chemistry II and then general chemistry II in year two. This not only makes it possible for the students to catch up on their math requirements but also lets them begin their INBRE research experience, which at Wesley is very focused on organic chemistry, in their first year of undergraduate study. The science faculty also added a first-year course on the scientific process, as well as a discipline-specific senior research capstone course, which helps formally integrate research and classroom learning.

As a result of the changes, every graduating senior in biology, biological chemistry, and environmental science participates in either a sponsored or a non-sponsored mentored research program with one of seven mentors from the science faculty. This structure helps students expand their knowledge base, develop an appreciation of the scientific process, learn computational tools, sharpen mathematical skills, and understand laboratory methods and safety.

Students participating in the network-sponsored research must be science or nursing majors with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0, although, before the minimum GPA was raised, of the 30 participating seniors, 10 began their initial INBRE-supported research experience when they had a GPA between 2.4 and 3.0. Among the students in this lower-GPA cohort, two received significant scholarships upon graduation due to their research experience, one was accepted into a pharmaceutical company’s internship program, and 40 percent had earned a GPA greater than 3.0 by graduation.

The directors of the network program seek to enroll a diverse group of students, and Wesley plays a particular role in achieving this diversity. As a small college headquartered in Dover, Wesley reaches a segment of Delaware’s population that most of the other academic institutions in the state do not serve. Specifically, many of its students are the first in their families to attend college, and Wesley provides a nurturing and stimulating learning experience for them. Wesley’s connection to the INBRE program has enabled some of those students to experience the excitement and personal satisfaction of working in the biomedical research arena.

Research locations

After a faculty member invites students to participate based on their first-semester GPA, they register for a minimum of two directed-study class credits coinciding with the first semester of organic chemistry (i.e., the second semester of the freshman year). Along with actual research, the directed study includes readings of pertinent literature, discussions during weekly meetings, and collection and tabulation of experimental data in a laboratory notebook.

Some students choose to do all of their research (part-time during the school year and full-time, paid work during the summer) at Wesley, under the tutelage of Malcolm D’Souza, professor of chemistry and director of the Wesley College undergraduate INBRE research program. Most participants begin research in the summer at the end of their freshman year. The student projects in organic chemistry focus on such areas as medicinally useful organic compounds or the development of commercial databases that assist in the improvement of new pharmaceuticals and agricultural products.

As the projects mature in the sophomore year, undergraduates working with D’Souza at Wesley develop marketable and transferable skills such as an ability to think critically, solve problems, and communicate ideas. In the junior year, students learn to use advanced instrumentation in chemistry and biology; modeling software for biological systems; and commercially available statistical packages to analyze and interpret data.

As an alternative to on-campus research, in 2003 Wesley began allowing sophomores to conduct research at one of the network’s partnering institutions through an intensive 10-week summer internship program. Students who intend to continue on to medical school are encouraged to intern with one of the partners in the network with healthcare facilities.

During this process, students become comfortable talking about their science through giving poster sessions on campus and at the lead institution, the University of Delaware; outreach activities in local elementary schools; and travel to national or regional scientific conferences, such as those of the American Chemical Society. Publication in refereed journals strongly reinforces students’ commitment to science and improves their chances of being admitted to graduate or professional school.

The effect of research participation on student retention is significant. Only one student in the INBRE program left Wesley before the senior year. This contrasts sharply with the retention rate for science majors overall at the college—only 35 percent from the first year to the second year—including students who change majors, fail, or transfer. D’Souza estimates that 80 percent of students who begin in their first year continue in the program throughout their time at Wesley. Furthermore, faculty involved in the program report that participants across the board experience obvious growth in self-confidence, independence, communication skills, and maturity during the research projects.

CUR’s Posters on the Hill

As an example of student participants’ accomplishments, Ghada Alabed, who graduated from Wesley in May 2010 with a degree in biology, traveled to Washington, D.C., shortly before graduation along with fellow student researcher Jordan Wheatley to participate in CUR’s Posters on the Hill (Figure 1), an annual event sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research that allows students and faculty members to meet with their members of Congress and discuss their research.

Figure 1.

Wesley students Ghada Alabed, left, and Jordan Wheatley, with Malcolm D’Souza, professor of chemistry, and Patricia Dwyer, vice president for academic affairs, at the 2010 CUR Posters on the Hill event.

Alabed, Wheatley, and other students worked with D’Souza on a software-based project analyzing 90 chemotherapy drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They loaded information from drug package inserts into a computer program and then examined various properties of the drugs. Wheatley and Alabed then used the software to predict important drug-relevant properties such as water solubility and ease of absorbtion based on the drugs’ chemical structure. The initial goal was to validate the software and similar programs to enhance creation of drugs and increase understanding of how drugs act. The project familiarizes students with tools in information technology that are typically used in the drug development process. The database the team developed may find commercial use in the pharmaceutical industry, and the students’ work was published in an online peer-reviewed pharmaceutical journal. Alabed is enrolled in a doctoral neuroscience program at Delaware State University and Wheatley is a high school science teacher in southern Delaware.

In April 2011, two more seniors from the INBRE program presented their research to Delaware’s congressional delegation during the CUR-Posters on the Hill event (figure 2).

Figure 2.

Eight students presented papers on topics related to the world economy and international trade at the 2011 National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Ithaca, New York. From left to right, students Evan Day, William Sutton, Daniel Canova, Christopher Donisi, and Chelsea Pratt; associate professor of business administration Kraiwinee Bunyaratavej; and students Paola Garces, Abdu Jahi James, and Songphon Kannasut.

EPSCoR Aids State’s Researchers

Since 2005, EPSCoR grant support for Delaware has been targeted on building research and education capacity at partnering institutions and broadening the participation of Delaware’s diverse student population in science and technology careers. It also is designed to bridge the gap between research and application to help solve Delaware’s environmental problems and create jobs. The University of Delaware, Wesley College, Delaware State University, and Delaware Technical & Community College are partners in the Delaware EPSCoR program.

A major focus of EPSCoR funding at Wesley has been to build an infrastructure to enhance undergraduate research through internships and mentored projects and to integrate undergraduate research into courses. This funding has allowed the installation of an environmental science laboratory and purchase of vehicles, boats, handheld global positioning system (GPS) devices, and equipment to test soil and water quality—all of which are used in student research and classes. Since 2005, 21 environmental science majors and three science faculty members have participated in this program.

Bruce Allison, professor of environmental studies, leads the EPSCoR research efforts in science at Wesley. He has students working with state agencies on projects such as mapping the loss of wetlands along the Delaware coast, and on several Chesapeake Bay-related topics, such as computer modeling of the impact of land use/land change on surface water and soil quality, submerged aquatic vegetation (see Figure 3), and stream hydrology.

In the summers of 2010 and 2011, Allison directed a student team taking flow measurements for the Sassafras River Association (SRA) in Maryland to identify places where nitrogen and phosphorus were entering the Sassafras River. Interns used equipment to determine stream discharge, which will be used to determine total maximum daily deposit of pollutants into freshwater streams (see Figure 4). The SRA will use the information to prioritize research needs and educate landowners about ways to improve the quality of water running off their lands. The field work assists students by helping them understand real-world problems. Having this research funding allows Allison to teach students how to work in the field with the equipment that scientists at state or federal agencies use.

New undergraduate research or outreach projects dealing with water-quality issues were initiated in 2011 with the City of Dover’s Office of Planning and the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays.

Allison developed a broad-based geographic information systems (GIS) course with EPSCoR support. It is designed to be of interest to students across campus and to possibly attract new majors or minors in environmental studies. After offering the course twice, he has had students from business, nursing, and political science complete intensive GIS projects.

The interdisciplinary nature of EPSCoR research points to an area of future growth. As the Delaware EPSCoR program has progressed, Wesley has enhanced its undergraduate program in environmental science and environmental studies, developing a new concentration in sustainability in concert with the master’s program in business. Discussions are also under way to develop a master’s program in public health. Such efforts demonstrate excellent synergy between the EPSCoR and INBRE programs. Further, the EPSCoR support is leading to collaborative research in Natural Resources and Chemistry between Wesley and Delaware State University on environmental topics.

Building a Campus Culture of Research

Success with undergraduate research projects is changing the culture of Wesley as well as the lives of individual students. Scholars Day, in which students present research, posters, and performances related to their advanced work, is now an annual event celebrating undergraduate research participation across campus. Even faculty outside of the sciences are now taking students to national and regional meetings. All newly hired tenure-track faculty members must show evidence of research participation and professional development to achieve tenure. Research participation with undergraduates is looked over favorably.

A portion of the grant overhead funds are used to support undergraduate research presentations by students in non-science departments at national conferences (see Figure 5), including presentations by business administration and mathematics students. Inspired by the undergraduate research being conducted with faculty in the science department, three of the four tenured math faculty members have had a total of eight students involved in undergraduate research during the past two years.

The EPSCoR and INBRE grants have been transformative for Wesley in building a culture of science research. The work done under the grants has positioned the college to compete for other grants. The college has built a solid reputation for producing results with federal grant money and has received $300,000 from the NSF to renovate labs in the main science building and to establish wireless connectivity there. The grant funds have helped Wesley and the partnering institutions to attract talented new faculty members, start new science programs, and land additional research funding.

More broadly, over the past decade personnel supported by Delaware’s INBRE funds have conducted 50 biomedical research projects at the partnering institutions. More than 50 graduate students and some 250 undergraduates have benefitted from the Delaware program, and the infrastructure support provided has helped institutions successfully compete for additional NIH grants. The NIH funding secured by Delaware institutions increased from $9 million in 1999 to $31.8 million in 2010, an increase of more than 350 percent.

Table 2.

Research productivity of participants, 2002–2011, in Wesley College INBRE program for undergraduate research.

	Number of students
Student coauthors on refereed articles*	39
Student presenters at national and regional meetings	> 125
National awards won by INBRE-supported students	29

^*One student coauthored five papers; one coauthored three papers; seven coauthored two papers; and seventeen coauthored one article each.

Table 4.

Delaware partnering institutions and their role in NIH INBRE program.

Institution	Main role
University of Delaware (UD)	Leads entire program. Host undergraduate research. Makes scientific instruments available statewide to researchers. Place students in internships. Conduct seminar series. Organize annual research symposia. Evaluates entire program.
Wesley College (Wesley)	Host undergraduate research.
Delaware State University (DSU)	Conduct research. Host undergraduate research. Increase minority participation in research and science careers.
Delaware Technical & Community College (DTCC)	Serves as a pipeline for students to four-year degree programs. Educates science technicians.
Christiana Care Health System (Christiana)	Conduct research. Host undergraduate research, especially for students hoping to pursue further medical education.
Nemours/A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children (Nemours)	Conduct research. Host undergraduate research, especially those hoping to pursue further medical education.

Biographies

Malcolm J. D’Souza is professor of chemistry at Wesley College, in Dover, Delaware. He has published more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and more than 200 abstracts in conference proceedings. Forty-five undergraduate coauthors appear on his list of peer-reviewed publications, and 29 Wesley College undergraduates from his laboratory have earned national awards for undergraduate research excellence. At Wesley, D’Souza has procured $750 K in grants other than INBRE and EPSCoR. Recently, he was a finalist for the 2010 Sidney A. McNairy Jr. Mentoring Award given by the National Center for Research Resources, NIH.

Patricia Dwyer is vice president for academic affairs and a professor of English at Wesley College.

Jeanette Miller is associate director for interdisciplinary programs at the Delaware Environmental Institute and for Delaware’s NIH INBRE program. She also serves as the statewide director of outreach and communications for Delaware’s NSF EPSCoR program. She has responsibilities for grants strategy and development, education and outreach programs, and evaluation.

Joy Drohan is a freelance writer and editor with Eco-Write, LLC. She has more than 16 years of experience writing and editing publications on environmental science and other topics.

Bruce E. Allison is professor and program director of environmental studies at Wesley College, in Dover, Delaware. His primary research interests include soil degradation, water quality, watershed management, and geographic information systems and computer modeling applications. Prior to his current position, he was a professor of soil and water management in the tropics and subtropics at the University of Hohenheim (Germany), where he guided research initiatives in agricultural and land use sustainability in Africa, Turkey, and Portugal.