Standout biology senior at C of I receives research award – Idaho Press-Tribune

CALDWELL When biology major Maggie Brown was a freshman at the College of Idaho, she was approached by Biology Professor Sara Heggland with a proposal the chance to become involved in cutting edge research as an undergraduate on the largely unexplored topic of electronic cigarettes.

I was shocked I could have a research opportunity like that, Brown said. I knew when I was looking at colleges, having the opportunity to do research was a high priority for me. The College of Idaho gave me that opportunity.

Brown became one of the first students to work with Heggland researching the effects of electronic cigarettes on bone health, spending more than three years performing experiments and gathering data. Now a senior with a completed honors thesis for her undergraduate research, Brown recently won Best Oral Presentation in Cell and Developmental Biology at the 42nd annual West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference.

Its great to see Maggie recognized, Heggland said. She was my first student on this e-cig project, and shes done a lot of foundational work that new students will be able to build upon. She has a great project with a compelling story, and she presents it with such passion, she draws you in completely.

The West Coast conference is one of the largest biology undergraduate research conferences in the west. Brown was one of three C of I students participating at this years conference classmates Liz Trenkel and Dylan Kieffer presented their research on the effect of summer stream drying on water quality and redband trout populations in Dry Creek north of Boise.

As she prepares to graduate, Brown is pleased with the progress her research has made since she and Heggland began the project.

When we first started, we werent even sure how to set up our experiments, Brown said. E-cigarettes hit the U.S. markets only 10 years ago, and theres barely been any research done on how they affect human health. Were kind of on the cutting edge right now, which is an exciting opportunity for a small liberal arts school.

Next, Brown is looking to publish her honors thesis as she enrolls in medical school at the University of Washington. Meanwhile, Heggland will continue researching e-cigarettes and bone health with the help of student researchers and financial support from the Idaho INBRE program. INBRE stands for the IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence and is a statewide program run out of the University of Idaho to increase Idahos competitiveness for federal biomedical research funding and to improve the quality of biomedical education in the state.

Im really thankful Ive had this research experience and to have had Dr. Hegglands help in guiding me, Brown said. Its been rewarding being able to problem solve and really think through issues by research and experimenting, and without Idaho INBRE and C of I, none of it could have happened.

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Standout biology senior at C of I receives research award - Idaho Press-Tribune