Showing their stuff
Research to be presented Saturday
Catherine Klene, Alestle News Reporter
Issue date: 2/22/07 Section: News
Behind a door covered with "Biohazard" and "Authorized Personnel Only" signs, graduate student Nellie Shaul spends her days homogenizing human placenta samples in a science lab.
"This is really gross," Shaul said as she poured liquid nitrogen into a sample in a metal cup. "Things splatter."
Shaul took the cup to a large machine called a homogenizer, a sort of scientific blender, and began grinding the sample to a bright red pulp.
"This is probably my least favorite part," Shaul said over the whir of the machine.
The end result was a row of 10 tin trays each holding a small amount of pureed placenta.
"After this set, I'm on sample 195," Shaul said.
Shaul is part of a graduate team working alongside Kevin Johnson, assistant dean for research projects and personnel in the College of Arts and Sciences. The research project, Shaul explained, is to find out what soil pollutants, if any, may be causing low birth weights in Chattanooga, Tenn.
New mothers in Chattanooga have the placenta samples sent to SIUE on dry ice, Shaul said. Shaul, Johnson and the rest of the graduate team have spent the past four months in the lab, manipulating 240 samples to see if any pollutants entered the womb during the pregnancies.
Shaul is a second year graduate student working toward a master's degree in chemistry. She already has bachelor's degrees in both biology and chemistry.
The College of Arts and Sciences will host the Graduate Studies Open House from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Goshen Lounge for anyone interested in learning more about graduate programs. The event is open to all SIUE students and those from the surrounding areas.
Shaul intends to pursue her education even further, hoping to obtain a doctorate in chemical oceanography.
"In the sciences, it seems like a more natural continuation," Shaul said about attending graduate school.
Shaul commented that a graduate education is not for everyone.
"This is really gross," Shaul said as she poured liquid nitrogen into a sample in a metal cup. "Things splatter."
Shaul took the cup to a large machine called a homogenizer, a sort of scientific blender, and began grinding the sample to a bright red pulp.
"This is probably my least favorite part," Shaul said over the whir of the machine.
The end result was a row of 10 tin trays each holding a small amount of pureed placenta.
"After this set, I'm on sample 195," Shaul said.
Shaul is part of a graduate team working alongside Kevin Johnson, assistant dean for research projects and personnel in the College of Arts and Sciences. The research project, Shaul explained, is to find out what soil pollutants, if any, may be causing low birth weights in Chattanooga, Tenn.
New mothers in Chattanooga have the placenta samples sent to SIUE on dry ice, Shaul said. Shaul, Johnson and the rest of the graduate team have spent the past four months in the lab, manipulating 240 samples to see if any pollutants entered the womb during the pregnancies.
Shaul is a second year graduate student working toward a master's degree in chemistry. She already has bachelor's degrees in both biology and chemistry.
The College of Arts and Sciences will host the Graduate Studies Open House from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Goshen Lounge for anyone interested in learning more about graduate programs. The event is open to all SIUE students and those from the surrounding areas.
Shaul intends to pursue her education even further, hoping to obtain a doctorate in chemical oceanography.
"In the sciences, it seems like a more natural continuation," Shaul said about attending graduate school.
Shaul commented that a graduate education is not for everyone.
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