Two Maine college students in Jackson Laboratory summer student program

Date: June 9, 2008

Bar Harbor, Maine—Gregory L. Sousa of Augusta and Caitlin Liu of Ellsworth are participating in The Jackson Laboratory’s Summer Student Program. The prestigious program draws high school and undergraduate students to Bar Harbor for an intensive, hands-on learning experience. For ten weeks, each student will study under the guidance of a staff scientist.

Greg is currently finishing his senior year at Bates College, where he is majoring in biology, and hopes to obtain a Ph.D. in the field. He is now working in the laboratory of Tom Gridley, Ph.D., and under the mentorship of Xuesong Feng. Greg will specifically focus his research on the Notch pathway, a cell-signaling system that is involved in many physiological processes in humans and other mammals. By disrupting this pathway in neural crest cells, Greg hopes to gain an understanding of its role in the development of the cardiovascular system. “Its exciting to be in a field of research that has such broad implications,” he says.

Caitlin’s research in the laboratory of Cathleen Lutz, P.h.D. will focus on neuromuscular diseases and disorders. She will look at the genetic backgrounds in mice that have spinal muscular atrophy or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, with hopes of better understanding the mechanisms of the diseases. Caitlin will be finishing her senior year at the University of Maine this fall, where she is majoring in biology. She wants to go to medical school after she graduates, and her experience this summer is giving her some direction. “Shadowing and internships keep pointing me toward neuromuscular subjects,” she notes. She may take that into account when choosing a field of medicine to pursue.

Greg and Caitlin join 27 other college and high school students in this summer research opportunity. Their individual projects vary from genomics to development to bioinformatics. Participants reside at Highseas, a nearby century-old mansion, and revel in the many opportunities that Mount Desert Island offers. Weekend camping trips, spontaneous hikes throughout Acadia National Park and a white water rafting adventure complement their time spent uncovering new data in the lab.

Since its inception in 1924, the Summer Student Program has led many students into the world of professional research. Eighty-percent of the program’s more than 2,200 alumni have gone on to successful careers in medicine or biomedical research. Two particular program graduates, Drs. David Baltimore and Howard Temin, received the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The summer interns are an integral part of the Jackson Laboratory’s operation, providing fresh perspectives and keen enthusiasm.

The Jackson Laboratory (www.jax.org) is a nonprofit biomedical research institution and National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center based in Bar Harbor, Maine. Its mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human diseases, and to enable research and education for the global biomedical community.

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Contact(s):

Jacqueline Boytim 207-288-6051
Joyce Peterson 207-288-6058

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Office of Public Information
The Jackson Laboratory
600 Main Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609-1500
Phone: 207-288-6051
Fax: 207-288-6076
Email: news@jax.org