Senior scientists discuss research projects and new campus innovations.
Biology majors Wayne Barnaby ’17 and Andy Rosario ’17 had anything but a typical summer last year—for a couple of young 20-somethings. No hanging at the beach or traveling cross country for these two science enthusiasts.
Instead, Barnaby and Rosario were hunkered down for a couple of months in 2016 in a laboratory at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, serving as interns in the initial stages of research that could one day offer a cure for diseases such as epilepsy and Down syndrome.
Under the guidance of UMass Associate Biology Professor Gerald B. Downes, the two used brand-new technology, called clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, or CRISPR, to design clusters of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and then insert them into the embryos of zebrafish.
Put more simply, Barnaby and Rosario used cutting-edge technology to delete and mutate genes responsible for genetic diseases in the zebrafish, a tropical freshwater fish. “The purpose of the research was to … understand the inner mechanisms of epilepsy and other destructive disorders and ultimately find a way to treat them,” Barnaby, 21, says.
The internship hasn’t been the only opportunity for the pair to exercise their scientific chops. With Westfield State’s emphasis on the sciences, heightened by the opening of its Science and Innovation Center, both students found that hands-on experiments and research at the Center have elevated their educational experiences.
“I now realize there is nothing that will prepare you better than being in the lab conducting research,” Barnaby says. “Having the opportunity to create your own theories, and to troubleshoot when an experiment fails, may be some of the most important aspects of scientific inquiry there are.”
Rosario, 22, spent time in the Center’s laboratory for his microbiology class in fall 2016. He says, “If I were to give the Center a name, I would call it a ‘Science Major’s Home.’ This building helps me practice research skills and techniques.” The Center serves as a hub for scientific conversation and innovation and allows students and faculty to relate and compare their work to the bigger picture: the betterment of humanity, says Barnaby, who plans to earn his doctorate in molecular and cellular biology.
As the biotechnology industry continues to grow, the two seniors believe the Center is a timely addition for the University.
“It’s important for Westfield State to offer research opportunities for students because these opportunities allow them to venture out into a field of science and use their critical thinking skills to develop and come up with theories that can have real-world implications,” says Rosario, who eventually wants to specialize in pediatric dentistry.
