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Sara Abdulelah, a junior Biology student in Detroit Mercy\u2019s College of Engineering & Science, has been named a 2020 Goldwater Scholar.<\/p>\nSara Abdulelah, a junior Biology student in Detroit Mercy\u2019s College of Engineering & Science, has been named a 2020 Goldwater Scholar.<\/p>\n
Abdulelah is one of 396 students in the United States to earn the prestigious national scholarship from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.<\/p>\n
Founded by Congress in 1986, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship has awarded more than $71 million to thousands of undergraduate students in the United States. The program encourages outstanding college sophomores and juniors studying science, mathematics and engineering to pursue research careers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am so honored to be selected as a Goldwater Scholar,\u201d Abdulelah said. \u201cThis achievement drastically improves my confidence in my prior accomplishments as a research student, and motivates me to continue doing research in my future profession.\u201d<\/p>\n
A total of 1,343 sophomores and juniors were nominated for the competitive scholarship by 461 academic institutions across the United States. The scholarships are worth up to $7,500 and help offset tuition, room and board, books and other fees.<\/p>\n
Abdulelah applied for the scholarship through a pre-application approved by Richard Hill, assistant dean for Research & External Initiatives at the College of Engineering & Science. Three faculty members \u2014 Professor of Biology Gregory Grabowski, Assistant Professor of Biology Nicole Najor and Associate Professor of Biology Rachelle Belanger \u2014 supported Abdulelah\u2019s application with reference letters.<\/p>\n
For the past two years, Abdulelah and her classmates have studied the effects of atrazine on aquatic environments in Belanger\u2019s lab.<\/p>\n
They found that atrazine, a commonly used herbicide, can have detrimental effects, including damage to DNA, on aquatic organisms when running off into water sources.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our lab, we use the crayfish as a model organism, and the studies that I focus on have shown diminished chemosensory abilities of the animal following atrazine exposure,\u201d Abdulelah said.<\/p>\n
Abdulelah furthered this study by examining the olfactory sensory neurons (OSN) of the crayfish\u2019s lateral antennules, which the crayfish use to find food.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found that OSN damage increases as atrazine levels increase,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Abdulelah plans to continue her research and earn a doctorate in a scientific field.<\/p>\n
\u201cSara is an amazing part of my research team, she designs and implements experiments and she collects and analyzes the data,\u201d Belanger said. \u201cShe effectively mentors other junior members of the lab and has coauthored two peer-reviewed scientific research articles in respected international journals that focus on toxicology and chemoreception.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seeing Abdulelah honored as a Goldwater Scholar leaves Belanger overjoyed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel so proud to have mentored Sara and a lot of other great undergraduate researchers,\u201d Belanger said. \u201cBeing awarded this prestigious award is a testament to both Sara\u2019s research abilities and the effective collaborative work being done in my research laboratory, which Sara is an active part of.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014\u202fOriginal story by Ricky Lindsay.\u00a0Follow Detroit Mercy on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>. Have a story idea? Let us know by\u00a0submitting your idea<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n