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Rowan University
Rowan’s rapid research growth is paying off for undergraduates.

by Staff

At Rowan University, a growing number of student researchers work alongside faculty in Rowan University labs, applying the lessons they’ve learned in the classroom.

They’re gaining rich experience, and they’re getting paid for it.

Sam Ricci, a senior biophysics major, is among a growing number of undergraduate students who are paid for their labors in the lab. Their work is supported through public and private grants won by Rowan faculty for specific projects.

That means students can spend more time exploring real-world problems before they graduate. “I get to think about this stuff a little more independently, which is nice,” Ricci said. “That’s definitely unique to Rowan.”

Whether undergraduates’ research work is paid or not, access to such opportunities attracts talented students to Rowan, said Beena Sukumaran, Rowan University’s vice president for research. They also gain opportunities to travel with faculty to conferences to present their results. 

 “A lot of students get drawn into research because they find it exciting, especially the opportunity to work with the faculty one on one, and to engage in the process of discovery and research,” Sukumaran said.

Last year, 466 undergraduate students at Rowan were paid roughly $2.5 million collectively, Sukumaran said. She expects those numbers will rise as more Rowan faculty win research grants.

When Dr. Nathaniel Nucci won a five-year National Science Foundation CAREER award earlier this year, he hired undergraduate students to help.

They aren’t just doing the grunt work, Nucci explained. Often, they drive the project, processing data, trouble-shooting problems and developing better approaches.

 “When they go out for interviews and are able to talk about their research on an expert level, it’s a difference-maker in helping them get a job, get into grad school or get into medical school,” said Nucci, an assistant professor in the Physics & Astronomy and Molecular & Cellular Biosciences departments. The amount undergraduate student researchers are paid varies from project to project, but Ricci said he typically spends 15 to 20 hours a week in the lab, working on a study to examine how breast cancer spreads.

 “If we can figure out how and why it spreads, we can possibly prevent that from happening, and it will be easier to treat the disease,” said Ricci, who is working toward a career as a biomedical researcher.

Melanie Padalino, a senior chemistry major, said the research opportunities she pursued at Rowan helped her choose a career path. She is working with her mentor, Dr. James Grinias, on a project to study how bacteria behave when moving through equipment such as medical stents and water filters.

 “In the classroom, we’re given the information, and it’s in the palm of our hand,” Padalino said. “But when you get involved in research, it opens up a whole new world, because you’re forced to think outside the box.”

Rowan University
Research.rowan.edu

Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Family Magazine, Volume 11, Issue 1 (March 2020).
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