2005 Press Releases

Local College Students Doing Paid Internships at MMCRI 
(July 8, 2005)

For Immediate Release

Contact: Communications & Marketing, 662-2196

Twelve local students are participating in paid summer research internships at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute. The MMCRI Summer Student Research Program is for bright, motivated college and pre-college students who are interested in biomedical research as a career. Each student is mentored by an established scientist at MMCRI, and conducts an independent research project during the ten-week program. Students receive a stipend, and also have the opportunity to participate in lecture series, seminars, and data review sessions at the Institute. 

The program is intended to help Maine students pursue careers in biomedical research, and it is hoped that some of those students will return to Maine for further education or to pursue their careers. One former summer student is already back at MMCRI as a PhD candidate. 

Participants: 

Christopher Hooper of Falmouth, a student at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. He is working with Robert Friesel, PhD, whose focus is on normal and abnormal cellular signals during bone growth and development. 

Joshua Himmelfarb of Falmouth, a student at Waynflete School in Portland. He is working with Joseph Verdi, PhD, whose investigations include determining the molecular mechanisms of stem cells and specifically the mechanisms that determine the differentiation of stem cells of the nervous system and kidney. 

Michael Erkkinen of Yarmouth, a student at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. 
Erkkinen is working with Doug Spicer, PhD, who is investigating the regulation of growth and differentiation of muscle, bone, and blood vessel cells. 

Melissa Cobleigh of Portland, a student at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She is working with Jonathan Himmelfarb, MD, whose research interests include the disease process that links uremia, inflammation, and malnutrition with cardiovascular complications in kidney failure patients. 

Hillary Glick of Portland, a student at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. She is working with Igor Prudovsky, PhD, who is investigating the role of specialized proteins in the growth of new blood vessels. 

Heidi Tait of Portland, a student at the University of Southern Maine. She is working with Leif Oxburgh, DVM, PhD, who is investigating the precursor cells that develop into the blood-filtering structures inside the kidney. 

Heather Addor of South Portland, a student at University of the Virgin Islands. She is working with Richard Riker, MD, who is studying ways to improve patient sedation in the intensive care unit. 

Emily Frank of Brunswick, a student at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. She is working with Jeong Yoon, PhD, whose laboratory is investigating the ways in which developing cells change and differentiate. 

Anna Eisenstein of Auburn, a student at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. She is working with Volkhard Lindner, MD, PhD, who is investigating the biology of specialized protein complexes and novel genes in blood vessel walls. 

Melanie Ufkin of New Gloucester, a student at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. She is working with Don Wojchowski, PhD, who is investigating the mechanisms that regulate blood cell development. 

Robin Caron of Portage, Maine, a student at St. Joseph's College, Standish, Maine. She is working with John Burton, MD, whose research includes emergency medical services, sedation, analgesia, and cardiology. 

Ponnila Samuel of Biddeford, a student at Bowdoin College. She is working with Kathleen Fairfield, MD, on a clinical project to improve colon cancer screening rates in an outpatient clinic.