Biochemistry and molecular biology major sets sights on Chapel Hill Ph.D. program
Bryan Der is an unassuming guy. He has stayed on campus to conduct research every summer since he came to Richmond. He says he likes the people he works with as much as the work he’s doing.
This spring, Der was quietly considering Ph.D. programs in biochemistry. The 2007 Goldwater recipient had plenty of nice options—acceptances from UNC-Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins, Duke and UVA made it tempting to compare the programs based on reputation and location alone. But Der kept asking himself whether he was meeting professors with whom he could really see himself working.
Der considers himself lucky to have spent the last four years working with chemistry professor Jon Dattelbaum. During Der’s first year on campus as an Ethyl and Albemarle Science Scholarship recipient, chemistry professor Bill Myers encouraged him to begin paying attention to the research his professors were doing. He read a synopsis of Dattelbaum’s research interests and stopped by his office to talk to him about the possibility of working in his lab.
Dattelbaum, new to Richmond at the time, had yet to even finish setting up his lab. Der was thrilled to have the opportunity to be able to help Dattelbaum build his lab from the ground up.
“By starting the project from the very beginning, I learned a lot about the challenges of getting research projects going,” said Der.
Dattelbaum, of course, considered himself lucky to have Der on board.
“Over the course of four years, Bryan has spent more time thinking and conducting research experiments than any other undergraduate student I have known. Bryan is one of those students who cause research advisors to consider what life in the lab will be like after they are gone,” said Dattelbaum.
Der, who graduates in May, plans to spend one last summer working in his mentor’s lab before he heads off to graduate school. He is working hard on a project that could contribute to what he calls the “holy grail of glucose sensing research” – a fluorescent glucose biosensor that may eventually save diabetics from pricking their finger each time they need to check their glucose levels.
“Next-generation glucose sensing is a large and complex puzzle – the goal is a real-time sensor that would be implanted underneath the skin of diabetics, ideally on the wrist. Patients would wear a watch over the sensor that would display their current blood glucose level” Der said. “We’re working on the biochemical piece of that puzzle.”
Scientists are approaching glucose-sensing research from many angles. Dattelbaum and his team have chosen to study a fluorescently tagged protein that may one day make the sensor a real possibility. The glucose/galactose binding protein binds to glucose, and this interaction can be monitored as a change in emission intensity. To experiment with protein, however, researchers must have a plentiful supply.
“We can make bacteria produce the glucose/galactose binding protein for us,” said Der, “which we then purify from the bacteria. But to turn this biomolecule into a biosensor, we design mutations that will allow two fluorophores to covalently attach to the protein in a site-specific manner. These mutations are made by altering the DNA that encodes the protein.”
Der will present his work at this year’s Student Symposium. In addition, a paper he wrote with Dattelbaum, “Construction of Reagentless Glucose Biosensor Using Molecular Exciton Luminescence” was recently published in the journal Analytical Biochemistry. Der said that writing this paper taught him a lot about the scientific writing and submission process.
When the summer ends, Der has decided he will make the 165-mile drive south to Chapel Hill. He’ll participate in three 8- to 10-week lab rotations before settling on a permanent lab and project. Der would like to continue working on protein design, eventually becoming a professor of biochemistry.
“The strong community of science faculty and students I’ve worked with has made my Richmond experience. I’ve especially enjoyed working with Dr. D throughout the years. We don’t just have a working relationship. We have a friendship. I ask myself whether I’d like to one day teach at a place like Richmond, somewhere that emphasizes research but is very focused on undergraduate education,” Der said.