Each of these 5 members of the CIS class of 2009 had different self-designed majors, but they all shared a love of science. They pursued their interests under the guidance of two faculty advisers:
Catherine Clodfelter - Computational Biophysics- Advisers Karen Bernd (Biology ) & John Yukich (Physics)
Justin Eusebio - Public Health- Advisers Helen Cho (Anthropology) & Dave Wessner (Biology)
Eva Foegeding - Bioethics- Advisers Lance Stell (Philosophy) & Dave Wessner (Biology)
Rachel Hope - Religion and Literature- Advisers Andrew Lustig (Religion) & Paul Miller (English)
Samantha Simpson - Genomics- Advisers Malcolm Campbell (Biology) & Laurie Heyer (Mathematics)

These highly-motivated and dedicated young men and women have gained both knowledge and hands-on experience doing real world research and service while at Davidson. The students are supported by a a variety of grants from: the National Science foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Davidson Research Initiative and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Catherine Clodfelter '09 - Charlotte, NC
Catherine (right) began working as a center major the summer after her sophomore year. Joining her in lab was Mona Shaban, center major '08. Their project focused on measuring the force generation of flagella in single cell organisms called Chlamydomonas with a laser. Catherine initially performed research to optimally calibrate the laser to measure force, and she researched the literature on the mathematical modeling of flagella movement. In the past year, she has used wildtype and mutant cells to demonstrate that the laser has accurate calibration, and she has determined a trend in the force produced of flagella during their growth in cells. This framework prepares a following student to explore the force generation of mutants, and to begin their own mathematical model of the movement based on new force data. Catherine graduated with a major in computational biophysics and plans to attend graduate school in global public health.

Justin Eusebio '09-Lincolnwood, IL
Justin's thesis examined Filipino perceptions and health seeking behaviors regarding tuberculosis in urban communities. He carried out fieldwork-using anthropological ethnographic methods for interviews and focus groups-in various areas in the Philippines, interviewing government health officials, TB program coordinators, as well as normal clinic clients. Justin also included comparative analysis based on his participation in the Davidson in Mwandi program, where he also looked at comparative coinfection rates of HIV/AIDS and TB. He is pursuing a public health degree at Boston University.

Eva Foegeding '09 - Raleigh, NC
Eva has always been interested in medicine and in her freshman year she discovered that she was intrigued by the ethical qualms and legalities that surround the medical system. She decided to propose a Bioethics major that focused on the Gardasil vaccine for HPV. HPV is a virus that can cause cervical cancer and Gardasil is the vaccine that Merck advertises in the "One Less" commercials. During the summer of 2006, when Gardasil was released and the commercials began, Eva was working as a volunteer in an oncology clinic. Her heart sank as she heard many of the patients getting excited.  They hoped that this vaccine for cancer could be the beginning of many other cancer vaccines.  In their eyes, the implications were enormous. The patients believed that one day all cancers in their children could be prevented.

Eva's thesis focused on whether or not the HPV vaccine should be mandatory. With her advisers, Dr. Stell and Dr. Wessner, Eva analyzed human rights, the biology of vaccines, and the jurisprudence of public health law. Her research led her to a tangential focus on disparities in health care. Cervical cancer is most prevalent in low socioeconomic groups and minority populations. Eva hopes to go into public health and work in an area that allows her to improve access to health care.  Eva is currently working in a mobile medical clinic in Maryland outside D.C.  She is part of a group providing primary care to patients in various multicultural neighborhoods as well as helping patients to access specialized care.

Rachel Hope '09 - Atlanta, GA
Rachel is a Religion and Literature major and her thesis proposed that physicians use literary tools of analysis to better understand their patients' illness narratives. The goal of combining literary techniques with clinical care--a practice called narrative medicine--is to improve doctor-patient relationships and also to guide ethical decision making if such a situation arises.

Rachel originally planned to major in English but realized that a CIS major was better suited for her interdisciplinary interests in religion, literary studies, and medical humanities. Rachel received an Abernethy Grant in 2008 to do summer thesis research at the University of Chicago's Regenstein Library. In addition, her volunteer work in hospitals and clinics in Peru, Kenya, and the United States have significantly shaped her thinking on patient care. Rachel, who graduated with honors, began Georgetown medical school this fall. She hopes someday to work as an inner-city physician, applying the tools she has developed in her thesis work.

Samantha Simpson '09 - North Canton, OH
Samantha first became interested in genomics when she did her synthetic biology independent study with Dr. Campbell in the fall of her sophomore year. That November she went to the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition at MIT to present her research, which was later published. Samantha enjoyed seeing how two of her favorite subjects, molecular biology and applied math, could be combined into one cohesive path of study. Her thesis research looks at the ability of E. coli to uptake new DNA. As of now, inserting new DNA into E. coli is an expensive and time-consuming process, but she is looking at inserting a system that allows an organism to naturally take up new DNA into E. coli.  Samantha will use her genomics background in medical school at Ohio State.