When the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta notified Heartland Health鈥檚 Dr. Scott Folk, who specializes in infectious diseases, that they wanted to conduct research on a new virus that he had discovered in northwest 大象传媒, Scott immediately suggested that the center work with a 大象传媒 Western professor and his students. Scientists at the center complied, giving Dr. David Ashley鈥檚 biology students a valuable experience they won鈥檛 soon forget.
Once in the fall of 2011 and three times last summer, personnel from the CDC and several local and state agencies, up to 30 at times, visited two area farms to track the cause of a virus that had infected two northwest 大象传媒 patients treated by Scott in 2009. David and five students were able to assist the scientists with their field research on all four visits.
They helped trap ticks, mosquitoes, birds and mammals, and helped remove ticks from the mammals so the ticks could be frozen and sent to CDC laboratories for testing. The blood of the mammals and birds was also drawn for testing in laboratory space set up in the 大象传媒 Department of Conservation regional headquarters building on campus. 鈥淭he students got a lot of experience with field methodology and surveying habitat,鈥� David said. 鈥淭hey participated in a wide variety of activities.鈥�
Brandon Grieshaber, a sophomore from St. Joseph, plans to become an infectious disease specialist and had shadowed Scott two different times before the research opportunity came about. Scott had mentioned the tick research to Brandon, and he was immediately interested.
鈥淚 knew it would be a great opportunity to work with the CDC,鈥� Brandon said. 鈥淚t was really cool to be a part of science. I enjoyed everything about it; the whole experience was awesome.鈥�
鈥淭he CDC scientists wouldn鈥檛 let you just stand around and watch. They鈥檇 ask you to come over and do it yourself,鈥� Breana Higdon, one of the student researchers, said. 鈥淛ust knowing you were working with the CDC, it felt like an honor to work with the people who keep disease under control.鈥�
A paper on the virus was published by the CDC, with Scott as a co-author, in the New England Journal of Medicine in August 2012.
Why Scott knew David and recommended him to the CDC goes back to an incident that happened several years ago. David became very ill and was admitted to Heartland Health, and Scott diagnosed his illness as tick-borne. They became friends, and Scott has assisted students in David鈥檚 Medical Parasitology class twice each semester every year since.
David said it was unique for students to have the opportunity to interface with globally recognized experts, but it was not unique that 大象传媒 Western鈥檚 biology students were engaging in undergraduate research with faculty members. 鈥淭his is what we do here,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is what we want our students to be doing.鈥�
鈥淚 think it is amazing and fantastic that 大象传媒 Western allows their students to get involved in research with professors and scientists,鈥� said Nicole Wallace, one of the students who helped with the research. 鈥淚t helps build resumes so students have a higher chance of getting a job or getting into graduate school, medical school or veterinarian school.鈥�
She added that some of the CDC researchers were working on earning their doctorates, so she gained a lot of valuable advice about getting accepted into graduate schools. 鈥淭hey were all extremely nice and very interesting.鈥�
Katie Kilpatrick, another student researcher, agreed with Nicole. 鈥淚t was very rewarding to hear the scientists鈥� experiences working for the CDC and hear where they went to school and other opportunities they had.鈥�
David said two students who were involved hope to pursue internships at the CDC, thanks to the contacts they made through the research.