Out of 65 universities that competed, SUNY Fredonia is one of 15 nationwide to win $60,000 awards for undergraduate research offered by Merck Research Laboratories and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
 
Senior biology and chemistry major Jason Randall, at right in photo, begins his summer Merck/AAAS research project with Biochemistry Professor Matt Fountain, at left. Mr. Randall is studying the regulation and expression of heat shock proteins in prokaryotic organisms.
 
The award provides Fredonia with $20,000 a year to support summer research in biology and chemistry over the next three years, and to enrich undergraduate research activities already in place. Students from Fredonia will also be eligible to participate in the Merck Research Laboratories Summer Intern Program.
 
Winning campuses were selected on the basis of the merits of their proposed research programs, and the quality of their interdisciplinary connections between biology and chemistry. A panel of scientists and educators selected the winning schools. "We expect the funds to be used to build bridges between two crucial areas of science -- chemistry and biology," said Shirley Malcom, head of Education and Human Resources at AAAS. "Liberal arts colleges have played a key role in developing leaders in the sciences, and that is why we focus on those institutions." (See Merck/AAAS release.)
 
Fredonia Biochemistry Professor Matthew Fountain, co-author of the grant proposal with Biology Professor Ted Lee, is the administrator of Fredonia's Merck/AAAS grant. Dr. Fountain coordinates Fredonia's unique biochemistry degree program that allows students to choose either a chemical or biological-oriented curriculum. "We have strong interdisciplinary research projects already existing within the two departments," he said, "In addition, the college has a solid tradition of supporting undergraduate research."
 
The primary faculty involved in the Merck/AAAS undergraduate research program at Fredonia are Dr. Fountain (biology and chemistry), Dr. Lee (biology), Dr. Pamela Marshall (biology), Dr. Philip Kumler (chemistry), Dr. Mark Janik (chemistry), and Dr. Holly Lawson (chemistry). The research projects of these faculty ranges from gene expression and cloning to structural biology and anti-cancer drug design.
 
The first four students at Fredonia to receive Merck/AAAS summer research stipends of $3,000 began rigorous, 10-week projects this week on campus. The students are Jason Randall of Fredonia, Ryan Racino of Dunkirk, William Ehrman of Jamestown, and Joanna Tober of Buffalo. Mr. Randall, Mr. Racino and Mr. Ehrman are independently studying the regulation and expression of heat shock proteins in prokaryotic organisms with Dr. Fountain and Dr. Lee. Ms. Tober is studying protein transport in yeast with Dr. Marshall.
 

• Mr. Racino, a senior majoring in biology, is the son of David and Pam Racino of Dunkirk, and a 1998 graduate of Dunkirk High School.
• Ms. Tober, a junior majoring in recombinant gene technology, is the daughter of Sally and the late Donald Tober of Walden Ave., Buffalo. She is a 1995 graduate of Olean High School, and holds an associate's degree in math/science from Jamestown Community College.
• Mr. Randall, a senior majoring in biology and chemistry, lives in Fredonia, and graduated from Paul V. Moore High School in Central Square, N.Y.
• Mr. Ehrman, the son of Beebe and Gary Ehrman of Pershing Ave., Jamestown, is a senior biology and pre-medicine major. He is a 1996 graduate of Jamestown High School.

 
To be considered eligible for the grants, public and private colleges and universities must be located in the United States, offer an American Chemical Society-approved program in chemistry, and confer 10 or fewer graduate degrees annually in biology and chemistry combined. Applications for the Merck/AAAS awards were reviewed and rated by a panel of scientists and educators chosen by AAAS.
 
The Merck Company Foundation is a U.S.-based private, charitable foundation. Established in 1957 by Merck & Co., Inc., the foundation is funded entirely by the company. The mission of the foundation is to advance biomedical science training and education and to improve health care worldwide. It has contributed more than $254 million to support education, health care, and non-profit organizations since its inception.
 
Founded in 1848, AAAS is the world's largest federation of scientists with more than 138,000 individual members and 273 affiliated societies.