WISE Program Provides Real-World Research Experience for UC Undergraduate Women

The young women worked side by side with mentors at UC and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center as part of UC’s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) summer research program.

“I never imagined an opportunity like this and I cannot express how glad I am to be a part of this program,” says Molly Moore, a Loveland native who spent her summer doing research on DNA synthesis with UC chemist Pearl Tsang and College of Pharmacy researcher Carol Caperelli. “Not only have I learned about research, but I have also gained insight into the real world which I never thought I would experience until I was out of college.” 

“I am working on a project that may one day save the lives of hard-working people,” exclaims Jennifer Stallo, a biology major and Delhi native who was surprised to discover how much an undergraduate could contribute to a research project. “Without this program, I would have been too intimidated to get myself involved in academic research. Additionally, I believe the training that I have received will be very valuable to me as I continue to pursue my career goals in a scientific field.”

Teresa Davis is a geology major looking at how sediments flowing into the Ohio River and its tributaries eventually impact the fish and other marine life in the Gulf of Mexico. The complex research project included a 15-day float down the Ohio River collecting sediment samples in addition to weeks of work along the Ohio and Licking rivers in Greater Cincinnati.

"I plan on continuing this research throughout the coming year and possibly into graduate school,” notes Davis.

Ultimately, that is the goal of the WISE/REWU program — to involve more women in the research process early in their scientific careers. Despite many past successes, the number of women in many science and engineering fields has dropped off in recent years. For example, the National Science Foundation reported this year that the number of women earning computer science degrees fell to just 28 percent from 1985 to 2001.

The REWU program is organized by Urmila Ghia, professor of mechanical engineering and winner of the 2004 Rieveschl Award for Distinguished Scientific Research.

"I really appreciated Dr. Ghia’s presence in the program,” says Nhu-Y Dao, who spent her summer studying a drug researchers hope will make chemotherapy safer and more effective for cancer patients.“She was on top of everything and she really cared about the experience that we girls gained in the WISE program.”

The students shared their summer research findings in a special presentation on Thursday, Sept. 9, in the Engineering Research Center.