Author: Patricia Lambe      Major: Biochemistry

Patricia Lambe

My name is Patricia Lambe, and I graduated from Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. I majored in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry, and I minored in Psychology. Throughout my college career at the University of Arkansas, I was a member of Dr. Hudson Beyzavi’s lab, where I assisted with research over covalent organic frameworks made of urea and thio-urea linkers. I also assisted with research over amino acid-based radiotracers. I graduated in December 2020, and I will be attending medical school beginning this upcoming fall.

The goal of the main research project that I was involved in throughout my time in Dr. Beyzavi’s lab was to design urea and thio-urea based covalent organic framework to be used in organic catalysis reactions. The idea behind covalent organic frameworks is that they provide a well-defined catalytic cleft for reactions to take place, much like the support that proteins provide in biologic systems. Working in Dr. Beyzavi’s lab gave me the opportunity to gain critical experience working in a laboratory setting and collaborating with others that will be helpful when I pursue other research endeavors in the future. I learned many laboratory skills and was able to develop good time management and communication skills that will be beneficial for my future career. Our research project was successful in the end; we designed a covalent organic framework that had excellent reactivity, selectivity, and stability that has various uses in industrial settings.

When I first began my search for a research lab to be a part of, I went to the chemistry department’s directory and made a list of every professor whose research that I found interesting. I reached out to each of these professors by sending them an email expressing my interest in their lab and asking if they had any openings for undergraduates to join. I then met with a few professors, and I ended up joining Dr. Beyzavi’s lab. From that point, I began working in the lab with Jiyun Hui, a postdoctoral student. Jiyun taught me how to do everything that I needed to know around the lab in order to complete our research. I was not very familiar with organic chemistry laboratory techniques, so that was one obstacle that I had to overcome in order to be successful in my research. Jiyun was very patient with me throughout the entire learning process, and I am so thankful that he took the time and effort to teach me everything I needed to know. In addition, Dr. Beyzavi was extremely helpful and always there to help me with anything that I needed.

The main focus of my research over the fall semester was to write and defend my thesis. This process was different than I expected and was very difficult due to the fact that everything was still almost completely virtual due to the pandemic. However, both Jiyun and Dr. Beyzavi were extremely helpful and answered every question that I had along the way. I would have been lost without their guidance, and I was able to successfully write and defend my thesis and graduate Summa Cum Laude.