Erin Burney excited to present her poster.
Author: Erin Burney | Major: Nursing | Semester: Spring 2023
As a student in the honors college and research assistant for Dr. Suresh Kumar’s Biochemistry Lab, Erin Burney was selected among hundreds of applicants to present her current research at the 2023 National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR). She says, “Thanks to the undying support of our lab’s principal investigator, Dr. Kumar, my mentor, Dr. Patience Okoto, and my lab partner, Aisha Al-Rizzo, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Burney’s current work concentrates on the immense background of Fibroblast Growth Factor II (FGF2), which is a protein released during the immune response to aid in wound healing. Her research will help provide data to develop a topical medication (i.e. ointment, cream) that can heal wounds faster by giving a direct source of FGF2. However, research shows that the natural FGF2 found within the human body is highly unstable and would denature if brought into the outside environment. Burney’s presentation at NCUR exploits a novel consensus-FGF2, which might be the solution to this instability issue. Burney notes, “Consensus-FGF2 has a different amino acid sequence than the wild-type found within the human body. This difference in structure is thought to make FGF2 more stable as a topical medication and have the same function as the wild-type. I am presenting the beginning stages of my research at NCUR, though I plan to complete a deeper analysis of the function and stability of this novel, consensus protein.”
Burney is an EMSON nursing student while on the pre-medical track at the University of Arkansas. She plans to graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing to pursue her desire to work as an Emergency Department nurse during her gap year, and then apply to medical school shortly after to develop her passions in emergency medicine and neuroscience. Her research places emphasis on her current interests in biochemistry, pathophysiology, and wound care.
On April 13, Burney and Al-Rizzo presented their year’s worth of work at NCUR’s poster session at the University of Eau Claire in Wisconsin. “It was a rewarding experience to present our work, “ she says, “All those hours in the lab certainly paid off!” Burney notes that the most valuable part of the conference was learning how to disseminate her work in a more digestible form for those of non-STEM backgrounds. “Just by looking at the expressions on their faces, I could tell who understood what I was saying compared to the ones that didn’t. I guiltily felt insulted by remarks such as, ‘Wow! I have no idea what you just said but it sounds super cool!’ I don’t want people to think my research just sounds cool, I want them to understand why it is cool.” Burney gets the most out of knowing that her peers gained new knowledge rather than receiving compliments on her intelligent, scientific jargon. “It’s fun to speak this new scientific language I’ve spent so long studying to know, but I want to remain humble as I advance my education.”
Burney plans to spend her summer in the lab to complete her work on the consensus-FGF2. She anticipates that there will be other undergraduate research conferences next year of which she will apply again. Burney is passionate about learning how to present her work in an understandable way, and is dedicated to obtaining results that will have meaning towards the end goal of the Kumar Lab’s main project.