All Articles

What’s the secret to fighting deadly human malaria parasites? What’s the best way to tell a World War I veteran’s incredible life story? These are just a few of the questions that College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ students are exploring this summer as the latest recipients of the LAS Dean’s High Impact Award for Undergraduate Research.

This summer, 11 LAS students received the funded research awards. Alongside their mentors, they gained advanced knowledge in their fields of study while also developing invaluable hands-on skills for future careers. Their diverse research topics span the college, with focus areas in music, history, computer science, biochemistry, psychology, and more.

Following is a look at the research projects students have conducted this summer. A list of all summer 2024 recipients appears at the end of this article.

Carlee Carpenter (’25 music)
Mentored by Christina Svec, associate professor of music

Since childhood, Carlee Carpenter has been interested in how singing voices change. Now, as a voice performance major in Iowa State’s Department of Music and Theatre, she is pursuing her long-held curiosity about vocal registers through undergraduate research.

“Everything we know about children’s registers is based on anecdotal evidence and experience,” Carpenter explained. “We, however, will be using software to quantitatively measure how many shifts occur based on age and where these shifts tend to lie in the singing voice.”

Carpenter spent the summer visiting music theatre camps and a music studio to collect data on-site from young singers ages 5 to 12. Children generally sing in three vocal registers, explained Carpenter – the head voice, chest voice, and a voice that blends the two. Shifts happen naturally during a song, often when a melody ascends and descends.

“It’s been fascinating and fulfilling to work through our data collection, meet young singers, and learn more about their voices,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter is mentored by Christina Svec, an associate professor of music specializing in elementary general music and secondary choral methods.

“Dr. Christina Svec is a very bright and enjoyable person to work with and always makes me see the joy in research,” Carpenter said. “We have really enjoyed collecting data in person and meeting new singers. She is always welcoming and passionate with everyone we get to work with.”

Miguel Fuentes-Cortez (’25 biology)
Mentored by Josh Beck, associate professor of biomedical sciences

The deadliest human malaria parasite is Plasmodium falciparum, and Miguel Fuentes-Cortez is spending this summer finding ways to combat it.

This parasite infects humans with malaria by invading their red blood cells. Once this happens, the parasite wraps itself up in the red blood cells’ membrane, which creates a space between the red blood cell and the parasite. This space creates a physical barrier that prevents the export of proteins. Then, the parasite relies on the PTEX complex to multiply. Fuentes-Cortez is focusing on new ways to analyze the function of the PTEX complex.

“The research project I am partaking in will use the power of luciferase-based assays to analyze exports in infected red blood cells quickly. Using a split version of nanoLuciferase, I will tag a PV membrane protein on the side that faces the red blood cell cytosol with one part of the split nanoLuciferase,” Fuentes-Cortez explained. “Meanwhile, the other part will be exported into the red blood cell through the PTEX complex. The binding of both pieces in the red blood cell cytoplasm should produce bioluminescence. The inactivation of the PTEX complex would inhibit light production. Once this tool is established, we can apply this strategy to assess potential antimalarial compounds against the PTEX complex.”

Fuentes-Cortez is fascinated by the research he is doing, but he is most excited about working with malaria cultures.

“The most incredible part of my research project is getting to work with a malaria culture under a hood and getting to observe its life cycle,” he said. “Taking care of a malaria culture was stressful initially with its strict measures to ensure the culture wasn’t contaminated. Still, it allows me firsthand to understand the intricate processes and dynamics of malaria development and to gain hands-on experience.”

Layk Nollen (’24 history)
Mentored by Stacy Cordery, professor of history

As a history major, Layk Nollen is fascinated by the past. This summer, he is working at the University Archives and Special Collections Department in Cowles Library at Drake University where he is tasked with reorganizing the Charles P. Howard Collection.

A World War I veteran, Howard (1895-1969) graduated from Drake University law school in 1922 and became one of Iowa’s most successful attorneys, having never lost a capital trial. He also owned several newspapers and eventually became a correspondent for the United Nations in the 1960s. Howard’s collection comprises items from all aspects of his life. That makes Nollen’s work challenging.

“The way the collection is currently organized is very confusing and hard to navigate,” Nollen said. “My job is to arrange the materials in a way that would make sense to a person viewing the collection. In reprocessing the collection, I have to make it tell a story – Howard’s story.”

Nollen loves digging into the past. He hopes to be an archivist following graduation from Iowa State. This summer research opportunity is getting him one step closer to that goal.

“This project, so far, has been crucial to adding to my understanding of how archives operate and how archivists work,” he said.

Nollen is especially grateful for his research mentors, including Stacy Cordery, professor of history at Iowa State, and Hope Bibens, Doreen Dixon, and Benedict Chatelain at Drake University.

Sharon Tsimese (’27 biochemistry)
Mentored by Dipali Sashital, professor of biochemistry, biophysics, and molecular biology

After one year at Iowa State, Sharon Tsimese is already wholly immersed in undergraduate research as a member of the Sashital Lab in the Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology. Tsimese joined the group during the spring of 2024 as a first-year student and has continued working this summer as a funded researcher through her LAS award.

Tsimese’s research project is focused on bacterial resistance. Bacteria have evolved to develop many defense systems that protect them against viruses, Tsimese explained, and she is examining a new system named Septu, discovered in 2018. Exploring these systems may one day provide clues to fighting bacterial infections in humans.

“We know this system is effective at protecting bacteria against phages; however, we have not yet concluded how this immune system is triggered and activated in a bacterial cell,” Tsimese said. “This is the hypothesis we ought to test. Key components of immune systems in higher organisms like humans may have their origins in bacterial homologs; therefore, investigating the mechanism of this immune system may potentially revolutionize health care and offer new ways to combat bacterial infections through phage therapy.”

The Septu system contains two proteins – the ATPase PtuA and the nuclease PtuB, which form a PtuAB complex. That’s where Tsimese focused her efforts this summer.

“This summer, my successes so far include producing an accurate and reproducible Michaelis–Menten Curve for the protein complex and elucidating the activity of these various proteins through different activity assays and extensive testing, ultimately helping us narrow down our focus to the key areas to explore in this defense system.”

Remaining summer 2024 LAS Dean’s High Impact Award for Undergraduate Research recipients

Nicholas Grande (’25 chemistry)
Mentored by Brett Vanveller, associate professor of chemistry

Jessica Johnson (’26 biology)
Mentored by Ping Kang, adjunct assistant professor of genetics, development, and cell biology

Olivia Jozaitis (’26 chemistry)
Mentored by Robbyn Anand, associate professor of chemistry and the Carlyle G. Caldwell Endowed Chair in Chemistry

Natalie Kaufmann (’26 genetics)
Mentored by Hongqing (Michelle) Guo, assistant professor of genetics, development, and cell biology

Chloe McFarlane (’25 psychology)
Mentored by Kristi Costabile, associate professor of psychology

Bach Nguyen (’27 computer science)
Mentored by Goce Trajcevski, professor of electrical and computer engineering

Austin Petfalski (’26 biochemistry)
Mentored by Julien Roche, associate professor of biochemistry, biophysics, and molecular biology