A Decade of Summer Research: Seaver College Marks 10 Years of SOAR Program

Students shared their scientific research, creativity, and innovation at Loyola Marymount University Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering's SOAR 10-Year Anniversary Celebration on June 25. The event, boasting 50+ student research poster presentations, marked an important milestone for Seaver College - a decade of its popular Summer Opportunities for Advanced Research (SOAR) program.

The SOAR program provides Seaver students with funding to participate in a six-week, full-time research experience working directly with faculty during the summer semester. Through SOAR, students can spend up to 35 hours per week in the lab, giving them the time to run longer experiments, and build skills more quickly than during the regular academic year.

At the anniversary celebration, Seaver students summarized their summer investigations for the LMU community, including peers, faculty, deans, family members, and industry guests. In her welcome remarks, Tina Choe, Dean of the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering, noted that the crowdfunded SOAR program has provided "diverse undergraduate research opportunities to more than 200 students since its inception and those students have gone on to do great things in their careers."

One person who has made a large impact on SOAR is LMU chemistry alumnus James Whitehead, '65, a top SOAR program donor, who established endowed funds to support the research program in perpetuity. "I believe students who are in the sciences should have experience in conducting research and learning from both successes and failures," said Whitehead, founder and former president of Vector Laboratories, Inc., during his opening remarks at the SOAR 10-Year Anniversary Celebration. "The best investment I've made is supporting the SOAR program and all of you students here today."

One of those SOAR students is Ryan Khosravi, '27 a biochemistry senior who investigated unique and conserved features of metabolic enzymes from Bacillus bacteria capable of rewiring their metabolism to facilitate "bioremediation" - using living organisms to clean up the environment. Overseen by Brianna Bibel, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, the research is focused on the bioremediation of toxic heavy metal chromium, Cr(VI), and the role of core metabolic enzyme malate dehydrogenase (MDH) in this process.

"A highlight was investigating how different parts of the MDH protein interact by creating tagged versions (His-tagged and Strep-tagged) that could be mixed to form chimeric proteins," said Khosravi. "Comparing these chimeric proteins helped us understand how the protein's subunits influence each other's function. I think a chimera is really cool because it's literally something made from two different organisms - like its own biochemical product."

SOAR recipient and physics senior Brett Nakao, '27, studied icy moons Europa and Achilles under the mentorship of physics professor Emily Hawkins. The goal was to better understand how heat and materials move through subsurface oceans to icy surfaces. A simulation was created using convection with a water tank and particles to model ocean circulation with the goal of providing data for NASA's Europa Clipper mission.

Nakao shared that he learned a lot about perseverance during his summer research project. "When working on an experiment, a lot of things do not work out the way one might expect," Nakao said. "One challenge I had was the existence of air bubbles in the tank, which won't allow the heat to transfer to the water as efficiently. I had to work to eliminate the air bubbles before continuing the experiment for optimum results."

Nisha Sanjeevan, '27, a senior health and human sciences major with a biochemistry minor, investigated the factors affecting mitochondrial genome (MtDNA) turnover in skeletal muscle, overseen by Robert Musci, assistant professor of health and human sciences. Sanjeevan applied for a SOAR project this summer to explore her interest in medical research, particularly in biomedical science. She said she developed independence and efficiency in lab work through this project, and a deeper understanding of scientific principles.

"Mitochondria (the powerhouse of a cell) play an essential role in cellular function and metabolic health, and maintaining integrity of the mitochondrial genome is crucial for healthy aging," said Sanjeevan.

These are just a few examples of the prolific research Seaver College students conducted this summer through the help of SOAR. For 10 years, SOAR has empowered undergraduate students to engage in immersive, faculty-mentored research, fostering innovation, discovery, and academic growth.