{"id":102855,"date":"2025-06-23T19:04:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T19:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=102855"},"modified":"2025-06-23T19:04:45","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T19:04:45","slug":"taking-curiosity-to-new-heights-uri-ph-d-students-awarded-nasa-fellowship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/taking-curiosity-to-new-heights-uri-ph-d-students-awarded-nasa-fellowship\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking curiosity to new heights:\u00a0溏心vlog免费B站 Ph.D. students awarded NASA fellowship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 June 23, 2025 \u2013 Two Ph.D. students in the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s College of the Environment and Life Sciences\u2019 interdisciplinary biological and environmental sciences<\/a> graduate program have been awarded graduate research fellowships from the NASA Rhode Island Space Grant Consortium. Michelle Marder, from Lynnfield, Massachusetts, and Kate Remy \u201924, from Brockton, Massachusetts, are specializing in cell and molecular biology and aim to help scientists better understand antibiotic resistance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This summer, Marder and Remy will continue research projects funded through the NASA consortium<\/a>. The program offers graduate fellowships that provide academic year funding to students working on research projects with NASA relevance. It also provides fellows opportunities to present their findings at the Annual Rhode Island Space Grant Spring Symposium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marder is working with Professor Steven Gregory<\/a> to study the ribosomes of thermophiles, a kind of microbe that can grow and thrive at high temperatures. \u201cMy research focuses on the ribosome, the cellular machine that makes proteins using the genetic information encoded in DNA,\u201d Marder says. \u201cThis is a basic feature of all living things on earth. In all organisms the ribosomes are similar to one another.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNASA’s Astrobiology Strategy is directed at understanding the possible evolutionary adaptations of life on other planets,\u201d Marder adds. \u201cStudying extremophile microbes on Earth could tell us how life could adapt to extreme conditions elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remy is working with Professor Jodi Camberg<\/a> to study uropathogenic E. coli<\/em>, a type of bacteria that causes urinary tract infections. \u201cMost patients who experience a UTI will have recurrent infections,\u201d Remy says. \u201cWhat has been found about uropathogenic E. coli<\/em> is that it can enter a dormant stage characterized by slow metabolism, which is known as quiescence. In this stage, it\u2019s more tolerant to antibiotics. Understanding the quiescence of the bacteria is the general basis of my thesis work.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marder and Remy\u2019s research will assist NASA in efforts to better understand how bacteria survive in extreme environments, including outer space. Marder will be continuing her research on thermophiles and their ribosomal structure. \u201cI\u2019ll be studying how the structure of the ribosome evolves, specifically how it evolves to work in extreme environments like what might be found in space,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remy will apply her research on uropathogenic E. coli<\/em> to investigate how outer space conditions affect astronauts and bacterial pathogens. \u201cI\u2019ll be looking at how certain conditions one would experience in space, such as UV stress, ionizing and nonionizing radiation, microgravity, etc., are affecting bacterial pathogens,\u201d she says. \u201cFor example, are the conditions causing any mutations that are making the bacteria more resistant to antibiotics? I\u2019m looking at more space-specific conditions and how that\u2019s affecting uropathogenic E. coli <\/em>and its interaction with antibiotics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I think about my research, I\u2019m of course thinking about patients on Earth. So this project gave me the opportunity to ask, \u2018What if this was happening in space?\u2019 Astronauts have a 25% greater likelihood of getting a UTI due to microgravity. They can\u2019t fully empty their bladder, so they\u2019re more prone to UTIs, which is something I hadn\u2019t even considered prior to this fellowship. This gives me the opportunity to look at my research from a different perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMichelle and Kate represent the exceptional talent and curiosity that the NASA R.I. Space Grant Consortium seeks to support,\u201d says Nancy Ciminelli, senior program manager for consortium. \u201cTheir selection for this fellowship not only recognizes their dedication to research and innovation but also highlights the strength of our collaborative efforts between Brown University, 溏心vlog免费B站, and NASA. We\u2019re proud to be part of a partnership that empowers Rhode Island students to pursue meaningful scientific exploration.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consortium director Ralph Milliken echoed Ciminelli\u2019s sentiments, adding: \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to see their work highlighted and to celebrate the broader collaboration between 溏心vlog免费B站, Brown, and the NASA R.I. Space Grant Consortium.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research pointers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marder and Remy shared advice for students looking to conduct research in the cellular and molecular biology field. They emphasized getting involved early and exploring one\u2019s interests or curiosities as much as possible. \u201cRead some papers, and get a sense of what you\u2019re interested in,\u201d Marder says. \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to reach out to professors to learn about the type of work they do or to start doing research in their lab.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGet involved early with the department, get to know your professors, and get involved in research,\u201d Remy adds. \u201cWhen I first joined Dr. Camberg\u2019s lab, I didn\u2019t know that I wanted to study bacterial pathogens. Even if something isn\u2019t your current interest, you never really know where your interests lie.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story was written by Yvonne Wingard, Communications Fellow in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 June 23, 2025 \u2013 Two Ph.D. students in the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s College of the Environment and Life Sciences\u2019 interdisciplinary biological and environmental sciences graduate program have been awarded graduate research fellowships from the NASA Rhode Island Space Grant Consortium. Michelle Marder, from Lynnfield, Massachusetts, and Kate Remy \u201924, from Brockton, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":102856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1907,5,1914,1916,1905],"class_list":["post-102855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-academic-excellence","tag-college-of-the-environment-and-life-sciences","tag-graduate","tag-partner-produced","tag-research"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102855"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102857,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102855\/revisions\/102857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}