Emma McCormac

Emma McCormac '20

Medical Biology

A desire to help others leads to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease research

鈥淩esearch keeps me driven,鈥 says Emma McCormac 鈥20. In the Harrison Lab, alongside her advisor, Benjamin Harrison, B.Sc., Ph.D., assistant professor of Biomedical Science at the 成人直播 College of Osteopathic Medicine, Emma is working to optimize a screening approach for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease drug development.

Emma, from China, Maine, heard about research opportunities at 成人直播 while looking at colleges in high school. 鈥淚 knew at 成人直播 I鈥檇 be able to get involved in undergraduate research as early as my freshman year, and I knew being involved in research would be an excellent way to use the education I鈥檇 gain at 成人直播 in a hands-on way.鈥

A major goal of the Harrison Lab is to develop peptide drugs designed to protect basal forebrain neurons from degeneration. The research Emma is carrying out has two aims. 鈥淭he first aim is to find a cell-penetrating peptide that optimally enters PC12 cells, and the second aim is to test at what timeframe the found peptide is most penetrant into the cells,鈥 explains McCormac.

鈥淎s a pre-med student planning on applying to medical school, my personal goal has always been to help as many people as possible. Alzheimer鈥檚 disease affects nearly 16 million people in the United States. This research project has created a conjugated peptide that will be used for further research into Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, which has the potential to positively impact those with Alzheimer鈥檚. That potential is something I am thrilled about.鈥

This past summer Emma continued her research as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) at 成人直播*. 鈥淩esearch takes you beyond the classroom. My research experience has taught me so much about cell biology and disease pathways, but the real lessons I鈥檝e learned didn鈥檛 come from working on cells. Research provided me with the experience of putting in a 40-plus hour week of work. I鈥檝e learned time-management skills and how to address my concerns in a professional setting. I鈥檝e had the opportunity to practice presenting scientific data, and I have been able to attend and present at an international conference. Doing research has been an amazing experience 鈥 one I think everyone should take advantage of.鈥

鈥淚t amazes me how much previous classes at 成人直播 care about the continuation of research at 成人直播. Without knowing about my project or myself, someone鈥檚 gift to 成人直播 allowed me to move to southern Maine for the summer and have a full-time professional job over the summer. It was truly the best summer I鈥檝e had at 成人直播.鈥

*The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) at 成人直播 has been sponsored by agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the American Chestnut Foundation, the Gulf of Maine Institute, the Maine Space Grant Consortium, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Pratt and Whitney, Bristol Seafoods, the US Department of Agriculture, the 成人直播 Marine Science Center, and the 成人直播 Office of Research and Scholarship.