Buies Creek, N.C.–What do Nobel laureates Peter Agre and Roderick MacKinnon have in common with Campbell University student Meredith Greene? In 2003, Agre and MacKinnon won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for the discovery of how salts and water are channeled out of and into the cells of the body, giving scientists a fundamental understanding of many diseases. One of eight students selected to attend a national undergraduate science research program at the University of Kentucky this summer, Greene will have the opportunity to work on a very similar project.Greene, who will attend the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSFREU) program, will conduct research on the regulation of calcium signaling in the heart. Voltage-dependent calcium channels the regulation of the flow of calcium ions across cellular membranes to regulate a variety of cellular functions, including heart muscle contraction, hormone secretion and nerve transmission.”It’s the way that proteins regulate the calcium channeled into the heart,” said Greene. “You have to have the right amount of calcium in the cells to cause the heart to beat.”Greene, a junior bio-chemistry major, said she was honored to be selected for the NSFREU program.”I’m very excited,” she said. “It’s something that not many people get the opportunity to do, so I’m honored to have been chosen.”Dr. Michael Wells, associate professor of chemistry, said Greene tended to downplay the significance of the opportunity.”It is a very competitive program,” he said. “There is a nationwide search for these students, and they are the best of the best.”Greene placed out of general chemistry her freshman year and was allowed to take sophomore level organic chemistry.”She aced the course,” said Wells. “She’s bright. She’s good in the laboratory. She’s an all-around good student,” he said.Greene is also active in extracurricular activities as a member of the honor societies Phi Kappa Phi, Epsilon Pi Eta and Phi Delta Sigma. Additionally, she is involved with the Baptist Student Union and Circle K, the college equivalent of Kiwanis.After Hurricane Katrina devastated the southern coast, Greene made two trips to Gulfport, Miss. with the Baptist Men of North Carolina organization to help with the clean-up.”I cleaned houses immediately after the devastation then returned seven months later and worked on houses again,” she said. “It was amazing to see how much the area where I worked had improved.”Looking toward a career as a physician or a science professor, Greene said the NSFREU experience should really help her make a career decision.”At this point, I’m not sure which one it is going to be,” she said.The NSFREU program involves undergraduates in cutting-edge biochemical research. The goal of the program is to encourage student participants to pursue careers in the biochemical sciences. A wide variety of projects are offered including research in structural biology, biophysics, proteomics, protein and nucleic acid chemistry, membrane biochemistry and molecular biology. Participants who may have little or no opportunity to participate in research in their home institutions, are exposed to a wide range of career options in the biochemical sciences.Greene is the daughter of Dr. Dwaine Greene and his wife Carolyn. Dr. Greene is vice president for Academic Affairs and provost at Campbell University. She has a sister, Patricia, who is also a Campbell student.Photo Copy: Bio-chemistry major, Meredith Greene, works in the laboratory at Campbell University. Greene was selected to participate in a nationally acclaimed research program for undergraduates.
Campbell student chosen for prestigious research program