When Cheri L. Lamb is hooded at Saturday’s Spring Commencement ceremony, she’ll not only have achieved a hard-earned goal, she’ll also be the first student to earn a Ph.D. in biomolecular sciences from Boise State.
The interdisciplinary program in the College of Arts and Sciences focuses on preparing students to satisfy the needs of a growing biotechnology and medical community in a 21st-century world.
The first of its kind in Idaho, the program allows researchers to solve problems by transcending the boundaries between the the traditional disciplines of biology, chemistry, physics and computer science. The interdisciplinary nature of the program distinguishes it from other programs in biomedical research.
The biomolecular sciences Ph.D. program was started in 2012 and Lamb will receive her degree after only four years of study. “Cheri is a talented researcher and is able to graduate about a year and a half earlier than the national average,” said Denise Wingett, professor and director of the program. “Her research has resulted in numerous peer-reviewed publications as well as manuscripts under peer review.”
Lamb’s research has been investigating the consequences of exposure to an environmental toxicant called TCDD — specifically, how exposure to TCDD affects liver fibrosis, which is a reversible wound healing response. She worked in the lab of Kristen Mitchell, associate professor in Boise State’s Department of Biological Sciences, and benefited from the training, service and support provided by the Biomolecular Research Center (BRC) staff.
Biology associate professor Kristen Mitchell.
“I am confident that the interdisciplinary training and skills that Cheri has amassed will benefit her as she pursues the next step of her career,” said Mitchell. “The way members of my laboratory think about research and develop experimental approaches has been broadened and strengthened by interacting with other graduate students and faculty in this interdisciplinary program. That has just opened the door to new resources for addressing increasingly complex problems in biomedical research.”
Lamb said her journey toward her doctorate has changed her in many ways and serves as an inspiration. “To me, this Ph.D. means inspiring other women to go after their dreams and be the best they can be,” she said. “It means inspiring a love for science in my daughter and showing her she can do whatever she wants to do and become whatever kind of person she wants to become.”
Immediately upon graduation, Lamb plans to apply her interdisciplinary training to biophysical research investigating the functionality of transmembrane cellular transporters. These transporters could lead to new methods of non-invasive delivery of drugs or treatment materials into living cells to control cellular functions.
Learn more about the program in this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNK7UI_cb1U&list=PL72C4BBF56F93A320&index=16
BY: KATHLEEN TUCK PUBLISHED 1:10 PM / MAY 6, 2016