Student researchers help inaugurate Albany research expo

Three Skidmore student teams were among more than 70 teams representing New York State?s independent colleges and universities at the inaugural Independent Sector Undergraduate Research Exposition sponsored by the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities. The event took place Jan. 22 at Empire State Plaza in Albany.

Zachary Berk, Jonathan Brestoff, and Charlie Phelps, all Class of 2008, along with T.H. Reynolds, assistant professor of exercise science, participated in the event, which was designed to showcase high-quality research posters to New York State legislators and members of the general public. The event was staged in the ?well? of the Legislative Office Building in Albany.

Reynolds has been a faculty collaborative partner to both Berk and Phelps, whose posters showcased research they completed during a Summer Collaborative Research project. Berk?s project was titled ?Acute Rapamycin Treatment Does Not Improve in Vivo Insulin Action in Ob/Ob Mice.? Phelps?s research was titled ?Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Impairs Insulin?s Ability to Promote PKB Phosphorylation in Isolated Rat Skeletal Muscle.? The studies built upon earlier research on mTOR, a protein. Cell-culture research has suggested that mTOR may play a role in developing insulin resistance.

Insulin also was a key component of Brestoff?s project, done in collaboration with Paul Arciero, associate professor of exercise science, and titled ?An Acute Bout of Endurance Exercise But Not Sprint Interval Exercise Enhances Insulin Sensitivity.?

(Photo above from left: T.H. Reynolds, Jon Brestoff, Charlie Phelps, Zach Berk. Sergio Sericolo, photographer)