JCC's new Summer Undergraduate Research Institute provided students ample opportunity to explore environmental and biomedical research methods and skill development during May and June.

SURI, designed to expose JCC and area high school students to the thrill of scientific discovery, also introduced 21st century research skills to improve both knowledge and marketability. SURI’s interdisciplinary approach included examination of scientific literature and the design and performance of experiments.

Funding for SURI was provided through JCC and a federal Department of Education grant through JBL Associates.

Participants in the biomedical research area were directed by Jacqueline Crisman, assistant professor of biology and coordinator of JCC’s biotechnology program. The students explored apoptosis, a type of programmed cell death in bone marrow stem cells.

“Cells have to die in tissue as a normal part of tissue maintenance, but they have to do it gently,” explained Dr. Crisman. The apoptotic cells seem to break apart without releasing toxic substances into the tissue, she added. “Cells known as macrophages eat the (apoptotic) bits and remove them without incurring tissue damage. We are trying to understand how macrophages know how to find apoptotic cells.”

The biomedical research students included Noah Allen, Hannah Huber, and Jill Mahon of Jamestown and Ashley Arnal of Lakewood.

Dr. Crisman hopes SURI can be expanded by incorporating research approaches into other academic disciplines at JCC.

Students interested in environmental science spent six weeks of their summer working on two main projects. Several community members and visitors -- including Jane Conroe and Rick Constantino of the Chautauqua Lake Management Commission and a team from the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia -- were brought in as guest speakers or met in the field to provide additional educational opportunities.

The environmental research students included Jay Card and Angelo Iasevoli of Jamestown, Jonathan Willow of Lakewood, Cortney Miller of Ripley, Logan West of Randolph, and Marcus Watters of Brocton. Allison Carey, who graduated from JCC in May, was a volunteer assistant.

One project involved the exploration and assessment of the three creeks that run through Chautauqua Institution to the Chautauqua Lake shoreline.

“Chautauqua Institution has been proactive relative to the quality of the water that leaves its grounds by planting buffer strips along certain shoreline areas,” said Jan Bowman, associate professor of biology. A retention pond at the head of what is referred to as the "club creek," on the lake side of Route 394 across from the Chautauqua Golf Club, has also been installed.

JCC students were invited by the Institution to monitor the water quality in the creeks as well as the release from the club creek into the lake. The monitoring process is a continuation of research begun last year by Mrs. Bowman and Christopher Ecker, who graduated from JCC in 2008.

“The settling pond is hopefully allowing suspended particulates and nutrients to be filtered from runoff, thus reducing external loading that could be coming from Chautauqua Institution's grounds,” noted Mrs. Bowman. As part of the project, tests for phosphorus, nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, and temperature were conducted. Macroinvertebrates, known to be good water quality indicators, were also collected and identified. A coliform analysis was performed to check on the status of bacteria in the streams as well.

The other environmental research project focused on a near-shore forest known as Dobbin's Woods in Ashville. The property, which is being conserved by the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, is a unique and important 100-acre forested area.

JCC students mapped out 10 one-fifth acre quadrants, identifying all trees within those areas, recording each tree's height and diameter, and pooling the data to find the equivalent of stored carbon. A determination can then be made of how much service in American dollars that area of forest is providing through natural processes.

“Carbon dioxide, considered a `greenhouse gas,’ is captured through photosynthesis and sequestered in plants,” explained Mrs. Bowman. “Due to recent studies in forestry, equations have been developed which convert the diameter of a tree trunk at a designated height (taking into account the tree species) into the quantity of sequestered carbon dioxide stored in that tree.” The calculations provided students with a way to assess the human cost of providing the same air purifying service if the forest was eliminated.

Details on SURI can be obtained by contacting Dr. Crisman, 716.338.1373.