Hayley Hamilton of Murphy Conducting Chemistry Research at Southwestern University This Summer

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Hayley Hamilton

GEORGETOWN, TX (05/30/2012)(readMedia)-- Hayley Hamilton of Murphy is one of 10 students conducting research at Southwestern University this summer as part of the Welch Summer Research Program, which is funded by the Robert A. Welch Foundation of Houston. The Welch Foundation has funded this program in Southwestern's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry since 1985.

Students selected for the program receive a stipend as well as living expenses that enable them to spend eight weeks conducting research with Southwestern faculty members.

Hamilton is working with Chemistry Professor Kerry Bruns to examine levels of protein phosphorylation involved in the Ras/ERK signal transduction pathways of normal mouse fibroblasts versus those transformed by a retrovirus to help shed light on this abnormal mechanism of cancer cells.

In addition to the research component, students who participate in the Welch summer program also do science outreach activities for children in the Georgetown community. This year's program participants took chemistry experiments to show students at a local elementary school.

Hamilton is a junior biochemistry major at Southwestern. She hopes to attend medical school following her undergraduate studies.

Hamilton is the daughter of Joyce and Kevin Whelchel of Murphy and Roger Hamilton of Dublin. She is a 2010 graduate of Wylie High School.

Southwestern University is a selective, nationally recognized undergraduate liberal arts college with an enrollment of 1,350 students. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in Texas. For more information on Southwestern, visit www.southwestern.edu.