SUNY Plattsburgh Undergrads Take Top Prize at International Research Conference

Projects Focus on Sequencing DNA of Ancient Mayan Skeletons

Related Media

Melissa Kopp and Nishank Bhalla pose with the awards they won at the 2007 Sigma Xi Student Research Conference

PLATTSBURGH, NY (11/27/2007)(readMedia)-- PLATTSBURGH, NY (November 16, 2007) - Two undergraduate researchers from SUNY Plattsburgh won top honors at the 2007 Sigma Xi Student Research Conference.

Melissa Kopp, a senior in biochemistry, and Nishank Bhalla, a sophomore in biology, competed against more than 300 students from the 92 universities and colleges represented at the international scientific honor society’s event. Kopp won the top prize in the Cellular and Molecular Biology Division; Bhalla, the Interdisciplinary Division.

The two submitted projects based on their work with ancient Mayan skeletons, conducted under the supervision of Associate Professor Dr. Nancy Elwess and Adjunct Lecturer Sandra Latourelle. The State University of New York College at Plattsburgh is home to what might be the world's largest collection of these skeletons, excavated over the years by Distinguished Professor Mark Cohen, Ph.D.

SUNY Plattsburgh is also one of the few colleges that has a DNA sequencer. Access to both the skeletons and the sequencer opens up the door to a wide range of significant research possibilities for Plattsburgh's undergraduates.

Bhalla and Kopp, for instance, have been taking part in a type of research that has only been done a few times before and that has never been done by undergraduates. They have been working with DNA extracted from the teeth of the Mayan skeletons. They amplify the DNA, increasing the sample, so that they can sequence it and determine the Mayans' ancestry.

The two are specifically looking to see if any of the Mayans’ ancestors came from the Old World. This is important because the Mayans appear to have suffered from Beta thalassemia, a genetic disorder that prevents the blood from carrying enough oxygen.

Beta thalassemia was thought to have been brought to the New World by the Spanish, but Kopp and Bhalla are finding that this may not be true. So far the genes of the skeletons they are synthesizing appear to be purely Mayan. If this is case, the disorder may have been present in the New World before arrival of the Spanish.

The researchers at SUNY Plattsburgh are not able to make that claim yet, however. There is still much work to be done, according to Bhalla.

“We are still in the troubleshooting phase," he said.

In the meantime, the two are learning a great deal, forging new paths and benefiting from the self-directed approach the instructors have taken with them.

“They tell us to claim ownership of the project,” said Bhalla who had a say in determining what project he wanted to work on as well as what protocols to use. “They give us freedoms and let us explore and find out for ourselves.” This can lead to frustration, he added. “But they tell us that is a part of it.”

Kopp ran into one such snag early in the project. For the first four months, she could not get her DNA to amplify.

“Since this was only the third time that studies have been done on ancient Mayans, we were on our own,” said Kopp. She had to troubleshoot, trying different solutions until she solved the problem. According to Kopp, the day that she got it to work was a great day.

"I honestly think this has been one of the best experiences of my life," said Kopp who is a fan of SUNY Plattsburgh's science department. "A lot of students don't realize that there are these opportunities and you can excel in research here."

"The project has been a most amazing experience, in terms of learning so much more and actually discovering something new for the first time," said Bhalla.