By Alejandra Navarro

Chemistry major Michael Shinall '07 has his eyes focused on a career in the pharmaceutical industry, where he can work to uncover new medications. Now, thanks to skills gained in a summer research fellowship, pharmaceutical companies will be keeping a watchful eye on him as well.

Shinall spent 10 weeks - eight hours a day - researching peptide dynamics in a laboratory at Fairfield University under the supervision of Dr. Matthew Kubasik, assistant professor of chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences. What made the experience possible was a $5,000 fellowship Shinall received from Pfizer Global Research and Development and the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, which jointly created a program to give students in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island hands-on exposure to the field. The goal is to encourage them to stay in the Northeast after graduation.

Through a program funded by Pfizer Global Research and the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, Michael Shinall '07 (left) spent the summer doing specialized research with his chemistry professor, Dr. Matthew Kubasik.

Shinall was one of 21 students selected for the fellowship. "By offering students like Michael the opportunity to do research under the guidance of experienced academic and industry scientists, Pfizer hopes to encourage them to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry," says Clinton A. Lewis Jr. '88, senior vice president of sales for Pfizer, who earned a bachelor's degree in biology at Fairfield and currently serves as a University Trustee.

Students who gain skills while in college can enter the workforce as productive employees, says Dr. Kubasik, who recommended Shinall for the fellowship. "Pfizer has a really great program, putting resources into undergraduate students and their work," he says. "It can be difficult to participate in real scientific research at the undergraduate level, yet research really does open up opportunities in terms of employment and graduate school and medical school admission."

Shinall did more than scratch the surface of research; he spent his time learning new technical skills, Dr. Kubasik says. Shinall mastered laboratory techniques such as flash chromatography and learned how to synthesize new molecules, purify new molecules, and interpret data from the Chemistry Department's nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, known as the NMR. Much of Shinall's research built on what he had learned in his coursework. "Everything we did in the lab had a direct correlation to what we had learned in the classroom," says Shinall, whose interest in the field was confirmed after taking his first chemistry class at Fairfield.

During the summer, Shinall studied how peptides - small protein components formed from a chain of amino acids - change shape and form. Such research has the potential to help pharmaceutical companies make new drugs, particularly those using time-release capsules.

Shinall worked alongside Dr. Kubasik, whose research in the chemical sciences is aimed at characterizing the dynamics of biomolecules. The experience was Shinall's first time working one-on-one with a professor, and he said he valued the ability to see a professional in action. Dr. Kubasik, who employed a second student researcher through an external grant from the Research Corporation, hopes to publish some of their research findings.

Because pharmaceutical companies benefit from maintaining relationships with students, this summer's student researchers were able to interact with and demonstrate their abilities to an audience of professionals. On Sept. 30, Shinall and the other research fellows traveled to Pfizer in Groton, Conn., where scientists introduced them to the pharmaceutical business, discussed the company's goals, and identified some of the diseases it has targeted for eradication. The student fellows then delivered poster presentations to the scientists on their summer research findings. Shinall left the conference not only with a Pfizer mentor committed to stay in touch with him, but also with a pocket full of business cards from researchers eager to meet the fresh new talent who will soon be entering the field.

"Doing research over the summer has just emphasized how cool this field is," says Shinall, whose career interests are beginning to focus on research in veterinary medicine. Exploring the options, he says, "is the reason I'm doing this. The whole experience has been eye-opening."