Research OpportunitiesHoward Hughes Medical Institute Grant at Gustavus Adolphus College

The HHMI grant helps fund summer research opportunities for first and second year students. It allows them to explore an area of interest in a very hands-on way. They often collaborated with biology and chemistry faculty on projects of interest.

What Junior Peer Mentor Biology and Chemistry Major Audrey Messelt has to Say about the HHMI Grant:

"Doing research as a first-year is a really unique opportunity that I think is pretty difficult to find at other colleges, but thanks to the HHMI grant, six first years get that chance every year."
—Audrey Messelt, Peer Mentor, Junior Biology and Chemistry Major

Rima Kharbush, a Senior Biology major was exposed to a great opportunity through HHMI:

"I participated in the HHMI EXROP research program which took me to Boulder, Colorado for a summer to work in one of the country's top research labs at the forefront of science."
—Rima Kharbush, Senior Biology Major

Spencer Boonerup

Summer Research on Photolysis of imazethapyr sorbed to cuticle wax of corn and soybeans was funded by the 2009 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Fund.

"I think an advantage of doing research at Gustavus is that you have to opportunity as a first-year student to conduct hands-on research one-on-one with a Gustavus faculty member. You get to learn more about a particular field of study than you would have without this approach."
—Spencer Boonerup