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The Biology department at Emmanuel College has historically offered robust opportunities for students to get involved in research on campus throughout the summer. What’s unique about this research group – the Experimental Model Research Groups at Emmanuel (eMRGE) – is the collaborative community between participating students and faculty members.
Emmanuel College’s summer research program offers students and faculty alike the distinct opportunity to collaborate on scholarly work. This summer, 56 students across 11 disciplines and all five Academic Schools are conducting research with faculty. Through this series, we will highlight student and faculty research going on throughout the summer, which will conclude with a special poster session in the fall.
At a primarily undergraduate institution, it is rare to have dedicated research programs on the variety of model organisms that are utilized at Emmanuel – worms, flies, bacteria, bacteriophage and yeast, said Dean of the School of Science and Health Dr. Pádraig Deighan. In the eMRGE group, comprised of faculty mentors Drs. Janel Cabrera, Vincent Cannataro, Pádraig Deighan, Jason Kuehner, Natalie Karagodsky and Anupama Seshan, the research of 20 students each summer revolves around these organisms.
What’s equally rare on campus this summer is that student researchers from each project have been sharing their progress, giving each other advice and learning from more than just their own faculty mentor.
The eMRGE group maintains a tradition of frequent lunch presentations, during which students present their research findings not only to their mentor, but to their peers and other mentors in the biology group. The presenting and feedback process, or inclusive mentoring, is a unique piece of what makes the eMRGE group and doing biology-related research at Emmanuel College especially beneficial for participating undergraduates.
See the overview of each research project and hear more from the students about their research journeys this summer below.
eMRGE Cabrera Lab:
Arthur Langford ’25, a biology major on the pre-med track, has been involved in summer research with Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Janel Cabrera for two years. A veteran of the eMRGE group research style, Langford said he loves being in a larger lab group where so many can contribute their own perspective and how they approach the work.
For him and his peers, they’re enjoying the opportunity to do work on flies that hasn’t been done before, especially as undergraduates: “It’s exciting to ask questions that haven’t been answered yet,” he added, which means he and his fellow student researchers get to come up with their own process and methodology for problem solving.
On this project, all four of Dr. Cabrera’s students are playing a different role with their own focus but help support each other throughout the process.
“It was unexpected to get the chance to participate in this research,” said Jillian Tierney ’27, “but I was so excited to find out I was picked!”
As a rising sophomore, Tierney has taken full advantage of the research opportunity so early in her college career. Not only has she gotten her first practice in presenting her own research, but she said she’s grown much more comfortable in a lab setting – with the equipment and protocol specifically – since starting her research with Dr. Cabrera and her peers.
In their project and more, the opportunities for growth have extended beyond the Emmanuel campus as well. For example, Langford has been also conducting his research at Harvard Medical School, which gives him a head start on his post-graduation goals. “Because of this opportunity, I already have my foot in the door,” he said.
eMRGE Karagodsky Lab:
Maria La Terza ’25 and Aiden McCarty ’26, student researchers working with Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Natalie Karagodsky, have had a similar experience at the Joslin Diabetes Center, observing the many different levels of research going on there.
It’s a collaborative atmosphere, La Terza said, having the opportunity to learn from post-doctorates and veteran researchers alike, since the Center is affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
“There’s been lots of good teaching moments,” La Terza added, “working over there takes us into the professional side – for us to be able to have all this access [through Emmanuel College] is huge.”
The duo goes from sitting in on lab planning discussions at the Joslin Diabetes Center to applying those discussions and deliberation skills in the lab at Emmanuel, McCarty explained. Their independence is a huge part of that, he said, allowing them to do their own troubleshooting as they go.
“We are very fortunate to collaborate with the [Keith] Blackwell Lab and split our time between the Emmanuel and Joslin labs,” Dr. Karagodsky said, “it’s a unique and enriching opportunity for students to experience the best of both worlds: the intimate, hands-on environment of a small liberal arts college and the dynamic, fast-paced atmosphere of a leading research institution. Maria and Aiden have truly grown as scientists!”
They’ve also taken advantage of the valuable presentation practice, which emphasizes their ability to communicate their science and practice public speaking skills. The unique blend of liberal arts education and the sciences is one of the things that appealed to McCarty the most about Emmanuel’s biology department when applying, and this summer, he’s been able to practice both elements.
“Emmanuel’s [biology department] is impressive,” he said. “I sought out a school with small class sizes to enhance that professor and student interaction, but also saw the robustness of the department.”
eMRGE Kuehner Lab:
The collaboration between biology faculty and students has made it so the eMRGE group can continue to support student growth each summer.
The unique “research community” has been a highlight for Lane Couturier ‘26 and their fellow researchers working with Associate Professor of Biology and chair of Emmanuel’s Biology department Dr. Jason Kuehner, emphasizing the close-knit nature of the collaboration and all the support from peers and faculty.
As they have progressed through their research this summer, Max Popoloski ’26 said the feedback they’ve received from both their peers and other faculty mentors has been key, helping them to inform the next steps of their project.
The collaboration hasn’t been at the cost of independence either: when working in their group of three, Catalina Lujan-Rodriguez ’26 said the lab setting is much more intimate and involved than a typical classroom setting can be, allowing them to move the work forward and conduct each step along the way. And while they’re working in this way, they have had the support of Dr. Kuehner, consistently reminding them not to be afraid to make mistakes.
Work in the eMRGE groups is funded by the Emmanuel College Summer Research Program as well as grants and support from the NSF, HHMI, Beckman Scholars Program, and the Paul Shannahan Wenger CURE Laboratory.
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