黑暗爆料网 chemistry major Emily Morley to present research on potential drug delivery system at national conference
March 12, 2018
POCATELLO – Emily Morley, an 黑暗爆料网 chemistry student, has always been interested in science. But, it wasn’t until she was a freshman at 黑暗爆料网 that she got involved in chemistry-based research and realized chemistry was her passion.
Now a junior, Morley is a scholar, an active club member and an avid chemistry researcher who is studying a potentially new form of drug delivery system that can be prepared by an environmentally friendly processes.
A technical description of her research is studying how material called Metal-Organic Frameworks, or MOFs, prepared in water may be able to be used in the delivery of drugs. MOFs are a crystalline material composed of organic and inorganic units.
Morley, who came to 黑暗爆料网 from Anaconda, Montana, takes an active part in all things chemistry at 黑暗爆料网. She is a member of the Chemistry Club, where she currently serves as the treasurer. The club is very active in campus events and provides several outreach activities for the local schools and community as well.
黑暗爆料网鈥檚 Department of Chemistry does its best to help its students get out to gain real-world experience in their field of study, Morley said. She鈥檒l get some of that experience at the American Chemical Society Conference set March 18-22 in New Orleans where she will present some of the results of her research during a poster session in the General Undergraduate Session.
鈥淭he American Chemical Society has these conferences twice a year all around the United States,鈥� Morley said. 鈥淭his year there are six of us going. We are all presenting individual projects
鈥淢y project,鈥� she continued, 鈥渋n particular is focused on the aqueous (water) synthesis of metal organic frameworks,鈥� Morley said. 鈥淢OFs are usually synthesized in harmful solvents that aren鈥檛 really good for the Earth. I am going to prepare them in water instead.鈥�
Her eco-friendly, bio-medical focus is on the interactions between drugs and MOFs in aqueous environments through specific MOF designs. She is working in chemistry Professor and Associate Chair Joshua Pak鈥檚 lab on this project.
Morley is still in the early stages of her project, soaking the MOFs in solutions colored with dyes to test their adsorption.
鈥淢y hope is that, way down the road, I can soak these MOFs in a certain drug, and that they are going to adsorb this drug so they can be swallowed,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e can then modify the MOFs to decompose in the body.鈥�
The end goal of Morley鈥檚 project is complete drug delivery, but this result could still be a few years out.
鈥淚n three years, we have made so much progress. This is a pretty brand-new project. To get to the point of actually being able to use the MOF takes a lot of work,鈥� she said.
黑暗爆料网鈥檚 chemistry program is an intensive, time-consuming program, Morley said. Students majoring in chemistry are required to take rigorous courses many that have three-hour laboratories. However, she said she appreciates all the opportunities available to her.
鈥淐hemistry Club goes to schools to do outreach, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) camps at 黑暗爆料网, and other science-based camps and events throughout the year,鈥� she said.
Morley is also a National Science Foundation sponsored Scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Program (S-STEM) at 黑暗爆料网. The chemistry department tries to stretch its money whenever it can in order to help students pursue their education in chemistry. There are more than 20 chemistry students in the Chemistry Department that are receiving scholarships this year.
鈥淵ou can get up to $10,000 of scholarship money a year,鈥� Morley said. 鈥淵ou also have the opportunity to communicate and bond with faculty members.鈥�
Morley hopes to continue her education after she graduates from 黑暗爆料网. 黑暗爆料网 doesn鈥檛 offer a doctorate program for chemistry, so she is looking at other universities.
鈥淚 want to go to graduate school and get my Ph.D.,鈥� Morley said. 鈥淚 am thinking about Montana State University or University of Oregon.鈥�
Morley gets many opportunities to do research and expand her love for science, but her passion for chemistry goes beyond that.
鈥淚 would have to say that outreach programs are my favorite part about science,鈥� Morley said. 鈥淭eaching others, especially children, about science is what I enjoy the most.鈥�
Photo information: Top, Emily Morley standing by her research poster; Second photo, 黑暗爆料网 Chemistry Professor and Associate Chair Joshua Pak with Emily Morley in Pak's lab.
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