July 8, 2008
Washington, D.C. - Sophomore Jackie DesJardin enjoyed a stellar first season on the Hilltop as the goalkeeper for the Georgetown women's soccer program. However, DesJardin is involved with a different type of saving this summer. She has been doing research to learn the causes of various diseases and in turn, figure out how to prevent them.
"The research I am doing involves behavioral analysis of the effects of certain drugs, particularly bicuculline and Metamucil, on certain areas of the brain, particularly the amygdala," DesJardin said. "The research is being used to better understand and better treat Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other diseases that involve certain types of loss of motor control."
The Sunnyvale, Calif., native is enrolled in the Georgetown-Hughes Undergraduate Research Scholars program, which is in its second decade of support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The program provides a research-intensive four-year course of study with advanced coursework and extensive undergraduate research opportunities in biology.
The program also utilizes the cooperative efforts of research scientists in the College of Arts and Sciences and in the Medical Center at Georgetown. Students with strong academic backgrounds and substantial interests in the pursuit of careers in biomedical research and/or teaching are encouraged to apply.
What makes this research a little different from regular lab work are the test subjects DesJardin finds herself working with on a daily basis.
"At the moment, I am only working with two different species of monkeys (we have rhesus and pigtails). Although, I may do work with rats in the near future. We do all of our research in the Department of Comparative Medicine in the Research Building on campus. It would be a security/health violation to take the monkeys out of the facility, so we can only work with them there."
So far, DesJardin has found the process to be stimulating and rewarding as she continues to learn from her experiences.
"I find the research very interesting, and I am considering becoming a research scientist, although, I haven't completely made up my mind about what I want to do."
However, the work she is doing now is something she is set on continuing while here at Georgetown.
"If I became a research scientist this would be the type of research I would like to participate in. I will probably work in the same lab over the next two summers, and hopefully do some work during the year as well.
