Good works in the molecular physiology and biophysics section under the guidance of principal investigator ’86 and postdoctoral fellow Kanchan Gupta. They are synthesizing variants of a toxin found in the venom of the Chinese earth tiger tarantula, and studying how those toxins interact with ion channels. The research aims to provide knowledge about how toxins cause ion channels to close and open, thereby shining light on the channel mechanisms.

Good began his internship in January while on a spring with the (WCSC). When Swartz urged him to think about extending his internship through the summer, Good then applied for and was accepted into the . While this program is competitive, with only about 1,000 applicants accepted from more than 6,300 applications in 2013, NIH scientists select their own interns. Good’s placement through WCSC and his work begun with Swartz in the spring set the stage for his continued research.

Lab work under Harvard-trained neurobiologist

One of Good’s biggest challenges, he says, has been learning about the field of biophysics and the specific biochemical, molecular biological and biophysical techniques used in Swartz’s lab to investigate toxins and ion channels. His principal investigator, Swartz – who double-majored in chemistry and biology at EMU and earned his PhD in neurobiology at Harvard University in 1992 – has been working in the field for years, including postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School.

Good explains the basics of his research in layman’s terms: Ion channels are a part of neuron, muscle, and touch sensor cells which can generate electrical signals, allowing cells across the body to communicate. When one ion channel opens, charged ions rush out of the cell, creating an electrical signal. This causes adjacent ion channels to open, making a chain reaction known as the “action potential.”

“The action potential is the fundamental means for communication within our bodies because of the speed at which a signal travels,” explains Good. “For example, if you touch a hot stove, ion channels open in response to this stimulus, sending an electrical signal to your brain. Then your brain sends an electrical signal back to quickly remove your hand.”

The first two months in the lab were arduous, Good says. He’s no stranger to detail-oriented and sometimes frustrating work, having spent the previous summer at North Dakota State University working with a graduate student on biomass carbohydrates. But biophysics is a new field to him.

“There was a lot of failure at the outset,” says Good. “Instruments failed, I made mistakes, and the project did not seem to move forward. Yet the reward was just around the corner.”

Finally, a breakthrough came, and Good progressed from synthesis on to “more interesting experiments.”

“That was also the point when I realized that I wasn’t as bad at lab work as I had begun to imagine,” says Good.

To begin synthesizing the toxin, Good programs instruments to load amino acid cartridges in the proper order, producing an impure toxin in 36 hours. This is just step one of a long process.

“Some mornings, I have experiments that need immediate attention because of their length,” says Good. “For example, one chemical reaction takes four to six hours to complete, followed by a long separation step and freeze-drying, which I set up to run overnight. After work on these days, I’m both physically and mentally exhausted.”

Research guides career exploration

On days that he isn’t tending to chemical reactions or programming lab instruments, Good attends scientific NIH Summer Internship Program presentations, reads literature, plans for future experiments, and writes.

During the spring semester, he tapped into the social side of WCSC, exploring Washington D.C. and spending time at the group house.

“Some of us went to see [singer-songwriter] Andy Grammer, checked out a Wizards game, and rented paddleboats on the Tidal Basin to view the cherry blossoms.”

When his WCSC semester concluded, Good moved into other housing. His internship ends in August, at which point he’ll return to EMU for his final year.

In addition to the South Dakota research, Good has worked with chemistry professor to identify noni fruit’s chemical make-up. Adding eight months of research at NIH to his research portfolio has been an invaluable experience, Good says. The internship has given him a better understanding of the process of original research, and piqued his interest in the intersections between chemistry and biology. While Good uses toxins to close ion channels, he is opening doors of possibility as to where a chemistry degree may lead.

Staying with host families, immersing themselves in the local culture, Holly’s student group shared stories and experiences that proved to be life changing.

Read journals and view photos:

• Bulgaria
• Guatemala and the U.S./Mexico Border

Other student groups traveled to Zambia, China, and EMU’s and participated in group living and meaningful and seminars.

About the EMU cross-cultural program

is a graduation requirement for every EMU student. Our well-known program – over three decades old – is boosted by a majority of teaching faculty who have lived and worked overseas, often partnering with people far from the tourist circuit.

Most students are immersed for a whole semester in another country, often living with local families in places such as the , India, , or Africa. Some students live and learn at EMU’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center in Washington, D.C., doing internships in places like the or the .

A research scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., will discuss the ways that voltage sensors and electrical signaling happen in animal and human nervous systems at the next Suter Science Seminar.

Kenton Swartz, a senior member of the molecular physiology and biophysics section at NIH, will give his presentation 4 p.m. Monday, Mar. 30, in room 104 of the Suter Science Center at EMU.

"Kenton Swartz is a leader in his field who will speak about how brain cells called neurons create (bio)electricity," said Greta Ann Herin, assistant professor of biology at EMU. "Cells such as these control simple diffusion of charged atoms into and out of the cell using specialized gates called ion channels. Kenton will show us how ion channels’ construction makes them responsive to signals, controllable and very fast. It’s very exciting to have him come to speak," Dr. Herin added.

Dr. Swartz joined NIH as an investigator in 1997 and was promoted to senior investigator in 2003. His laboratory uses biochemical, molecular biological and biophysical techniques to investigate the structure of voltage-activated ion channels and to explore the molecular mechanics by which these channels gate.

Swartz received a BS degree in chemistry and biology in 1986 from EMU. In 1992, he received a PhD in neurobiology from Harvard University, studying the regulation of voltage-gated calcium channels. He did postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School, where he began isolating and studying toxins that interact with voltage-activated potassium channels.

Refreshments will be served 15 minutes prior to the presentation, which is open to everyone free of charge.

For more information, contact Dr. Roman J. Miller, Suter Endowed Professor of Biology, at 540-432-4412; email: millerrj@emu.edu.

Dr. Francis Collins, a renowned geneticist and a Christian, surprised the audience with a touching hymn near the end of his lecture on the intersection of science and faith.

Like many young doctors, Francis Collins sometimes found himself at the bedsides of patients he could no longer help.

But always curious, Collins sat by their side listening and marveling at how many patients didn’t despair but found comfort in religion.

Then in his mid-20’s, a dying woman asked Collins what he believed on the subject. And the young man who was embarking on a career that would tackle some of the natural world’s toughest puzzles was stumped.

For all his training, Collins says, he had no answers for life’s basic questions: Why am I here? What will happen after I die? Is there a God?

On Saturday, Collins, 57, now a renowned geneticist and a Christian, spoke to a packed crowd at EMU’s Martin Chapel.

His message: that science and religion, two ways of explaining the world we live in, are not incompatible.

“Truth can be found in scientific exploration and religious exploration; It’s all God’s truth,” Collins said. “Some people are saying you have to pick one or the other. I would say that would be an impoverished outcome.”

‘The Language Of God’

Raised near Staunton, Collins, is the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

And he coordinated the Human Genome Project. Genomes, he says, are like books contained inside every living organism, which hold the secrets of life.

In 2003, Collins and other scientists finished “mapping” the human genome, a landmark achievement that, he says, was like figuring out each letter in a book. His leadership on the genome project and work overall work on genetic research has catapulted him to the top tier of scientific researchers and earlier this month earned him the Medal of Freedom.

President Bush awarded him the medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in a ceremony on Nov. 7 in Washington.

Faith Bolstered By Science

Although scientists have yet to grasp the full meaning of the human genome, doing so could lead to advances in the fights against diseases such as cancer, diabetes and asthma.

But on Saturday, Collins focused on how decades in science has encouraged, not dampened, his religious faith.

It’s an experience described in his 2006 book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence For Belief.

Known And Unknown

By studying fossils and DNA, scientists have achieved a greater understanding of life and found support for the theory of evolution, Collins said.

And most scientists now agree that the universe began about 13.7 billion years ago, he says, and that people share more than 98 percent of their DNA with chimpanzees.

Still science, Collins said, can’t answer how life began or the mystery of why 15 mathematical constants show up over and over in nature like a well-designed pattern.

Those questions, Collins says, are part of what has led him and about 40 percent of scientists to a belief in some God.

But Collins’ said his Christian faith led him a step further, to belief in a God who cares about people and has instilled in them a sense of right and wrong.

“We all have written in our hearts what is good and holy and the desire to reach out and find it,” he said.

Tricky Subject

Christian Early, a philosophy and theology professor at EMU says Collins’ message is important in a society where science and religion often seem at odds.

Still, aspects of Collins speech, especially evolution, can be difficult for Mennonites and other Christian denominations to accept, Early said.

Victoria Clymer, 15, and Malinda Bender, 14, both freshman at Eastern Mennonite High School said that Collins’ world-view is different from theirs.

“Coming from a Mennonite background, you take what the Bible says,” Bender said. “It was a little bit different, but interesting,” she said. “I’m glad I came.”

Becky Horst, a 22-year-old EMU student from Somerset, Pa., said that in his book and his speech Collins succinctly expresses an idea that will be important to her when she graduates and begins teaching high school science.

“My vocation can’t be disconnected from the faith part of my life,” said Horst, a Mennonite. She also said that while she wants science and religion in her life, she expects to be allowed to take only one of them into her science classes.

Dan McSweeney, 71, of Augusta County, says he’s an atheist who has no trouble with religious people, unless they tell him to be religious.

After the speech, he said he admired Collins as a scientist, but that the logic of his religious arguments doesn’t add up.

“What we have is the world around us, that’s what exists,” McSweeney said. But “a personal God? That’s a leap of faith,” he said. “Not science.”