The primary goal of the original research proposal (ORP) is to assess qualities that are not measured in the classroom environment. The ORP system allows students to choose a research topic in the general area of biochemistry and demonstrate the initiative to formulate an experimental plan to achieve a single research objective.
In early January, students submit a list of potential ORP topics and attend a workshop to decide if a question is worth answering, how to recognize and address differing hypotheses, and how to set up an experiment to answer their question. After consulting with mentors and other sources of expertise, students will then write up a short proposal towards a single, hypothetical experimental objective. At the end of May, students will present and defend their ORP to a faculty committee.
Past ORP topics included:
- Characterization of the CXXC domain of Tet1
- Probing the functional structure of the Clostridium thermocellum cellulosome
- The role of mycobacerium tuberculosis (Mtb) genome encoded chaperone EspG1
- Investigating the molecular mechanisms of cofactor induced prion propagation
- Mechanism by which the E6 protein of HPV enhances the canonical Wnt/β-cetenin signaling pathway in squamous cells
- The extensive role of Lzts1 in mitotic regulation and the prevention of tumorigenesis
- Study of plasmodium falciparum CLAG3 protein in the formation of PSAC complex on erythrocyte membrane
- DNA G quadruplexes