HIGH POINT, N.C., Aug 6, 2009 – Sydney Clark, a rising junior at High Point University, is getting plenty of lab experience thanks to her involvement in a summer program at Wake Forest Medical School.
During her two months spent in the Lipid Sciences lab, she was able to learn new and different lab techniques and several mechanisms in the subject of biochemistry. She also had the chance to investigate what initiates the process of the secretion of VLDL (very low density lipoproteins) in the liver.
“We attempted to establish whether MTP (microsomal triglyceride transfer protein) participates in the initial conversion of apoB (apolipoproteinB) into a precursor lipoprotein by examining the biogenesis of highly truncated forms of apoB containing the minimum structural elements necessary for the formation of precursor lipoproteins,” Clark explains.
Clark found her time there – an experience she applied for through the Cardiovascular and Hypertension Center on the school’s Web site – to be very valuable.
“I had the opportunity to get my feet wet in a career in research,” Clark says. “This experience will influence me in choosing a career path greatly because now I have a feeling of what it is like to work for a Ph.D., and I have a head start in knowing what is expected in order to achieve this.”
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people. HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students from 50 countries and 44 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report No. 5 among comprehensive universities in the South and No. 1 in its category among up-and-coming schools. Forbes.com ranks HPU in the top 6 percent among “America’s Best Colleges.” HPU was included in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work For” 2009 listings. The university offers 68 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors and seven graduate degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at www.highpoint.edu. Chris DudleyVice President for [email protected]