Chatham Man Gets Summer Research Award

EASTON, MA -- Chatham native Stephen Leonard will be one of 50 students from Stonehill College working with faculty members at the College this summer on research projects through the Stonehill Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program. The SURE Program provides students with an opportunity to perform significant, publishable research under the guidance of an experienced faculty researcher.

Leonard, a sophomore at Stonehill, along with two other students, will work with Rachel Hirst, assistant professor of Biology on Investigation of a Potential Relationship Between the White-Rot Fungus Armillaria gallica and the Facultative Methylotroph Methylobacterium.

Armillaria gallica degrades the roots of compromised trees by producing a series of enzymes, which breakdown the major components of wood. During a previous study of the genes encoding these enzymes, DNA sequences similar to bacteria from the genus Methylobacteria were isolated. This result suggests a potential relationship between Armillaria gallica and Methylobacteria. During this project, the students will verify the identity of Methylobacteria and determine the ideal parameters for culturing the bacterium. Leonard will optimize the original protocol for isolating the bacteria from A. gallica hyphae. The results of this research will be presented at the 2013 Eastern New England Biological Conference.

The scholars and their faculty mentors are the 17th group to work under the Stonehill Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program. SURE Scholars will engage in weekly meetings to discuss the progress of their projects and other topics of general interest, and will be paid a stipend for their full-time service. All SURE Scholars will present summaries of their summer's work at an all-campus poster session in the early fall.