First Beckman Scholar Jennifer Zile ’04 is Fired Up
for a Pharmacy Career
By Jerilyn Covert ’04
The only thing missing from Jenn Zile’s planner is
blank space.
The senior double major in chemistry and biochemistry & molecular
biology is Dickinson’s
first Beckman Scholar, an honor that entails two full summers of research and 10
hours of research a week during the academic year.
Add to that her already busy schedule
as an active member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, a part-time pharmacy employee at
Wal-Mart, and a member of honor societies Alpha Lambda Delta and Gamma Sigma Alpha.
“I
like to be busy. I feel like I get more accomplished when I have a couple things on
my plate at one time,” Zile says. “If it gets to be too much, I just take
a step back, do something for myself that is completely unrelated to school or work,
and then jump back into it again.”
Associate Professor of Chemistry David Crouch
is Zile’s research partner and the one who suggested
she apply for the scholarship last year. The Beckman program is a perfect opportunity for someone
like Zile, who has a strong work ethic and an interest in pharmacy.
“Through
any other grant or research program, I would have only been given a glimpse of what
research entails,” says Zile. “Through this program, I am permitted to
work for over an entire year on one project. This opportunity gives me a more accurate
idea of what research is like and whether or not it is something I would be interested
in pursuing once I complete pharmacy school.”
Zile has known she wants to be a
pharmacist since her junior year at North Carroll High School in Manchester, Md. “I
had originally wanted to be a doctor, but because of some personal experiences, I realized
that I didn’t want to be the one to tell people that they were sick,” Zile explains. “I
didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news; I wanted to do something that would ease their pain,
make their lives better. And that’s when I discovered pharmacy.”
Zile is working to create
a series of molecules that could be used for the treatment of stress incontinence. Crouch, who
came up with the project idea, explains that when people become excited or nervous—right
before a test, for example—their hearts might begin to race in response to the release of
adrenaline. This is a phenomenon known as the “fight or flight” response.
Nerve receptors
that are stimulated by adrenaline are located throughout the body. But one type of receptor is
found in the neck of the bladder. Incontinence can occur when one becomes emotional, laughs or
cries.
Current drug treatments for this condition do not target the specific receptors
in the bladder, but rather affect the whole body, resulting in side effects such as dry
mouth. Crouch and Zile’s goal is to
create “new” compounds to target the specific area. Depending on how the compound
performs, their research also may be beneficial in the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy
(an enlarged, but not cancerous, prostate).
If their research enables them to create these compounds,
they will send them to the University of New Mexico, where the compounds will be tested on
bladder tissue. If the compounds look promising, further tests will take place.
“You
never know what people are going to do with something you figure out,” says Crouch. “Some
things that seem small at the time turn out to be significant. Just look at the esoteric
origin of the MRI.”
Although Crouch, who chairs the chemistry department, devised
the research project, Zile usually goes it alone in the lab. Crouch accompanies her if
she gets stuck or is working on something potentially dangerous. Sometimes chemicals
are reactive and must be combined slowly, for instance.
Dickinson College was one of 13
schools chosen out of 209 applicants nationwide to receive funding from the prestigious
Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation to support student scientists. Since accepting
the scholarship last year, Zile has attended a conference of Beckman scholars in California
with presenters from all over the world, including Nobel laureates.
“I love the
opportunities that this scholarship has given me, but I do get uncomfortable with all
the attention,” Zile admits. “I am proud to have been given or, rather,
earned, this opportunity, but I don’t really like drawing attention to myself.
And besides, it’s the program itself
that is absolutely amazing and prestigious, not me.”
