JR
Jonathan Rappi
  • Biology
  • Class of 2019
  • Southington, CT

Eastern Student Jonathan Rappi of Southington Assists with Biology Research Project

2018 Mar 27

Eastern Connecticut State University students Christianne Senechal and Jonathan Rappi are assisting Eastern Biology Professor Amy Groth with a complex research project that uses microscopic worms to study genes that are important for human development and disease, including cancer.

Rappi '18 majors in Biology and hails from Southington.

Rappi believes undergraduate research is a perfect opportunity for students to build relationships with a professor by working closely with them. "It also helps students to learn in a different way than in a normal classroom setting. Students must be creative and solve unique problems rather than just memorize information for a test," said Rappi.

"The biggest lesson I have learned is that science takes a very long time and lots of trial and error," he continued. "Of the results that we did achieve, I was surprised one gene that was inhibited seemed to cause the worms to develop more slowly than usual. We could observe this phenomenon with a normal microscope because the worms without this particular gene were smaller than normal. This observation showed me the power of genetics."

Rappi credits Groth with guiding him through the research process, offering suggestions, answering questions and teaching him laboratory techniques. "At the same time, she encourages me to take charge of my project and to be independent. I am interested in pursuing a research career, so my undergraduate research experience is directly applicable to my future and will look great on my CV. In addition, the critical thinking skills, independence and time management skills I have learned from this experience will help me in any career."

"All of the research in Eastern's Biology department is conducted by our extremely talented undergraduates in collaboration with a faculty member," said Groth, who teaches courses in genetics, biotechnology, molecular genetics and the biology of cancer. "The student researchers are utilizing cutting-edge techniques such as RNA interference and confocal microscopy to study genetic pathways in nematodes. The findings will shed light on how those pathways function in human development and disease."

Both students will be presenting their research at two conferences in April; Eastern's Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern conference and the Eastern Colleges Science Conference in Ithaca, NY.