Undergrads place fourth for work in air pollution

Two undergraduate researchers who work in Assistant Professor Qinghua Sun's lab finished fourth in the 2008 Denman Undergraduate Research Forum for a project that supports Sun's research on the link between air pollution in Ohio and cardiovascular disease.

Matt Verdin, 19, and Zubin Yavar, 18, presented a poster and oral talk titled "Exposure to Air Pollution Potentiates Systemic Inflammation Associated with Vascular Dysfunction and Diabetes." More than 400 Ohio State undergraduate students participated.

Verdin and Yavar competed in the category of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. They were judged by Ohio State faculty and local corporate leaders.

"It was a really good surprise," said Verdin, a freshman from Toledo, who's majoring in philosophy and aspires to be a doctor.

"It was great to see our hard work pay off," said Yavar, a freshman from Cincinnati, who's majoring in biology and wants to be a cardiologist.

The Denman Undergraduate Research Forum, created in 1996, is a cooperative effort of The Ohio State University's Honors & Scholars Center, the Under-graduate Research Office, and the Office of Research. The Forum showcases outstanding student research and encourages all undergraduates to participate in research as a value-added element of their education.

Sun's students were financially supported by the College of Public Health Freshman Research Fund.

"I strongly believe that this is a very good strategy from our College to support undergraduate research, especially freshmen, so that they have an early exposure to environmental and public health-related research, which would have significant impact on their future career," Sun said.

Before ever working in a lab, Verdin imagined it to be like the zany one in the movie "The Nutty Professor."

"It's more real and more exciting," Verdin said. "Having actual data that will be used toward something important is exciting."

Yavar agreed.

"I'm seeing information that I've learned in the classroom being applied and made useful in the lab."