Eberly College of Science Student Marshals Chosen

4 May 2005—Elizabeth M. Chislock, of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania; Rebecca L. Morgan, of Allentown, Pennsylvania; and Sandy Shu Hui Toh, of Singapore, will be honored as the Eberly College of Science student marshals during fall commencement ceremonies on Saturday, 14 May 2005, at the Penn State University Park campus.

Elizabeth M. Chislock, who will be completing a major in biochemistry and molecular biology, is enrolled in the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State, has been on the Dean’s list every year, and has earned a 4.0 grade-point average. Chislock’s academic achievements have been recognized with a Pfizer Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Biochemistry in 2004, an American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Thomas J. Bardos Science Education award in 2004-2005, and a Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research award in 2004. She received several research awards in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2003, including a Jacqueline Hemming Whitfield Student Research Endowment, a Kevin Daniel Gilmore Memorial Scholarship, and an Edward B. Nelson Undergraduate Research award. Her university-wide academic awards include a President’s Freshman Award in 2001, a President Sparks Award in 2002, and two Evan Pugh Scholar Awards in 2003 and 2004. She also received a Braddock Scholarship in the Eberly College of Science in 2001.

Chislock began working in the laboratory of Andrea M. Mastro, professor of microbiology and cell biology, in 2002 through the Women in Science and Engineering Research (WISER) program. She conducted research on the effects of bone-metastatic breast-cancer cells on the function of osteoblasts, or bone-building cells. Her recent research showed that breast-cancer cells altered osteoblast production of cytokines—regulatory proteins that mediate communication between cells—causing a notable increase in production of the pro-inflammatory-cytokine interleukin-6. This research formed the basis for her honors thesis.

Chislock is a graduate of Huntingdon Area High School in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. In addition to her academic accomplishments, she has been involved with the Penn State Campus Girl Scouts Group from 2002 to 2005, where she had served as president and treasurer. She also played the clarinet in the Penn State Concert Band in 2001 and 2002 and in the Penn State Campus Band from 2002 to 2005.

After graduation, Chislock will be attending graduate school at Duke University where she will pursue a doctoral degree in the Molecular Cancer Biology program. Eventually, she would like to work in academia.

Chislock will be accompanied at graduation by her parents, Mike and Debbie Chislock, and her grandparents, Sara and Michael Chislock, Jr. of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. She has selected Andrea M. Mastro, professor of microbiology and cell biology, to be her faculty escort for the commencement exercises.

Rebecca L. Morgan, who will be completing a major in microbiology, is enrolled in the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State, has been on the Dean’s list every year, and has earned a 4.0 grade-point average. Her academic achievements have been recognized with Evan Pugh Scholar awards in 2004 and 2005, the President Sparks award in 2003, and the President’s Freshman Award in 2002. Also, she received a Schraer Scholarship for Women in Science in 2004 and is a member of the Golden Key Honour Society.

Morgan recently has been involved in research with Craig E. Cameron, Martarano Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She studied the development of lethal mutations in positive-stranded RNA viruses, and examined synthetic nucleoside analogs—compounds that are structurally similar to nucleosides and can be incorporated into a new strand of RNA during viral replication—evaluating their ability to cause lethal mutations in the viral genome. In addition, she worked on developing a cell-based assay using mammalian-cell lines to quickly and easily screen for viral mutagens.

Morgan is a graduate of Parkland High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In addition to her academic accomplishments, she has been involved with the Penn State Interfraternity Council (IFC)/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON™)—the largest student-run philanthropy in the world—as a dancer and as chair of the Golden Key International Honour Society THON committee. She also is a former member of Tapestry, Penn State’s Tap Dance Company.

After graduation, Morgan will be working as a scientist at Saladax Biomedical in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She will be helping to develop an assay to determine what amounts of chemotherapeutic drugs are present in the blood of cancer patients in order to adjust the dosages the patients are given so that they don’t receive too much or too little of the medications.

Morgan will be accompanied at graduation by her parents, David and Susan Morgan, her sister, Jennifer Henschen, and her fiance, Kevin Harney. She has selected Craig E. Cameron, Martarano Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, to be her faculty escort for the commencement exercises.

Sandy Shu Hui Toh, who will be completing a major in biochemistry and molecular biology, is enrolled in the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State, has been on the Dean’s list every year, and has earned a 4.0 grade-point average. Her academic achievements have been recognized with the President's Freshman Award in 2002, the President Sparks award in 2003, and two Evan Pugh Scholar awards in 2004 and 2005. She also was the recipient of a Schreyer Honors College Summer Research Scholarship and a Schraer Scholarship for Women in Science.

Toh has been involved in research with B. Franklin Pugh, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, since 2002, using DNA microarrays to study the roles of the protein-complexes SAGA and TFIID in gene expression in yeast. She used DNA microarrays to compare gene expression in strains of yeast that have either TFIID or SAGA inactivated in order to determine which genes are affected under different conditions of environmental stress, such as DNA-damage and oxidation. This research formed the basis of her senior thesis project.

Toh is a graduate of Raffles Girls’ Secondary School in Singapore, and she attended Raffles Junior College, also in Singapore, before coming to Penn State. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Eta Sigma Honor Societies, and of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

Toh has participated in many community-service opportunities, including Martin Luther King Day service projects and “Into-The-Streets” program activities. She has enjoyed exploring her artistic side at Penn State, studying the arts, music, and culture; taking a theatre class; and learning Swing and Ballroom Dancing. She also enjoys doing graphic design and web design in her spare time.

Toh plans to go on to graduate school in the future, but first will return to Singapore to work in the fast-growing life-sciences sector there while deciding what area of research she would like to specialize in.

Toh will be accompanied at graduation by her parents Kok Chuan and Geck Kim Toh of Singapore. She has selected B. Franklin Pugh, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, to be her faculty escort for the commencement exercises.

Leta A. Krumrine