Jeffery Gustin `01
B.S. Biology
Ph.D. student in the PULSe program at Purdue University
"After my great research experience at Penn State Behrend, I really wanted to continue asking and answering questions in biology, which led me to apply to graduate school. Through the advice of Dr. Michael Campbell, my undergraduate advisor, I became interested in the work of Dr. David Salt at Purdue.
My Ph.D. research involves identifying the molecular mechanisms of heavy metal hyperaccumulation in plants. Specifically, I am attempting to identify the function of a class of proteins I believe is involved in heavy metal transport within all organisms. The application of this research will aid in the creation of plants that can remediate soils contaminated with heavy metals such as nickel, cobalt, or zinc. Due to the obvious commercial application of my research-plants that can clean up toxic soils-I received a National Science Foundation fellowship that pays for me to both continue my research and to take part in a "mini-MBA Purdue's Krannert School of Management. The classes teach Ph.D. students the business side of technology commercialization to encourage technology transfer from the University to industry.
My success at Purdue has, in large part, been due to the advice and guidance, both in research and career choices, that I received from Dr. Campbell. I started my career in biology at the beginning of my junior year when I started working for Dr. Campbell in his lab, studying amino acid biosynthesis and learning many biological techniques. During that time I got to know Dr. Campbell as well as several other influential Behrend scientists, including Dr. Paul Barney, Dr. Mark Pyron, and Dr. Martin Kociolek. They influenced my decisions both through personal communications and in the classroom.
Behrend was a wonderful place to gain the base of education that I needed to succeed in my Ph.D. because of the closeness in which a student can interact with the faculty and the availability of research facilities. I certainly was not a great student in the classroom, but because of the guidance of the faculty-particularly Dr. Campbell-I was able to excel in my research, which propelled not only my love of biology, but also my career."