One of five 2019 Ralph R. Jones, MD, FACS Pre-Medical Fellowship recipients was Colton Brodock, pre-medical health science student in the School of Public and Population Health. Brodock studied in the lab of Ken Cornell, biochemist, associate professor, and associate director of the Biomolecular Research Center within the Department of Chemistry at Boise State.
Brodock worked closely with Cornell on a project funded by the National Institutes of Health that had them working to develop antiparasitic drugs or vaccines. This project was in collaboration with John Thurston, associate professor at the College of Idaho as they collectively worked to test drugs in their response to enzymes with Giardia and other parasitic diseases.
Brodock’s main role in the development of this new drug was to isolate enzymes from the parasites to see if the drugs were actually killing the parasites. Although he had previously worked in a research lab, Brodock learned many new meaningful skills such as understanding enzyme kinetics. Due to the success he found with research over the summer, Brodock plans to continue working in Cornell’s lab through the fall 2019 semester.
“Being given the opportunity to work in a research lab funded by the Ralph Jones Fellowship this summer, allowed me to fully invest myself into meaningful research in a way I could’ve never done before,” said Brodock. “I am so thankful for the funding that has allowed me to complete my required research hours for medical school applications, without having to worry about working on top of it. I got to make amazing connections, work with outstanding researchers and mentors, and be a part of a truly influential experience. I am so grateful for this opportunity and the generosity of the Ralph Jones family.”
Learn more about the Ralph Jones Pre-Medical Summer Research Fellowship.
–By Taylor Music