Science teachers Jamie Lauer and Mark Arnholt participated in the pilot of MED 3, (The Marquette Experience, Drug Discovery and Development) program as two of seven teachers selected across the state. They were partnered up with Graduate student Britt Wyatt and Dr. Martin St. Maurice at Marquette Univeristy. They began in September and finished up their research in Mid January. They had the opportunity to research a particular protein and determine its molecular structure through x-ray crystallography. They began by getting DNA from a coral into bacterial cells. The bacteria then begin to make the protein of interest. The protein of interest was mPlum, a fluorescent biomarker used to track other proteins inside of a cell. The protein is then isolated and crystallized. X-rays are passed through the crystals, and the diffraction is used to determine the location of each amino acid in the protein. This process is important to understand the structure and function of proteins and can be used in the development of new treatment options for diseases and disorders. The process of protein crystallography will be used to show high school students how academic research is conducted and to give them a taste of how intense this process is at the collegiate level. Our Hartford Chronicle student writer Brendan Anderson also did a story on the teachers earlier this year, you can read by clicking here. To view a slide show of all of their adventures throughout the process, click here.