EuroScholar In The News
Kerri Hunter Recounts Rock Festivals, Volcanic Eruptions And Scientific Research Abroad For Home University Web Site
Kerri Hunter, a University of Manitoba graduate who recently did research at the University of Helsinki through the EuroScholars program, is a featured student on her university’s web site for her adventurous exchange experience – which included volcanic eruptions, rock festivals and biological research – in Finland.
Here’s an excerpt from the the full article, found here:
In 2008, Kerri, a Faculty of Science student, went to a Helsinki rock festival and had a blast. She loved the festival, and she loved Helsinki. Even before she left Finland, she knew she just had to return.
Kerri Hunter has a bit of fun during her long-and-winding journey back to her host university in Finland following travel chaos this summer in Europe caused by Iceland's volcanic eruption.
When Kerri graduated (with First Class Honours) in May 2009, she hadn’t forgotten her dream of returning to Finland. She discovered the EuroScholars program though an internet search, and she began to formulate a plan.
EuroScholars is a study-abroad program for advanced students where you can conduct research at a high-caliber European institution. EuroScholars targets highly-talented students from the USA and Canada, and much to Kerri’s delight, one of the participating universities was the University of Helsinki.
Kerri applied to the program and after successfully completing two rounds of the selection process, was accepted. She began her six-month stay in Helsinki in January 2010.
Finding a cure for HED
Her project in developmental biology was called: Molecular Regulation of Animal Development. In the lab, she worked on mouse models with Hypohidrotic Excodermal Dysplasia (HED), a human genetic disorder that results in the abnormal development of the skin, hair, nails, teeth and sweat glands. The exciting part of the work is that scientists have discovered that any variation in 3 specific molecules causes the disease, and they are very hopeful that a cure can be found. Kerri’s part in the project included screening diseased mouse embryos for expression patterns of other candidate genes, using the Whole Mount in situ Hybridization (WMISH) technique.
The lab at the Institute of Biotechnology brought together people from around the world, and Kerri had the opportunity to work on the project with a Ph.D. student from France.
“At the Institute of Biotechnology, they are very particular about lab technique,” she explains. She diligently worked on her project and honed her lab techniques.
The eruption of Eyjafjoell in Iceland dramaticallt changed travel plans
In 2010, the Euroscholars got together to present their work to a panel of professors and Ph.D. students in Zurich. The presentation date coincided with the volcanic eruption of Eyjafjoell in Iceland, and the Euroscholars had fortunately converged in Zurich before the planes were grounded, but Kerri found that she was not able to fly back to Helsinki as planned.
To get back to Helsinki, Kerri braved the throngs of stranded passengers and traveled by train to Hamburg and by using a circuitous route involving six different trains, eventually arrived in Sweden. She was able to take a ferry back to Helsinki to arrive just in time to make her previously-booked student trip to Russia!
To read more about Hunter’s research, the impact of a volcanic eruption on her travel plans, and more, visit here.
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