Colby College Partnership Paving The Way For Future Scientists

On top of the groundbreaking research undertaken at the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery & Innovation (CDI) every day, one of the most important missions at the CDI is to train the scientists of the future. This past week, CDI held its fourth annual presentation by Colby College students volunteering at the school through the David and Carol Pulver Science Scholars program.

The impressive presentations by three outstanding students marked the end of the 10-week program, in which the rising juniors spectacularly delved into work on microbial drug resistance, pathogen detection and breast cancer in our labs.

Since the partnership for this particular internship program began in 2021, Colby College has sent extraordinary students to work in our labs. And this year was certainly no exception.

Student Caroline Hayter indicated she chose to attend Colby College so she would have the unique opportunity to work at CDI as part of the Pulver Scholars Program. This summer that wish came true, as she volunteered in the David Perlin/Erika Shor Laboratory. She presented findings involving invasive fungal infections and Candida.

Ava Oseback presented her work in the Kreiswirth lab, which included looks into Klebsiella Pneumoniae Ciproflaxacin resistance and Mycobacterium avium Molecular-Beacon Based Real-Time PCR Assays.

Meanwhile, Catherine Santos’s research in the Nagajyothi Lab concluded with her presentation of Adipomes in the Pathogenesis of Breast Cancer.

“Their understanding is exceptional. They’re active members of the laboratory, they have to produce at a high level, get up to speed, we put pressure on them and they came through. It’s not easy and they were tremendous,” said Dr. David Perlin, Chief Scientific Officer at CDI.

The culmination of the work presented at CDI via zoom was attended by David and Carol Pulver, for whom the program is named. The couple has long dreamed of helping Colby students make a difference in the world of science with opportunities in leading labs.

Several of CDI’s science counterparts at Colby also attended, including Andrea Tilden, dean of STEM Student Opportunities at Colby College.

“One of the things so impressive about the program is just how new an institution CDI is. I know you’ve all had plenty of experience mentoring young scientists in the past, but the quality of the projects and the quality of the mentorships is absolutely evident,” Tilden said at the conclusion of the presentations.

“We want them to see what a professional research group is about. We are a young institution – only 5 years old –  but we’ve grown rapidly with 32 laboratories and 200 scientists. So there’s a lot going on here and a good part of it is the training of young scientists because we need the next generation,” Dr. Perlin added.

Based on what our own scientists have witnessed from the interns through the Pulver Science Scholars Program, the future is in very good hands.