Almost a decade ago, when Dr. Milton Muldrow first came to Wilmington University, there were no science programs avail-able for undergraduate or graduate students. But today, students are engaging in cutting-edge research and obtaining degrees in a wide range of majors from biotech to environmental science and policy — majors which in turn feed into Delaware’s most innovative and fastest-growing sectors.
Dr. Muldrow serves as the director of the Natural Sciences Programs in the College of Health Professions and Natural Sciences, which has several hundred students enrolled. He’s been instrumental in growing the programs offered at the school as well as research opportunities that students can participate in.
One of the most successful programs that Wilmington University students have had access to under Dr. Muldrow’s tutelage is the NASADelaware Space Grant, which allows students to participate in NASA’s aeronautics and space projects. Undergraduate student Sarah LaTorre has participated for three years in the Rock On project, creating a payload she refers to as the “mother board” for a rocket that she launched into space.
LaTorre learned the process of rocket assembly with a team and also had the opportunity to network and learn more about engineering, coding and software programs through the grant. LaTorre admits that initially she never saw herself doing rocket work. “You think it is way beyond you, but once you start learning, you realize you’re capable of doing it,” she says.
LaTorre obtained her associate degree at Delaware Technical Community College and originally thought she would become a paramedic. To that end, she was required to take a biology course and that professor motivated her to continue advancing her education. At a college fair, LaTorre paid a visit to the Wilmington University booth and had heard about the amazing research that was taking place in Dr. Muldrow’s lab. “Dr. Muldrow walked me around the new Brandywine campus and I toured the labs. I signed up then and there,” she recalls. “Dr. Muldrow has such a passion for conservation and biodiversity and is very collaborative.”
‘Who Wants to Get to Work?’
“In my lab, I gauge students by how much they want to work, not their background,” says Dr. Muldrow. “I say to my students, these are the opportunities, now who wants to get to work? We are good at working 1:1 with students who want to work and finding funding for their research.
LaTorre worked at every opportunity we threw at her, and the results show it.” LaTorre, who will graduate this June, already has a job lined up as an education program coordinator at ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute. LaTorre first was exposed to gene editing and sequencing in Dr. Muldrow’s lab while studying the problem of coral bleaching.
Coral bleaching has been on the rise due to global warming and higher temperatures. When coral is stressed, it expels algae, which account for 90% of their caloric intake. As a result, the coral loses its color and becomes bleached. While it can recover, it will be severely hampered in its development and will often die.
LaTorre’s research looked at the sirtuin gene, which can be found in both coral and humans. Because corals are an endangered species, LaTorre worked on the genetic sequencing using CRISPR technology with a model sea anemone called aiptasia. “CRISPR is a relatively new technology that allows one to cut genes and edit DNA,” explains Dr. Muldrow. Before CRISPR, the process was expensive and time consuming. It has an ease of use, though I wouldn’t say it is easy,” he says. CRISPR can be used on a wide range of organisms.
LaTorre first became acquainted with ChristianaCare’s Institute when studying her model organism. “Marine animals are very slimy and they don’t like being out of their environment, so they are hard to analyze in a lab. We collaborated with ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute to enhance our gene sequencing.” Her job there will entail teaching the next generation of high school students who want to learn gene editing using CRISPR technology in the Institute’s Learning Lab.
LaTorre is grateful for the opportunities she was exposed to at Wilmington University, which is vastly expanding its STEM/IT undergraduate offerings to include cybersecurity, fintech, digital evidence discovery and computer science degrees in artificial intelligence or data discovery.
No matter what science-based degree students choose to pursue there, LaTorre likes to quote Dr. Muldrow, who often says “onwards and upwards.” She continues, “if science were to stop after any negative results or unsuccessful attempts, we’d be nowhere as a civilization.”
