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Marc Coons is a senior who does research Dr. Bern Kohler's lab in the department of chemistry. He is a senior who also studies chemistry.
What specifically do you research? What projects are you currently working on?
Working in Professor Kohler’s lab I have the chance to explore different areas of DNA photochemistry. We study what happens when DNA is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. I specifically study the interaction of UV radiation with thymine bases of our DNA. When DNA is exposed to UV light, two adjacent thymine bases react to form a dimer, which can lead to cancer and cell death. The interesting part of this phenomenon is that the thymine bases will only dimerize under certain conditions. My project is to create an environment that mimics a cell, and study both the geometric criteria required and the kinetics of thymine dimerization. This will provide experimental evidence to support data collected from molecular dynamics (computer-simulated) calculations.
How did you find this research topic?
I had Professor Kohler for Chem H201 in the fall of my first year at Ohio State. During the quarter he would tell us a little bit about his research. It sounded very interesting, and at the end of the quarter, he told our class that he was looking for a couple of undergraduates to work in his lab. So I found out more about this research topic by going to the Chemistry homepage and finding his website. This is a good place to find information about a professor’s research, and more about the research group in general (i.e. the other people involved and other research interests of a professor).
What have you enjoyed in your experience?
The biggest enjoyment I’ve gotten from doing research is putting to use laboratory techniques we learned from general, analytical, organic, and physical chemistry lab classes. It’s nice to see there are actual practical uses for all the sometimes annoying tasks we had to go through and do, and that the lab classes actually prepare you for research. It’s also very rewarding (though a lot of the time frustrating) to be working on a problem that no one else has yet. This forces you to actually think for yourself and understand the chemistry that’s happening, as opposed to having a cookie-cutter lab manual spell everything out for you. Outside of the science aspect, I have enjoyed meeting new people and making relationships with people that I hope will not end after graduation.
What advice would you give to current undergraduates who want to get involved in research?
The best advice I can give is to first find a general subject that interests you, which is probably your major. From there, it is a matter of finding a specific problem in your subject that you want to investigate and explore further. Try visiting different professor’s websites and reading about their research or contacting the peer researchers on the URO website. After you find a professor whose work you are interested in, try emailing him/her to set up a time to talk. It is really that easy.
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