Molecular biology program now among URI’s fastest-growing majors

URI students studying cell and molecular biology, one of the fastest growing academic programs at URI, are, from left, Gail Leyare, Catherine Garcia and Adam Sokolowski. / COURTESY NORA LEWIS
URI students studying cell and molecular biology, one of the fastest growing academic programs at URI, are, from left, Gail Leyare, Catherine Garcia and Adam Sokolowski. / COURTESY NORA LEWIS

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – When the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Cell and Microbiology saw an opportunity to help address the needs of Rhode Island’s biotech and pharmaceutical companies and satisfy student interest, it ran with it. Originally focusing only on microbiology, the department’s degree program was restructured in 2013 to include tracks in biochemistry and biotechnology, as well, said Gongqin Sun, Ph.D., professor and chair of the department, in a phone interview. Biochemistry and biotechnology appeal to students, as they offer attractive career options in medicine, medical research, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

“Microbiology focuses primarily on the narrow world of microbes, like bacteria and viruses, while biochemistry examines all organisms, with an emphasis on higher organisms like humans,” he said. “Biotechnology focuses on the applications of biological tools and knowledge.”

With Rhode Island’s emphasis on knowledge-based business sectors, such as biotech and pharmaceuticals, there’s a huge need for people trained in cell and molecular biology, said Sun. That, coupled with the low enrollment in URI’s original microbiology program – fewer than 10 students in each freshman class – and the popularity of biochemistry majors at several prominent universities around the country, led URI to expand the program. The department hired two new faculty members to meet the growing interest in this new major, which is among URI’s fastest-growing majors, and it plans to hire four additional faculty members in the coming year, according to a URI news release.

“We heard from students interested in cell biology and biochemistry [who] thought the original focus [of microbiology] was too narrow [and] we examined other universities’ enrollment numbers,” said Sun, whose team had surveyed the six New England state universities, among others, several years ago. Of the New England state universities, at the universities of Maine, Massachusetts (at Amherst) and Vermont, which offered majors in both biochemistry and microbiology, the number of biochemistry majors were exactly double, nearly double and about five times the number, respectively, of those universities’ microbiology majors. At the University of New Hampshire and the University of Connecticut, Sun noted, their molecular and cell biology programs attracted significant student enrollments, although neither offered majors in biochemistry or microbiology.

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We realized that URI had sufficient room to increase our enrollment and expand our major to include cell biology and biochemistry, said Sun, who identified Brown University, which he called very expensive and highly selective, as the only other option for undergraduates in Rhode Island to study cell and molecular biology.

“The increase has been quite dramatic; our freshman enrollment has been doubling every year in the past three years,” said Sun. “It started in single digits, and [last semester] it was around 40 freshmen.” Some 250 to 300 students – or 1.5 to 2 percent of a URI graduating class – are expected to eventually earn a B.S. in cell and molecular biology; currently, 180 students are enrolled in the program, more than 40 of whom are freshmen. “We were not expecting it to grow so quickly; while we don’t want to make projections, the trajectory in the past few years [is promising],” he said. Within this undergraduate degree, students may focus on any of these tracks: biochemistry, microbiology, biotechnology or a general track.

Although there is no internship program currently for students, Sun is eager to find funding, either governmental or private sector, to support undergraduate research opportunities. Research experience would reinforce classroom learning and allow students to apply their academic knowledge and solve research questions, he said. To that end, the department will seek grant funds, in an amount Sun declined to specify, from the National Science Foundation, and welcomes exploring other funding opportunities with the Rhode Island Foundation and for-profit companies.

Catherine Garcia is one of the many URI students planning a career in medicine who chose the biochemistry track in the new cell and molecular biology major because it prepares students well for medical school. A senior from Providence, she has already been accepted to the Alpert Medical School at Brown University through the URI/Brown Early Identification Program, and she attributes her successful application in part to the new program. She said she especially liked learning about the molecular basis of diseases, which she would not have studied in any other undergraduate program at URI.

“The things I learned in my biochemistry class were some of the same things my sister was learning in medical school,” said Garcia, in a release. “I originally wanted to be a cardiothoracic surgeon and travel to Third World countries to provide medical services to those in need, but now I’m debating also going for a Ph.D. in biochemistry to become a teacher as well.”

Junior Adam Sokolowski is also in the biochemistry track and considering a career as a physician’s assistant. The Southington, Conn., resident is an emergency medical technician and works for the URI ambulance corps about 30 hours each week, so he has a good head start on his career ambitions.

“I like the new structure of the program,” he said in a release. “I started out as a microbiology major but changed to biochemistry because I found it more interesting and applicable. I have a great deal of interest in health care and medicine, and I’m also trying to find other possible career pathways to expand my options for the future.”

Sun said that URI’s undergraduate students who earn a B.S. in cell and molecular biology have three clear career choices: attending graduate school to get more advanced training in research, attending medical school or a medically related graduate program, or working in an entry-level position in a biotech or pharmaceutical company. URI’s graduate program in environmental and allied sciences includes a cell and molecular biology specialty, said Sun, and some URI undergraduates choose that option, while others enroll in graduate programs at such strong academic institutions as Brown, Tufts, Harvard or Purdue universities.

A program like this, he added, in a small state like Rhode Island can really make a big difference by providing a pipeline of college graduates with these skills.

For more information about the program, contact Gongqin Sun at gongqinsun@uri.edu or 401-874-5937.

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