Thanks to the Percy Wootton Student Research Fund at Lynchburg College, a promising student's research experience while an undergraduate continues to open doors for him. James D. (Jim) Pask, a 2007 magna cum laude graduate of Lynchburg College, was the 2006 recipient of the Joslin Diabetes Summer Research Fellowship, funded by the Wootton Fund, which enabled him to spend a summer working in the Joslin Diabetes Research Center at Harvard Medical School. Jim believes this experience was a major factor in his acceptance into the biomedical science Ph.D. program at Vanderbilt University.
Jim did his summer research in the Islet Transplantation and Cell Biology Section of the Joslin Center, where he worked on determining the amount of insulin a typical human islet produces in healthy individuals. "The fellowship and research fund gave me the opportunity to work at one of the premier labs in the field of diabetes research," he said. "I gained valuable hands-on research experience including learning new lab techniques, and I firmly believe that my experience at Joslin is one of the primary reasons I was accepted into Vanderbilt."
Dr. Percy Wootton '53, distinguished cardiologist and former president of the American Medical Association, agrees with Jim, and that's why he's so pleased to have established the undergraduate research fund that bears his name. "I believe when undergraduate students have the chance to do research, it provides incentive and gives them a better opportunity to get into graduate or medical school," he said. "Many students have the grades to pursue further study, but undergraduate research gives them an edge for getting into good schools, plus it often results in large grants and scholarships."
Dr. Wootton added that he was particularly interested in Jim's diabetes research, because his youngest daughter was diagnosed with the disease when she was eight years old. "Since I have a personal interest in diabetes, I am very happy that this first award was for research into that disease," he said.
Currently, Jim is working in Dr. Rollins-Smith's laboratory at Vanderbilt, specializing in the study of immune systems of Central American frogs and how they respond to a pathogenic fungus. "One of the techniques I learned from my experience in the Joslin lab, I am now using in my new lab," Jim commented.
Graduating with high honors in biomedical science, Jim received the Biomedical Science Award for the senior with the highest grade point average and was the recipient of an Americorps Education Award for his community service through the Bonner Leaders Program. He was awarded LC's Above & Beyond Award in the area of academic rigor and served as president of the Society of Westover Fellows, vice president of Sigma Pi fraternity, and historian of Beta Beta Beta biological science honor society. He was also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society and The National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.