First Maue Scholarship recipient named

Lauren Chamberlin has been named the first recipient of the Frederick R. Maue 1976 Scholarship, established by Dr. Maue, an alumnus and local physician, to assist B.S. biology majors in the pre-medical sciences option.

Chamberlin is a biology major and pre-medical sciences major with chemistry minor. She previously earned a bachelor's degree in psychology with a concentration in family, youth and children from Bloomsburg University. Chamberlin is a member of the pre-medical sciences club, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and the incoming president of Tri-Beta Biology Honor Society. She has experience in counseling and working with psychiatric patients.

Chamberlin has conducted research  in the field of synaptic transmission with William Coleman, associate professor of biological and allied health sciences. “My research investigates the molecular regulation of secretion, which is a way that cells can release various substances and communicate with other cells. This process is crucial for survival and reproduction,” says Coleman. “Since this process is so important, it is highly regulated. It is the job of many proteins to ensure that cellular communication remains efficient and reliable again and again throughout an organism’s life.”

In recent years, Coleman and student assistants have used the common earthworm in research.  Chamberlin has researched cell tracers to map the fine anatomical structures of the earthworm nervous system.

“Earthworms are really interesting because they allow for investigation of both excitatory and inhibitory signaling in an easily accessible, student friendly model,” says Coleman.
This semester, Chamberlin will begin work on a new project investigating the distribution and function of synapsin III in sperm cells, which is part of an ongoing research collaboration with Jennifer Venditti, associate professor of biological and allied health sciences.