In 2010, the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs created and began releasing the Profiles in Research series, part of the division’s strategic plan which addresses research
communications. Each issue features the research and achievements of an individual researcher or research team from Tennessee State University. Through the Profiles in Research series,
the university, stakeholders, and public are informed about research initiatives, endeavors, and discoveries accomplished by researchers and through research programs, resulting largely from
external funding; and researchers are recognized for their successes in acquiring research awards.
MARC Undergraduate Student
Training in Academic Research (U-STAR)
Funded by:
National Institutes of Health
Award:
$2,044,968.00
Duration:
June 1, 2012 – May 31, 2017
Units:
Department of Chemistry/
College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Sciences
Project Contact:
Dr. Margaret Whalen
[email protected]
(615) 963-5247
Collaborators:
Department of Biological Sciences, TSU
Department of Psychology, TSU
SUMMARY
INVESTIGATOR
The MARC*U-STAR program provides research experience and financial
support for 10 students from underrepresented groups who intend to pursue a
Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Sciences (biology, chemistry, biochemistry,
psychology, epidemiology). Students participate in the program for two years.
Students must have 60 or more credit hours by the time they begin the MARC
program (June 1 of each year) and a grade point of 3.0 or higher. Students who
participate in the program must also be able to participate in Academic Year
Research (about 15 hours a week) and full-time summer research at another
institution (i.e. any University that provides summer research opportunities) for a
minimum of eight (8) weeks of the summer.
Margaret Whalen, Ph.D.
Dr. Margaret Whalen is a full professor in the
Department of Chemistry of the College of
Agriculture, Human, and Natural Sciences at
Tennessee State University.
Principal Investigator,
MARC Undergraduate Student Training in
Academic Research (U-STAR)
Read more...
Tennessee State University has had a MARC/MARC*U-STAR Program for the
last 30 years, which was directed by Dr. Prem Kahlon in the Department of
Biological Sciences until his retirement in 2012. During this period the number of
trainees has ranged from 6-12 per year. TSU’s program has trained 149 students
and has a 100% graduation rate with an average GPA of 3.5. Of these 149
trainees, over 80% have gone on to do post-baccalaureate training.
Over the past 20 years our trainees have given over 300 presentations on their
research at local, regional, and national scientific meetings. Over 100 of these
presentations were at national meetings, including those of the American
Chemical Society (ACS), American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), and
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) as well as
the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS).
Our students have received a total of 57 awards for their research presentations
over this time. Research conducted by our trainees has resulted in numerous peerreviewed publications.
Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC)
Page 1
July 2013
Tennessee State University ● Division of Research and Sponsored Programs ● 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd. ● Nashville, TN 37209-1561 ● Telephone: (615) 963-7631 ● FAX: (615) 963-5068 ● Email: [email protected] ● Website: www.tnstate.edu/research
Margaret Whalen, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Chemistry
College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Sciences
Tennessee State University
Dr. Margaret Whalen is a full professor in the Department of Chemistry of the College of Agriculture,
Human, and Natural Sciences at Tennessee State University. She received a B.S. in Chemistry from the
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and a Ph. D in Biochemistry from the University of New
Mexico (UNM). She did post-doctoral work at Los Alamos National Laboratory and in the Department
of Medicine at UNM.
In 1999, Dr. Whalen joined Tennessee State University (TSU). She has been the Program Director of
the Minority Access to Research Careers Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research
(MARC*U-STAR) program since June of 2012. Additionally, she serves as the Co-principal
Investigator on the Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center and Tennessee State
University: Partners in Eliminating Cancer Disparities grant.
Dr. Whalen’s research examines the effects of selected environmental contaminants on immune
function. The majority of her studies have focused on alteration of the immune function of human
natural killer (NK) cells. NK cells are capable of killing tumor cells and virally infected cells and they
and other immune cells are responsible for secreting factors that regulate immune responsiveness and
influence cancer development. Thus, contaminants that alter the ability of these cells to perform their
functions could increase the risk of tumor incidence and/or infections.
Selected and Significant Publications
Hurd-Brown, T. Udoji, F., Martin, T., Whalen, M.M. 2012. Effects of DDT and Triclosan on Tumor-cell
Binding Capacity and Cell-Surface Protein Expression of Human Natural Killer Cells. Journal of Appl.
Toxicol., (In press)
Al-Masum, M., Saleh, N., Islam, T. 2013. A Novel Route to Organonitrites by Pd-catalyzed CrossCoupling of Sodium Nitrite and Potassium Organotrifluoroborates. Tetrahedron Letters 54: 11411144.
Chen, C-K, Bruce, M., Tyler L, Brown, C., Garrett, A., Goggins, S., Lewis-Polite, B., Weriwoh, M.L.,
Juarez, P.D., Hood, D.B., Skelton, T. 2013. Analysis of an Environmental Exposure Health
Questionnaire in a Metropolitan Minority Population Utilizing Logistic Regression and Support Vector
Machines. Periodicals Supplement to Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 24:153-171.
Page 2
July 2013