Megan Davis, senior biology major, had the following to say about her research:

“The purpose of my research project is to explore the effects of substances on skin cell growth and movement in cell culture conditions. The two substances are: a fairly unexplored carbohydrate from Aloe plants, called Acemannan, and the familiar healing aid, Cortisone. Both substances appear to promote wound repair in mammalian skin, but Acemannan has not been studied in skin cell culture. I plan to use human fibroblast cells in culture for my experiment, which have been studied by scientists for over 30 years and shown to be supported as a very reliable way to explore the effects of the growth of cells. I plan to further explore the use of Acemannan in cell culture, an area not well explored, using this reliable cell culture system.

Although this project is required for my graduation as a biology major, I consider it more of a generous opportunity than a requirement. I will be very involved with the science of the body in my career as a Physical Therapist and need to understand the process of how science and the body are interrelated. It will be beneficial to my future goals for me to understand and experience the methods I plan to use in my research as well as the results of my project. Specifically, I am interested in the Athletic Training field of Physical Therapy. My career choice will be directly related to my research project in such areas as wound repair, healing, inflammation and cell growth. This project will allow me to study the chemicals that will accelerate wound repair and will allow me to observe how cells perform their tasks to heal our skin before outside invaders enter our bodies and cause further complications.”