海角论坛

February 3, 2015鈥擨n the classroom and the lab, Associate Professor is all about creating opportunities. For this commitment to her students, Elmendorf won the 2014 DC Professor of the Year award.

Given by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the award recognizes outstanding undergraduate instructors in the United States. Elmendorf is the to be named DC Professor of the Year.

In 2009, Elmendorf and Associate Professor co-founded Georgetown鈥檚 . 鈥淎nne and I have an expansive view of science both in terms of who should be a part of science and where scientists should be,鈥� she said.

Elmendorf and Rosenwald co-teach a course for sophomores who are beginning the biology of global health major. Their students tackle issues such as creating a national preparedness plan for botulism or addressing ineffective flu vaccines. 鈥淲e usually task them with something [that] we don鈥檛 have an answer for,鈥� Elmendorf explained.

Students also learn how to communicate their work to a variety of audiences, both within and outside the sciences. 鈥淲e try to give them a range of experiences that lets them see what it鈥檚 like to be a scientist in different settings,鈥� she said. 鈥淧art of my job as an educator is to provide opportunities, and then give students a chance to do their own thing with those opportunities,鈥� she continued. Elmendorf鈥檚 students have gone on to careers in research, law, policy, medicine, and K鈥�12 education.

In the lab, Elmendorf encourages students to develop and ask their own questions, which introduces them to the work of research scientists and allows them to take ownership of their education. 鈥淧art of what gets students excited about research is it鈥檚 a thrill to ask your own question, she said.  

Elmendorf鈥檚 own research questions focus on the parasite Giardia lamblia, which affects approximately 33 percent of the developing world, according to the Centers for Disease Control. 鈥淧arasites in general haven鈥檛 read the rule book; they do weird things in weird ways. And I find that endlessly fascinating,鈥� she said.

Giardia lamblia causes an intestinal inflection called giardiasis. In collaboration with Professor of 鈥檚 research lab, Elmendorf and her team of graduate and undergraduate students are studying how the parasite attaches to its host.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to discover the biological physics鈥攖he mechanics鈥攐f how the parasite attaches,鈥� she explained. Many microbes attach by 鈥渕olecular sticking,鈥� a process by which proteins and sugars on each surface attach through a 鈥淰elcro-like arrangement.鈥� But Giardia can attach to any surface, even Teflon and glass, which has led scientists to theorize that Giardia has the ability to attach through other means.

Although the parasite has a suction cup-like disk on the underside of the cell, it is not the only mechanism involved in attachment, Elmendorf says. The surface of the small intestine resembles a 鈥渟hag rug,鈥� which would prevent the disk from forming a perfect seal. Elmendorf and Urbach are currently investigating the parasite鈥檚 ability to move fluid and create its own suction to a host cell.   

鈥淚f you have the right structure and you move fluid through that structure, you can create a pressure differential, a suction force. If you generate that pressure deferential between the belly of the parasite and the cell it鈥檚 attaching to, the suction force pulls the [parasite] down,鈥� Elmendorf explained.

Knowing how Giardia attaches will allow researchers to explore targeted drug treatments to either detach the parasite or prevent its attachment. When treatments are based on a greater understanding of the parasite, Elmendorf says, drugs have fewer unintentional consequences. 鈥淸This type of work] fulfills my passion for doing research that matters at a very fundamental level in today鈥檚 society.鈥�

As her research lab tackles Giardia, Elmendorf is teaching her students to be able to confront the next parasite, disease, or outbreak. 鈥淭he world and its challenges will continue,鈥� Elmendorf said. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 value [undergraduate education], then you are not preparing the world for its future.鈥�