The Center for Biofilm Engineering
Whitefish student finds research intriguing after all
By Evelyn Boswell
MSU Research Office
January 15, 2003
BOZEMAN - Jeremy Mitchell used to think of research the
way some people think of watching sewing tips on TV.
Bor...i...ng.
But his opinion began to change after he
volunteered at the Gallatin Community Clinic in Bozeman. There he met Jeff
Leid, another volunteer, and Leid told him about the research he was doing
at the Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE) at Montana State
University-Bozeman. He suggested Mitchell give it a try.
"It sounded like it would be boring, but I got really excited about it
once I started doing it," Mitchell said. "Now I really enjoy it."
The Whitefish native is growing bacteria for a
project that could lead to a remedy for people |
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| Jeremy Mitchell, working in a CBE lab. |
who've gotten a type of staph infection called Staphylococcus aureus.
The infection can affect people with weakened immune systems or artificial
implants. Mitchell, an MSU senior majoring in chemical engineering, is involved
in the project as part of the university's Undergraduate Scholars Program.
"I enjoy the people that I work with, and I
enjoy seeing the reason we are doing the research and where it's going and how
it might be beneficial to medicine eventually," Mitchell said.
Mark Shirtliff, assistant research
professor in microbiology and the CBE, said, "Every year in the United
States, thousands of people die and many more suffer from the debilitating
effects of chronic bacterial infections. These infections cannot be
resolved by the host immune system or antibiotic therapy. In our
laboratory, we have had the genuine pleasure to have Jeremy Mitchell work
towards understanding these infections and discover potential candidates
for vaccines against these infections.
"The vaccines against bacterial infections to
date have concentrated on factors produced during an early, acute phase
and have met with limited success," Shirtliff continued. "Jeremy is |
 |
| growing a bacteria in a system to mimic a |
Jeremy and mentor Dr. Mark Shirtliff |
chronic infection. He then uses a technique ... to identify bacterial factors
specific to this growth condition.By using these factors as vaccines, we hope to
spur the immune system on to attack these bacteria before they are able to
develop into a chronic infection."
Mitchell is applying now to medical schools. He's
interested in biomedical engineering, too. But his outlook on research has
changed so much, that he could otherwise pursue a career in research.
If he does go into research, Mitchell said he might
want to take on projects with a little broader focus than his current work.
That's an approach that seems to fit the rest of his
life, as well.
When Mitchell isn't studying or analyzing proteins, he
may be spending time with his new wife (he and Sarah Bent of Whitefish were
married Jan. 4), playing guitar, hiking, backpacking or skiing. He's been
president of MSU's chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ and traveled to Oregon
and Japan on summer mission projects. When he was in elementary school, he and
his family spent three summers together in England where his father was working.
His parents are Phil and Belinda Mitchell of Whitefish.
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