The WVU Office of Undergraduate Research is proud to announce that one of the university's current Beckman Scholars, Jackie Arnold, was recently published as the first author of a peer-reviewed publication. The article, “ Hyaluronic Acid Allows Enzyme Immobilization for Applications in Biomedicine,” was published by Arnold, Jordan Chapman, Myra Arnold, and Cerasela Zoica Dinu in volume 12, issue 1 of the open access journal, biosensors in December 2021.
Arnold, a chemical engineering senior and Honors College student, started researching with the Department of Neuroscience in the first semester of her freshman year. She joined the Research Apprenticeship Program during her second semester and began working in Dr. Dinu's laboratory in the Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Department, where she conducts her research.
Her research focuses on investigating enzymes and finding the right synthetic environments for these enzymes to behave in the ways they should, some of which have potential applications in healthcare, such as biosensors to help patients with diabetes monitor their glucose levels.
In spring 2021, Arnold was selected as one of two undergraduate researchers to serve in WVU's second cohort of the Beckman Scholars Program. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation was founded in 1977 by Dr. Arnold O. and Mabel Beckman and supports leading-edge research in the fields of chemistry and the life sciences.
Students interested applying to the 2022 Beckman Scholars Program at WVU can visit the Office of Undergraduate Research website.
