Fresno State biochemistry major Gurmannat Chalotra loves to see the chemistry reactions that she learns about in class come to life in the lab.
Chalotra, a junior from Hanford and President’s Scholar in the Smittcamp Family Honors College, has worked in Dr. Qiao-Hong Chen’s laboratory at Fresno State for more than a year researching potential therapeutics for prostate cancer.
“You get to manipulate experimental conditions and you don’t necessarily have an idea of what to expect. You don’t know necessarily what’s going to come out of it,” said Chalotra, who joined the lab during her sophomore year. “I think that the unknown is what’s especially exciting about [research].”
In January, Chalotra was one of about 35 Fresno State students and faculty to attend the 37th annual California State University Biotechnology Symposium, previously known as CSUPERB, to network, to learn and to present their research projects. The major event is hosted by CSU BIOTECH, a network of faculty, deans and presidents representing all 23 CSU campuses.
At the symposium, Chalotra was announced this year’s recipient of the CSU Glenn Nagel Undergraduate Research Award — a first for Fresno State. Named after the late Dr. Glenn Nagel, dean of Natural Science and Mathematics at Long Beach State, the award celebrates the work of an outstanding undergraduate researcher and highlights the pioneering work of collaborative faculty/student research groups.
Chalotra was nominated by Chen for her dedication, research capabilities and perseverance. The award comes with a cash prize and travel allowance of $1,750 to support Chalotra’s participation in a future professional meeting or research conference.
“Having one of my students receive the Glenn Nagel Award is incredibly meaningful. It not only recognizes Gurmannat’s hard work and achievements but also highlights the dedication and talent of our students,” Chen said. “Her success is a testament to the impact of undergraduate research, and I am proud to see her contributions acknowledged.”
Fresno State has participated in the biotechnology symposium every year for as long as Dr. Christopher Meyer, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, can remember. He first started attending the event in 1995 when he was a new assistant professor at Cal State Fullerton, where Nagel was then chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Now, Meyer serves on CSU BIOTECH’s Strategic Planning Council, helping to find CSU alumni to speak at the event and engage with faculty and students, leading to research collaborations and student internships. Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval serves as chair of CSU BIOTECH’s President’s Commission.
Fresno State students and faculty representing disciplines from the College of Science and Mathematics, the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology and the Lyles College of Engineering were authors and co-authors on 24 posters, representing nearly 11% of all posters presented at the symposium.
“For students, it’s often their first meeting that they go to. It really prepares them for national and international meetings because they get a lot of mentoring at the symposium, and fully participate in many professional development workshops as well as enriching plenary and poster sessions,” Meyer said. “It’s a great investment in terms of the students, many of whom have gone on to either really high quality graduate or professional programs or right into the biotech industry.”
