Eberly College of Science Co-op Student of the Year Named

Diane Calinski, a biochemistry and molecular biology major from East Amherst, New York, has been selected as the recipient of the 2005 Co-op Student of the Year Award, sponsored by the Eberly College of Science Cooperative Education Program. The award is given annually to a participant in the Eberly College of Science Cooperative Education Program in recognition of the student's academic achievements and contributions to employers, the University, the community, and the field of cooperative education.

Calinski was nominated by Fengzhi Li, assistant professor at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Buffalo and assistant member of the Therapeutic Program in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. During her assignment at Roswell Park, the second co-op assignment of her undergraduate career, Calinski worked on a project that focused on Velcade — a new anti-cancer drug currently being used in clinical studies. She conducted her own experiments and analyzed the results. Her contributions to the research will be included in papers being prepared for publication.

Calinski completed her first co-op rotation during the spring and summer of 2004 with Richard Gordon, Chief of the Biochemistry Pharmacology Division at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. There she worked on a crystallization project using thermolysin as a model for botulinum toxin B.

Calinski will receive a $500 award and a certificate of achievement, and will be honored at a luncheon during the fall semester. She also will be nominated for state and national Co-op Student of the Year awards.

Information about the Penn State Eberly College of Science Cooperative Education Program is available on the web at www.science.psu.edu/coop.