Jul 27, 2009 -- Ten Yeshiva University (YU) students are spending their summer conducting innovative scientific research as Roth Scholars and University Summer Research Scholars. The undergraduate students are working alongside top scientific researchers at YU’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. The impressive group includes Emily Liebling, daughter of Drs. Ralph and Melissa, of Rockland County, NY. “The eight students in the Roth Scholars program and the two students in the University Summer Research Scholars program are paired with scientists at Einstein to gain experience conducting cutting-edge scientific research,” said Barry Potvin, PhD, professor of biology at YU and chairperson of the Roth Summer Research Fellowship Committee. The annual ten-week program, sponsored by the Ernst and Hedwig Roth Institute of Biomedical Science Education at Yeshiva University, provides each student with a stipend and campus housing. “Each program has its own funding, and both allow undergraduate science students the chance to experience high-level research with university scientists,” Dr. Potvin said. The students work in teams alongside graduate and post-doctoral students. Liebling, a University Summer Research Scholar, is investigating the activities of kinesins, a super family of motor proteins, and how they interact with microtubules in the laboratory of Dr. Hernando Sosa. She hopes to be a physician and credits YU for giving her first-hand experience in “the way scientific research is approached and practiced. “Be it in the classroom, professors, mentors or abundant research opportunities available, Yeshiva has truly paved the way for any path I may to take,” said Liebling,. According to Dr. Potvin, although most of the students are considering medical careers, this experience often piques their interest in research, and pushes them to apply to MD/PhD programs.