Senior Samuel Braziel and Iona graduate Kalen Sullivan recently had a paper published in a peer-reviewed journal provided by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Braziel and Sullivan ‘17 had their paper published in the peer-reviewed publication, “Analyst.” It is “the home of premier fundamental discoveries, inventions and applications in the analytical and bioanalytical sciences,” according to the publication website for the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The research Braziel and Sullivan conducted used an instrument called the Confocal Raman Micro Spectrometer, which was installed in Cornelia Hall in 2015 with the help of the National Science Foundation. Braziel was a freshman and Sullivan was a sophomore when the research began.

“[Braziel and Sullivan] were involved from Day 1 when the instrument arrived at Cornelia Hall,” Dr. Sunghee Lee, Board of Trustees endowed professor and chair of the Chemistry Department, said. “From unpacking, setting up, to learning how to operate this instrument including its calibration and maintenance. Since then, they became the experts in this instrument.”

Lee acted as a mentor to Braziel and Sullivan in the publication of their paper.

“It takes lots of time and effort to mentor undergraduate students in proper research training,” Lee said in an email interview. “What students learn is not only a technique to run a scientific experiment, but also the ability to solve problems by thinking logically through the process. This process is not something one can learn in a short period of time.”

Braziel said in an email that the process is nervewracking, yet rewarding.

“The journal’s reputation and our own is on the line and so the process is lengthy – every detail of our research was broken down and reviewed,” Braziel said. “It was extremely rewarding and humbling to have our article accepted and published.”

Lee described the process of being accepted into the journal.

“We received the review of the original manuscript with lots of comments and suggestions from the peer-reviewers, who are leading scientists in a similar field of expertise,” Lee said. “In order to be accepted, we must address all questions reviewers raised. This typically means that some additional experiments are to be done, different calculations to be required, etc.”

Braziel is an ACS Chemistry member and the team captain for the Men’s Swimming and Diving team. Sullivan competed for the Men’s Cross Country and Track and Field team while at Iona. Sullivan pursued a Biochemistry major and is currently employed by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

Lee leads the undergraduate chemistry research group at Iona College, “Project Symphony.”

“An opportunity to be involved in quality independent research during one’s undergraduate career is what separates a good undergraduate education from a great one,” Lee said. “The ultimate goal of any research is dissemination to the public, that is, publication in a top-tier, peer-reviewed journal.”

Braziel said that the field of research impacts all levels of scientific work.

“Research is an extremely valuable experience, not only for learning how to think like a research scientist, but it also gives students a chance to experience the importance of research,” Braziel said.

Lee also stressed the benefits of doing undergraduate research work.

“This achievement of being a published author in a prestigious journal article as an undergraduate student, will have lasting impact on not only boosting their confidence and pride but also enhancing their competitiveness to advance to their next professional studies (e.g. post-graduate programs including PhD and MD, etc.).,” Lee said.