Welcome to
the SURGe
info meeting!
Welcome to SURGe
 We are ambassadors who promote undergraduate
research here at UT
 We provide you with the connections to help you get
started in the research world
 We foster long-lasting relationships with your peers
and faculty to help each other with research and
academic progress
 We aim to build an active community of
undergraduate researchers on campus
What to Expect
 Absolutely NO DUES!
 Faculty speakers on their
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research
Cool lab tours
Fun community service
events
Helpful workshops
Success in college
Free food!!
SURGe Officers
 President – Alyssa Koeter
 Vice President of Outreach – Danielle Hoyer
 Vice President of Events – Albert Lee
 Secretary – Leah Rushin
 Treasurer – Amanda Wallace
 Faculty Liaison – Tipparat Umrod
 Webmaster – Briana Gray
 Fundraising Committee Co-Chairs – Marshall Rucker and
Sara McNally
 Public Relations Co-Chairs – Greg Knauf and Francis Shue
Amanda
Wallace
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Major: Biology
Year: Junior
Position: Treasurer
Duties: Apply for funding, keep track of SURGe budget, order food for
meetings
 Research Experience: None
 SURGe Past: I’ve been with SURGe since my freshman year, and last
year I was PR Co-chair alongside our glorious VP of Outreach, Danielle.
 About Me: I like football and reading and crocheting and dogs and tea
and baking and long, poorly punctuated run-on sentences.
Danielle Hoyer
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Major: Public Health
Year: Junior
Officer Position: Vice President of Outreach
Officer Duties: I am in charge of coordinating all committee events with
particular emphasis on all community service and outreach events. I also work
with the President and other VP to plan and coordinate SURGe events.
SURGe Past: I joined SURGe my freshman year after learning about it at
freshman orientation. It was a great way to meet new people while also
learning about topics I love. I actively volunteered at many events like
Longhorn Halloween and the ESI talks. Its great to have all ages become
interested in science! I also can be found at the greenhouse every Friday for
the plant sales, its a great place to relax and fundraise at the same time!
Research Experience: I was a part of the Aptamer stream in the FRI program
under Dr. Ellington. I worked in this lab and pursued an independent project
through the fall of my sophomore year. I am currently not working in a
research lab, but am looking forward to applying to Public health internships
before grad school.
About Me: I am pretty nerdy/geeky when it comes to science. I have a bunch
of nerdy science shirts that I love to wear and I am a dedicated Big Bang
Theory fan. In my free time I (still) enjoy playing Pokemon on my Gameboy
Color. I am an animal lover and I have two wonderful Golden Retrievers back
home in San Antonio. My music tastes vary widely from week to week, you are
just as likely to hear me listening to top 40 as classical, country, or alternative
types. If I’m not studying you can probably find me curled up with a good
book and my iPod.
Leah Rushin
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Major: Neurobiology
Year: Junior
Position: Secretary
Duties: I send out emails for upcoming
meetings/events, maintain the member point
system, and reply to people’s emails.
 Research Experience: None… yet!
 SURGe Past: I’ve been a member of SURGe since
fall of 2012!
 About Me: I enjoy learning about the brain and
how neural connections correlate to
everyday actions. I have a huge interest in music
and play many instruments! In the future I plan to
study musical and addiction recovery therapy. I
also study the German language and Germanic
culture. I put my all into my passions and I am
very excited to be a part of SURGe!
Alyssa Koeter
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Major: Public Health
Year: 3rd Year
Position: President
Duties: I serve as the main representative and figurehead
of SURGe, working for the best interest of the organization
and its members. I construct the framework of which all
our activities are centered around, and make the
organization run smoothly along with the help of the
officers and our dedicated members.
Research Experience: I was part of the Freshman
Research Initiative and Aptamer stream during the spring
of 2012.
SURGe Past: I have been part of SURGe for the past two
years and have been very involved in it. I was treasurer
during the spring of 2013, and I’ve been a committee
member of FRC and PRC in the past.
About Me: I love football, UT, reading sci-fi books, and
pandas. In addition to being a member of SURGe, I am part
of Texas APO (we run the really big Texas flag at football
games!) and Army ROTC.
Albert Lee
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Major: Undeclared
Year: 2nd year
Position: Vice President of Events
Duties: I am responsible for organizing our monthly lab tours and
university-wide research promotion events such as ROADS to Research in
the Fall and SURF in the Spring. Let me know if you guys have any ideas on
how we can improve what we’ve done in the past. Of course our aim is to
provide substance, but it’s always better if we can make it fun for you guys.
Research Experience: I currently research antibiotics under Dr. Gregory
Palmer and Dr. Marvin Whiteley. My previous experience includes research
on the relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and cancer, which I
did under Dr. Yidong Bai at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio.
SURGe Past: I’ve been in SURGe for a year now, so this is my first officer
position. I generally help out with FRC but I’ll sometimes lend a hand
elsewhere.
About Me: I’m a dryly sarcastic nerd. I’m a nerd because I was raised by an
oversized team of overweight bureaucrats. And due to the oversight of
those overweight bureaucrats, I was bitten by an over-radiated pigeon. That
should have killed me, but instead it somehow gave me venomous sarcasm
glands. That’s where the dry sarcasm comes from. I use this power of
sarcasm as a comic artist for the Daily Texan. When I’m not trying to look
busy doing science or comics, I spite overweight bureaucrats by wasting my
productivity on video games, the internet, piano music and sleeping. And if
I’m not doing any of the above then I’m probably socializing (gasp! Nerds
socialize?!) with anyone who isn’t an overweight bureaucrat.
Tipparat Umrod
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Major: Medical Laboratory Science
Year: Sophomore
Position: Faculty Liaison
Duties: Basically, my job is to look for a speaker, who usually is a
professor or a researcher at UT. I invite them to come and be a part of
SURGe meeting. SURGe has speakers come at least once a month. It is
important to have researchers in varies fields to come and to talk about
their experience. SURGe is a place to explore the science research world.
Research Experience: Currently, I’m working in Dr. Jones’ lab, which
focuses on neurobiology of learning and memory and neural plasticity
after stroke.
SURGe Past: I have been a SURGe member since my first semester in
college (Fall 2012), and have been helping SURGe in many events, like
Longhorn Halloween, UT Explore, and Forty Acre Fest. I am also a part of
Web Development Committee, which updating and maintaining the
SURGe website. I attend almost all of the SURGe meetings, socials, and
events.
About Me: Most people just called me “Tipp,” a short version of my
name. I come from Thailand but don’t worry I’m getting better at
speaking English. I love eating, cooking, reading, and sleeping. Despite
the fact that I love horror/thriller movies, I still cannot watch them alone.
My favorites are The Eye (Original version), The Shutter, Phobia, and The
Sixth Sense. Other than surfing the web, I watch anime, especially Case
Closed (aka Detective Conan) that is now airing its 695th episode. For
music, I like rock/indie/pop. Michael Buble, Jason Mraz, Vampire
weekend, Tegan and Sara are among my favorites.
Briana Gray
 Major: Computer Science with BDP
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in Digital Arts and Media
Year: Junior
Position: Webmaster
Duties: I update the website and run
the WebDev Committee.
Research Experience: None yet
SURGe Past: I joined my sophomore
year and have been here ever since.
About Me: I love video games,
romantic comedies, and all kids of
music. Recently, I have had an
obsession with Zedd and BBC’s
Sherlock. And of course, I like SURGe
too : )
Marshall
Rucker
 Major: Human Biology
w/ specialization in Pathogenesis and
Immunity
 Year: Junior
 Position: Fundraising Committee Co-chair
 Duties: I am in charge of raising money for SURGe to maintain the no-dues
nature of SURGe and provide funds for our endeavors by having weekly plant
sales and selling t-shirts at the meetings.
 Research Experience: Currently working in the Jones Lab as an
undergraduate research assistant.
 SURGe Past: I have been involved with SURGe and the Fundraising committee
since my freshman year.
 About Me: I love to read, eat, sleep, play video games, and relax when I have
time off. Also, I like to cook and spend time with family.
Sara McNally
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Major: Biology Pre-Veterinary
Year: 3rd Year
Position: Fundraising Committee Co-Chair
Duties: To raise money for SURGe by having weekly plant sales,
selling t-shirts at weekly meetings, and by whatever other avenues
available. Additionally we are in charge of caring for the greenhouse
and its plants to ensure SURGe will have a means to raise funds in the
future. We organize
Research Experience: I have worked under Dr. Theresa Jones since
Spring 2012 studying neural plasticity and the neurobiology of
learning and memory after brain damage. Using model organisms we
study animal behavior to better understand the neural mechanisms of
behavioral compensation for brain damage and attempt to focus on
motor rehabilitation.
SURGe Past: I signed up for the SURGe mailing list during my
freshman orientation, showed up the first Friday meeting, and I’ve
been here ever since! I was the most active member my freshman year,
attending every weekly meeting and FRC meeting, and the next year I
was one of the fundraising committee chairs! I’ve loved the role and I
look forward to continuing!
About Me: I’m pretty weird. Well, no, I’m actually really weird. I like
rainbows and Pokémon and running. I’m an actual five year old and I
like to play in the dirt and sweat and eat my weight in crummy
Chinese buffets. There’s little I don’t like actually! I like every color,
every genre of music, every type of food, the list goes on. I have a pet
dog and a bunny, as well as a younger brother and sister, and I’ve been
working at a vet clinic for about three years now! Come talk to me!
Greg Knauf
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Major: Microbiology
Year: Junior
Position: Public Relations Committee Co-chair
Duties: My job, along with my compatriot Francis
Shue, is to spread the word about SURGe and to
make sure that there is no Natural Science major on
this campus who has not been handed a flyer that
was hand-crafted by the Public Relations
committee. We also like to make sure that everyone
knows where to buy plants on Fridays, an end often
achieved with copious amounts of chalk and
quarter flyers.
Research Experience: I am currently conducting
research on nosocomial pathogens, specifically
Acinetobacter baumannii’s resistance to biocides
and antibiotics.
SURGe Past: This is my second year in SURGe, and
my first year as an officer.
About Me: Things I enjoy science, sports, video
games, board games, Dr. Who, Psych, and outdoor
activities.
Francis Shue
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Major: Cell and Molecular Biology
Year: Junior
Position: Public Relations Committee Co-Chair
Duties: My job is to work with Greg Knauf to design, print,
distribute, and post flyers all around campus! Yay flyers!
Research Experience: I am currently part of the Drew Lab. I used
to work under Dr. Swan, but I’m now just a research assistant. I do
studies on neurogenesis and development. I’m looking forward to
not being laid off since the post doc I work under left her position.
SURGe Past: I joined my freshman year, but I never really showed
up. I started getting more involved last year and… BAM! PR!
Huzzah!
About Me: If you were to describe me as one word… Quirky. I’m an
published author, novelist, researcher, scientist, voice actor,
musician, cosplayer, gamer, nerd, and otaku. If you want to talk to
me about anime, manga, D&D, etc. WE CAN BE BEST FRIENDS. I
welcome oddity with open arms, just come talk to me! Also I’m an
INTJ personality if anyone likes that.
Fundraising Committee
 We raise money to provide funding for our
organization and to keep SURGe dues free
 Plant sales
 T-shirt sales
 Profit shares
 Weekly Meetings
 Painter Greenhouse
 Mondays 5-6pm
Plant Sales
 In PAI greenhouse most Fridays from 10am-4pm
 West Mall sales the first Friday of every month from
10am-3:30pm
SURGe Camping!
Public Relations Committee
 We are the face of SURGe
and work to spread
awareness for
undergraduate research
across the community
 Design and distribute flyers
 Coordinate fun activities for
volunteer events
 Reach out to
undergraduates and other
student organizations
 Update students on SURGe
activities
 Weekly Meetings
 Wednesdays 5-6pm
 Location TBA
Volunteer Events
Longhorn
Halloween
2012!
Webdev Committee
 We work to promote the image of SURGe through the
most popular media form: the internet
 Update the SURGe website
 Learn how to use Wordpress
 Weekly Meetings
 5-6pm every other
Monday starting next week
 UTC 3.120
Active Member Point System
 Check our website to keep track of your points
 Rewards
 Active Membership = 10 points/semester
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Camping priority
 Level 1 = 15 points
 $4 plant coupon
 Level 2 = 30 points
 Free t-shirt
 Level 3 = 60 points
 Can apply for fellowship
 Lab coat = 60 points + lab position
 Make sure to sign in/swipe in at each meeting to get points!
Member Points System
 General Meetings – 1 point
 Social Events – 1 point
 Lab Tours – 1 point
 Committee Meetings – 1 point/committee
 Fundraising – 1 point/hr
 Volunteer Events – 1 point/hr
Spotlight on Research
 Experimental Compound Reverses
Down Syndrome-Like Learning
Deficits in Mice
 Most people with Down syndrome
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have a cerebellum that’s about 60%
of the normal size
Compound triggers growth and
development
Injected into mice on the day of
birth
Next stage: research why the
treatment works, make safe for
human trials
Learn more at sciencedaily.com
Upcoming Events
 Next Week’s Meeting
 Dr. Michael Rose will speak about solar fuels: the study
of using sunlight to generate chemical fuels
 Football ushering next weekend
Upcoming Events
 Whiteley Lab Tour
 Molecular Genetics and
Microbiology
 Bacterial physiology
 Time: 3-4pm (meet at 2:45pm)
 Location: meet outside of the
BIO building
 Sign up:
http://www.surveymonkey.co
m/s/5Y59XGQ
 Learn More:
http://www.icmb.utexas.edu/c
mb/directory/details.asp?id=2
858
After the Meeting
 We will be selling t-shirts up front
 Come talk to the officers; we would love to get to know
all of you!
 Pizza and drinks!!