Many graduate students hope to one day have their byline in a scholarly journal, but recent graduate Brett Alldredge was able to accomplish this during his undergraduate studies.
Few BYU undergraduate students have achieved this feat. Alldredge submitted his research paper last year. It competed with other medical school and university professors' work. Alldredge's paper made it past the process and will be published later this summer.
"It is most unusual to have undergraduates publish on their own," said Rujan Chetty, editor of the Journal of Clinical Pathology and Director of Surgical Pathology at University of Health Networks in Toronto.
The Journal of Clinical Pathology reviews all papers submitted. The editorial team rejects 10 percent of papers because of insufficient research, lack of originality, priority and other flaws. External reviewers comprised of experts, then review the papers.
Alldredge's paper explores connectors between cells known as "gap junctions". These pathways affect heart contractions, neuron communication in the brain and many other functions. These irregularities can cause mild to severe medical problems.
Alldredge credits BYU's neuroscience major and support from numerous professors. For the last two years, David Busath, professor of physiology and developmental biology, has been mentoring and encouraging Alldredge during his research.
"[Brett] made a huge impression on me when he gathered and read some 100 scientific articles on cellular gap junctions during his first six months in the lab," Busath said. "You expect this of an advanced graduate student, but not of a junior-level undergraduate."
Alldredge graduated last month with a degree in neuroscience. He hopes that his paper will "inspire gap junction research to continue in those directions aimed at providing people with novel, effective treatments."
Alldredge will be attending Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in the fall. He hopes to continue biological research, because he believes it creates real solutions to relevant problems.
Copyright Brigham Young University 29 May 2008
