UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1180
Submission information
Submission Number: 1180
Submission ID: 20496
Submission UUID: 5c03c767-9770-4655-ba72-809ea638cc33
Submission URI: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal
Submission Update: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?token=iKQ3qjHa0AlUauC_kBpbEYz4wGVyMY0oafy-rGcJd70
Created: Fri, 08/15/2025 - 04:51 PM
Completed: Fri, 08/15/2025 - 04:57 PM
Changed: Tue, 08/26/2025 - 09:39 AM
Remote IP address: 128.186.14.101
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English
Is draft: No
Webform: UROP Project Proposal Portal
Submitted to: UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal
| Primary Research Mentor Name | Steven Lenhert |
|---|---|
| Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns | |
| When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific? | Dr. |
| Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) | lenhert@bio.fsu.edu |
| Position Title | Faculty |
| FSU College (if applicable) | Arts and Sciences |
| FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation | Florida State University |
| Headshot (optional) |
|
| Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above) | Vincent Tocci |
| Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns | |
| Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific? | |
| Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) | vmt19@fsu.edu |
| Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable) | Vincent N. Tocci |
| Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns | |
| Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific? | |
| Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) | |
| Title of the Project | Lipid-regulation of enzyme function |
| Project Keywords | chemistry, biology, physics, enzyme, catalysis |
| Are you currently looking for research assistants? | Yes |
| Number of Research Assistants Needed | 3 |
| Relevant Research Assistant Major(s) | Open to all majors |
| Project Location: | On FSU Main Campus |
| If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation? | |
| Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s): | In-person |
| Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work? | 5-10 |
| Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work? | During business hours |
| Overall Research Project Description | Chemical reactions in biological systems are highly regulated by protein catalysts known as enzymes. Enzymes speed up a variety of reactions and understanding their regulation by small molecules allows numerous applications in medicine and biotechnology. When compared to synthetic catalysts, enzymes can be highly selective due to unique structural properties that enable molecular recognition. Small organic molecules known as lipids are abundant in biological systems, yet are often removed to study enzyme function in vitro. This project will study the regulation of enzyme activity using purified enzymes exposed to lipid additives. |
| Research Tasks | Relevant literature will be reviewed and experimental design carried out. Enzyme function will be measured using well established colorimetric assays. Enzyme activity will be measured in the presence of lipid libraries.1-4 Data will be analyzed and graphs plotted to determine the enzyme kinetics. Further details related to the tasks will be determined based on the student’s abilities and availability. An ideal result of this project would be coauthorship on a paper that makes use of the data produced during the project. References: 1. S. Liu, K. Kumar, T. Bell, A. Ramamoorthy, D. Van Winkle, S. Lenhert, Lipid-Based Catalysis Demonstrated by Bilayer-Enabled Ester Hydrolysis. Membranes 14, 168 (2024). 2. S. Liu, A.-T. Wei, H. Wang, D. Van Winkle, S. Lenhert, Combinatorial Mixtures of Organic Solutes for Improved Liquid/Liquid Extraction of Ions. Soft Matter 19, 6903-6910 (2023). 3. T. N. Bell, K. Feng, G. Calvin, D. H. Van Winkle, S. Lenhert, Organic Composomes as Supramolecular Aptamers. ACS Omega 5, 27393-27400 (2020). 4. D. H. Juers, B. W. Matthews, R. E. Huber, Lacz Β-Galactosidase: Structure and Function of an Enzyme of Historical and Molecular Biological Importance. Protein Science 21, 1792-1807 (2012). |
| Skills that research assistant(s) may need: | Required: Basic chemistry or molecular biology Recommended: Data analysis, UV-Vis absorbance spectrophotometry, microscopy, enzymology |
| Mentoring Philosophy | I seek to understand student’s goals and current abilities and to provide guidance to enable them to achieve their goals. This involves providing opportunities as they appear. Examples of opportunities could be an experiment that the student could carry out, coauthorship on a publication, or involvement in a collaboration. As an interdisciplinary scientist, I value different ways of thinking and approaching research tasks. When working in groups I look for synergy. If I’m teaching a student a skill that I have myself, then I demonstrate it and then let the student repeat it. I also tend to think of my students as collaborators and appreciate learning from them as well. I use, and encourage use of deliberate practice, which is an approach to developing expertise based on solving well designed achievable goals using feedback and guidance from a mentor. I meet at least once a week with my research group where we discuss our research, get feedback from each other, and identify achievable goals. Examples of research goals could be to take steps towards constructing a device, design or carry out an experiment, analyze a data set, search the literature for relevant papers, work on some scientific writing and communication. I continue to practice these skills myself and to improve my mentoring as well, doing my best to be a good example. As Isaac Asimov once wrote, “education is not something that can be finished.” Reference: https://jasonhaaheim.com/how-did-scientist-become-timpanist-met-orchestra/ |
| Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable): | https://www.bio.fsu.edu/lenhertgroup/publications.php |
| Please add any additional information here (if applicable): | |
| Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable? | Yes |
| Roundtable times and Zoom links | Wednesday September 4th, 2:30-3:00pm (https://fsu.zoom.us/j/91096083262) |
| Roundtable Info |
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| Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication | Yes |
| UROP Performance Evaluation | Yes |
| Materials Grant | Yes |
| UROP Poster Presentation | Yes |
| Year | 2025 |
| update url | https://cre.fsu.edu/urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?element_parents=elements/research_mentor_information/headshot_optional_&ajax_form=1&_wrapper_format=drupal_ajax&token=iKQ3qjHa0AlUauC_kBpbEYz4wGVyMY0oafy-rGcJd70 |