Education
SURF’s Up on Salisbury Cove
- June 13, 2025
From across Maine and the nation, more than two dozen students converged on the MDI Biological Laboratory campus this month to embed in the research groups of the Lab’s innovative scientists.
The seasonal migration almost didn’t happen, due to uncertainty about funding for the fellowships. But thanks to joint effort by MDI Bio Lab’s extraordinary community, summer programming is officially under way.
“What attracted me was the people that work here,” says Emma Morrison, a rising junior in biochemistry and microbiology at the University of Maine. “And even from just being here a short time, I can see that everyone is so smart, and so passionate about helping us to get the most from the experience.”
She adds that back in winter when she was scanning potential summer opportunities, MDI Bio Lab’s faculty stood out. (It helped that she’d visited campus in 2024, for the annual Maine Biological and Medical Sciences Symposium).
“I really wanted to work more with animals and get more of a foundation in research, and to build on that,” she says. “I read a lot into the research of Dr. (Hermann) Haller, Dr. (James) Coffman and Dr. (Iain) Drummond, and looking at their pathways, how they got to be where they are — they are extremely impressive.”
Morrison landed in the Drummond Laboratory, where she is already working with CRISPR to edit genetic material and create transgenic zebrafish. She says Drumond’s commitment to mentoring shines through, as when he counseled her on staying committed to scientific inquiry even in uncertain moments.
“He told me that you can only focus on what’s going on now and the work that you’re doing, because there’s so much exciting science going on, that this is a short term roadblock, and if you just continue on then it’s going to be okay,” she says. “That’s stuck with me.”
Drummond and other MDI Bio Lab faculty say they are grateful to work with students of such high caliber (they won their paid fellowships on a competitive basis). Cory Johnson, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow in the Haller Lab, says his assigned SURF student, Lily Cucuzella, brings important skills to the lab bench.
“I love mentoring, but it’s not like I’m just teaching Lily,” Johnson says, as the pair examine an early version of a microfluidics device they are fabricating with a 3D printer. “She’s a trained engineer. She can work in computer-aided design software to design the actual molds that we need. That’s a great part of this kind of collaboration, that people come in with their own set of skills.”
Cucuzella says she is still considering whether she will want to pursue further education after completing her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Virginia.
“This summer will definitely play a huge role in making that decision and understanding what a Ph.D. experience would be like,” she says. “I am making sure to soak up every minute of it, both in learning as much as I can in my lab and hearing about others’ projects and also enjoying Maine. It’s going to be a fabulous summer!”