Rossetti '09 to conduct stem cell research as Fulbright Scholar

Biochemistry major Blair Rossetti will pursue research in stem cell biology as a 2009 Fulbright Scholar in the Netherlands. At Utrecht University, Rossetti will join the team of Sander van den Heuvel, one of the world's premier scientists in the areas of cell division and polarity research.

Rossetti is particularly interested in stem cell research because of its potential to yield knowledge for cell-based therapies for such illnesses as diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, heart disease and cancer.

"The ability for stem cells to create any cell type makes them ideal targets for cell-based therapies for neurogenerative diseases and cancer," Rossetti said.

And there is still much to learn about stem cells, he added.

"One area of significant interest concerns the processes involved in the regeneration of new stem cells and creation of differentiated progenitor cells by asymmetric cell division," Rossetti said. "Research in this area will help elucidate the role of cell division machinery in the self-renewal and differentiation of stem cells, in turn unlocking opportunities for the use of stem cells in disease cures and prevention."

During his Fulbright year, Rossetti will focus on research aimed at understanding developmental gene activities during cell division in the roundworm C. elegans. The asymmetric division of human embryonic stem cells is similar to that which takes place in the early embryos of the roundworm, he said.

While in Holland, Rossetti will also take graduate courses and seminars through the university's Cancer Genomics and Developmental Biology program.

Rossetti, who hails from Plymouth, Mass., is a Charles C. Dana Scholar, a Presidential Scholar and a Trustee Scholar at Wheaton.  He has been a lead student researcher in Professor Robert Morris's lab, which focuses on the study of cell biology. In 2008, Rossetti received a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the premier national award for undergraduates in the fields of mathematics, science and engineering.

Last summer, he worked as a technician in the microscope facilities at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., where he also assisted Morris with his research on cell division in sea urchins.

Rossetti plans to pursue doctoral studies in biology and hopes to teach cell and developmental biology at the university level while continuing his research activities.

During his year abroad, he looks forward to experiencing a European culture in depth as he studies and learns at a distinguished university that dates back to the Middle Ages. And although English is widely spoken in the Netherlands, he is looking forward to learning Dutch. 

"The prospect of living and working with others while communicating in their native language is particularly exciting," he said. "By removing this boundary, we will open new opportunities for learning and collaboration."