Taking steps to get ahead in their college careers and helping mankind in the process, two undergraduates forged ahead to aid a professor in diabetic research.

Troy Senior Adrienne Bradley and Farmington Senior Megan Grainer are both goal-driven individuals who love the metro Detroit area and aspire to get a masters in exercise physiology. When Health Sciences Professor Naveen reached out to students for help with his research, both surged forward to claim the opportunity.

And both were undergraduates.

“We’re doing the exact same thing that master students are doing who are getting paid,” Said Bradley.

While not unheard of, undergraduates participating in formal research is not the norm, usually it is graduates who aid professors.

Why do you guys get to do this instead of graduate students?

AB: Being a new teacher here, nobody knew who Sharma was, so when you get to the master’s program you get to request what teacher you want to work with, or whatever. So since he was new just nobody really knew who he was.

MG: He just asked if there was anyone who would want to get involved with his research, and so, I mean he was obviously looking for people and we jumped on the opportunity.

What are the pros and cons to doing research as undergraduates?

AB: Research is like another job, to be honest, even though she’s doing this as a volunteer and I’m technically, technically doing this for a class…it takes up a lot of time. And for us both not to be getting paid right now…But we know the cons don’t outweigh the benefits that we’re going to get because we’re both undergraduate students doing what master students learn, and we definitely are so so grateful and know how rare that actually is.

MG: There’s hardly any people who are undergrads who know what we know, like the skills in the lab. Hardly. Because it’s not stuff that you would ever learn in a class.

AB: Our main goal is to be published.

MG: We’re just undergrads…for us to have our names on something that is published is a big thing when we both want to get our masters and PHD’s. That’s huge, it would get us into a lot of places.

Why did you want to do this research?

AB: Just being able to be a part of an important aspect in preventing a major disease that affects millions and millions of people. One of the things that grabbed hold of me towards Sharma’s Research is

because African Americans have the highest percentage of diabetes. And given the fact that I am African American, or whatever, that’s just another way that I can help my community.

What are you researching?

MG: It all relates back to just how we can prevent diabetes.

AB: our overall goal is to prevent and or, if you already have diabetes, tell you a way to keep it under control.

MG: We are looking at proteins from altering diet and exercise and how it’s going to affect diabetes.

How do you feel about the likelihood of the research’s success?

MG: I don’t think that there is going to necessarily be something that’s like a huge breakthrough and we are all going to get like millions of dollars, no. It’s not going to be like that. It’s not like we’re going to find the cure for cancer. But even…if we can figure out like one protein that helps in that pathway for insulin sensitivity, that could at least help someone else that’s maybe looking at a way bigger picture.

How would you describe each other and your relationship?

AB: I would say that we’re like, we’re friends.

MG: And its funny, because even though we only did meet this summer we’re like, we know each other well at this point…we’re there for each other in a strange lab-partner type way.

MG: I think that we both would go out of our way to try and help someone out who we care about, which is like funny to say because we only met a little bit ago. But being with another person and working in a team you kind of have to care about and want the best for the other person. We both do.