Western Student Aimee Long Receives Prestigious Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Aimee Long, a third-year Western Washington University chemistry student from Lynnwood, has received a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) from the Division of Organic Chemistry (DOC) of the American Chemical Society.

The DOC strives to promote and enhance the advancement of the field of organic chemistry. The program grants a number of fellowships, including SURFs. These fellowships are awarded at $6,000, and are based on a number of criteria including a research project proposal, a personal statement, transcripts, and recommendations from faculty. The program only accepted 14 applicants this year, and has been active since 2009.

Long has worked on her research for the past year, and will continue to do so at Western this summer with the $6,000 award from the fellowship. Long’s project proposal consisted of researching the synthesis of Rupestine H.

“There is a class of molecules called the rupestines, they come from a specific plant called the artemisia rupestris. I’m trying to make a molecule, so it involves doing a bunch of reactions like a puzzle,” Long said. “The plant has been found to have anti-cancer properties, and it’s active against a form of liver cancer. Currently, the medicine for this kind of cancer doesn’t work very well, so we’re hoping that this molecule, or this class of molecules, will work better.”

WWU Professor of Chemistry James Vyvyan will help guide Long in her research this summer. Vyvyan reached out to Long about applying for the fellowship, which she did with his help.

“Aimee is not just an outstanding classroom student and researcher, she is also a terrific assistant for the organic chemistry teaching labs,” Vyvyan said. “Aimee is proof that Western chemistry students are just as strong as students from schools like Harvard and elite liberal arts colleges.”

Long said that she loves the Chemistry Department at Western and that it fosters a great community by hosting programs like the Chem Club.

“I do pretty much everything that the chemistry department offers,” Long said. “ The department is small, but subjects like biochemistry are growing. The professors really care about their students.”

Long contributed her success to both the faculty and student support she has received at Western. She explained that getting to know her fellow students in her classes and research groups, as well as her professors, has given her a solid support system.

“I definitely could not have done this without them,” she said.

Long will work with the other SURF recipients throughout the summer, virtually. In September, they will go to a conference in San Francisco to present their research, and she said she is excited to work on her professional development skills and to get to know the other fellows.

“One of the reasons that I picked Western specifically for chemistry is because of their undergraduate research opportunities. That is another reason that I am able to do this,” Long said.

Long said she hopes to attend graduate school outside of Washington state after she graduates from Western next spring, possibly at the University of British Columbia.

As for her future career, she hopes to perform similar work to Vyvyan's in the realm of medicinal chemistry, which involves working with various molecules to create or improve pharmaceutical drugs.

“I’d like to follow what Dr. Vyvyan is doing, and work on something similar as a professor,” Long said.

For more information on the SURFs, visit https://www.organicdivision.org/surf/. To learn more about Western’s Department of Chemistry, please visit https://chemistry.wwu.edu/.