Major Qualifying Project
The Major Qualifying Project (MQP) is a high-level research project in the student's major field. Through the MQP every WPI student has the chance to experience the kind of real-world problem solving that will soon characterize their professional careers. With an MQP on their resume, WPI students have a leg up on the competition when it comes to launching careers or gaining admission to the best graduate schools.
The MQP involves problems typical of those found in the student's professional discipline and addresses challenging research issues. These qualifying projects are far from trivial; each requires a substantial part of an academic year, culminating in a project report and poster on project presentation day.
In Biology and Biotechnology MQPs can be done in a faculty member's research lab, in the department's ProjectLab, or off campus sites, such as the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, or area biotechnology companies. All projects must be approved by a Biology & Biotechnology Department faculty member or an associated Biology and Biotechnology faculty member; this individual will become the advisor of record and monitor your progress through meetings with you and close communication with the off campus supervisor.
Recently Completed Major Qualifying Projects
A Microbial Breathalyzer: Design of a Colorimetric Assay for the Detection and Quantification of Ethanol Production in Microbes
Rachel Robillard, ’07
This project aims to address the issues of efficiency with the design of a three step assay that allows for the rapid screening of large numbers of microbial colonies for ability to produce ethanol from a variety of feedstocks. First, the microbes are grown on agar plates that are adjusted to have a basic pH and contain bromothymol blue, a pH indicator. Ethanol production also results in carbon dioxide production, changing the pH of the agar around the colonies to acidic and the color to shades of yellow and orange. These colonies are then treated with pyridinium chlorochromate, an oxidizer that changes color in the presence of primary and secondary alcohols. This rate of color change is measured spectrophotometrically, and is proportional to the concentration of ethanol in each culture.
A Genetic Approach to C. Elegans Cholinergic Signaling
Jason Climer, ‘10
Genes that are involved in localization or modulation of neurotransmitter receptors are difficult to identify. We generated a C. elegans strain expressing a mutated, hyperactivitied acetylcholine receptor. These animals display a dramatic movement phenotype, as well as mislocalization of a related receptor. Our genetic screen for suppressors of the movement phenotype isolated 15 suppressors, many of which would not have been isolated using traditional methods. We believe that this strategy will find novel factors that play important roles in cholinergic signaling.
A Public Health Project in Methods of Schistosomiasis haematobium Control in Adasawase, Ghana
Carrie Lynn Ellsworth, ‘11 and Victoria Michelle Mason, ‘11
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that is endemic in Africa. Adasawase is a rural village in eastern Ghana that had a 49.8% prevalence rate in 2008. This project utilized a public health approach to further control schistosomiasis. Infection rates in schoolchildren were determined by urine testing and a filtration system was built for the town's water recreation area. Surveys were used to assess knowledge and a health education plan was implemented. As of 2010, infection rates have decreased to 14.5%.
