By Jim Moore
When you read about student-athletes, how often does the story focus on the student? It's usually about the athlete and his or her achievements on the field of play. If the student part is mentioned at all, it's limited to their major and maybe their GPA but little else.
Make no mistake, Megan Lopez, the subject of this story, is a terrific soccer player for the University of Idaho, a midfielder from Oceanside, Calif., who started every game for the Vandals as a freshman last year.
She loves her coach, loves it in Moscow and is thrilled with her athletic experience thus far. But soccer is just one small part of it. There's been so much more, almost too much more - Lopez jokes that her schedule book is her best friend because she'd be lost without it.
Class, homework, activities with her Delta Delta Delta sorority sisters, soccer practice...it's hard to find time for anything else, but Lopez has. Two or three times a week last spring, she was in a research laboratory at the Department of Biological Sciences working with Dr. Larry Forney and his scientific aide, Ana Cornea.
This is an education opportunity at Idaho that goes beyond the regular class loads.
"We bring undergraduate students into the lab and teach them how to do research and run instruments," Forney said. "What they learn is way different than anything taught in class."
"A regular science class, does it teach you how to gather data? Yes. But it's not the same rush as doing something for the first time about something that nobody's known before. That's what research is about."
Lopez has been interested in science since she was a little kid. Her older brother liked biology and talked about it when he came home from school and it's taken off from there.
A biology major, Lopez heard that the Department of Biological Sciences was holding a biology "party," and she decided to check it out.
"His research is so interesting," Lopez said. "I thought: 'I want to be a part of that type of thing.' He's so nice. He realizes I'm a freshman and that I don't have the same knowledge as a senior so I don't feel awkward."
She's right - Forney is nice. He takes the time to explain what he's doing in layman's terms to a reporter who's science-challenged.
"Have you heard of slime, like the stuff that grows on the bottom of a dog dish?" Forney asks.
In his terms, slime consists of microorganisms, bacteria that grow in the unlikeliest places.
"They can grow on anything," he said.
Forney studies how the cells differ from each other - the ones on the surface of the slime have an easier time of getting nutrients than the ones at the bottom.
"What are these bacteria at the bottom doing that's different from the ones at the top?" he said. "We extract and analyze the DNA to learn what the cells are doing and how they have adapted to the environment."
Why is this important? Slime, or biofilm, contaminates all kinds of products with its nasty invasions.
"Is there something we can learn to make them less successful?" Forney asked. "We're not trying to stop slime growth. We're trying to figure out how much bacteria change and why. Then applied scientists take over."
This heavy-duty research intrigues Lopez.
"It's so specific," she said. "Usually in science classes, it's OK if you mess up. In research science, it's so precise, there are no second chances. You have to really concentrate on what you're doing."
"There's so much more going on than you can see. With microbiology, the most fascinating thing I've learned is how small things are. I've never experienced stuff like this before. It's mind-blowing."
Forney doesn't need a microscope to see Megan's potential. He saw it when they first met at the biology party.
"She had question after question," Forney said. "She made an impression on me. Megan's a wonderful, high-energy lady."
Added Cornea: "She's very enthusiastic, always willing to learn."
Forney notices parallels with sports and science research, saying: "There's a certain self-confidence from being an athlete that plays well in this."
Lopez soaks it in and sounds excited when she talks about it over the phone. This is what she hoped to get at Idaho, an experience she would have a hard time finding anywhere else. She's a pre-dental student who might change to pre-med, or maybe she'll be a biologist like Forney someday.
"It's something I could see myself doing," Lopez said. "The more you get involved with it, the more interesting it becomes. You get consumed by it. It's one of the coolest things I've done here."
Jim Moore writes sports columns for seattlepi.com and his website www.jimmoorethego2guy.com. You can reach him at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com.
