A West Virginia University chemist has established an interactive distance-learning network with the Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan.

Funded through a Faculty Early Career Development Grant from the National Science Foundation, Lisa Holland’s project is pioneering a new frontier of science teaching and technology-based collaboration.

Holland, an assistant professor of chemistry in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, develops new devices and methods to study diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. She does this using miniaturized chemical separation techniques. The devices that Holland builds are developed at a lower cost than commercial equipment.

Recently she began a distance collaboration with Charles Haines of Haskell Indian Nations University. A microbiologist at Haskell, Haines directs course work and study in materials used in traditional Native American medicines.

Holland refines the methodology and instrumentation she develops at a reduced cost specifically for natural products studied at Haskell. The collaboration of Holland and Haines is unusual, but what is unique is how their partnership is accomplished. They and their students interact over a distance of 1,000 miles without setting foot in each other’s lab. They use videoconferencing over the Internet to bridge the distance and communicate in real time.

The idea works like this: Holland and Haines have identical instrumentation in their laboratories (built by Holland). They run the same natural product samples individually, and they communicate their results using message boards and video images. They use high-end video cameras to eliminate the choppy images typically produced by inexpensive computer cameras.

Videoconferencing in science and technology has gained prominence in distance education, medicine and multi-user consortia for sharing specialized scientific information. The increased acceptance of Internet communication combined with the inevitable increase in performance of Web-based video will lead to rapid expansion of distance collaboration. Although the expansion seems inevitable to Holland, she devoted a significant effort to assessing communication strategies.

“Communicating with someone with video requires a new mind set,”Holland said.”The camera doesn’t pick up hand motion, body posture or facial expressions that may strengthen communication.”

Because Holland felt increased acceptance of distance collaboration would require scientific validation, she ran a pilot distance collaboration program while on the faculty at Kent State University. Alyison Leigh, an undergraduate student, learned how to operate and master a 16,000-volt separation device for the analysis of small drug molecules using videoconferencing in a nine-week program at a lab 28 miles from Holland’s laboratory. Leigh transferred to WVU when Holland was hired by the university, and she recently submitted her third scientific publication with Holland.

“The experience was life-changing for me,”Leigh said.”Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would become a first-rate researcher because of the Internet. I’m wildly anxious to work with students at Haskell on the other end of the camera now. After this experience, I’ve decided to get the training I need to become a university faculty member.”

As Holland and Haines proceed with their collaboration analyzing natural products for medicinal purposes, Holland continues to press the idea of distance research, having recently traveled to Argentina to advocate videoconferencing and scientific collaboration.

“Dr. Holland’s expertise in research and teaching are matched only by her enthusiasm for using modern communication technology to engage place-bound students in research projects that are at the frontier of biotechnology,”said Fred King, associate dean for research and graduate study in the Eberly College.