CONWAY, Ark. (April 6, 2022) — Dr. Caitlin Scott, Assistant
Professor of Chemistry, and her students Alaina Ivers
’22 and Emily Pickering ’22, recently attended the 105th meeting
of the Arkansas
Academy of Science in Arkadelphia.
Pickering, a senior biochemistry/molecular biology major from
North Little Rock, gave an oral presentation in the Chemistry & Chemical
Engineering session titled “Virtual Ligand Screening and Docking to Identify
Possible Antagonists to Be Used as Antidepressants That Target the Kappa Opioid
Receptor.”
Ivers, a senior biology major from Little Rock, gave a poster
presentation titled “Docking Low-Energy Ligand Conformations to the μ-Opioid
Receptor to Verify the Model’s Reliability” in the Chemistry & Chemical
Engineering session.
“Emily and Alaina have worked really hard and have made a lot
of progress on their research,” said Dr. Scott, who mentored both students.
“I’m proud of how they’ve grown as scientists and researchers.”
The students’ work was funded by the Hendrix Odyssey Program.
During the Academy’s meeting, Professor of Physics Dr. Todd
Tinsley ’98 was named the Academy’s 88th President.
“I’m beyond honored to represent Hendrix and serve the
academy to promote science in the state of Arkansas and throughout the region,”
said Dr. Tinsley, who joins other Hendrix faculty, including Dr. M. J. McHenry
(1938), Dr. Robert Shideler (1963), Dr. Art Johnson (1993), and Dr. Joyce
Hardin (2009), who have served as President of the Academy during the
organization’s 106-year history.
About Hendrix College
A private liberal
arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns
recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is featured
in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You
Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value
have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous college guides, lists, and
rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been affiliated with the United
Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.