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Hendrix Students Present Biomedical Research at IDeA Conference

CONWAY, Ark. (October 19, 2017) – Six Hendrix undergraduate students presented their research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Southeast Regional Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Meeting, held October 11-13 at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia, with two receiving awards for their work. Students and faculty from six states and Puerto Rico attended the IDeA meeting to discuss best practices and share ideas to promote biomedical research.

Each student presented a poster that described her summer research in the following laboratory settings:

Sarah Gilmour ’19, a biochemistry and molecular biology major from Phoenix, Arizona; Kaersti McLellan ’19, a biology major from Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Megan Hunter ’18, a biochemistry and molecular biology major from Lake Charles, Louisiana: lab of Dr. Andrew Schurko, Department of Biology, Hendrix College.

Taylor Stone ’18, a biochemistry and molecular biology major from Little Rock, Arkansas: lab of Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas Fayetteville. Stone received second place for her poster in the Cell Signaling division.

Emily Seminara ’18, a biochemistry and molecular biology major from Maumelle, Arkansas: lab of Dr. Howard Hendrickson, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Moira Murdoch ’18, a neuroscience major from Atkins, Arkansas: lab of Dr. Antiño Allen, UAMS, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Radiation Health. Murdoch earned a first place award for her poster in the Neuroscience division.

IDeA 2017 attendees, from left: Dr. Andrew Schurko, Moira Murdoch, Taylor Stone, Megan Hunter, Emily Seminara, Sarah Gilmour, and Kaersti McLellan.“These students made a very strong showing at the conference,” said Dr. Andrew Schurko, Associate Professor of Biology, who accompanied the students and also presented a poster on research contributions from several past and present Hendrix students in his lab. “Their research labs at Hendrix College and UAMS were well represented. It is fulfilling to see our students so engaged with their research projects, not only in the summer months but also during the academic year.”

Hendrix College attendees at the IDeA Meeting were, from left: Dr. Andrew Schurko, Moira Murdoch, Taylor Stone, Megan Hunter, Emily Seminara, Sarah Gilmour, and Kaersti McLellan.

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.