CONWAY, Ark. (November 13,
2017) – Fourteen Hendrix College students were among the 289 undergraduates who
presented scientific research at the 2017 Arkansas Arkansas IDeA Network of
Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Research Conference, held at the
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville on October 27-28. Three of the Hendrix
students received awards for their work.
Eleven students presented
research in the Biology division, two in the Chemistry/Biochemistry division,
and one in the Physics division. William Hayes ’20 and Moira Murdoch ’19 were
selected to deliver oral presentations, and 12 students presented posters.
Erika Levy ’18 earned first place for her presentation in the biology poster
section, Thomas Owens ’19 earned first place for his presentation in the
physics poster section, and Emily Taylor Stone ‘18 received an honorable
mention for her presentation in the biology poster section.
The student researchers, their
mentors, departmental affiliations, and talk or poster titles are listed below.
Biology
Braxton Anderson ’18 (Mentor:
Dr. Laura MacDonald, Hendrix College Department of Biology; Poster Title:
Evaluating the Effectiveness of MAPK, AKT, and mTOR Inhibitors in Reducing
Cellular Proliferation in Cellular Models of Papillary and Follicular Thyroid
Cancer)
Shimin Alice Fan ’19 (Mentor:
Dr. Richard Murray, Hendrix College Department of Biology; Poster Title: The
role of the Neurogenin1 gene in the development of nociceptive neurons in the
mouse dorsal root ganglion)
Sarah Gilmour ’19 (Mentor:
Dr. Andrew Schurko, Hendrix College Department of Biology; Poster Title:
Developing the Tools for CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing in Bdelloid Rotifers)
Christa Huber ’18 (Mentor:
Dr. Andrew Schurko, Hendrix College Department of Biology; Poster Title:
Transcriptome Analysis Uncovers a Message During DNA Repair in Bdelloid
Rotifers)
Jonathan Jenkins ’19 (Mentor:
Dr. Laura MacDonald, Hendrix College Department of Biology; Poster Title:
Collagen Increases Apoptosis Resistance of Papillary Thyroid Cancer Cells
Harboring BRAV600E Mutations)
Erika Levy ’18 (Mentor: Dr.
Brenda Houck, Hendrix College Department of Biology; Poster Title: Developing a
Burrowing Assay with Caenorhabditis elegans)
This poster was awarded
first place in this category.
Nicolas Maynard ’18 (Mentor:
Dr. Shawn Bourdo, UALR Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences; Poster
Title: Proliferative Effects of Graphene Polyurethane Scaffolds for Osteogenic
Differentiation of haMSCs)
Kaersti McLellan ’19 (Mentor:
Dr. Andrew Schurko, Hendrix College Department of Biology; Poster Title: Using
Pulldown Assays to Characterize Meiotic Proteins in Bdelloid Rotifers)
Moira Murdoch ’19 (Mentor:
Dr. A.R. Allen, UAMS Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Talk Title: qPCR
Analysis of Hippocampal Oxidative Stress in Mice Treated with Cranial Radiation
and Sulforphane)
Anna Sharabura ’18 (Mentor:
Dr. Laura MacDonald, Hendrix College Department of Biology; Poster Title:
Collagen Increases Proliferation and Drug Resistance of Papillary Thyroid
Cancer Cells Harboring BRAFV600E Mutations)
Emily Taylor Stone ’18 (Mentor:
Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Department of Cell
and Molecular Biology; Poster Title: Natural variation in acquired stress
resistance during oxidative stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae)
This poster was awarded
honorable mention in this category.
Chemistry/Biochemistry
William R. Hayes ’20 (Mentor:
Dr. William Gunderson, Hendrix College Department of Chemistry; Talk Title:
Design of an Open-Source Stopped-Flow Absorption Spectrometer)
Emily Seminara ’18 (Mentor:
Dr. Howard Hendrickson, UAMS Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Poster
Title: Extraction and Quantitation of Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines from Cooked
Bacon using Solid Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass
Spectroscopy)
Physics
Thomas Owens ’19 (Mentor:
Dr. Julie Gunderson, Hendrix College Department of Physics; Poster Title:
Quantitative Binding Analysis of Mn2+ to DNA Hairpin Loops)
This poster was awarded
first place in this category.
About
Arkansas INBRE
The Arkansas IDeA Network of
Biomedical Research Excellence (Arkansas INBRE) is funded by a grant from the
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), under the Institutional
Development Award (IDeA) Program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The IDeA program was established for the purpose of broadening the geographic
distribution of NIH funding for biomedical and behavioral research.
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.