CONWAY, Ark. (March 27, 2018)
— Several Hendrix College biology majors attended the 25th Annual Southeastern
Regional Yeast Meeting at Rhodes College in Memphis from March 9-11. Sam Byrd
’19, Jessica Campbell ’19, Michaela Edwards ’19, Daniel Habenicht ’18, Graham
Harris ’18, Brianna Hoyt ’19, and Heather Prowse ’18 have been engaged in
studying how genes function in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, known as brewer’s yeast outside the
scientific community. The research has been funded through a National Science Foundation
grant overseen by Dr. Andrea Duina, Professor of Biology. In addition, Emily
Taylor Stone ’18 presented a poster based upon research she conducted that was
overseen by Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology.
Four Hendrix students who presented
research received recognition for their work. Edwards and Harris co-presented a
poster titled “Biochemical and genetic approaches for uncovering mechanisms
regulating FACT dissociation from transcribed genes,” and Campbell and Prowse
co-presented a poster titled “Evaluation of the contributions of DNA sequences
and RNA Pol II on the dissociation of FACT from the 3’ ends of genes.” All of
these students won Excellence in Research awards, and also received awards to
offset the cost of their travel to the meeting.
“We all had a rewarding and
enriching experience at this conference,” Duina said. “The students were very
engaged and learned a lot about how yeast can be used to study fundamental and
conserved cellular processes. I am particularly proud of Graham, Heather,
Jessica, and Michaela for having done a great job presenting their research and
for receiving awards for their presentations.”
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.