Two students selected to give oral presentations; 14 others presented
posters
ABOVE:
From
left, Dr. Brian E. Raines ’98 (Dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and
Sciences at the University of Arkansas), Dr. Jakob Anderson, Dr. Phan Truong,
Danny Caceres, Dr. Andrew Schurko, Sophie Smith, Dr. Richard Murray, Kailey
Thurman, Casi Gee, Kaleigh Coker, Elise Remerscheid, Ella Kelly, Adam Andrews,
Demah Yousef, John Schaller, and Dr. Andres Caro at the November 8-9 INBRE
Research Conference.
CONWAY,
Ark. (December 4, 2024) — Sixteen Hendrix College students were
among the 233 undergraduates who presented scientific research at the 2024
Arkansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Research
Conference held November 8-9, 2024, at the University of Arkansas at
Fayetteville.
“The Hendrix students made a very strong
showing at this meeting, which is a reflection of the hard work and high-quality
research that is carried out on campus during the summer and academic year,”
said Hendrix Professor of Biology Dr. Andrew Schurko.
Two students (Allie Farrar ’26 and Danny Lopez
Caceres ’27) were selected to give oral presentations and the other students
presented posters that described their research with faculty at Hendrix
College, and also with faculty at the University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences (UAMS) and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Adam Andrews ’26 was awarded an honorable
mention for this poster presentation in the Biological Sciences posters
session.
The participating students, their research affiliations, and
their research topics were:
Oral presentations:
Allie Farrar ’26
Mentor: Dr. Mark Manzano, UAMS Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Title: The Molecular Basis of the Cooperativity Between the Anti-Apoptotic
Protein MCL1 and the E3 Ubiquitin Ligase MARCHF5
Danny Lopez Caceres ’27
Mentor: Dr. Jakob Anderson, Hendrix College, Department of Chemistry
Title: Modifying Dipeptides to Investigate Aggregation Pathways: Developing
Design Principles for Various Dipeptides
Posters:
Julie Schwartz ’26
Mentor: Dr. Yuchun Du, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Department of
Biological Sciences
Title: Determination of the Mechanism of Action of Bax Activation
Sophie Smith ’25
Mentor: Dr. Richard Murray, Hendrix College, Department of Biology
Title: Examining Caenorhabditis elegans Ability to Form Conditioned Preferences
to Caffeine
John Schaller ’25
Mentor: Dr. Robert Eoff, UAMS Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Title: Polymerase Kappa-Mediated Fork Reversal in Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM)
Kenedi Brunen ’25
Mentor: Dr. Richard Murray, Hendrix College, Department of Biology
Title: Investigating Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Gene Function in Caenorhabditis
elegans
Sofia Syed ’27
Mentor: Dr. Antiño R. Allen, College of Pharmacy, UAMS
Title: Chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment associated with AC-T Drugs on
Neuroplasticity: A study on Neurogenesis
Kailey Thurman ’26
Mentor: Dr. Andrew Schurko, Hendrix College, Department of Biology
Title: CRISPR in Bdelloid Rotifers: Optimizing Uptake of sgRNA/Cas9 Complexes
for Targeting DNA Repair Genes
Adam Andrews ’26
Mentor: Dr. Dr. Linda Larson-Prior, Department of Pediatrics, UAMS
Title: Effects of Early Infant Nutrition on Aperiodic Neural Activity from 2 to
12 Months Using EEG Analysis
Ella Kelly ’26
Mentor: Dr. Tatiana Wolfe, UAMS Department of Psychiatry, Brain Imaging
Research Center
Title: Assessment of cingulum tract-selective myelination and neurometabolism
by magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging (MRSI) in adulthood and late life
Demah Yousef ’26
Mentor: Dr. Nirmala Parajuli, UAMS Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Title: Cold storage-mediated p38MAPK activation: a potential contributor to
kidney damage after transplantation
Aubrey Bailey ’26
Mentor: Dr. Andres Caro, Hendrix College, Department of Chemistry
Title: Antimycin-like effects of isothiocyanates on liver submitochondrial
particles
Casi Gee ’26
Mentor: Dr. Latorya Hicks, Hendrix College, Department of Chemistry
Title: Synthesis of novel Chalcones and their Antimicrobial Properties
Kaleigh Coker ’25
Mentor: Dr. Andres Caro, Hendrix College, Department of Chemistry
Title: CYP2E1 overexpression protects HepG2 cells against ferroptosis
Elise Remerscheid ’27
Mentor: Dr. Jakob Anderson, Hendrix College, Department of Chemistry
Title: Characterizing the Mixture Effects of Perfluorinated Alkane Systems
(PFAS) with Microplastics from an All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulation
Erin DeWald ’25
Mentor: Dr. Bin Dong, University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Department of
Chemistry
Title: Investigation of Reaction Mechanisms of Carbocation Chemistry
Six Hendrix faculty also attended the conference, including
professors from the Departments of Chemistry (Drs. Jakob Anderson, Andres Caro,
Latorya Hicks, Phan Truong) and Biology (Drs. Richard Murray and Andrew
Schurko).
About Hendrix College
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is featured in Colleges That
Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges and
celebrated among the country’s leading liberal arts colleges for academic
quality, engaged learning opportunities and career preparation, vibrant campus
life, and value. The Hendrix College Warriors compete in 21 NCAA Division III
sports. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since
1884. Learn more at www.hendrix.edu.
“… Through engagement that links the classroom with the world, and
a commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice, and sustainable living, the
Hendrix community inspires students to lead lives of accomplishment, integrity,
service, and joy.” —Hendrix
College Statement of Purpose