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Catherine Yin handles questions from the faculty, including chemists Dr. Ken Mills (left) and Dr. Ron Jarrett (right), and Dr. George Hoffmann (partially pictured) |
The 22nd Annual Spring 2003 Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium
The symposium was held in the atrium outside of the Callahan Science Library between Swords and Haberlin Halls. Students from the Biology, Chemistry, and Psychology Depasrtments presented original research. Below are some photos taken at the poster session, along with a listing of all of the titles.
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Katherine
A. Beckwith with Faculty Sponsor: Prof. Robert Bellin This was also Kate's Honors Thesis and she was a member of the Biological Psychology Concentration. Special congratulations go to Kate for being selected the 2003 recipiant of the Father Flavin Award, given to " the senior biology major who has shown excellence in scientific achievement, significant humanitarian service, or contribution to the vitality of the Biology Department and the College".
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Holly Kleinman with faculty sponsor Prof. Robert Bertin and Biology Research Associate Dr. Kelly Wolfe-Bellin. Her project was titled: "Preferential Herbivory as a Possible Cause of Gynomonoecy in Aster and Solidago (Asteraceae)" |
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Catherine Yin and Caitlin Terry pictured with their faculty sponsor, Prof. George Hoffmann) They presented two posters dealing with mutagenesis: "Acridine mutatgenesis: Differences among classes of acridines in the lacZ reversion assay in E. coli" and "Acridine mutagenesis: Structure/activity relationships in the frameshift mutagenicity of nitracrines" They will have the opportunity to go to a meeting of the Mutagenesis Society in Scotland this summer! |
Alicia M. Garcia explains her work to Rex Hung and Prof. Bill Sobczak. Lisa was a biochemistry concentrator and College Honors student. Her advisor was: Prof. Kenneth Mills of the Chemistry Department.. Lisa's title: "A screening system for trans-splicing using Synechocystis sp.PCC6803" Lisa plans to attend medical school. And, congratulations are in order for Rex Hung who won the College's Crompton Gold Medal, given annually "for the best scientific essay or research paper submitted during the school year among the departments of biology, chemistry and physic".
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As with the previous case, not all of our students have research advisors in the Biology Department. Pictured above is Caitlin McMahon. Although a Bio Major she chose to do her research on learning and intelligence under the direction of Prof. Charles Locurto, a member of the Psychology Department and the Biological Psychology Concentration. Next year Cait is headed for graduate work in psychology at Vanderbilt. Cait's study is entitled: "Problem-solving in weanling mice under conditions of minimal reinforcement"
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Kristina M. DePaula with her faulty sponsor, Prof. Charles Locurto of the Psychology Department and Biological Psychology Concentration. A biology major and biopsych concentrator, Krissy plans to attend veterinary school. Her title: "Can mice learn a win-stay contingency under aversive motivation?" |
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Above left: Peter G. Bak (pictured with his faculty sponsor: Prof. Robert Bellin, and fellow student Katherine Beckwith). Pete's work was done at UMassMedical School and was entitled "Expression of the Human EXT1-GFP Fusion Protein in Drosophila melanogaster". Above Right: Pete talks with Rex Hung about his work.
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Both Above, Ralph Milillo explains his honors work to Prof. George Hoffmann (left) and Prof. Mary Bruno (right). Ralph's sponsor was Prof. Robert Bertin) and his study was entitled "Isolation and characterization of crab signal from Carcinus maenas" |
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Three Environmentally-Minded Projects! Directly Above: Megan Manner and her poster entitled "Invasion of Central Massachusetts Woodlands by Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)". Megan is headed for graduate school at Duke next fall. Above and left, Jean Sabloff with her advisor, Prof. Robert Bertin. Jean's title was "Effects of Land-use History on Forests at Broad Meadow Brook"
Professor Robert Bertin, Departmental Chair, sponsored these three and several other students. |
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Above: Jill Conroy with her mother and explaining her work to Pete Lemay (right). Jill'sproject dealt with physiology and the evolution of communication and was entitled "Individual Differences in the Morphology of the Sound-Producing Apparatus and Information Content of the Calls of Short-Tailed Crickets". Faculty sponsor was Dr. Ken Prestwich.
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Other Presentations (sorry, no photos) Timothy D. Quinn (Faculty Sponsor: Prof. Kenneth Mills, Chemistry) "A Study of the Autoprocessing Mechanism of Warthog and Groundhog Proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans"
Jessica Baker, Olivia Vo, and Yeside Akinyemi (Faculty Sponsor: Prof. Daniel Bitran, Psychology) "Effects of Estradiol on Behavioral Measures of Anxiety in Ovariectomized Female Wildtype and Estradiol Receptor-Alpha Knockout Mice (ERKO"
Cheryl
Armstrong, Krissy DePaula, Mary Gavin, Caitlin McMahon, Mary Gavin and Julie Silva (Faculty Sponsor: Prof. Charles Locurto, Psychology) "Characteristics of olfactory fear conditioning in mice"
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We also wish to congratulate Brian A. DeChristopher and Kathryn M. Freeman '05 for being this year's recipients of the Department's Teresa Churilla Book Award in Biology. This is given to the sophomore biology major who best exemplifies the ideals of intellectual curiosity, academic excellence, and scientific promise.
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