iMPACT

Congratulations to these 16 science students presented their summer research as part of Undergraduate Research Summer Symposium August 27, 2015, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm in the Agriculture and Life Sciences Building, room 4000.

The Division of Undergraduate Studies hosted this event to give undergraduate students the opportunity to share their research with the broader Oregon State community and to enhance their communications skills while translating science for a general audience. Students gave 10-minute presentations as well as 3-minute presentations using just one slide!

The undergraduate experience is greatly enhanced by engaging in research. Students to learn to balance collaborative and individual work as well as deepen their critical thinking skills. They are often able to interact one-on-one with their faculty mentor.

The following science majors presented their research:

Biology

Julia Bingham – Biology. Mentor: Mark Novak, Integrative Biology. Sensitive Barnacles: Quantifying life history processes of Pollicipes polymerus to inform harvest management.

Hai Dao – Biology. Mentor: David Wagner, Psychology, OHSU. Novel Interventions in Children’s Healthcare (NICH): Program effects on health and healthcare utilization.

Joseph DeShields – Biology. Mentor: Jeff Chang, Botany & Plant Pathology. Developing the Golden Gate assembly method to make knockout mutants in Rhodococcus fascians.

Quinn DeYoung – Biology. Mentor: John Fowler, Botany & Plant Pathology. ROP2 localization in maize pollen tube growth.

Rachel Keeffe – Biology major. Mentor: Brian Sidlauskas , Fisheries & Wildlife. Morphological variance in anostomid pharyngeal tooth plates.

Zachary M. Konkel, Biology major. Mentor: Sandra Loesgen, Chemistry. Novel antibiotic and anticancer drug leads from Oregonian endophytic fungi.

Griffin Moser – Biology major. Mentor: Andrew Buermeyer, Enviro Molecular Toxic. Carcinogen-induced mutations identified through sequencing of human exomes.

Elizabeth Pendergrass – Biochemistry and Biophysics. Mentor: Theresa Filtz, Pharmaceutical Sciences. O-glycosylation of transcription factor BCL11b: Truth or myth?

Biochemistry & Biophysics

Trisha Chau – Biochemistry and Biophysics. Mentor: Colin Johnson, Biochemistry & Biophysics. Characterizing the membrane binding properties of Fer1L6: an essential protein for muscle development

Yu-Tin Hsiao – Biochemistry and Biophysics major. Mentor: Bo Sun, Physics. Optimal conditions for focal adhesion staining in breast cancer cells.

Danielle Stevens – Biochemistry & Biophysics. Mentor: Jeff Chang – Botany & Plant Pathology. Characterization of fasR mutant of phytopathogenic Rhodococcus fascians.

BioHealth Sciences

Eleonso Cristobal -BioHealth Sciences major. Ascorbic acid and allopurinol reduce nitrate tolerance in human endothelial cells.

Chemistry

Cassandra Lew – Chemistry major. Mentor: Sandra Loesgen, Chemistry. Antibiotic and anticancer active metabolites from soil bacteria.

Philip Nguyen – Chemistry. Mentor: Taifo Mahmud, Pharmaceutical Sciences. Chemoenzymatic synthesis of pactamycin analogues using a promiscuous protein from Streptomyces pactum.

Microbiology

Elyssa Armstrong -Microbiology. Mentor: Luiz Bermudez and Lia Danelishvili, Veterinary Medicine. Establishment of an in vitro model to study persistence in Mycobacterium avium.

Jenny Nguyen – Microbiology. Mentor: Taifo Mahmud, Pharmaceutical Sciences. Natural products inspired drug discovery: A synthetic and chemoenzymatic approach.