The Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity Showcase has been a rite of spring and a CSU rite of passage for more than two decades.
This display of research, inquiry, and creativity gives undergraduates a chance to present their ideas in a polished manner that helps prepare them for workplace challenges. Awards in the form of $250 CSU bookstore gift certificates are sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research.
“We want our students to be able to communicate the real-world impact of what they’re doing. With this award in their hand they feel that much more capable of accomplishing that,” said Dr. Mark Brown, director of the Office for Undergraduate Research and Artistry, and assistant professor of molecular oncology.
This year, 233 students entered posters, oral presentations, artwork, films, and writing, and 63 of those students came from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
NASA scientist and CSU alumnus Doug Ming gave a keynote address titled “Opportunity, Spirit, Curiosity, and Creativity! Mars Rovers or Your Future?” In his inspiring talk before the awards, he urged students to follow their own paths in reaching for the stars.
A total of 24 CVMBS students were honored for their entries. Below are the winners and their projects. Most students are shown receiving awards from CSU Vice President for Research Alan Rudolph.
Highest Honors, Poster Presentations
Alexander Boyarko
Does Placental Lactogen Affect Glucose Transport Across the Placenta?
Advisor: Russell V. Anthony
Meagan Chriswell
Identification of Cryptosporidium species in Colorado animals
Advisor: Valeria Scorza
Jasmine Donkoh
Mosquitocidal Properties of IgG Targeting the Voltage Gated Sodium Channel in Malaria Vector Anopheles gambiae
Advisor: Jacob Meyers
Amanda Evans and Caleb Worker
Heterozygote deletion of FADS2 attenuates glucose intolerance and modifies effects of n-3 PUFA in mice fed a high-fat diet
Advisor: Adam Chicco
Lukas Foster
Novel Diindolylmethane Analogs Suppress Neuroinflammation in Parkinsonian Model of Glia
Advisor: Ron Tjalkens
Lara Perinet
Synaptotagmin’s Role in Asynchronous Neurotransmitter Release
Advisor: Noreen Reist
Evan Richman
‘A novel diindolylmethane analog, DIM-C-(p-chlorophenyl), slows MPTP-induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration by suppressing glial cell activation in a Parkinson’s disease mouse model ‘
Advisor: Ron Tjalkens
Callie Rogers
Effects of rhBMP-2 on canine adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells and canine and human osteosarcoma cells
Advisor: Nicole Ehrhart
Jackson Watkins
Development of a Reliable Alamar Blue Viability Test in Brucella Species
Advisor: Phillip Knabenbauer
Tori Weingarten
‘Ex vivo gut slice model for study of immune, nervous, and microbial networks’
Advisor: Stuart Tobet
High Honors, Poster Presentations
Kathryn Cleary
The Role of Cytokinin in the Growth-Defense Tradeoff
Advisor: Cris Argueso
Kelly Crews
Inflammatory activation of glial cells mediates neuronal injury from exposure to manganese
Advisor: Katriana Popichak
Jessica Ferrarezi
Resolving the argument: what is the role of ribonucleotide excision repair in the stimulation of mitotic recombination?
Advisor: Juan Lucas Argueso
Madison Harman
Understanding the mechanism behind spontaneous disease in female gene targeted elk and deer PrP mice
Advisor: Jifeng Bian
Madison Zenk
‘Iron, Hepcidin, and Hepatocellular Carcinoma’
Advisor: Christine Olver
College Honors, Poster Presentations
Adriana Collings
Use of ddPCR to quantify virulence gene expression in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Advisor: Nicole Kruh-Garcia
Graham Opie
Quantitative Assays for ATP-dependent Chromatin Remodeling by yeast CHD1
Advisor: Tingting Yao
Collin Roberts, Josiah Racchini, and Kristina Dahlgren
The Effect of Fungiform Papillae Density on the Ability to Discriminate Electrical Stimulation on the Tongue
Advisor: Leslie M. Stone-Roy
Stephanie The
P200 Sensory Gating in Children with Autism
Advisor: Patricia L. Davies
Luis Gomez Wulschner
Basic Word Processing and Recognition in Bilingual and Monolingual Individuals
Advisor: Patricia L. Davies
Oral Presentation, Third Place
John Shannon (No photo)
Investigating Antigen-Specific T Cell Responses to Influenza Infection
Advisor: Paul G. Thomas
