Above: Joshua Daum, a microbiology major, was among dozens of undergraduate students in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to compete in springtime research events. (Photo: John Eisele/Colorado State University)
Students in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences continued a tradition of excellence as they shared results of some seven dozen research projects during two springtime events highlighting undergraduate research.
Undergraduates in CVMBS competed with eight projects in the Multicultural Undergraduate Research, Art, and Leadership Symposium in late March and with 71 projects in the annual Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity Showcase in mid-April.
The events are a culmination of research projects that span the academic year and demonstrate the many and varied hands-on laboratory and studio activities available for rising scientists and artists at Colorado State University.
“Our students have an astonishing passion for science, and it’s a great source of pride to see both their dedication to research and their excellent outcomes,” said Sandra Quackenbush, CVMBS associate dean for academic and student affairs. “I also appreciate our faculty members, who work hard to guide undergraduates in research projects that will pave the way to successful careers in research, health, and medicine.”
MURALS, held March 31, involved students with more than 60 projects; of the eight abstracts submitted by undergraduates in CVMBS, two received awards:
Lilia Maeda, Chiara Flores, and Kalene Borrego, Biomedical Sciences
Rising Star Award in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
Project title: A Literature Review of SMYD2: Overexpression, Diseases, and Inhibition
Daiszha Cooley, Neuroscience and Psychology
First Place in Social Sciences and Humanities
Project title: Racism-Related Stress and Health
The CURC Showcase, held April 17 in the Lory Student Center Ballroom, involved nearly 400 students studying in colleges across campus. They displayed research posters, offered oral presentations, and submitted writing and artwork. CVMBS students submitted abstracts reflecting laboratory research and experiential learning in the college’s four majors – biomedical sciences, environmental health, microbiology, and neuroscience.
CVMBS students earned 24 of 100 total awards conferred during the CURC awards ceremony on April 25.
Students in the recently established Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology had a particularly strong showing: six of the program’s 20 students received awards for their CURC projects. The program is designed to match undergraduate students with research laboratories early in their college careers – a way of jump-starting research that enhances the academic experience and often leads to lifelong scientific pursuits.
“The work of our undergraduate researchers is a tremendous credit to them and to our faculty and graduate student mentors,” Quackenbush said. “The participation of our students in these two springtime events, and the awards they earn, really demonstrates the value of focused efforts to get undergraduates involved in scientific research.”
The following is a list of CVMBS students who earned awards during the CURC Showcase. (Photos were not available of all winning students.)
Best in Show
Jordanne Lesher, Microbiology
Title: Identification of Small Molecules that Modulate Cyclic di-GMP Signaling and Biofilm Formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Mentors: Brad Borlee, Grace Borlee
Kyle Scalzo, Biomedical Sciences
Title: DNA Replication in Thermococcus kodakarensis
Mentors: Thomas Santangelo, Alexandra Gehring
Delaney Thompson, Microbiology
Title: NFkB Knockout in Astrocytes Protects Against Neurodegeneration in a Mouse Model of Parkinson’s disease
Partners: Evan Richman, Lindsay Hunt
Mentors: Sean Hammond, Collin Bantle, Ron Tjalkens
Excellence in Energy
Luna Martinez, Environmental Health
Title: The Determination of Reactivity in Particulate Matter from Honduran Cookstoves
Mentors: Kevin Klunder, Laurelle Turner, Chuck Henry
Highest Honors
Courtney Abbott, Biomedical Sciences
Title: Use of the Androgen Receptor Clonality Assay (ARCA) to Assess Canine and Feline Cell Homogeneity in Clinical Samples
Mentors: Anne Avery, Robert Burnett
Joshua Daum, Microbiology
Title: Characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Lipoarabinomannan-Specific Antibodies for Use in Point-Of-Care Tuberculosis Diagnosis
Mentors: Delphi Chatterjee, Anita Amin
Roslyn Dermody, Microbiology
Title: A Biochemical Analysis of Mycobacterium avium Cell Surface Glycan as a Point of Care Diagnostic Marker
Mentors: Delphi Chatterjee, Diane Ordway
Erica Reith, Microbiology
Title: Characterizing the Translational Regulation of the RNA-Binding Protein YTHDF2
Mentors: Adam Heck, Carol Wilusz
Evan Richman, Biomedical Sciences
Title: C-Dim12, a Novel Ligand of Nuclear Receptor Nurr1, Protects Dopaminergic Neurons in a Mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease
Mentors: Ron Tjalkens, Sean Hammond
High Honors
Robin Blackwood, Microbiology
Title: Visualizing Thermococcus kodakarensis Using Gold Specific Binding and Cloneable Metallothionein Protein Tagging
Mentors: Thomas Santangelo, Hallie Febvre
Benjamin Fixman, Neuroscience
Title: Intermittent Imaging of Cultured Hippocampal Slices During Long Term Incubation
Partners: Isaac Babcock, Avery Runyan
Mentors: James Bamburg, Laurie Minamide, Alisa Shaw
Elizabeth Gordon, Microbiology
Title: Affects of CD21 Against Prion Aggregate Accumulation in Mouse Neuroblastoma Cells
Mentors: Sarah Kane, Mark Zabel
Erin Markle, Microbiology
Title: Age-grading Culex tarsalis Populations with the Method of Counting Wing Scales
Mentors: Brian Foy, Chilinh Nguyen
Jordan Powers, Microbiology
Title: Feline Leukemia Virus Dynamics in a Domestic Cat-Leopard Cat Breeding Colony
Mentors: Sue VandeWoude, Simona Kraberger, Elliott Chiu
Molly Price, Microbiology
Title: A Novel Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) Envelope Protein for Pseudotyping Lentiviral Vectors for Gene Therapy
Mentors: Ramesh Akkina, Paige Charlins
College Honors
Regina Argo, Microbiology
Title: Validation of CRISPR-Cas9 Knockout of Cellular Factors Important in Prion Susceptibility
Mentors: Julie Moreno, Glenn Telling
Noah Barkley, Neuroscience
Title: Development of Metal Ion Release by Photo-Induced Decarboxylation Cages to Study Fast-time Scale Metal Chelation by Amyloids in a Single Solution
Mentors: Cheryle Beuning, Nancy Levinger, Debbie Crans
Alexander Boyarko, Biomedical Sciences
Title: Impact of Chorionic Somatomammotropin Deficiency on Placental Nutrient Transporters
Mentor: Russell Anthony
Jessica Gaevert, Microbiology
Title: Comparing the Immunogenicity of Native and Recombinant Protein X* of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using an Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay
Mentor: Karen Dobos
Joseph Gallegos, Microbiology
Title: Ultrasensitive Detection of Prion Disease Using 7-5 ELISA-PMCA
Mentors: Bian Jifeng, Julie Moreno, Glenn Telling
Luis Gomez Wulschner, Neuroscience
Title: Comparing Neurological Measures in Multilingual and Monolingual Individuals during a Picture Naming Task
Mentors: Bill Gavin, Patti Davis, Jewel Mascarenhas
Ariel Timkovich, Biomedical Sciences
Title: Knockout or Antagonism of Toll-Like Receptor 4 Ameliorates the Progression of Joint Deterioration in a Rodent Model of Injury-induced Osteoarthritis
Mentor: Kelly Santangelo
Tori Weingarten, Biomedical Sciences
Title: Sex Differences in the Immunoregulation of the Gut
Mentors: Luke Schwerdtfeger, Stuart Tobet
Oral Presentations
Stephanie Mills, Biomedical Sciences
Third place
Title: Fatty Acids, ACOT-1 and Dengue: Is it the new FAD?
Mentors: Rebekah Gullberg, Rushika Perera
