Congratulations to our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place poster winners in each of the six categories at the Second Annual Undergraduate Spring Symposium (2018) held on Saturday April 14 at WVU! Our winners are given below.
Humanities/Non-STEM Category (14 posters)
1st Place: Energy Literacy in Agricultural Education Students in West Virginia. Hannah Schantz,*Brieanna Hughes* and Jessica Blythe(Hannah is an Agricultural and Extension Education major from Fallston, MD. Hannah was a participant in WVU’s Research Apprenticeship Program.)
2nd Place: Stick Together or Break Apart: Unplanned Alliance Dissolution in Light of Adverse Events. Vasant Saladi,*Gulnara Zaynutdinova,* Miles Zachary,* Deborah Philippe *and Olga Bruyaka(Vasant is a Petroleum Engineering major from Ellicott City, MD. Vasant was a participant in WVU’s Research Apprenticeship Program.)
3rd Place: Slave Drumming Bans in Colonial America. Kayla Tokar*and Travis Stimeling(Kayla is a Music Therapy major from Uniontown, PA. Kayla was a participant in WVU’s Research Apprenticeship Program.)
Physical Sciences Category (12 posters)
1st Place: Synthesis of a Cyclophane Bearing Two Benz[a]anthracene and Two Naphthyl Units. Josef C. Heller,* Haresh Thakellapalli, Behzad Farajidizaji, Shuangjiang Li, Yu Zhang, Novruz G. Akhmedov, Carsten Milsmann, Jeffrey L. Petersen and Kung K. Wang (Josef is a biochemistry major from Daniels, WV. Josef carried out research for WVU 497-level research course credit.)
2nd Place: Jump and Landing Detection via Accelerometry. Marcus Marpoe,*Krista Meder and Jean McCrory(Marcus is a Mechanical Engineering major from Carlisle, PA. Marcus was a participant in WVU’s Research Apprenticeship Program.)
3rd Place: Pulsar Searching in the 2011-2014 Driftscan Data. Olivia Young,* Gabriella Agazieand Maura McLaughlin(Olivia is a Physics major from Hurricane, WV. Gabriella is a Physics major from Morgantown, WV. Olivia’s and Gabriella’s research effort were mainly voluntary.)
Biological Sciences Category (15 posters)
1st Place: Identifying Target Genes of the Homeobox Transcription Factors Gsx1 and Gsx2 in Zebrafish. Zoe A. Dobler,*Becca A. Robich,* Emma L. Sherfinski,* Regina L Patrick and Sadie Bergeron(Zoe is a Biology major from Princeton, NJ. Zoe carried out research for Biology 486 capstone course credit.)
2nd Place: Co-crystallization of mitoNEET with Thiazolidinediones. Raisa A. A. Nuñez,*Werner Geldenhuys and Aaron R. Robart(Raisa is a Biology major from Hedgesville, WV. Raisa was a participant in WVU’s Research Apprenticeship Program.)
3rd Place: Nonautonomous Requirements for JNK Signaling in Thalamocortical Development . Stephany Nti,*Jessica Clemente and Eric Tucker(Stephany is a Biology major from Sayreville, NJ. Stephany carried out research for Biology 386 course credit and continued her research on a voluntary basis.)
Molecular Biology & Biochemistry Category (20 posters)
1st Place: Functional Analysis of a Gene Involved in Synthesis of Fungal Lysergic Acid Amides. Jessi K. Tyo*and Daniel G. Panaccione(Jessi is a Biochemistry major from Frametown, WV.)
2nd Place: Apple Pomace Supplementation Had No Detrimental Effects on Bone Indices in a Rat Model. Kathryn M.E. Taylor,*R. Chris Skinner, and Derek Warrenand Janet Tou(Kathryn is a Biochemistry major from Cross Lanes, WV. Kathryn carried out research for WVU 497-level research course credit.)
3rd Place: A Role for Tumor Macrophage-Derived Microvesicles in Regulation of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition. Kaltume Ndayako,*Amy Gross, Joyce Obeng, Clay Marsh, Timothy D. Eubank and Duaa Dakallah(Kaltume is an Immunology and Medical Microbiology major from Abuja, Nigeria. Kaltume carried out research with an IMMB Scholarship.)
Environmental Sciences Category (13 posters)
1st Place: Ecological and Urban Factors Impacting Wood Duck Nest Success. Saahirah Cua*and Christopher Lituma(Saahirah is a Wildlife and Fishery Resources major from Bristolville, OH. Saahirah was a participant in the McNair Scholar Program and continued research with a departmental capstone course.)
2nd Place: Mapping and Morphometrics of Ancient Glacial Landforms in Central Namibia. Andrew T. McGrady*and Graham Andrews(Andrew is a Geology major from Branchland, WV. Andrew carried out research for WVU 497-level research course credit.)
3rd Place: Use of LiDAR Imagery to Constrain Silicic Lava Emplacement Processes. Brenna Cole*and Graham Andrews(Brenna is a Geology major from Machias, NY. Brenna carried out research for WVU 495-level independent study course credit.)
Behavioral Sciences Category (32 posters)
1st Place: The Effects of Dopaminergic Therapy on Risk-Based Decision-Making following Frontal TBI in Rats. Trinity K. Shaver,* Caitlyn E. Cabral,* Binxing I. Zhu,* Robelle B. Dalida,* Anastasios D. Lake,* Cory Whirtley, Christopher O'Hearn and Cole Vonder Haar(Trinity is a Psychology major from Franklin, WV. Trinity was a participant in the McNair Scholar Program.)
2nd Place: Reducing Prejudice Against Sexual Minorities: Investigating Social Dominance Orientation. Hannah N. Amick,*Holly Fitzgerald and Natalie J. Shook(Hannah is a Psychology major from Beckley, WV. Hannah was a participant in WVU’s Research Apprenticeship Program.)
3rd Place: Effects of post-stroke infections on ischemic stroke outcomes at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital. Maria E. Mace,*Ashley B. Petrone and Candice M. Brown(Maria is an Immunology and Medical Microbiology major from Hurricane, WV. Maria was a participant in WVU’s Research Apprenticeship Program.).
The Second Annual Undergraduate Spring Symposium, which enhances scholarly opportunities for undergraduate students attending West Virginia University, has been enriched by the contributions, funding or otherwise, provided by the WVU programs below. We are deeply appreciative and want to thank all our sponsors for their time, effort and support of scholarly activities at WVU. Thanks to:
- Undergraduate Admissions ( https://admissions.wvu.edu/home)
- Office of Undergraduate Research ( https://undergraduateresearch.wvu.edu/home)
- Biology Department ( https://biology.wvu.edu/)
- American Chemical Society-Student Affiliates ( https://iserve.wvu.edu/agency/detail/?agency_id=78710)
- Undergraduate Intercollegiate Biochemistry Program ( https://biochemistry.wvu.edu/)
- Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP)
- Office of the Provost ( https://provost.wvu.edu/home)
- SpeakWrite ( https://speakwrite.wvu.edu/)
- Honors College ( https://www.honors.wvu.edu/)
- Biochemistry Club
Category winners for the 2018 Undergraduate Spring Symposium held at West Virginia
University on April 14, 2018.
