- Posted in All University
- Category: Campus News
The College of Science and Technology held its 21st Annual Science Fair and Poster Presentation, supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and donations from CST faculty and staff, on October 29.
More than 140 administrators, faculty, staff, students, and visitors attended, including Interim President Richard Green, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Patricia Ramsey, and Interim Dean Larry Shannon. In addition, 38 students and staff from Young Men and Women In Charge, a foundation that supports young men and women who are economically disadvantaged and underrepresented within STEM fields, were also present.
“For the past 21 years, we have encouraged and facilitated the participation of our students in research internships, some with our faculty, but most with faculty from research-intensive institutions,” said John O. Chikwem, science fair coordinator and principal investigator for Lincoln’s Excellent Academic Program in Science – Transformation. “The research experiences have in turn motivated our students to continue their education after graduating from Lincoln University resulting in almost 30 percent of science students gaining admission to graduate and professional schools after graduation. It is because of our success inculcating this spirit of life-long learning and inquiry that the annual science fair was established.”
Students submitted and presented 30 abstracts across six categories, including: Cell and Molecular Biology; Cancer Biology and Treatment; Plant Biology and Environmental Science; Bioinformatics and Computer applications; Physical, Chemical and Material sciences; and Public Health with three winners and an honorable mention recognized in each. The Ivory V. Nelson Best Poster Award was also awarded as well.
“As president of Lincoln University, I am extremely proud of (the students) and elated by (their) accomplishments,” said Richard Green, interim president of the University. “(Their) participation in this annual event exemplifies (their) commitment to take advantage of all that Lincoln University has to offer.”
Patricia Ramsey, provost and vice president for academic affairs, echoed similar sentiments.
“We are very excited that students have the opportunity to showcase their undergraduate research experiences, where they are able to put theory to practice,” said Ramsey, who is also a STEM professional. “Through these research experiences, students become familiar with the processes of developing research projects, developing understanding of how to analyze and interpret data, learn how to write scientific papers, and gain experience in presenting their research in scientific settings.”
Student discusses science fair presentation.
Winners in each category included:
A. Cell and Molecular Biology:
- 1st Place: Mydirah Littlepage-Saunders. Bile acids as neurotrophic factors.
- 2nd Place: Chinonso Obidike. Acquisition of resistance to BRAF and MEK inhibitors in BRAFV600E positive melanoma.
- 3rd Place: Destiney Taylor. Depletion of Arg & Abl Kinases synergistically promotes motility and 3D growth in prostate cancer cells.
- Honorable mention: Nnedi Agubokwu. Association of lung cancer risk with genetic variants of UGT gene.
B. Cancer Biology and Treatment:
- 1st Place: Nonye V. Ibik. Placenta-specific protein 1 (PLAC1) expression in serous ovarian cancer is significantly influenced by p53 mutation status.
- 2nd Place: Prisca Obidike. Enhancing neuroendocrine cancer therapy via disruption of peroxide balance in cancer step cells.
- 3rd Place: Ayana J. McLaren. Effect of Interleukin-1 pathway blockade on the anti-tumor efficacy of Cetuximab.
- Honorable mention: Siani Snaith. Does androgen stimulation alter PD-L1 expression on prostate cancer cells?
C. Plant Biology and Environmental Science:
- 1st Place: JorDonna A Frazier and Jarrett A. Brown. Jordennus, a Newly Annotated A6 Sub-Cluster Bacteriophage
- 2nd Place: Oyinbarakemi Ndiomu and Deanee Love. Inhibition of plant growth in CowPotsTM.
- 3rd Place: Bria Garcia. Effects of gold nanoparticles on the growth of pathogenic fungi.
D. Bioinformatics and Computer Applications:
- 1st Place: Seighe Edi. Development and characterization of pilot gold standard annotation set for clinical cancer genomics.
- 2nd Place: Benny T. Endoni. Optimizing exome cancer workflows on the bridges supercomputer.
- 3rd Place: Ikuromor Mabel Ogiriki. Development of a web-based visualization tool for exploration of protein topic model.
- Honorable mention: Fiyinfoluwa Gbosibo. Using gene expression data and machine learning to predict the response of ovarian cancer to chemotherapy.
E. Physical, Chemical and Material Science:
- 1st Place: Lisa Mwanza. Applying thermoelectric power generation to whale tracking devices.
- 2nd Place: Kimonni Driver. Developing an ultrasensitive biosensor using silicon nanowires.
- 3rd Place: Uchechi Anyanwu. Stimulation of Copper Indium Diselenide (CIS) nanoclusters for hybrid solar cells using density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory.
F. Public Health:
- 1st Place: Abena Kwegyir-Aggrey. Relationship between impulsity and dependence diagnoses and drug exposure.
- 2nd Place: Jane-Frances C. Aruma. Exploring gender and socioeconomic status differences in smoking behaviors during use of low nicotine cigarettes.
- 3rd Place: Bushauna A. Freeman. What predicts the successful completion of addiction treatment?
- Honorable mention: Tamara D. Jones. Hablamos Unidos (United We Speak).
- The Ivory V. Nelson Best Poster Award: Ms. Nonye V. Ibik
By Eric Christopher Webb, Director, Office of Communications & Public Relations
Photos Courtesy of the College of Science & Technology