Seven Arkansas Tech University students presented at the 2022 Arkansas Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (AR-INBRE) Conference in Fayetteville on Oct. 21-22.
ATU student Harley Hines of Paris won second place in the invited oral presentation category. He presented “Drosophila Adult Eye Development Depends on Tsh and CtBP Direct Interaction,” an AR-INBRE funded research project he and fellow ATU student Raven Newton of Benton are developing under the supervision of Dr. Surya Jyoti Banerjee, ATU assistant professor of biology.
Two posters created under the leadership of Dr. Suparna Chatterjee and Dr. Suresh Subedi, ATU assistant professors of biology, were displayed by ATU students during the conference.
Hines, Kayla Medina of Russellville and Andurin Rivero of Hialeah, Fla., presented a poster entitled “Investigating Antibacterial Activity of Extracts from Three Native Plant Species in Arkansas.”
Raven Turner of Hot Springs and Katie Huffman of Adair, Okla., shared a poster entitled “Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Native Plants, Aesculus pavia and Celtis laevigata.”
The Hines/Medina/Rivero and Turner/Huffman projects are funded by the undergraduate research scholar award from the Center of Undergraduate Research at ATU.
Hines also collaborated with Elizabeth Martin of Russellville to present a poster entitled “Chemical and Biological Investigation of the Effects of Vinegar Baking Sambucus Canadensis Anthocyanins.” Dr. Chiraz Soumia Amrine, ATU assistant professor of chemistry, is the principal investigator on the project.
“The work done by the ATU undergraduate research students in short time is extremely commendable, and their work will motivate many other students in the STEM program at ATU,” said Banerjee. “These achievements prove that our students are very capable and skillful. With adequate guidance and exposure, ATU students will continue making their mark in STEM and biomedical sciences.”
ATU students who attended the 2022 AR-INBRE Conference attended professional development workshops and discussed their research and possible career paths with Dr. Larry Cornett and Dr. Jerry Ware, professors in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine. Cornett serves as AR-INBRE director, while Ware is AR-INBRE program coordinator.
Twenty-six universities were represented at the conference. Participants traveled from Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Japan and Indonesia.
Learn more about undergraduate research at ATU by visiting www.atu.edu/uresearch.
