Home News Brief Minority Science Programs Undergraduates Win Big at National Conferences

Minority Science Programs Undergraduates Win Big at National Conferences

2014_ABRCMS_Winners

Undergraduates participating in research training with the Biological Sciences School’s Minority Science Programs (MSP) received an impressive 17 awards for their research presentations at three national conferences during the fall quarter. The students participate in original research conducted in laboratories at UCI and abroad as part of the MSP training activities supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Twelve MSP trainees received awards at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in San Antonio, Texas. ABRCMS is one of the largest professional conferences for underrepresented students in biomedical sciences, attracting over 1,500 student presenters from 350 U.S. colleges and universities. A total of 210 students presenting research projects at ABRCMS received awards in one of the twelve disciplines in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. UCI had the largest number of awards received by any campus in the U.S. ABRCMS is sponsored by NIH and organized by the American Society of Microbiology.

Three MSP trainees received awards at the Sigma Xi International Research Conference in Glendale, AZ. Sigma Xi is the international honor society for scientists and engineers with nearly 60,000 members including more than 200 Nobel Prize winners. More than 100 high school, undergraduate, and graduate students presented their research at this conference and 24 received awards.

At the national conference of the Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) in Los Angeles, two MSP undergraduates received awards. SACNAS is a society of scientists dedicated to fostering the success of Hispanic/Chicano and Native American scientists—from college students to professionals—to attain advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in science.

2014_ABRCMS_presenters

The following list shows the name of the MSP students who received awards (first author of the poster), the name of the principal investigator and advisor (last author), research title and category of the award for each conference:

2014 ABRCMS Conference

  • Christina M. Michael and Dr. Marcelo Wood (PI). Research Title: The Effects of Exercise Priming on Object Location Memory. Poster category: Neurosciences.
  • Christopher Salazar and Dr. Carles Ubeda (PI from FISABIO Valencia). Research Title: The Characterization and Isolation of Commensal Bacteria from Murine Intestinal Samples. Poster category: Microbiology.
  • Cyril Soliman and Dr. Luis Mota-Bravo (PI). Research Title: The Antibiotic Resistance Profile of Proteus spp. Isolated from the Environment. Poster category: Social and Behavioral Sciences and Public Health.
  • Erick Maglalang, Dr. Lili Mesak, and Dr.Luis Mota-Bravo (PI). Research Title: Antibiotics Produced by Streptomyces clavifer Inhibit Growth against ?-lactam Resistant Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Poster category: Chemistry.
  • Jonathan Abebe, Claudia Weihe, and Dr. Jennifer B.H. Martiny (PI). Research Title: Comparison of Decay Rates of Different Pacific Ocean Cyanophages Measured by Flow Cytometry and Plaque Assay. Poster category: Microbiology.
  • Joshua Arias, Dr. Lili Mesak, and Dr. Luis Mota-Bravo (PI). Research Title: Antibiotics Produced by Streptomyces zaomyceticus Inhibit Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Poster category: Physiology.
  • Josselyn Peña, Dr. Andrey Tatarenkov, and Dr. Luis Mota-Bravo (PI). Research Title: Characterization of Integrons from Aeromonas Bacteria Collected from Streams and Beaches. Poster category: Developmental Biology and Genetics.
  • Kevin Trejo and Dr. Luis Mota-Bravo (PI). Research Title: The Antibiotic Resistance Profiles of Citrobacter freundii Isolated from Environmental Waters. Poster category: Physiology.
  • Kyle Kisor and Dr. Luis Mota-Bravo (PI). Research Title: Klebsiella pneumoniae Beta-lactam Resistance in Environmental Surface Waters. Poster category: Social and Behavioral Sciences and Public Health.
  • Leovi Espitia, Ariel Beroukhim, and Dr. James C. Earthman (PI). Research Title: Development of Percussion Response System for Titanium Femur Implants. Poster category: Engineering.
  • Orangel Gutierrez Fugon, Dr. Lili Mesak, and Dr. Luis Mota-Bravo (PI). Research Title: Butyrophenone Antipsychotics Reverse Ciprofloxacin Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus by Inhibiting the NorA Efflux Pump. Poster category: Social and Behavioral Sciences and Public Health.
  • Priscilla San Juan, Dr. Andrey Tatarenkov, and Dr. Luis Mota-Bravo (PI). Research Title: Characterization of Integrons Present in Environmental Enterobacteriaceae Isolates. Poster category: Molecular and Computational Biology.

2014 Sigma Xi’s Annual Meeting and International Research Conference

  • Christina M. Owens, Renzo A. Samame, and Dr. Scott D. Rychnovsky (PI). Research Title: Synthesis of Key Precursors Towards the Lycopodium Alkaloid (+)-Fastigiatine. Poster category: Chemistry.
  • Eden V. Barragan, Dr. Soleil S. Schutte, Dr. Ryan J. Schutte, and Dr. Diane K. O’Dowd (PI). Research Title: Effects of Serotonin in DS and GEFS+ Knock-in Drosophila. Poster category: Cell Biology and Biochemistry.
  • Michelle Oberoi, Martina Sonego, Dr. Phillip Gordon-Weeks, and Dr. Giovanna Lalli (PI from King’s College London). Research Title: Understanding the Role of Drebrin in Neuroblast Migration. Poster category: Cell Biology and Biochemistry.

2014 SACNAS National Conference

  • David Saldana, Dr. Jack Mottahedeh, and Dr. Harley I. Kornblum (PI from UCLA). Research Title: Novel Polo-like Kinase 4 Inhibitor as a Treatment for Glioblastoma Primary Brain Tumors. Poster category: Biological Sciences.
  • Michael Emami, Dr. Andrey Tatarenkov, and Dr. Luis Mota-Bravo (PI). Research Title: Analysis of Antibiotic Resistance Genes, blaZ and mecA, in Non-clinical Samples of Staphylococcus. Poster category: Biological Sciences.

 

If you’d like to learn more about you can support undergraduate and graduate students at the Biological Sciences School, please contact Andrew DiNuzzo at 949.824.2734 or adinuzzo@uci.edu.

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