41st Annual Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium Day

UAlbany Biology 41st Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium Day

On Friday, April 26, 2024, the Department of Biological Sciences held its 41st Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.  At UAlbany, undergraduate science students participating in research for credit play a major role in designing experiments, testing hypotheses, conducting experiments, analyzing data, interpreting results, and finally presenting their conclusions.   All students fulfill the presentation requirement by producing a written scientific paper at the end of the semester and participating in either a poster session or an oral presentation during the Annual Research Symposium.   This year’s symposium featured nineteen posters and six oral presentations, displaying research contributions from various College of Arts and Sciences departments including Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Psychology, as well as institutions such as the College of Nanoscale and Engineering, the RNA Institute, the New York State Department of Health, and Albany Medical College. 

 

Each year, the Symposium is highlighted by the presentation of monetary awards that recognize outstanding research quality and effective communication. This year’s recipient of the Glenn L. Bumpus Award received $1,000 while several oral and poster presenters were each granted $250 as recipients of the Department of Biological Sciences Award for Excellence in Research. Click on the following link for additional information on the Department of Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Program: Undergraduate Bio Research | University at Albany. 

 

The Department would like to recognize the University Auxiliary Services for their generous funding support for this event.  Congratulations to all the 2024 Undergraduate Research Symposium Participants and Awardees!

  • Glenn L. Bumpus Award:

Meghan Stern:  “Periodontal Disease: Genus-Specific Probes and Advanced Imaging Technologies for Bacterial Detection in Canine Dental Plaque” (Research Advisor: Dr. Alex Valm, Biological Sciences, University at Albany, SUNY)

 

  • Department of Biological Sciences Excellence in Research Awards:

For Oral Presentations

 

Syndey Hanson:  “Translation initiation in the SARS-CoV-2 5’ UTR: Canonical or Not?” (Research Advisor: Dr. Gabrielle Fuchs, RNA Institute, Biological Sciences, University at Albany, SUNY)

 

Chai Kam:  “Quantifying the Effect of Polarity on Base-Stacking Energies in Nucleic Acids.”  (Research Advisor: Dr. Ken Halvorsen, RNA Institute, University at Albany, SUNY)

 

For Poster Presentations

 

Sabaa Logman:  “Knockdown of PUS7 impacts on Zika virus infection in cultured cells.”  (Research Advisor: Dr. Cara Pager, Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, SUNY)

 

Meagan McAuliffe:  “Effects of (p)ppGpp, DksA, and Fis on the dksA P2 Promoter Transcription in E. coli”.  (Research Advisor: Dr. Robert Osuna, Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, SUNY)

 

Adam Iqbal:  “Layer-Specific Modulation Hippocampal Function during Circadian Rhythms.”  (Research Advisor: Dr. Annalisa Scimemi, Biological Sciences, University at Albany, SUNY)

 

Emily Suarez:  “Detection of Endothelial Cell Types Following Injury and Regeneration.”  (Research Advisor: Dr. Melinda Larsen, Biological Sciences, University at Albany, SUNY)