Research on Parade

Science students balance on the cutting edge

February 20, 2007

Michele Kondracki '07 explains her award-winning poster.

Dickinson students, using slide shows, posters and pointers, recently showcased their cutting-edge biological research at the college's seventh-annual Biology Student Research Symposium.

The symposium, held Feb. 16 in Dana Hall and hosted by the biology department and the biochemistry and molecular biology program, featured graduate-school caliber presentations by the students.

Seven slide-show presentations ranged from a proposal for biosensors that can simultaneously detect salmonella and allergens, to a successful tagging program that enables researchers to track the migratory habits of juvenile lemon sharks near the South Caicos Islands.

Nine poster displays featured an equally eclectic array of research, including descriptions of the influence of topography and temperature on Quercus ilicifolia succession and the effect of caffeine on the feeding responses of gypsy-moth larvae.

Two students each received $50 gift certificates to Market Cross Pub in Carlisle for their presentations. The "best talk" prize went to Meagen Voss '07, who gave a presentation on the localization of metallothionein in rotifers exposed to copper. The best poster award was given to Michele Kondracki '07, who presented details of the oxidative signaling in gastropod metamorphosis.