Creating Scientists
Ohio Wesleyan Students Present Results of Summer Research at Sept. 28 Symposium
DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University students shared the results of their on- and off-campus summer research experiences at OWU’s 31st annual Patricia Belt Conrades Summer Science Research Symposium.
The Sept. 28 event, held inside the university’s Schimmel/Conrades Science Center, included poster presentations with more than 40 students discussing their original research and answering questions at the two-hour symposium.
Laura Tuhela-Reuning, director of OWU’s Summer Science Research Program (SSRP), shared her thoughts on the value of such mentored research experiences in the symposium’s abstract book (PDF).
“One of the most rewarding parts of SSRP for me is watching the students grow as scientists, seeing them take command of a research project, and knowing that they are gaining the confidence to speak and act as scientists,” she said. “Science cannot be learned solely from a book. Science must be experienced through research, and at OWU, we encourage students to plunge in, preparing them to be successful researchers both at OWU and at other universities.”
Current Ohio Wesleyan students presenting research and their projects are:
- Spencer Amacher of Blacksburg, Virginia, presented “Prolonged Heart Preservation: Assessment of Cardiac Function With Intermittent Left Atrial Perfusion” conducted at the University of Michigan.
- Nandini Arora of Buckeye, Arizona, presented “Acute Febrile Illness Surveillance for the Epidemiological Investigation of Dengue Viral Infections” conducted at Texas Children’s Hospital.
- Phoenix Ball of Westerville, Ohio, co-presented “Uncovering New Members of the Plant Gravity Signaling Pathway” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Ben Buroker of Saunderstown, Rhode Island, presented “Using Multispectral Remote Sensing for High-Resolution Environmental Mapping in Coastal Costa Rica.”
- Chandler Carr of Washington Court House, Ohio, co-presented “Uncovering New Members of the Plant Gravity Signaling Pathway” and presented “Discovering Relationships Between Gravity-Regulated Genes Through Co-expression Analysis” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Katie Chittum of Hebron, Ohio, presented “Executive Functioning Skill Differences in Homeless Youth Based on Acquired Brain Injury Status” conducted at The Ohio State University.
- Nick Church of Lodi, Ohio, co-presented “Imaging the Stellar Surface of LO Pegasi Using Light-Curve Inversion” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan’s Perkins Observatory.
- Maddie Coleman of Avon Lake, Ohio, co-presented “Uncovering New Members of the Plant Gravity Signaling Pathway” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Hannah Cox of Orange, California, presented “Fighting Aquatic Invasive Plants” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Niladri Deb of Mumbai, India, presented “Contact Resistance of Metals With Tungsten Diselenide” conducted at The Ohio State University.
- Lan Do of Marysville, Ohio, presented “Male Mating Preferences for Familiar and Unfamiliar Females in the Sailfin Molly Fish, Poecilia latipinna” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Brandon Edwards of Milford, Ohio, co-presented “Salinization Effects on Freshwater Zooplankton Communities” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Chase Ellis of Hilliard, Ohio, presented “Internship at The Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity.”
- Ginny Faeth of Clyde, Ohio, presented “The Role of Stigma and Religion/Spirituality in Predicting Parenting Desires and Intentions Among LGBTQ+ Adults” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Keegan Floyd of Hartsville, South Carolina, presented “Assembling the Tropical Tree Genus Xylopia: Analysis of Nuclear DNA Sequences to Determine Evolutionary History” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Emma Foster of Sylvania, Ohio, co-presented “‘Come on Baby, Do the Locomotion’: The Differences Between Male and Female Running Strategies in the Common Wall Lizard,” “What Factors Affect Thermoregulatory Decisions in Wall Lizards?” and “Effects of Lead on Performance Measures in the Common Wall Lizard” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Logan Fraire of Delaware, Ohio, co-presented “‘Come on Baby, Do the Locomotion’: The Differences Between Male and Female Running Strategies in the Common Wall Lizard,” “What Factors Affect Thermoregulatory Decisions in Wall Lizards?” and “Effects of Lead on Performance Measures in the Common Wall Lizard” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Jack Gensler of Toledo, Ohio, presented “Enzymatic Activity & Detection of Nitrifying Microorganisms in Purple Pitcher Plants on Beaver Island, Michigan,” conducted at Central Michigan University.
- Aubrey Gerhardt of East Aurora, New York, presented “Identification and Characterization of New Nematodes” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Hannah Green of Deerfield, Illinois, presented “GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) Acceleration of Machine Learning Inference at the Large Hadron Collider CMS Experiment” conducted at Purdue University.
- Gia Hailu of Viroqua, Wisconsin, presented “Historical Redlining and Present-Day Health Outcomes in Ohio” conducted at The Ohio State University.
- Claire Hammond of Cincinnati, Ohio, co-presented “Determining the Effects of Early Adolescent Stress on Psychiatric-Related Behaviors of C57BL/6J Adult Mice” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Alyssa Head of Houston, Texas, co-presented “‘Come on Baby, Do the Locomotion’: The Differences Between Male and Female Running Strategies in the Common Wall Lizard,” “What Factors Affect Thermoregulatory Decisions in Wall Lizards?” and “Effects of Lead on Performance Measures in the Common Wall Lizard” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Malcolm Henderson of Columbus, Ohio, co-presented “Imaging the Stellar Surface of LO Pegasi Using Light-Curve Inversion” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan’s Perkins Observatory.
- Sophia Holupka of Hillsboro, Missouri, presented “Summer at the Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory.”
- Mindi Klaus of Marion, Ohio, presented “The Role of RPS26-Deficient Ribosomes in Sugar Metabolism” conducted at The Herbert Wertheim University of Florida Scripps Institute for Biomedical Research Innovation and Technology.
- Grace Luxon of Topeka, Kansas, presented “Assessing Differences in Aliger gigas Populations Inside and Outside of the East Harbor Conch and Lobster Reserve” conducted at the Center for Marine Resource Studies.
- Elisabeth Madore of Galion, Ohio, presented “Impact of Legislative Context on Family Formation Decision Making Among LGBTQ+ Individuals” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Gabrielle Magid of Germantown, Maryland, presented “Specialized Sentiment Dictionaries for Human Rights Texts” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Nick Mankowski of Massillon, Ohio, presented “Bridging Software for Accurate Chemical Compliance” conducted at the 3E company in North Canton, Ohio.
- Annie Marazita of Columbus, Ohio, presented “Auditory-Driven Activity in Cell Type-Specific Populations of Mouse Posterior Parietal Cortex” conducted at the University of Pittsburgh.
- Maya Moore of Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, co-presented “‘Come on Baby, Do the Locomotion’: The Differences Between Male and Female Running Strategies in the Common Wall Lizard,” “What Factors Affect Thermoregulatory Decisions in Wall Lizards?” and “Effects of Lead on Performance Measures in the Common Wall Lizard” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Shlok Mundhra of Dimapur, India, presented “RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Control and Management Manipulator” at Worthington Industries in Columbus, Ohio.
- Hassan Mushtaq of Lahore, Pakistan, presented “Traffic Modeling: A Computational Model For Traffic Jams” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Aninditha Nair of Dombivli, India, presented “Assessing the Vulnerability of Coastal Aquifers to Saltwater Intrusion in Arrowsic, Maine,” an Oak Ridge National Laboratory project.
- Audrey Propp of Belmont, Massachusetts, co-presented “Are You Game? Examining the Effects of Video Games on Cognition” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Kaitlyn Quinn of Dublin, Ohio, presented “Moderate Ethanol Exposure Enhances Hippocampus Neuronal Activity in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease” (studying the impact of moderate alcohol use and Alzheimer’s) conducted at the Mayo Clinic.
- Matt Rease of Sunbury, Ohio, co-presented “Are You Game? Examining the Effects of Video Games on Cognition” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Kayla Saikaly of New Franklin, Ohio, co-presented “Determining the Effects of Early Adolescent Stress on Psychiatric-Related Behaviors of C57BL/6J Adult Mice” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Dhruv Sekhawat of Delaware, Ohio, presented “Enhancing Digital Experience and Efficiency at Open Gov Hub and Data-Driven Decision-Making and Outreach at Cialfo.”
- Josephine Stark of Castalia, Ohio, co-presented “Salinization Effects on Freshwater Zooplankton Communities” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Chloe Sullivan of Plain City, Ohio, co-presented “Uncovering New Members of the Plant Gravity Signaling Pathway” and “Utilizing 2’,7’-Dichlorodihydrofluorescein as an Agent to Predict Abnormalities in Gravity Response” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
- Spencer Yates of New Carlisle, Ohio, presented “Antibiotic Properties of Environmental Bacilli and Actinomycetes” conducted at The Ohio State University.
- Jasmyn Zimmerman of Vermilion, Ohio, co-presented “Uncovering New Members of the Plant Gravity Signaling Pathway” conducted at Ohio Wesleyan.
The Summer Science Research Symposium was held as part of Ohio Wesleyan’s second annual OWU Connection Conference. The conference enabled students to share how their participation in the university’s signature experience – the OWU Connection – is helping them to create the personal and professional futures they seek.
The OWU Connection, part of the university’s general education curriculum, is designed to help students think big (understand complex issues from multiple academic disciplines), do good (volunteer to help others), go global (gain international perspective), and get real (translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience through internships, research, and other hands-on learning).
Learn more about the OWU Connection and the Connection Conference at owu.edu/connection and more about the Summer Science Research Program and annual symposium at owu.edu/ssrp.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature experience, the OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to understand issues from multiple academic perspectives, volunteer in service to others, build a diverse and global perspective, and translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience through internships, research, and other hands-on learning. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives” and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “Best Colleges” lists. Connect with OWU expert interview sources at owu.edu/experts or learn more at owu.edu.