Learning
Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Week features student research presentations
The Science Division held its annual Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Week April 11 – 15 on the campus, featuring the annual Homer A. Anderson Lecture, delivered by alumna Erin Klenk ’05
The week-long event also included poster presentations of undergraduate research findings from across the university’s Science Division, which encompasses biology, chemistry, geology and psychology, as well the interdisciplinary program in neuroscience.
Klenk’s address, titled Navigating Through the Murky Waters of a Post Muskie World, chronicled her professional and academic experiences since graduating from Muskingum with majors in molecular biology, chemistry and mathematics. Currently, she is earning her M.Ed Licensure for Secondary Education and Chemistry. She also holds a master’s degree in immunobiology from the University of Cincinnati.
As a research assistant III in the lab of Charles Samson, M.D., Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Research Foundation, Klenk does research on disease pathogenesis in a mouse model of pediatric Crohn’s disease. She is also the co-author of numerous publications and has presented multiple posters at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the 36thAnnual Autumn Immunology Conference.
Following the Anderson Lecture, the Science Division students made poster presentations of their most recent undergraduate research.
The following students received awards for their research presentations:
First place:
Benjamin A. Pasley ’11 and Derek Simonette ’12 for Volume of Oxygen Uptake Sensory System
Second place:
Alissa G. Anderson ’11 for Embryo Culture of Freshwater Mussels in Artificial Nutrient Media Containing Different Concentrations of Fish Serum to Achieve Transformation of Glochidia to Juvenile Mussels
Third place:
Yixin Cui for The Effects of Carvacrol, Thymol, and P-Cymene on Growth and Protein Synthesis in Bacillius Cereus
Honorable mentions:
Douglas R. McClain ’11, with Dr. Daniel T. Blumstein, for Can Breeding-Bird Density Drive Vocal Individuality? A Preliminary Study
Seth Barrett ’11, with Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Paul Szalay, Synthesis and Characterization of Metal-Organic Frameworks From Aromatic Carboxylates
Also presenting were:
Logan Almasy ’11, Physiological Effects Elicited by Various Questioning Techniques: Implications for Conducting Voir Dire and Interrogation
Kyle Axe ’11, Active and Abandoned Sites of Castor Canadensis on a Reclaimed Strip Mine Site
Seth Barrett ’11, with Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Paul Szalay, Synthesis and Characterization of Metal-Organic Frameworks from Aromatic Carboxylates
Matt Bjelac ’11, Investigation of Salivary IgA Levels as a Predictor of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Division III Collegiate Soccer Players
Elizabeth M. Bullard ’12, with Assistant Professor of Geology Dr. David Rodland, Effects of Polychaete Borings on the Preservation of the Brachipod Bouchardia Rosea
Joe Castle ’12, with Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. Eric Schurter, Fluorescence Studies on Synthesized Naphthalated Lignin
Douglas Caton ’12, with Associate Professor of Geology Dr. Stephen Van Horn, Modeling Effective Fetch in a Small Linear Man-Made Lake using Arcgis and Wrplot View, Salt Fork Lake, southeastern Ohio
John D. Cook ’14, The Process of Landform Denudation as Illustrated by the Erosion Pattern Observed in Guernsey County, Ohio
Alexandria DeVoll ’11, Self-Control and Parenting and the Effects on Deviance
Leah Dobbelaer ’11, It’s Not Like We’re Married”: Reasoning, Influences, and Gender Differences in Romantic Infidelity
George E. Dolney ’11, The Relationships Between Pay Satisfaction and Job Satisfaction: A University Study
Sasha Eby ’11, Effects of Developmental Alcohol Exposure on Isolation Induced Ultrasonic Vocalizations in Rats
Ashley Fox ’12 Jayme Workinger ’12 and Joseph Castle ’12, Determining The Efficiency of Oak Wood Toasting Methods in the Extraction of the Volatile Compound Vanillin
Zack Franks ’12, Emily Boothby ’12 and Carrie Liff ’12, The Effect of Aging on the Chemical Composition of Red Wine
Kristen Fuller ’11 senior, with Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Brian Bergstrom, Effects of Exercise and Caloric Restriction on Cognition and Neuropeptide Y in the Arcuate Nucleus of the Rat
Chip Halko ’11 and Mary K. Richardson ’11, with Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Amy Santas, Utrophin Transcripts in Human Epithelium
Ryan Loe ’11, with Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. Eric Schurter, The Synthesis and Coupling of Dendrites to the Common Phenyl Groups in Lignin Polymers
Alyssa Lowstetter ’12, Attachment Style and The Rate of Forgiveness of a Sexual Transgression
Adrian Matthews ’11, Contrast and Assimilation of Physical Attractiveness on Facebook
Jordan Mayberry ’11, with Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Stephanie Allen, The Role of Toll-Like Receptors in Response to UV-Induced Inflammation
Jenna Parrish ’11, Intraperitoneal Alcohol Injections in Neonatal Rats Induce Hyperacivity
Mary K. Richardson ’11 and Michael Halko ’11, with Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Amy Santas, Investigation of Gene Expression in Epidermis
Jimmy Siford ’12, Estimating The Number of White-Tailed Deer among the Various Habitats at The Wilds
Jonathan Smith ’11, with Assistant Professor of Geology Dr. David Rodland, Dinosaur Paleobiogeography and its Implications for Stegosaur Extinction
Ryan Sparks ’11, with Professor of Chemistry Dr. Ray Rataiczak and Associate Professor of Education Dr. Linda Rogness, Efficiency of Inquiry-Based Learning vs. Traditional Methods in the High School Chemistry Classroom
Heather Stoller ’11 and Douglas Caton ’11, with Associate Professor of Geology Dr. Stephen Van Horn, Predicting Areas of Shoreline Erosion in Salt Fork Lake, southeastern Ohio, Using Digital Elevation Models and Wondninja
Jeffrey P. Storz ’11, Vegetation and Habitat Characteristics of Bobcats and Coyotes on a Reclaimed Surface Mine (The Wilds)
Carson Thomas ’12, Cody Hammond ’12 and Yixin Cui, Design of a Portable Desk Extension
Jessica Walsh ’11, The Child Care Consumer: Understanding Parents’ Search Behaviors and Perception of Child Care Quality
Cally Webster ’12, with Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Amy J. Santas, Determination of the Presence of Neospora Caninum at The Wilds
Allison Wills ’11, with Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Amy J. Santas, Investigation of Utrophin Protein in Epidermis
