CVM Offers Undergraduate Researchers Chance to Practice, Compete
Six NC State students who have worked in the labs of Centennial Biomedical Campus faculty members were recognized for their presentations and ability to communicate the real-world applications of their projects.
For the first time, the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine invited undergraduate participants in its Centennial Biomedical Campus research training program to present their findings in a judged symposium, and three students walked away winners and three with honorable mentions.
The event Monday included 19 students offering flash talks and poster presentations on the work they have done in biomedical research under the mentorship of CBC faculty, senior graduate students, postdoctoral associates and research technicians.
Their projects ranged from “Estimating Cancer Cell Force Generation Under Confinement: A Data-Driven Analysis” by Holly Truong to “Validation of SNPS for Population Assignment of North Carolina’s Black Bears” by Autumn Gates to “ COVID-19 Infection Enhances Susceptibility to Oxidative-Stress Induced Parkinsonism: by Navya Tyagi.
Find a list of all of the abstracts presented here.
The number of undergraduates participating in research at the College of Veterinary Medicine, a graduate-only institution, is growing, thanks to Dr. Kathryn Meurs, the Randall B. Terry Jr. dean of the college. She started the Undergraduate Research Program to nurture the next generation of scientists by giving them early access to the college’s high-level research environment.
“While undergraduates have historically been able to participate in the CVM’s Annual Research Forum, this first-of-its-kind symposium is unique in focusing specifically on the exceptional research conducted by the college’s undergraduate students,” says Shannon Brooks, research training specialist.
The event also included a keynote address from Dr. Fred Gould, distinguished professor emeritus of entomology, on “Thinking Hard about Genetic Engineering,” inviting students to delve into how opinions about new technologies are formed.
Creating opportunities to expand student horizons in research is an important mission of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
“Undergraduate education is key to the future of biomedical research,” says Hannah Lee, a second-year Ph.D. student and Goodnight Doctoral Fellow who is researching nuclear mechanotransduction under Dr. Christophe Guilluy. “For undergraduate students, having opportunities to practice presenting and engaging in discussion around their projects is crucial for their development as researchers.”
Dr. Laurianne Van Landeghem, associate professor in neurogastroenterology, coordinated the symposium to provide a venue for students to practice these skills and to celebrate their work.
“We had undergraduate researchers present posters and give elevator pitches about their research,” said Lee, one of the event organizers. “The judges were CVM faculty from a variety of research disciplines. Scores were based on students’ abilities to communicate the thinking behind their projects, present data they’ve collected, draw conclusions from their findings and to understand how their work has real-world applications.”
Here is a list of winners and the labs where they worked:
- Noah Guertin (Dr. Amit Sharma lab, Department of Population Health and Pathobiology)
- Sabrina Yeh (Sharma lab, PHP)
- Niva Rajpara (Sharma lab, PHP)
Honorable mentions:
- Aditi Ahuja (Dr. Caroline Laplante lab, Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences)
- Jennifer Hong (Dr. Caroline McKinney-Aguirre lab, Department of Clinical Sciences)
- Giovanna Horta (Dr. Nanette Nascone-Yoder lab, MBS)
