Tenth Annual Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars
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Last Year’s Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars Table of Contents Schedule of Events ...............................................................................................................2 Welcome from Dr. Diane Snow, Director of Undergraduate Research ..............................3 Welcome from Jay Van Doorn, SPUR ................................................................................4 Keynote Speaker, Eseosa Ighodaro ......................................................................................5 Percussion Performance .......................................................................................................6 Undergraduate Research Abroad Scholarship .....................................................................6 2015 Faculty Mentor of the Year Award Recipients ...........................................................7 Schedule of Oral Presentations ............................................................................................8 Alphabetical Listing of Presenters .......................................................................................9 Departmental Listing of Presenters ....................................................................................26 Oral Abstracts ....................................................................................................................38 Table Abstracts ..................................................................................................................44 Poster Abstracts .................................................................................................................48 2015 Oswald Award Recipients .......................................................................................136 2016 Posters-at-the-Capitol Presenters ............................................................................138 Undergraduate Research Resource Fair ...........................................................................140 Tenth Annual Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars Wednesday April 27, 2016 Memorial Coliseum 3:00-6:00 pm Opening Remarks and Moderator Jay Van Doorn, SPUR President Welcome Dr. Diane Snow, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research Presentation about the Undergraduate Research Abroad Scholarship (UGRAS) Marcel Roman, 2015 Scholarship Recipient Percussion Performance Alex Smith, Percussion Performance Student Presentation of Eighth Annual Faculty Mentor of the Year Awards Society for the Promotion of Undergraduate Research (SPUR) Keynote Speaker Eseosa Ighodaro, MD/PhD Student in the UK College of Medicine Reception, Poster Viewing (Floor) and Oral Presentations (Concourse A & B) Begin Food Preparation: Catering by Donna 2 Welcome to the 2016 Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars!! “Tell me, and I’ll forget Show me, and I’ll remember Involve me, and I’ll understand” - Chinese proverb The Office of Undergraduate Research and all supporting partners welcome you to the 10th Annual Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars (2016) to honor the remarkable achievements of our undergraduate researchers and the unswerving dedication of their UK mentors. Thank you for all you do each day to promote this valuable, high-impact enrichment opportunity! With the rapid growth in the number of students engaging in undergraduate research, we needed to find a place to expand, and are very excited about our new location in Memorial Auditorium for this year’s Showcase. With UK’s tremendous success in 2014 of hosting The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in mind, we have developed a long-term goal to replicate this (a “mini-NCUR) on our campus annually by having all units on campus use the Showcase for their year- end research presentations. As in past years, in this forum, students, faculty, staff, and guests will have the honor of meeting UK’s undergraduate researchers, who will present the results of their scholarly research and creative activities in poster, table, and oral formats. Attendees will also hear from administrators associated with research campus-wide; enjoy a presentation from a former UK student and researcher, Ms. Eseosa Ighodoro, about the benefits of engaging in undergraduate research; learn about the 2016 Oswald Award winners (see www.uky.edu/UGResearch/Oswald); enjoy a special arts performance, and revel in the interactions with colleagues and friends. We are sure that you, like us, will be amazed and intrigued by the diversity, depth and breadth of research projects, by the professional accomplishments of our students, and by the superb mentorship provided by our devoted faculty and staff. While the students are indeed dedicated and highly talented, their success is also dependent on other factors. First, the devotion and mastery of their faculty mentors, who work side by side with these gifted undergraduates to prepare them for the rigors of their chosen careers, and who also work with the Office of Undergraduate Research to help to facilitate our many research programs. We appreciate you! Congratulations to this year’s recipients of the Excellent Undergraduate Research Mentor Awards, and to ALL mentors, who promote student success. Second, our students’ successes are indebted to the hard-working and talented staff of the 1st Generation Scholars Program, The Chellgren Center for Excellence, The Gaines Center, Office of Undergraduate Research, the Robinson Scholars Program, the UK Honors Program, and all others across the UK campus and beyond, who work tirelessly to promote undergraduates and their research endeavors. Our sincere appreciation for your efforts! Please join me in welcoming and congratulating all the undergraduate student presenters at this year’s Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars, who will highlight for you what engaging in undergraduate research and scholarly activities is all about! With admiration and appreciation, Diane M. Snow, PhD Director, Office of Undergraduate Research Director (Interim), UK Honors Program UK Professor of Neuroscience and Endowed Chair, Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center; and Dept. of Anatomy and Neurobiology 3 Welcome from the Society for the Promotion of Undergraduate Research Welcome to the 2016 Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars! We appreciate you taking the time to come out and support all the student researchers on campus. For the past decade, this Showcase has been an opportunity for undergraduates and other members of the community to present the results of their hard work. For the students at UK, it offers them a forum in which they may demonstrate their expertise on their subject and receive the acknowledgement they deserve. For the University of Kentucky, this event showcases the opportunity, curiosity, knowledge, and collaboration that makes UK a leading research university. However, this Showcase would not be made possible without the diligent work of a great many wonderful people. First, I would like to thank all the student researchers for all the hours of thought, creativity, and research they put in this past year; without their dedication, none of us would be here today to celebrate their achievements. Second, I would like to thank the faculty mentors for all the guidance and advice they have provided to our undergraduate researchers. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who helped organize, arrange, and finance this Showcase, especially the Office of Undergraduate Research, the Chellgren Center, Student Government, and the Student Outreach Team. I hope everyone attending tonight enjoys the evening, sees the posters, listens to the oral speakers, and most importantly learns something new. Take this opportunity to channel your curiosity, to experience something outside of your normal field, to continue to support all of our researchers this evening. Finally, I would encourage everyone to take the time to thank whoever it may be that lead you here, to this Showcase, either to present or to be presented to. We hope this will be among the first opportunities of many to enjoy such research and researchers that altogether leads to the betterment of the world. Thank you, Jay Van Doorn President of SPUR 4 Keynote Speaker: Eseosa Ighodaro Since childhood, I have always questioned the world around me as evident in a hand written note from my 8th grade English teacher on an essay assignment, “Always stay true to your inquisitive nature, and keep asking questions.” Throughout my academic training, I have participated in several biomedical research opportunities which have allowed me to continue investigating interesting questions. During my undergraduate training at the University of Kentucky (2007-2011), I participated in numerous research projects spanning the disciplines of chemistry, biochemistry, developmental biology, and neuroimmunology. During the academic years, I spent 4 semesters in a biochemistry lab working with Robert Dickson, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry, studying iron restriction in yeasts with funding from the Appalachian & Minority Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Research Fellowship and Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Research Fellowship. In addition, I spent my summers, conducting research at Stanford University and University de Lille (France) funded by fellowships from the Amgen Pharmaceutical Company and the National Institutes of Health respectively. During these lab experiences, I was trained in molecular laboratory techniques (i.e. western blotting, ELISA, high performance liquid chromatography) and was listed as