Biology

Twenty-three WKU students, including four from the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky, will present their research at the 2016 Posters-at-the-Capitol event Feb. 25 in Frankfort.

In its 15th year, Posters-at-the-Capitol helps to increase understanding of the important role undergraduate research plays in the education of students among those responsible for higher education funding in Kentucky. The program runs from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. (Eastern time) with special remarks in the Capitol Rotunda at 10:45 a.m. (Eastern time). Speakers will include WKU President Gary Ransdell.

• Benjamin McDonald, a senior from London, Jared Walden, a junior from Scottsville, and Bryce Aberg, a senior from Nashville, Tennessee, will present Graphene-based Hybrid Nanocomposites for Aerospace and Renewable Energy Applications: Interfaces and Nanoscale Morphology-Promoted Synergistic Effects. Faculty mentor: Sanju Gupta
• John Robert Bertram, a senior from Jamestown, will present Marketable, Heat-Harvesting Devices for Greener Energy Solutions. Faculty mentors: Matthew Nee and Hemali Rathnayake
• Nolan Calhoun, a Gatton Academy senior from Corinth, will present Incidences of the *6A Variant on Exon 1 and The Single Nucleotide Polymorphism on Exon 7 of the Transforming Growth Factor-Beta Receptor Type 1 Gene in Colorectal Cancer Patients With More Than One Tumor. Faculty mentor: Julia Carter
• Morgan Duff, a senior from Louisville, will present A Study of Chemistry: for Wind Ensemble. Faculty mentors: Michael Kallstrom and Stuart Burris
• Juliana Eovino, a senior from Louisville, will present Women’s Perceptions of Muscular Body Image and Its Impact on Eating Disorders. Faculty mentors: Frederick Grieve and Daniel McBride
• Kelly Fussman, a senior from Hendersonville, Tennessee, will present Outcomes of a Speech & Language Pilot Program for International Students. Faculty mentor: Mary Lloyd Moore
• Madison K. Heine, a senior from Sturgis, and Taylor G. Billings, a senior from Evansville, Indiana, will present New Platinum Compounds May Kill Cancer Without Causing Hearing Side-Effects. Faculty mentors: Michael E. Smith and J. David Monroe
• Nicholas David Henderson, a senior from Lewisport, and Zackary Ronnie Houck, a senior from Dayton, Ohio, will present Architecture Providing a Sustainable Community. Faculty mentor: Shahnaz Aly
• Hayden Hickey, a senior from Louisville, will present Is Workplace Justice Blind? Social Media Use in Employee Selection. Faculty mentor: Amber Schroeder
• Lillian Hoskinson, a senior from Georgetown, will present Tutor in a Bag: Reaching Struggling Readers. Faculty mentors: Nancy F. Hulan and J. Dusteen Knotts
• Jacob Hubbuch, a junior from London, will present Novel Self-Patented Gold Nanoparticles for Antineoplastic Activity. Faculty mentor: Rajalingam Dakshinamurthy
• Abbigail Pace, a senior from Hopkinsville, will present Psychological Distress and Malnutrition Biomarkers are associated with Head and Neck Cancer Progression and Survival. Faculty mentors: Elizabeth Cash, Adam Seibert, Whitney Rebholz and Liz Wilson
• Eura Shin, a Gatton Academy senior from Morehead, and Jenna Ellis, a Gatton Academy senior from Sparta, will present The Development of a Computer Program to Simplify Complex Knot Diagrams using Global Moves. Faculty mentor: Uta Ziegler
• Megan Sircy, a senior from Lafayette, Tennessee, will present Nursing Home Administrators’ Perceived Knowledge of the Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Faculty mentor: Christian Williams
• Katryn I. Steenbergen, a doctoral student from Lucas, will present Functional Performance and Health Knowledge after a Combination Exercise, Health Education, and Bingo Game. Faculty mentor: Jason Crandall
• Paula Stepp, a senior from Oak Grove, will present Novel Self-Patented Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis, Characterization and Antibacterial Susceptibility Testing. Faculty mentor: Rajalingham Dakshinamurthy
• Frankie Wallace, a senior from Georgetown, will present Analytically Assessing the Safety of Innovative Technologies in the Future of Wastewater Treatment. Faculty mentor: Matthew Nee
• Alexandra Wright, a Gatton Academy senior from Union, will present Reactions of Anticancer Analogs with Proteins and DNA. Faculty mentor: Kevin Williams

More: 2016 Posters-at-the-Capitol program booklet; details on WKU, Gatton Academy research projects

Contact: Cheryl Davis, (270) 745-6733