Biology

A research project by WKU biology student Millicent Ronkainen of Hodgenville earned recognition at two recent conferences.

WKU student Millicent Ronkainen’s poster presentation on “Identification and Characterization of an Escherichia coli Bacteriophage Mutant Capable of Growing on a Nonpermissive Host” won first place at the annual meeting of the Kentucky Academy of Science and earned second place at the joint meeting of the Southeastern and Kentucky-Tennessee branches of the American Society for Microbiology.

Ronkainen’s poster presentation on “Identification and Characterization of an Escherichia coli Bacteriophage Mutant Capable of Growing on a Nonpermissive Host” won first place at the annual meeting of the Kentucky Academy of Science and earned second place and a $75 award at the joint meeting of the Southeastern and Kentucky-Tennessee branches of the American Society for Microbiology.

Ronkainen, a member of the Honors College and a FUSE grant recipient, is conducting her Honors thesis research in Dr. Rodney King’s laboratory at WKU.

The 102^nd Annual Meeting of the Kentucky Academy of Science was held Nov. 4-5 at the University of Louisville. The first joint meeting of the Southeastern and Kentucky-Tennessee branches of the American Society for Microbiology was held Nov. 11-12 at the University of North Alabama. More: WKU faculty, students recognized at KAS meeting.

Dr. King acknowledges partial support for this project from an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health Grant 5P20GM103436.

WKU Microbiology Club receives grant

WKU’s Microbiology Club has received a grant from the Kentucky-Tennessee branch of the American Society for Microbiology.

The mission of the WKU Student Chapter of the American Society for Microbiology is to promote student interest and enhance microbiology education at WKU, to further theoretical and practical knowledge of microbiology related research, to provide educational outreach programs to the community, and to promote student participation in local, state and national ASM meetings. The $300 grant from the Kentucky-Tennessee branch of the American Society for Microbiology will support WKU chapter activities.

For information, contact Dr. Rodney King, Microbiology Club advisor, at rodney.king@wku.edu or (270) 745-6910 or contact current club President Mehesan Kumaravelu at mahesan.kumaravelu803@topper.wku.edu

Contact: Rodney King, (270) 745-6910