Ļć½¶Ö±²„honors student researchers during annual biology symposium
Contact: James Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.āThree Mississippi State students who conducted faculty-guided research projects throughout the current school year took top awards this month at the 12th annual Ļć½¶Ö±²„Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Program symposium.
First-, second- and third-place winners each garnered Downer Undergraduate Research Awards that honor Professor Emeritus Donald N. Downer of Starkville, a former longtime department head. Recipients include:
FIRSTāSara Tyrrell, a senior biological sciences major from North Augusta, South Carolina. Her project āRNA-Templated Transcription in Viroid Replication: Alternative Splicing and Transcription Factor IIIAā was completed under the guidance of Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Ying Wang.
SECONDāAmber Travis, a senior microbiology major from Ocean Springs. Her project āClassifying the Activity of SP1466 protein in Streptococcus pneumoniaā was completed under the guidance of Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Justin Thornton.
THIRDāJohn C. Vines, a senior biological sciences major from Philadelphia. His project āCharacterizing the RTG2 promoter: Using Rtg2ĪA411 to investigate the mechanism controlling RTG2 transcriptionā was completed under the guidance of Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Donna Gordon.
Each winner received an engraved plaque and cash award. As the first-place recipient, Tyrrell also was presented with an engraved Ļć½¶Ö±²„cowbell.
Wang received the First Place Mentor Award for his support of undergraduate research.
Dr. Cooper Brookshire, an Ļć½¶Ö±²„alumnus and clinical instructor of shelter medicine in MSUās College of Veterinary Medicine, served as the keynote speaker for the symposium at Harned Hall.
Part of the College of Arts and Sciences, MSUās Department of Biological Sciences is online at .
Ļć½¶Ö±²„is Mississippiās leading university, available online at .