10th Annual ESC/BRC Research Forum Awards Announced

Two Grand Prize Awards and six Merit Awards were presented to the graduate students. They were selected from among the sixty posters and abstracts submitted by graduate students conducting research related to ecology, the environment and biotechnology at Michigan Tech.

Each center also awarded a Grand Prize to an undergraduate researcher in a separate division of ten undergraduate student submissions this year. The BRC also presented an undergraduate Merit Award.

Graduate Research

$300 Grand Prizes

Biotechnology Research Center
Connor McCarthy (EBE) for “Native Elastin Scaffolds as Blood Contacting Surfaces Incorporating Nitric Oxide Release,” Advisors: Megan Frost and Jeremy Goldman

Ecosystem Science Center
Adam Coble (FFS) for “Both Height and Light Influence Leaf Morphology in Sugar Maple Canopy,” Advisor: Molly Cavaleri

$100 Merit Awards

Biotechnology Research Center
Yiping Mao (SBL) for “Overexpression of microRNA-30d increases insulin biosynthesis and protects against high-fat diet induced glucose intolerances,” Advisor Xiaoqing Tang

Mu Yang (SCH) for “Disulfide-Bond Scrambling Promotes Amorphous Aggregates in Hen Lysozyme and Bovine Serum Albumin,” Advisor: Ashutosh Tiwari

Ecosystem Science Center
Cameron Goble (SBL) for “Assessment of Fish Communities in Tributary Streams of the Big Manistee,” Advisor: Nancy Auer

Mickey Jarvi (FFS) for “Sugar Maple Fine-Root Respiration is Mechanistically Constrained by Adenylate Control,” Advisor: Andrew Burton

Alida Mau (FAE) for “Variation in photosynthetic temperature responses across vertical forest canopy gradients: Comparisons between temperate and tropical trees,” Advisor: Molly Cavaleri.

Justina Silva (FAE) for “Assessment of Spatial and Temporal Sedge Mediated Oxygen Dynamics,” Advisor: Erik Lilleskov

Undergraduate Research

$150 Grand Prizes

Biotechnology Research Center
Keegan Yates (Biomed) for “Decellularization of Fibroblast Cell Sheets for Natural Extracellular Matrix Scaffold Preparation),” Advisor: Feng Zhao

Ecosystem Science Center
Brittany VanderWall (SFRES) for “Leaf Mass Per Area of Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) Varies Seasonally and Across a Vertical Gradient,” Advisor: Molly Cavaleri

$100 Undergrad Merit Award

Biotechnology Research Center
Michael Bostwick (Biomed) for “Biomimetic Adhesive Containing Nanocomposite Hydrogels with Enhanced Mechanical Properties,” Advisor: Bruce Lee

Thank you to the participants, the judges and all who helped with another successful ESC/BRC Student Research Forum.

Published in Tech Today