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CANCAS NEWS NOTES
Collegiate Academy of the North Carolina Academy of Science
May- July 2013
Page 1
New CANCAS Officers and Campus
Liaisons
CANCAS Officers and Campus Liaisons for the
2013-2014 year were elected at the Annual NCAS
meeting in April. Positions are still available for
Campus Liaisons from member schools. Please
contact any of the officers if you are interested in
serving.
President
Michael Khayat
Guilford College
khayatmm@guilfor
d.edu
Vice
President
Brenten Bottoms
Barton College
blbottoms@bulld
ogs.barton.edu
Secretary
Kelsey Worthy
Guilford College
kjworthy@gmail.
com
Historians
David Creasman
Campbell
University
Megan Bucek
Mount Olive
College
Campbell
University
Anthony Fata and
Kelly Allen
Elon University
dacreasman1229@
email.campbell.edu
Gabriel Gore,
Guilford College
Logan Bearfield
Lenoir –Rhyne
University
Alicia Vazquez
Mount Olive
College
goregk@guilford.e
du
logan.bearfield@m
y.lr.edu
Campus
Liaison
Campus
Liaison
Campus
Liaison
Campus
Liaison
Campus
Liaison
mpb5860@moc.e
du
Vacancy
afata@elon.edu
kallen17@elon.ed
u
CANCAS/NCAS 2013
Annual Meeting
Derieux Awards
The CANCAS/NCAS Annual Meeting was held at
the University of North Carolina- Pembroke on
April 4-6, 2013. CANCAS members, representing
schools from across the state presented posters and
presentations. Derieux Awards for Excellence in
Undergraduate research were presented at the
banquet and awards Program. Award Recipients in
each category are listed below:
Oral Presentations- Biotechnology, Moleclar
Biology, Microbiology and Cell and Development
1. Sarah Lewis* Jennifer Floyd, Aldo Castilo,
Ann Balance, Lyndsey McIntyre, Cara Paxon
and April Tucker- (Mount Olive). The response
of differentiating colorectal cancer cells to the
DNA topoisomerase II inhibitor, Etoposide.
2. (tie): Kristine Elizabeth Parks (Meredith) and
Janna Nicole Kukelhan. Isolation and
purification of nifN gene from Klebsiella
pneumoniae.
(tie): Agape Lucas (North Carolina A and T),
Darwin Operario, and Eric Houpt.
Development of an efficient real-time PCR
assay for Rickettsia and Ehrlichia bacteria
using Amblyomma americanum DNA
3. Greg A . Swan (Davidson) , and Sophia D.
Sarafova. Identification of a novel,
developmental-stage-specific enhancer in the
Cd4 gene. The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of
everyday thinking. ~Albert Einstein
Derieux Awards cont.
Oral Presentations- Chemistry, Physics,
Science Education and Health Science
1. Melissa. Rhoney (Lenior_Rhyne), The
effect of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) on the
growth of Escherichia coli.
2. (tie): Leah Sigmon (Lenior-Rhyne). The
effect of vitamin E supplementation on
the maintenance of tetanus antibody
levels in Equus caballus.
(tie): Mary Reding (Warren Wilson),
and D. Kahl. Aflatoxins in peanut butter
measured using enzyme linked
immunosorbant assay (ELISA).
3. Nicholas Mangum (Campbell) and
Jason Ezell. Gamma ray emitting
isotopes in the environment and their
relative intensities.
Oral Presentations: Botany, Zoology,
Ecology and Environmental Science
1. Mary Podgorak-Lagro (Catawba) and
Jay Bolin. An evaluation of hybrid
intermediacy in the germination ecology
of Ashe’s Sumac, Rhus asheii (Rhus
michauxii X Rhus glabra).
2. (tie): Krystal T. Payne (Campbell),
Ross A. McCauley, and J. Christopher
Havran. A preliminary phylogeny of the
endemic Hawaiian genus Nototrichium
(Amaranthaceae).
(tie): Chelsea Kay (Warren Wilson)and
P. Bartels. Sexual determination in
freshwater jellyfish Medusae,
Craspedacusta sowerbii, captured in Lake
Fontana, North Carolina.
3. (tie): Amelia Snyder (Warren
Wilson)and J. Brock. Migration of
metals from a coal ash pond into the
sediment of the French Broad River.
(tie): Kristoffer Wild (UNCPembroke), and John H. Roe. Risk and
response of box turtles to prescribed fire.
Poster Presentations: Cell and Development,
Physiology and Microbiology:
1. Allison L. Nogi (Elon U), The effects of
acrylamide (AA) ingestion on liver and sciatic
nerve function.
2. (tie) : Ameya S. Kulkarni (North Carolina State
U), and Mary Beth Hawkins. Investigating the
differential binding affinity of genistein to ERs α
and β using site-directed mutagenesis of ERβb,
an estrogen receptor subtype found in a teleost
fish.
(tie): Franklin Trent Beeninga (North Carolina
State U) and Mary B. Hawkins. Site-directed
mutagenesis of a single amino acid in the ligandbinding domain of teleost ERba alters its binding
affinity to RU486.
3. (tie) Jeffrey R. Lawson (Campbell), Ben Dyer,
and Michelle S. Thomas. Cloning and expression
of the Coxiella burnetii macrophage infectivity
potentiator gene into Escherichia coli.
(tie): Chris Smith (Campbell) , Erin Byrd,
Natalia Goh, Michelle Thomas, Erik Hill and
Sharon Mason. Isolating fluoroquinolone
resistant gram-negative organisms from porcine
fecal matter.
Poster Presentations: Botany, Ecology,
Environmental Science and Zoology:
1. Marlon R. Barber (Catawba), and Constance
Rogers-Lowery. Effects of ocean acidification on
growth of a marine hydroid.
2. (tie): Chantia M. Stewart (Nash Community
College), LaShonda M. Caine, and David A.
Beamer. A phylogeographic profile of the
salamander genus, Pseudotriton.
(tie): LaShonda M. Cain (Nash Community
College), Jessica M. Avila, David A. Beamer,
and Sean P. Graham. Diversification of seepage
salamanders across a complex geologic
landscape.
3. (tie) Jessica M. Avila (Nash Community
College), Brenten L. Bottoms, and David A.
Beamer. Morphological variation within
mountain dusky lineages (Desmognathus).
(tie): Anna Sanford (UNC-Pembroke) and
Patricia Sellers. Plankton diversity of Krinshaw
Pond.
Remember to pay your 2012-2013 dues at the beginning of the academic
year!
WWW.CANCAS.ORG
Derieux Awards cont.
Poster Presentations: Biotechnology, Genomics
and Molecular Biology:
1. Sarah Hafner*, Uzoma S. Ikonne, Marsalis
Smith, Meagan L. Wisniewski, Dennis J. Hoover,
Kishore Viswanathan, Heather Romine, Dennis
L. Wright, and Ben A. Bahr (UNC-Pembroke).
Development of non-peptidyl small molecules
for positive lysosomal modulation and protection
against protein accumulation disorders.
2. (tie): Emellie Andersson ( Mount Olive
College), Andrey Sorokin, and Bradley Miller.
Endothelin-1 signaling via the adaptor protein
p66 Shc in renal glomerular mesangial cells.
(tie): Jordan D. Taylor (North Carolina State
U), and Mary Beth Hawkins. Mutagenesis of
estrogen receptor βa reveals novel role in binding
of RU486.
3. (tie): Anthony F. Fata (Elon) , Brett Schuchardt,
Srikripa Chandrasekaran, and Linda M.
Niedziela. Effect of environmental stressors on
molecular pathways that control ion homeostasis
in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Danio rerio.
(tie): Armando Corona (UNC-Pembroke), ,
Heather Romine, Ebru Caba, Robert C. Elliott,
Hsin-wei Wang, Charles Giardina, Don-Guk
Shin, and Ben A. Bahr. A model of brain damage
to study early and delayed responses with
focused opposing gene profiles that make up the
brain’s response to injury.
Poster Presentations: Behavioral Science,
Chemistry, Health Science and Physics:
1. Rachael Cole (UNC-Pembroke), and Freya Liu.
Handedness of wild capuchin monkeys in
positioning events.
2. Dominick S. DeFelice (UNC-Greensboro),
Caitlin Ross, Michael Simone-Finstroem,
Prachaval Sukumalanand, and Olav Rueppell.
Geographic variation in polyandry of the eastern
honey bee supports division of labour hypothesis
for multiple mating in social insects.
3. William J. Lloyd (Campbell), and Elizabeth D.
Blue. Microwave-assisted transesterification of
(±)Menthol and Methyl-2-chloropropionate.
Yarbrough Research Grant Recipients:
The Yarbrough Research Grants program supports
undergraduate research by providing grants to students
who submit proposals judged meritorious of support.
Approximately 10 grants are awarded annually,
typically ranging from $30 to $500. Recepients for
2012/2013 are listed below:
Fully Funded:
1. Jessica Avila, Nach Community College
2. Hannah Billian, Warren Wilson College
3. Sara Dietrich, Warren Wilson College
4. Austin Patton, Warren Wilson College
Partial Funding:
1. Todd Elliott- Warren Wilson College
2. Michi Steward-Nunez, Warren Wilson College
3. Stephanie Williams- Warren Wilson College
Honorable Mention:
1. Holly Baldwin- Lenoir-Rhyne University
2. Logan Bearfield- Lenoir-Rhyne University
3. Paul Frye- Catawba College
4. Matthew McConnell- Catawba College
5. Christopher Ragsdale-Davidson College
The next round of grants for 2013/2014 are due in
April, 2014. For more details, visit the CANCAS site:
(http://www.ncacadsci.org/CANCAS/Yarbrough.html)
Undergraduate Research Workshop
Planning for the Fall Undergraduate Research
Workshop is underway. More details to come!
www.cancas.org
Stay Informed! If you are a faculty advisor, please
remember to forward the news notes to your
students. If they would like the News Notes to reach
them directly, please have them send a request to
Michele Malotky (mmalotky@guilford.edu)
indicating their name, email and which group (club,
department) with which they are associated
Final Note:
Do you have news to share? All news items,
suggestions and comments can be directed to Dr.
Michele Malokty (mmalotky@guilford.edu)
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