Students, faculty present at Nebraska Academy of Sciences

The students were Isioma Akwanamnye of Lagos, Nigeria, Corey Griffin of Omaha, Riley Hill of Greybull, Wyo., Abigail Klammer of Juniata, Neb., Spencer Knuth of Holdrege, Neb., Joshua Kruse of Gurley, Neb., Jared Nelson of Gordon, Neb., Thea Rosberg of Wausa, Neb., and Emmanuella Tchona of Republic of Benin. The faculty included Dr. Ann Buchmann, Dr. Mary Keithly, Dr. Michael Leite and Dr. Jeffrey Kiiskila.

Other students who presented virtually included Beau Jersild and Robert Logan Tiensvold of Chadron. Tiensvold won the Nebraska Geological Society prize for best undergraduate paper in the Earth Sciences.

Leite said he was honored to see the student presentations.

“I am proud to have played a part in the education of these talented young scientists,” Leite said.

Klammer and Rosberg are NASA fellows, and Akwanamnye, Kruse, and Tchona are IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) students. INBRE is a statewide grant program that funds Nebraska undergraduates’ research for two years. Akwanamnye, a graduating INBRE student, has been accepted at Case Western where she will be doing graduate-level cancer research.

Keithly said the students did an amazing job presenting their research.

“They presented high-quality research and connected with fellow scientists from other Nebraska higher education institutions. I was very proud of everyone that participated both in-person and online,” Keithly said.

Recent CSC graduates who conducted research and helped write presentations but did not travel to Lincoln included Lelisse Umeta, Feven Hailemariam, Alisha Huynh, and Joseph Keating.

Faculty who contributed to or supervised research, but did not attend the conference include Dr. Tim Keith and Dr. Tawny Tibbits.

PRESENTATIONS

Aeronautics and Space Sciences

An In Vitro Synthesis of Bacillithiol by Klammer and Keithly.

Monoclonal Antibodies in Breastmilk of Vaccinated Women by Rosberg and Keithly.

Applied Science and Technology

Utilizing Yearling Weight and Heifer Pregnancy Expected Progeny Differences for Fertility Selection in Beef Heifers by Jersild and Buchmann.

Biomedical Sciences

NF-kB Signaling in Triple Negative Breast Cancer by Kruse, Akwanamnye, Umeta, Hailemariam, and Buchmann.

Examining the role of Chlamydia Trachomatis in Altering Intro-Golgi Trafficking Kinetics by Akwanamnye and UNMC Associate Professor Dr. Elizabeth Rucks.

Investigating Enzymatic Resistance to Fofomycin by FOSB in Gram-positive Bacteria by Huynh, Keating, and Keithly.

Chemistry

Mitigation of Tooth Discoloration and Enamel Erosion from Chewing Tobacco by Hill and Keithly.

Improving Elephant Toothpaste as an Educational Demonstration by Nelson and Keith.

Earth Sciences

Causes and Mitigation of Iron Deficiency Chlorosis in Soybeans (Glycine Max) by Knuth, Kiiskila, and Keithly.

Water Sampling for the Know Your Well Project in Northwestern Nebraska by Griffin, Tibbits, Leite, and Keithly.

Oil Potential in Western Nebraska by Tiensvold and Leite.

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