The Somerset Room of Warch Campus Center was alive with activity at Biofest as 51 biology, biochemistry, and neuroscience students showed off their Senior Experience projects. With all Lawrentians welcome, students of all backgrounds and majors perused the poster boards and learned from their fellow Lawrentians.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a time for them to shine, both with their communication skills, what they鈥檝e learned about biology, and just what they鈥檝e learned about being in the world as a scientist; It鈥檚 exciting,鈥 said Elizabeth De Stasio, Raymond H. Herzog Professor of Science and professor of biology.
Despite Biofest鈥檚 focus on biology-related topics, students鈥 projects explored a wide range of issues. For example, Zachary Burke, a football player, track and field athlete, and personal trainer, explored exercise-related muscle cramps and how to prevent them.
鈥淏eing a football player, I noticed every game that we play, we have a cramp. It inhibits the way that we play because the moment you catch a cramp, you鈥檒l never be the same player as you were before the cramp,鈥 Burke said.
Using his experience as a personal trainer, Burke analyzed how diet affected the occurrence of cramps, focusing especially on sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
From his findings, Burke said although everyone鈥檚 dietary needs are different, balancing these three nutrients through dietary supplements is a great way to prevent cramps.
On the opportunity to present his project, Burke said, 鈥淚 feel that being able to show this off, I鈥檓 not only doing this research just to do it, this is stuff that I鈥檓 able to use in everyday life. 鈥 I can then help my athletes with their diets as well.鈥
Also at Biofest was Samantha Beller, presenting her research on Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that causes a rare but deadly condition called naegleriasis if it invades the brain.
Learn more here about 杨贵妃传媒视频 programs in biology, biochemistry, and neuroscience.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no treatment for infection 鈥 but we know that these amoebas have a receptor on them that鈥檚 the same as a receptor that humans have, and we know some drugs that will block the human receptors,鈥 Beller said.
She decided to test how these drugs affected the growth of Naegleria fowleri, growing her own colonies of the amoeba to test on. One drug ended up causing more amoebas to grow, but the other was effective at hindering the amoebas鈥 growth.
鈥淚 think Biofest鈥檚 a really good way to practice for grad school, and just a good way to practice communicating science to a larger audience,鈥 Beller said.
De Stasio said communication is what Biofest is all about.
鈥淲e talk in our course a lot about distillation: You鈥檙e distilling the essence of what you did without giving us every single detail, because it鈥檚 overwhelming,鈥 she said.
Biofest, which has become one of the end-of-year academic traditions at 杨贵妃传媒视频, is all about sharing the knowledge and shining a light on student research.
