Student Research: Posters & Presentations

Muhlenberg students and faculty recently presented at the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) meeting in Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley Molecular and Cell Biology Society symposium held at Allentown’s Cedar Crest College.

By: Kristine Yahna Todaro  Thursday, April 14, 2022 03:31 PM

Lindsey Harris '22 recently presented her research at the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology meeting in Philadelphia.

Earlier this month, students and faculty showcased their scientific findings at two annual gatherings: the ASBMB meeting held as part of Experimental Biology 2022 in Philadelphia on April 2-5 and the Lehigh Valley Molecular and Cell Biology Society symposium held at Cedar Crest College in Allentown on April 6

Three seniors in the research lab of Professor of Biology Amy Hark presented their study of gene evolution in Philadelphia. The research is in collaboration with the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP), a nationwide collaboration of 200+ institutions that integrates active learning into the undergraduate curriculum through Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs).

The students and their research projects are:

Lindsey Harris ‘22, above, Conservation of IIp4, Pdk1 and DACA across Drosophila Species 

Sarah Raab ‘22, above, Conservation of the trbl gene across Drosophila Species: How does structure support function?

Jonah Silverman ‘22, above, whose presentation also included co-authors from the University of Alabama, Examining Rates of Evolution within the Drosophila Insulin Signaling Pathway

In addition, Paige Jones ‘22, above, who works with Professor of Chemistry Keri Colabroy in her research lab, presented Extradiol cleavage of L-DOPA as strategy for natural product biosynthesis

Colabroy and Hark, co-directors of biochemistry, also attended the meeting and co-authored a number of student poster presentations. In addition, Hark presented findings from recent GEP science education research projects alongside colleagues Nik Tsotakos (Penn State Harrisburg), Evan Merkhofer (Mount Saint Mary College) and Maria Santisteban (UNC-Pembroke).

On April 6, Ray Shah '23 gave a talk at the Lehigh Valley Molecular and Cell Biology Society symposium in Allentown. Shah works with Assistant Professor of Biology Giancarlo Cuadra, who also attended the session.

In addition, Lauren Washco '24, above, who works in the Hark Lab, presented a poster titled Drosophila gene conservation within the insulin pathway.