Students Present at Research Symposium

Fairmont State University senior biology majors Amanda Reed and Alyssa Childers presented research projects during the 10th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, which is an honors university in the sciences.

Both Reed, who is from Bridgeport, and Childers, who is from Johnstown, Ohio, have continued their research on cardiovascular disease. Both are recipients of an FSU College of Science and Technology/NASA Student Fellowship. Reed, who graduated in December 2007, is planning to continue her education by enrolling in a physical therapy program.

"This research experience has given me great opportunities to interact with many professionals in science," Reed said. "I have really had a lot fun."

Childers, who is scheduled to graduate in May, plans to continue her education by enrolling in optometry school.

"Research has been a really great experience because it has allowed me to utilize the tools that I have acquired while at FSU and apply them to real life situations," Childers said.

During the symposium, Childers placed second in her poster session in the category of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The poster, titled "Analysis of Apoptosis in Human Umbilical Vein Cells Exposed to Homocysteine," was the work of Childers and FSU students Michelle Lindsey and Bonnie Freeman under the direction of Professor of Biology Dr. Mark Flood and Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Sarah Dodson.

Reed presented a poster entitled, "Several Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms are Correlated with Plasma Homocysteine Levels." The poster represented her work, along with that of Lindsey and Freeman under the direction of Flood and Dodson.

Funding for the student stipends came from the FSU NASA Langley grant. Research supplies were provided with a grant made possible by the West Virginia IDeA network for Biomedical Research Excellence.