Luna Huynh, a chemistry and applied math double major, presented her independent research as part of the requirements to earn Honors in Chemistry. Her computational project was completed under the mentorship of Dr. Michelle Ivey. Luna graduates this December and plans to pursue a graduate degree related to computational chemistry. Congratulations, Luna!
Did you know that the genetic emergence of lactose tolerance may have helped the Mongols defeat the Chinese? Biochemistry senior Aanchal Deol investigated another genetic variant that may predispose peoples exposed to famine conditions to hypertension and diabetes. She focused on higher methylation levels in two genes which creates a higher risk of these diseases. Her project attempted to draw a correlation to historically famine-exposed Chinese populations to modern day impoverished groups within the United States. She presented her work in poster format at the Honors Symposium. This is Aanchal’s second honors project.
Biochemistry senior Ashley Breads presented her original board game, Dogma World that she designed as a study aid to help AP biology students learn about transcription and translation. Ashley is interested in a career in forensics and is currently enrolled in the BS to MFS program.
The Forensic Science Club held a fun “whodunnit” event called Clue Live! this week. As players arrived, they were each given an envelope containing a suspect card, a weapon card and a room card. The players took turns, using the game sheets to take notes and eliminate suspects, weapons and rooms as they played. Play continued until someone decides to make a formal accusation. Once it is made, the accuser looks into the envelope. If correct, the game has been won. If incorrect, the player continues to participate but is not allowed to make another guess. Eventually the murderer was discovered!
Chemistry major Brandan Pruitt interned at ARCpoint Labs, a comprehensive clinical testing lab in Columbia, Maryland. Brandan ran different clinicla tests: DNA, drug screens, and COVID-19 tests. he was also able to learn phlebotomy in order to perform draws and other sample collections for tests that were outsourced. His favorite part of the internship was exposure to laboratory techniques that he didn’t learn through his coursework, and he was really suprised to see how often people still get tested for COVID. He is grateful for the experience that this internship has provided, namely, experience with working in a lab. His career plans will still be in a lab, but he hopes to transition into a forensic laboratory setting.
