Over 85 student researchers gathered to
present their work on January 21, 2006 at the 17th
annual UBRP conference. The diverse topics presented
included human pigmentation genetics, thermotolerance
in plants, and potential drugs for cancer treatment.
UA faculty, staff and students as well as family
members and people from the community came to learn
about student research at the university. With
the wide range of attendees, the conference enabled
participants to hone their ability to communicate
their research to people from numerous backgrounds.
For many young scientists, the event marked their
first conference experience. In addition to university
students, numerous high school students also presented
research. There was also a group of elementary
students who were involved in The Manduca Outreach
Project explaining their findings.
The conference lasted from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and
was divided into three sections, with each presenter
assigned a specific session to remain at their
poster and share their research. For the remaining
two sessions, presenters were able to view the
posters of fellow students. Refreshments were available
throughout the conference.
Dr. James Gentile, President of Research
Corporation,
gave the keynote address,
expressing excitement
for student research and the future of biology.
He noted that university students often bring more
enthusiasm to their presentations than do faculty.
Dr. Gentile emphasized the growing importance of
biology, as evidenced by increased levels of government
funding to understand biological systems at the
molecular level over the past few years. Further,
as science becomes more interdisciplinary, there
are many areas of research now merging with biology.
The conference concluded with the awards ceremony.
Dr. Michael Wells, Professor of Biochemistry, presented
each participant with a certificate and a UA Bookstore
giftcard. Participants were encouraged to keep
their posters up in Life Sciences South for the
week following the conference to allow those unable
to attend the opportunity to view student research.
Check out the conference on line at: http://ubrp.arizona.edu/conferences/06/default.cfm
Kelli Davies, UBRPer in Dr.
Frans Tax’s
lab, Molecular & Cellular Biology
