Students Present Research at Tennessee Academy of Sciences

Belmont biology faculty members Drs. Darlene Panvini, Nick Ragsdale, Chris Barton and Roger Jackson, along with 31 biology, environmental science, biochemistry & molecular biology and neuroscience majors, attended the 125^th Meeting of the Tennessee Academy of Sciences held at MTSU on Nov. 20.

Four Belmont seniors received recognition in the poster sections including:

• Lindsay Millward, 3^rd place in the ecology and environmental science section on her research titled “Differences in leaf pack decomposition rate between invasive exotic and native species in a temperate deciduous forest.”
• Ambrose Rice, 3^rd place in the cell and molecular biology section on his research titled “The effects of increasing dosages of -lipoic acid on the chemotaxis of Caenorhabditis elegans at adulthood.”
• Eeleyah Singh Tanwar, 2^nd place in the health and medical sciences section on his titled “Transcription factor p53 and its regulation of pro-apop­totic gene Bnip3L during heat shock.”
• Parker Tumlin, 2^nd place in the cell and molecular biology section on his titled “Determining C. elegans chemotaxis to cervical cancer and decanal to expand on the nematode scent detection test – a cancer screening system.”

The following research projects were presented at the conference:

• “The Effects of Glucose, Saccharine, Aspartame, and Sucralose on Longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans” by Emily Deas
• “The Effects of Increasing Dosages of α-Lipoic Acid on the Chemotaxis Index of Caenorhabditis elegans at Adulthood” by Ambrose Rice
• “The Effect of Caffeine Concentration and Time of Exposure on C. elegans Locomotion towards an Attractant” by Julisa Nunez
• “The Effectiveness and Precision of Capillary Assays for Caenorhabditis elegans” by Alyssa Tidwell
• “Caenorhabditis elegans and their Habitats” by Jemeilise Guzman
• “Determining C. elegans Chemotaxis to Cervical Cancer to Expand on the Nematode Scent Detection Test – A Cancer Screening System” by Parker Tumlin
• “Appetite-Stimulating Effects of Herbal Root, Gentiana lutea, on Caenorhabditis elegans” by Sarah Trippett
• “The addictive effects of nicotine on Caenorhabditis elegans” by Jud Wisdom
• “Chemotaxis Assay of Caenorhabditis elegans to Bacillus thuringiensis strain 4A4 in Vegetative and Sporulated Growth Stages” by Angel Brothers
• “Biodiversity of macroinvertebrates in a first order spring-fed stream on the Belle Forest Cave property, Bellevue TN” by Walter Burn
• “The relationship between exotic earthworms, exotic plants, and soil and leaf litter invertebrate abundance and diversity” by Sara Haney
• “Differences in leaf pack decomposition rate between invasive exotic and native species in a temperate deciduous forest” by Lindsay Millward
• “Abundance of earthworms relative to leaf litter mass and exotic plant coverage” by Laura Horton
• “Comparisons of water quality and macroinvertebrate diversity in Richland Creek (Nashville, TN) – an urban stream undergoing riparian restoration” by Alexandria Jeffers
• “Biomass and diversity of earthworms is affected by presence of exotic shrubs” by Ayda Porkar-Rezaeieh
• “Decomposition of Acer saccharum and Lonicera maackii leaf litter in a first order stream” by Katlin Stodard
• “Circadian Rhythm Dependence of Habituation in C. Elegans” by Chase Mackey
•  “Potential Protective Effects of Nicotine in C. elegans Treated with 6-OHDA” by Miranda West
• “The Effect on ATP levels of Caenorhabditis elegans from a Staphylococcus aureus Infection” by Parin B. Patel
• “Caenorhabditis elegans response to hyperglycemic and hypoxic conditions post infection with Staphylococcus aureus” by Bryan Eoff
• “Utilization of alpha-lipoic acid as an antioxidant in the presence of 6-OHDA” by Danielle Aument
• “Implications of Parkinson’s Disease in Nematodes Treated with the Insecticide Permethrin” by Dora Geving
• “Role of Fatty Acid Metabolism and the Development of Parkinson’s Disease” by Zara Latif
• “p53 Mediated Regulation of CCNH in Response to Paclitaxel-Induced Mitotic Stress” by Taeler Dahm and Morgan B. Turner
• “A Study of Tumor Suppressor p53’s Potential Role in the Upregulation of MARCKS Transcription” by Nelly Grigorian
• “Effect of p53 Status on S100A13 Expression in Response to Oxidative Stress” by Jeffrey E. King
• “Investigation of the Regulation of CST6 by p53 During Cellular Stress” by Jasmin Mohn and Robin Weyman
• “Transcriptional Regulation of RGS2 by p53 in Colorectal Cancer Cells” by Vian Pulous
• “Transcription Factor p53 and its Regulation of Pro-Apoptotic Gene BNIP3L during Heat Shock” by Eeleyah Singh Tanwar