FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Contact: Susan Tams, Director of Editorial Services, (304) 746-2038
 

Marshall University Students Receive Research Funds

Huntington, W.Va.—Ten Marshall University undergraduate students have been selected to receive funds from West Virginia’s Research Challenge Fund to advance research in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. They began their research projects this week.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) is aimed at undergraduates who are interested in doing research, according to Dr. Michael Norton, professor of chemistry at MU.

“We want undergraduate students to know that research is not only for graduate students, but also for them,” said Norton, who is director of the program.  “This is the time when they start utilizing their research skills in preparation for graduate school.”

Students who will receive funds and their faculty mentors are:

·        Adam Short, Charleston, W.Va.; Biology; Genomic Comparison of Acanthamoeba Isolates from Diverse Environments; mentor, Dr. Wendy Trzyna.

·        Brian Bridgewater, Huntington, W.Va.; Integrated Science & Technology; Small Benthic Fishes of the Upper Kanawha with Substrate Characterization; mentor, Dr. Tom Jones.

·        Camilla Overup, Koege, Denmark; Psychology; Media Priming and Perception of Violent Victimization Risk; mentor, Dr. Paige Muellerleile.

·        Danielle Clark, Huntington, W.Va.; Integrated Science & Technology; Susceptibility of Amino Acids in Albumin and Hemoglobin to Nonenzymatic Attack By D-Galactose and D-Glucose; mentor, Dr. Menashi Cohenford.

·        Eric Martin, Parkersburg, W.Va.: Chemistry; Modeling Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) and Polypropylene Imine (PPI) Dendrimer Fragmentation Patterns Using Ab Inito Methods and Calculations; mentor, Dr. William Price.

·        Joshua Titlow, South Charleston, W.Va.; Biology; Designing a Virtual Postural System with Optimal Compensatory Response to Perturbation; mentor, Dr. Brian Antonsen.

·        Laura Mitchell, Rock Hill, S.C.; Biology; Role of Familiarity in Determining Group Dynamics among Crayfish; mentor, Dr. Brian Antonsen.

·        Terry Boyce, Huntington, W.Va.; Biology; Role of Pten in Oocyte Development; mentor, Dr. Guo-Zhang Zhu.

·        William Kelly, Huntington, W.Va.; Biology; Growth of Chorella for Biological Life Support System; mentor, Dr. Jagan Valluri.

·        William Peterson, Hurricane, W.Va.; Biology, Prostate Cancer and Epigenetics; mentor Dr. Philippe Georgel.

Students will receive stipends totaling $4,000 each and supplies for their research for a period of ten weeks uninterrupted by classes during the summer.  The SURE program, now in its third year, began Monday, May 19 and ends July 28.

For additional information about the SURE program, persons may visit the program Web site at www.marshall.edu/SURE or e-mail Norton at norton@marshall.edu.

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