Department of Biology hosts 26th Biology Student Colloquium

The 26th Biology Student Colloquium at Texas State University will be held Friday, Feb. 22 and will feature research presentations from undergraduate and graduate students. 

The TriBeta National Biological Honor Society and the Department of Biology sponsor the colloquium annually on the last Friday of February.

The day-long event showcases research from biology students working alongside faculty members or graduate students. Contributors will present posters or oral presentations. Oral presentations will take place in Supple Science Building, room 116.

Texas State students and their biology research presentations include:

• Oluwadamilare Afolabi - Assessment of Epigenetic Components in the Induction Kinetics of Defense Genes in Arabidopsis thaliana
• Idrees Ahmad - IBR5 and Small GTP-binding Protein Interaction: The Genetic and Molecular Connection to Auxin Signaling
• Carlos Baca - In Vitro Temperature Dependent Gene Expression in Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
• Simon Beymer - Parallel and Nonparallel Patterns of Genetic co-differentiation between a Host-Specific Phytophagous Insect and its Inquiline Parasitoid
• McKenna Bristow - Chemical communication facilitates reproductive coordination in Poecilia latipinna
• Timothy Cioffi - Role of IBR5 in the auxin pathway through interaction with the SCF^TIR1/AFBs complex
• Cory Goff - Higher water temperatures lower physiological health in leopard frog tadpoles
• Stephen Harding - Contemporary and historical perspective of Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, the causative agent of snake fungal disease, in the Nerodia genus.
• Aubri Jenson - Estimating aquifer properties in a coastal karst basin from observations at the water table: Quintana Roo, Mexico.
• Rohit Katti - Role of IBR5-AtNRPB4 interaction in Arabidopsis growth and development.
• Arseniy Kolonin - Urbanization Affects the Stress Physiology and Life-history of Stream Fish
• Logan Maxwell - Barriers to native shrub establishment on abandoned oil and gas pads on the Colorado Plateau
• Meaghan McCormack - Mercury Levels and Seafood Mislabeling in Sashimi Purchased in Central Texas
• Krystie Miner - Physiology, behavior and reproductive success of Gambusia affinis under artificial light at night 
• Thomas Mireles - A Role for ABCC4 in Regulating Pigment Granule Aggregation in Mice
• Ji-Chul Nam - The Arabidopsis Mediator Complex Subunit9, a MORC1 interacting protein, is a positive regulator of plant immunity
• Zachary Nolen - A step towards increasing undergraduate perceived cohesion to science
• Stephanie Nordmeyer - Molecular Analysis of Haemogregarinidae in Freshwater Turtles
• Dinesh Pujara - A DCL1-generated tRNA-derived small RNA is a potential positive regulator in plant immunity 
• Rosa Ramirez - Determining a Host Community for a Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever vector (Ornithodoros turicata) in Central Texas
• Julia Widmer - The Effect of Next Generation Probiotics on the Sporulation of Clostridium difficile
• Shante' Williams - Chemical communication to signal mating readiness in sailfin mollies

Attending faculty will judge student presentations and award prizes in several categories. These categories include “Best Presentation” by a Ph.D. student and master's graduate student, as well as an undergraduate "Best Poster" award.

Additional awards may be given if there are at least three contributions in a given category. The Biology Colloquium Award has been distributed every year, with four recipients in 2018.

Questions can be directed to event organizers Schwinning at schwinn@txstate.edu, Erica Simpson at erica.simpson@txstate.edu or Vince Lopes at vlopes@txstate.edu. More information can be found at www.bio.txstate.edu/Department-Events/Biology-Department-Colloquium.html.