Written by Jena Pitman-Leung.
The Division of Science Graduate Affairs group hosted the 2nd annual Brandeis University Undergraduate Science Symposium on Saturday 17th, 2016. More than 60 students representing institutions from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire attended the event, which was held in the Shapiro Science Center. The morning session included research talks from faculty in the Life Sciences (Don Katz, Liz Hedstrom) and the Physical Sciences (Matt Headrick, Christine Thomas), followed by panel discussions with faculty in the Life Sciences (Liz Hedstrom, Bruce Goode, and Maria Miara) and Physical Sciences (Gabriella Sciolla, Isaac Krauss, Jordan Pollack) on how to apply to graduate school. The students then came together for a networking lunch with Brandeis students, postdocs, and faculty. Lunch was followed by a well attended poster session, where 38 students had the opportunity to present their independent research. The day ended by awarding prizes for the best posters in five disciplines. The winners were:
Biology: Rahim Hirani, Hampshire College, “The regulatory role of Beta-Arrestin 1 in prostate cancer cell proliferation”
Neuroscience: Paige Miranda, Wellesley College, “Metabolic Processes Driving Hippocampal Long Term Potentiatio”
Biochemistry: Myfanwy Adams, Wellesley College, “Expression of a Cardiac ATP-sensitive Potassium Channel in a Heterologous Cell Line”
Chemistry: Natsuko Yamagata, Brandeis University, “Exploring the Unexplored: Supramolecular Hydrogels of Retro-Inverso Peptides for 3D Cell Culture”
Physics: Jameson O’Reilly, Northeastern University, “A capillary-mimicking optical tissue phantom for diffuse correlation spectroscopy”
The Division of Science is committed to supporting local undergraduate research, and is excited about the possibility of these bright young scientist choosing Brandeis for their graduate study. We look forward to hosting similar events in the future!
