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Lake Forest, Ill. – Amidst the final week of the fall semester, five Lake Forest College science majors and three professors of biology presented faculty/student collaborative research at the 48th Annual American Society of Cell Biology (ASCB) conference held in San Francisco on December 12-17.

Fewer than 200 undergraduates were invited to present at this international meeting alongside over 8,000 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, scientists, educators, and exhibitors from across the globe. All five students are preparing for scientific careers and plan to pursue a Ph.D., M.D., or graduate degree in health professions.

“Presenting at ASCB was a unique and meaningful experience,” says Julie Wang '09, a biology major. “Though I have attended smaller conferences and symposiums, this was the first time I presented my undergraduate research to such a large academic community. This experience not only gave me the opportunity to learn about the scientific work of others, it also introduced me to the international scientific community. It opened my eyes to the wide variety of work done in the cell biology field.”

Biology major Michael Fiske '10 reflects: “The meeting demonstrated the central idea to scientific progress: sharing your findings promotes progress in the field.The most significant experience came when visitors to my poster gave suggestions on other experiments I might want to pursue to answer some questions my research raised. They also asked me numerous questions on the learning process associated with my work in hopes to improve their own curricula.”

“Lake Forest science departments foster diverse opportunities for in-depth student scholarship,” adds Professor of Biology Shubhik DebBurman. “Given our focus on students as scholars, we take seriously the responsibility to train them to effectively communicate the significance of their findings, often at regional and national scientific conferences. The diversity of molecular genetic, cell biology, and biochemistry research presented by our students at this major conference especially illustrates our strength in engaging students in this interdisciplinary interface.”

Lake Forest College students and faculty members, along with other student co-authors, gave the following presentations:

• Alexandra Charron '09 – “An Allele on Chromosome I Affects C. elegans Pharynx Muscle Cell Morphology.” with research from Elizabeth Pahomov '11 (Professor Pliny Smith, biology)

• Nengding (Julie) Wang '09 – “Telomere Length Regulation during Meiosis in Aspergillus Nidulans” with research from Mithaq Vahedi '08 (Professor Karen Kirk, biology)

• Alexandra Ayala '09 – “Investigation of Endosome/MVB Pathway-mediated Regulation of Alpha-Synuclein Localization, Accumulation, and Toxicity in a Yeast Model Reveals Unexpected Complexity,” with research from Michael White '07 (Professor Shubhik DebBurman, biology)

• Ray Choi '09– “Evaluating Autophagic Regulation of Alpha-Synuclein in a Budding Yeast Model” with research from Alina Konnikova '11, Julian McLain '11 and Michael White '07 (Professor Shubhik DebBurman, biology)

• Michael Fiske '10 – “Investigating Whether Alanine-76 and Serine Phosphorylation Contribute to Alpha-Synuclein Aggregation, Membrane Association, and Toxicity in Yeasts.” with research from Alina Konnikova '11, Stephanie Valtierra '08, Michael Zorniak '07, Michael White '07, and Sara Herrera '05 (Professor Shubhik DebBurman, biology)

• Professors Pliny Smith & Shubhik DebBurman- “EUKARYON: The use of an undergraduate scholarship journal to support inquiry-based pedagogy and strengthen a community of undergraduate scholars”, with research from Shaun Davis '09 and Michael Fiske '10.

• Professor DebBurman also presented “How to Start & Maintain a Research Program at a Small Liberal Arts College,” part of a career developmental series sponsored by ASCB’s Education Committee and Minorities Affairs Committee.

Lake Forest College is a national liberal arts institution located 30 miles north of downtown Chicago. The College has 1,400 students representing 47 states and 68 countries.

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