By Betsy Rhame, '01

Twelve members of the Tau Xi Chapter of Beta Beta Beta, the honors society for Meredith biology students, attended the annual meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists April 19-21, 2007, in Columbia, S.C. The conference was hosted by the University of South Carolina. More than 900 participants attended the conference and many presented research.

The group of students, which included sophomores, juniors and seniors, was accompanied by Assistant Professor of Biology Karthik Aghoram. Four students presented papers and one student made a poster presentation.

"It gave them a really good experience presenting to people from other places," Aghoram said. "The audience is really a critical audience."

In addition, Meredith College won an award for bringing the most delegates from a college or university to the conference, and two students were elected to the regional board for Beta Beta Beta. Brittany Ross, '08, and Emily Kale, '09, were elected to president and secretary for district one of the southeastern division of the organization, respectively.

Seven other Meredith students attended the conference to observe and Aghoram is hopeful that they will present at next year's conference.

"I think they really learned what it was like to present," he said. "It gave them a feel for how science conferences are run."

Said Ross, "By attending the conference and presenting my research, I was able to get valuable speaking skills at a scientific conference as well as being able to inform people on the progress that I've been making with my project and how it can make an impact."

Funding for the trip was made possible by the Undergraduate Research Program.

Student Presenters

Amy Braden, '07, Elucidation of the Mechanism of Activation of a Protein Kinase.

Sierra Nicole Ellison, '09, Hematocrit Buffy Coat Volume (poster presentation).

Tatiana Quintero-Varca, '07, Expression and Biochemical Characterization of Pyrococcus horikoshii Prolidase Homolog 1 for Potential Use in Organophosphorous Nerve Agent Detoxification.

Brittany Ross, '08, Drought Responses in Plants - The Role of a Lipid-Transfer Protein.