The 17th Annual Undergraduate Student Symposium

The Farquhar Honors College hosted the 17th annual Undergraduate Student Symposium on April 6, 2018, showcasing research and creative works from students in various disciplines at Nova Southeastern University. The event was held in the Alvin Sherman Library, where students showcased poster and oral presentations. Also recognized were student participants in the Undergraduate Film Festival, the 10th Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition, and the latest issue of Digressions student literary magazine. The symposium is a progressive event widely attended by all members of the NSU community.

The Annual Undergraduate Student Symposium encourages students to showcase their work. For many students, the symposium is their first step in presenting research. Students may choose to go beyond the symposium and present at national conferences or get their research published.

Distinct opportunities for students arose from this event. Qaas Shoukat, junior biology major, presented a poster and noted, “Through doing my research I really learned the process and techniques of how histology works”. He was thankful to have the opportunity to do research with help from his faculty mentor. Kaylee Shen, a sophomore biology major, said “it is inspirational seeing my fellow peers materializing their dreams at the Undergraduate Student Symposium. Although science and art are often seen as opposite subjects, it really felt like they were artists showcasing their masterpieces.”

Click here to view the photos captured at the symposium.

Congratulations to the following undergraduate students who earned awards for their work:

First Place—Poster Presentations

Miguel Portales Guemes | “A Search for Type III Secretion System Inhibitors Produced by Soil Bacteria”

Second Place—Poster Presentations

Kendall Jordan | “Impact of TAS2R38 Gene and Taster Status on Adiposity and Dietary Behaviors”

Third Place—Poster Presentations

Laura Enzinna | “The Effects of Growth Rate on Antibiotic Resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa”

Honorable Mention—Poster Presentations

Michael McDonough | “Investigating the anti-parasitic veterinary drug, Imizol, and its potential use for treatment of bacterial infections”
Stephanie Hernandez, Trixie Berthin, and Morgan Musgrove | “Do Bilinguals have an Advantage Over Monolinguals When It Comes to Executive Functions?”
Aimee Doiron, Rodrigo Muzquiz, and Tom Abraham | “The Balance of Public and Private Benefits Determines Sensitivity to Catastrophic Population Collapse in a Microbial Volunteer’s Dilemma”
Jay Patel and Vineela Nagamalla | “Identifying neuronal damage biomarkers in Bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy (BIPN)”

First Place—Oral Presentations

Samir Nacer and Michael McDonough | “Screening for Type III Secretion System Inhibitors”
Reaghan May | “Examining the Effects of Blue Light on Melatonin, Mood, and Neurobehavioral Performance”
Tanya Juneja, Emily Pope, and Pilar Ferdinando | “Multi-Decadal Assessment of Heavy Metals in Body Tissue and Vibrissae of Select North Pacific Marine Mammals”

Second Place—Oral Presentations

Alexandra Cabanelas Bermudez | “Behavior of Eastern Mosquitofish from Areas of Varying Hydroperiod in the Everglades Ecosystem”
Rakin Khan | “Feasibility of using Bluetooth low energy beacon sensors to detect magnifier usage by low vision patient”
Morgan Will | “Pufferfish Corallivory on the Massive Coral Porites lobate in the Galapagos Islands”

Undergraduate Film Festival