The College of Idaho is thrilled to celebrate the incredible achievements of our students and faculty who showcased their groundbreaking research at the 2024 Murdock College Science Research Conference, held November 8-9. With this year’s inspiring theme, "Saving the Planet through Scientific Research," our students presented innovative ideas that are paving the way for a more sustainable future. We are proud of their contributions to this vital global conversation. Check out the full list of their exciting submissions below, and click the link for more details on their impactful work.
Presentations include:
"Investigating Genetic Diversity of American Chestnut in the Inland and Pacific Northwest" - Kelvin Sakyi, College of Idaho
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Robert Laport
"Conservation of Sagegrouse Species through Chemical Ecology" - Abigail Shaw, College of Idaho
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Carolyn Dadabay
"Bees or Bust: A Biodiversity Survey of the College of Idaho" - Chessa-Grace Foreman, Kellin Hess, and Kaiya Pardue, College of Idaho
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Robert Laport
"The HCN Ion Channel Blocker, ZD7288, Inhibits Synapse Formation During Brain Regeneration in the Flatworm, Dugesia dorotocephala" - Sydney Lierman, College of Idaho
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Thomas Pirtle
"Withaferin A Does not Enhance cFos Expression During Neural Regeneration in the Flatworm, Dugesia dorotocephala" - Jordan Steele, College of Idaho
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Thomas Pirtle
"Interleukin-8 Decreases Intracellular Calcium and Extracellular Matrix Deposition and Increases Senescence in Airway Smooth Muscle Cells" - Cassandra Banks, College of Idaho, Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Sarah Wicher
"Developing MMP-9 Knockout using CRISPR/CAS Technology through Electroporation in WI-38 Cells" - Clara Davis and Ripley Elberfeld, College of Idaho, Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Wendy Harvey
"Tumor Cell Migration and Motility Using a Glioblastoma Model System" - Maura Sweeney, College of Idaho, Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Luke Daniels
"Measuring Extracellular Matrix Deposition & Intracellular Calcium Signaling in Airway Smooth Muslce Cells Following Disruption of MMP-9 Using CRISPR Technology" - Abigail Hyland, College of Idaho, Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Wendy Harvey
"Understanding the Role of Herbivore Liver Enzymes in Metabolizing Dietary Plant Toxins" - Zoey Ingram, College of Idaho Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Carolyn Dadabay
"Characterizing the Metabolism of Plant Defensive Chemicals by Sage Grouse Liver Enzymes" - Aiden Everard, College of Idaho, Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Carolyn Dadabay
"Using Machine Learning to identify Microplastics in the Boise River Basin" - Suthira de Silva Bathige, College of Idaho, Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Rachel Headley
"Pharmaceuticals in freshwater" - Faith Rivera, College of Idaho, Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Rachel Headley
"Microplastics & Water Quality in the Boise River Basin" - Christian Benischek, Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Rachel Headley
"Microplastics in Treasure Valley Idaho Agriculture" - Andrea Price, College of Idaho, Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Rachel Headley
"Reducing Observational Astronomy Time Costs with Multi-Slit Spectrographs" - Abdullah Korra, College of Idaho, Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Katie Devine
"Validation of Wavelength Calibration for the KOSMOS Single-Slit Pipeline" - Asta Shakti Suman Sharma, College of Idaho, Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Katie Devine
"Analyzing Photometry for an Expanded Yellowball Catalog" - Michael Coleman, College of Idaho, Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Kathryn Devine