Ohio University Attendees at the 2015 ARCC, Charleston, WV.
By Debbie Walter, Ph.D. Graduate Student, MCB/Biomedical Sciences
Students of the interdisciplinary graduate program in Molecular and Cellular Biology presented their research at the 2015 Appalachian Regional Cell Conference in Charleston, WV.
The ARCC is a student-run regional conference that began in 2012. Each year the ARCC has attracted nearly 80 young scientists with the main goal of fostering networking and collaboration between postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate students from four universities across three states: Ohio University, Marshall University, the University of Kentucky, and West Virginia University.
Participants have included trainees, professionals and faculty with a broad cell biology background conducting research in basic and translational science. This unique opportunity allows trainees to organize a meeting where we present and discuss our research with colleagues in the Appalachian region, thus providing us insight to what is happening in our own backyard. We encourage high school and undergraduate students from the area to attend, providing them an opportunity to learn about or even discuss their own research at a collegiate level. Our intent is that this will encourage future scientific endeavors.
The universities participating in the 2015 ARCC are at the forefront of biomedical and cell biology research in Appalachia. This conference not only promotes critical thinking of the attendees, but also provides crucial networking opportunities for young scientists that have resulted in meaningful collaborations across universities. By promoting such partnerships between nearby institutions across state lines, the ARCC helps bring added appreciation for research to early career scientists in the Appalachian region. This directly leads to new leadership opportunities and aids in promoting skill development and enthusiasm in younger students, thus increasing the number of students entering post-secondary science majors.
The ARCC was held Nov. 21, 2015, at Marshall University Student Center. The keynote speaker was Dr. Alejandro Sanchez Alvarado from Stower’s Institute for Medical Research. During his career, Dr. Alvarado has studied the molecular mechanisms of tissue regeneration in invertebrates through the development of the planarian, Schmidtea mediterranea, as a genetic model. Additionally, one of his passions has been in training young scientists as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and director of the embryology course at the Marine Biological Laboratory.
Ohio University Presenters
Debra Walter, Graduate Student, MCB/Biomedical Sciences
Title: “Renal Consequences of Coxsackievirus Infection in Non-Obese Diabetic Mice”
Xuan Wang, Graduate Student, MCB/Biomedical Sciences
Title: “Extracellular ATP promotes cancer cell drug resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors by competing for the ATP-binding site of tyrosine kinase”
Amrita Basu, Graduate Student, MCB/Biomedical Sciences
Second Place – Endocrinology 2
Title: “Analysis of Spatial Memory, Genomic and Proteomic Changes in Mouse Models of Altered Growth Hormone Action”
Sarah Metro, Graduate Student, MCB/Biomedical Sciences
First Place – Endocrinology 1
Title: “A first look at unraveling the mechanisms of TLR3 involvement in viral-induced T1DM in NOD mice”
Jonathan Young, Graduate Student, MCB/Biomedical Sciences
Title: “The Effect of Growth Hormone Action on Intestinal Length and Weight”
Reetobrata Basu, Graduate Student, MCB/Chemistry – Biochemistry
First Place – Endocrinology 2
Title: “Effects of Decreased Levels of Growth Hormone Receptor on Human Melanoma Cell Growth ”
Manindra Singh, Graduate Student, MCB/Biomedical Sciences
Title: “Adipokine-Responsive Cytokine Profile of Human Microvascular Endothelial Cells ”
Mark Slayton, Graduate Student, MCB/Biomedical Sciences
First Place – Regeneration, Development and Disease 2
Title: “Involvement of Human Cytomegalovirus UL34 in oriLyt Dependent DNA Replication”
Quyen Luong, D.O., Graduate Student, MCB/Biomedical Sciences
Title: “Effect of Disrupted Insulin and IGF-1 Signaling on the Pro-apoptotic and Anti-proliferative RhoGAP, Porf-2”
Maria Muccioli, Ph.D., MCB ’14, Post-Doc The Ohio State University
First Place – Oral Presentation
Title: “Determining the molecular mechanisms of folate action during neural tube closure”
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