NJCU Students Win Big at Science Research Symposium

Three NJCU student teams earned accolades for their research presentations at the William Paterson University Biological and Chemical Sciences Research Symposium. Now in its 11th year, the Symposium provides a forum for undergraduates to present their original research to peers and professors. Students from 34 colleges, universities, and laboratories participated in the competition. Ninety-nine presentations in 11 categories were on display. NJCU was represented by six teams of biology and chemistry students and took honors three categories: Physiology & Toxicology; Cell, Molecular Biology & Genetics; and Biological Sciences. In The Physiology & Toxicology category, “Regulation of Camkii at Inhibitory Synapses by Calcineurin,” was presented by Michael Malkowski and Roxanne Aguilera. Dr. Reed Carroll served as faculty mentor. In the Cell, Molecular Biology & Genetics category, “Post-Transcriptional Processing of Mitochondrial ATP8 Gene: A Potential Cause for S-Type Cytoplasmic Male Sterility in Maize,” was presented by Avisek Parajuli. Dr. Terry L Kamps served as faculty mentor. In the Biological Sciences category, “A Quest to Discover and Identify New Antibiofilm Bacterial Compounds Inhibiting Biofilm Formation in Pathogenic Bacteria,” was presented by Page Rossano, Erick Gonzalez, Carol Ellameh, and Destin Mikouiza-Mbassi. Dr. Meriem Bendaoud served as faculty mentor. Other NJCU student presenters were Christeen Abadir, Jessica Acosta, Merna Bishai, Kevin Colon, Sergio Crespo, Carol Ellameh, Victor Leon, and Julissa Marrero.