The Fall 2022 semester at McMurry saw “business as usual” with Research Teams back in full force. Some of the established Research Teams are on hiatus for a spell and new teams have been created to take their place. We always expected this to happen, as the ebb-and-flow of campus responsibilities change the shape and offerings of Research Team activities in any given year. New teams are being fielded in Human Health Science and Chemistry & Biochemistry, areas providing greatly needed lab bench-based research opportunities for students.

This Research Summit will be the final edition organized and hosted by the Partnering for STEM Success grant. With the grant drawing to a close in September 2023, leadership and support for research events such as this one will be transferred to other entities on campus. The success of these events demands that they continue past the end of the grant. This is one indicator that the engagement of students in research at McMurry has been institutionalized due to the grant, as was intended from the start.

In addition to new teams, you will note that there has been an expansion of course-based undergraduate research experiences (research projects conducted within regular courses, known as CUREs). We are excited to see such projects expand into departments where this approach to teaching through research has not been seen before. In many ways, our Partnering for STEM Success grant has expanded research opportunities, emphasis on skills and knowledge emanating from research involvement, and increased excitement in STEM classes.

Don’t forget the Certificate in STEM Research for those whose projects encompass all aspects of research – preparation, execution, analysis, interpretation, and peer-reviewed communication before a professional audience at the state or national level. Look for special recognition in the program below for those students reaching this goal. The Excellence in STEM Research medallion awarded to these deserving students will be worn at Commencement as an indicator of this achievement. These awards are sponsored by corporate partner Intuitive Systems, Inc., maker of VUMIE Online software.

Now, its time to reveal our Fall 2022 Title V STEM Research Summit participants and their projects…

An evaluation rubric useful for scoring each presenter is found here

For our projects listed below, clicking on the Title will take you to the Abstract. There is also a LINK TO POSTER option that will display research posters displayed at the event.

Research Summit Events – December 9, 2022

Poster Presentations (Feel free to visit posters and speak with our student researchers between 1:00 pm until 2:15 pm in Finch Gray Science Center)

“Water Quality of Fountains in Abilene“. Abril Aguayo and Angelica Abila. CURE (Research Methods, McMurry, Wright). LINK TO POSTER

“Mercury in Garden Soil, Plants, and Fruits”. Corbin Stulir, Marcela Munoz, Bailey Speck, Reid Smith, Dustin Ledesma, Calen Kwiatkowski, Aaron Hines, Taya Bridges, Kristina Sullivan, Blaiz Bell. CURE (Public Health, McMurry, Wright). LINK TO POSTER

“Yellow 5 and Yellow 6“. Drew Brown, Tanner Gallimore, Trey Gomez, Remond O’Neal, Dejanea Taylor. CURE (Nutrition, McMurry, Wright). LINK TO POSTER

“Red 40 and Green 3“. Danielle Armstrong, Chloe McLellan, Ryan Behrens, Justin DeLeon. CURE (Nutrition, McMurry, Wright). LINK TO POSTER

“Citrus Red 2 and Red 3“. Kali Flores, Ahmad Al Hendi, McKayla Ferguson, Kennedy Alexander, Isiah Arratia. CURE (Nutrition, McMurry, Wright). LINK TO POSTER

“Blue 1 and Blue 2“. Kelly Hipple, Tori Colman, Morgan Abbott, Andrew McBride. CURE (Nutrition, McMurry, Wright). LINK TO POSTER

“Pollution Plastics and Sustainability“. Philip Yendes and Alejandro Granillo. Cisco Sustainability Research Team (Cisco, Chandrasekharan). LINK TO POSTER

“Natural Product Chemistry: Extraction of Caffeine from Coffee Grounds“. Fox Ballew and Philip Yendes. CURE (Chemistry, Cisco, Chandrasekharan). LINK TO POSTER

“Extraction of Curcumin from Turmeric“. Bhavika Desai and Caylee Parker. CURE (Chemistry, Cisco, Chandrasekharan). LINK TO POSTER

“Citrus Oil from Sweet Oranges“. Caylee Parker, Bhavika Desai, and Alejandro Granillo. CURE (Chemistry, Cisco, Chandrasekharan). LINK TO POSTER

“Breast Cancer Cell Viability in Cyrene and Hydroxamic Acid Derivatives“. Caryn Lawrence. Welch Research (McMurry, Pyenta and Shin). LINK TO POSTER

“Survey of Escherichia coli Isolates from Surface Waters for Shiga-like Toxin Production“. Christopher Brown. Micro Managers Research Team (McMurry, Wilson). LINK TO POSTER

“Observing Various Strains of Related Spore-forming Bacillus with SEM“. Dustin Ledesma. Micro Managers Research Team (McMurry, Wilson). LINK TO POSTER

“Assessing Characteristics of Escherichia coli Isolates from Environmental Sources“. Courtney Mayo and Mateo Herrera. Micro Managers Research Team (McMurry, Wilson). LINK TO POSTER

“Impact of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Functional Movement Screens“. Tyce Alexander, Najwa Campbell, Thomas Cardenas, Hayden Dejean, Bethany Guzman, Thomas Hilliard, Zachary Lambert, Lewis Munro, Haleigh Ray, DeMarea Robinson, Kristin Salas, and Chance Sims. CURE (Kinesiology, McMurry, McMurray). LINK TO POSTER

“Introduction to Artificial Insemination of Beef Cattle“. Megan Keller and Alexis Lovell. Cisco AI Experts Research Team (Cisco, Terry). LINK TO POSTER

“The Ectoparasites of Rodents at Firebase Libby“. Isaiah Ramos. Crab Boyle Research Team (McMurry, Boyle). LINK TO POSTER

“Effectiveness of Utilizing eDNA to Detect the Presence of an Invasive Crab“. Mason Scott. Crab Boyle Research Team (McMurry, Boyle). LINK TO POSTER

“Does Salinity Affect the Appetite of Rhithropanopeus harrisii?“. Samantha Hamilton. Crab Boyle Research Team (McMurry, Boyle). LINK TO POSTER

“Fluorescent Powder Tracking at Firebase Libby“. Keily Caro. Brant Scouts Research Team (McMurry, Brant). LINK TO POSTER

“The Identification of Bacillus subtilis“. Jocalyn Meyer. Biology Senior Capstone (McMurry, Benoit) LINK TO POSTER

“Influence of Salinity on the Functional Feeding Response of Rhithropanopeus harrisii found at Hubbard Creek Lake, TX“. Kristen McCarty. Biology Senior Capstone (McMurry, Boyle) LINK TO POSTER

“Examination of Watershed Characteristics and Blue Catfish Mercury Accumulation in Two Reservoirs“. Faith Archambeau. Blackwell Sustainability Research Team (McMurry, Blackwell). LINK TO POSTER

“Mercury in Salmon from Baranof Island, Alaska“. Reid Brock. Blackwell Sustainability Research Team (McMurry, Blackwell). LINK TO POSTER

“Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Coliform Bacteria in Cedar Creek“. Aaron Hines. Sustainability & Renewable Resources Senior Capstone (McMurry, Blackwell). LINK TO POSTER

“New Ligand Attachments to Chromium Complexes“. Joshua Hewlett. Chemistry Senior Capstone (McMurry, Donnay). LINK TO POSTER

“The Genetic Component of SLE Through the Human Genome“. Jaleigh Morales. Biology Senior Capstone (McMurry, O’Connell). LINK TO POSTER

Oral Presentations (First presentation at 2:30, S226 in Finch Gray Science Center)

“Internship Role as a Psychometric Technician“. Cierra Woodyard and Aubrey Batten. Internship, Psychology (Schneller).

“Internship at Abilene Pediatric Dental Associates”. Reid Smith. Internship, Biomedical Science (O’Connell).

“A Species Survey of Lepidopteran Species at Firebase Libby“. Daniel Ice. Crab Boyle Research Team (McMurry, Boyle).

“Biodiversity of Small Mammals at Firebase Libby”. Bricelynn Sikes. Brant Scouts Research Team (McMurry, Brant).

“Diversity of Herptiles at Firebase Libby“. Luke Marshall. Brant Scouts Research Team (McMurry, Brant).