April 27 was a great day for McMurry University, Cisco College, and our Title 5 grant.  Research Team students were joined by Dr. Wilson’s BIOL 3403 students in contributing two oral and 14 poster presentations on their research.  Some were proposals of work they will do in the coming year.  Others were reports on research conducted this year. Topics included…

• collagen X as a facilitator of breast cancer metastasis,
• trends in small mammal populations at Camp Bowie TX,
• strategies for studying bat migration patterns in our region,
• prevalence of invasive crab species in regional lakes,
• biofuels produced from livestock waste,
• mutagenic effects on bacterial antibiotic sensitivity of Bluetooth devices, herbicides, and char from grilling,
• and antibacterial properties of essential oils.

Twenty six students were involved in the work and did excellent work explaining their projects to a large audience of guests and judges.  The competition was so tight that judges will be deciding on winners this coming Monday.  Prizes (and bragging rights) are at stake for the winners.

The Research Festival was held in conjunction with the McMurry Academic Conference, though its location was the Finch-Gray Science Center on the McMurry campus rather than in Old Main.  It is hoped next year’s event will draw entries from outside of Biology – Chemistry, Phyisics, and Kinesiology should all have students (and teams) engaged in research with projects ready to showcase in the Research Festival.