2016 Murdock Presenters

Murdock student presenters - group photo

(Front) Karissa Courtney, Emma Honeyman, Anne Macy and Caleb Thompson. (Middle) Cori Domes, Julia Lippert, Genny Roberts, Elizabeth Knodel, Sierra Decker, Braeden Wiebe.  (Back) Jeb English, Charles Mitchell. 

The 2016 Murdock College Science Research Conference was held Nov. 4-5, 2016 in Spokane, WA, and hosted by Gonzaga University. This conference featured undergraduate student researchers from universities around the Pacific Northwest, including 14 from Seattle Pacific. The students were accompanied by Professor of Biology Tim Nelson.

Oral presentation:

Karissa Courtney and Julia Lippert. Blakely Island Deer, the Island Rule, and Developmental Heterochrony. Research mentors: Drs. Cara Wall-Scheffler and Eric Long, Dept. of Biology.

Poster presentations:

Sierra Decker. Shifts in Students' Views about Diversity in Physics. Research mentor: Dr. Abigail Daane, Dept. of Physics.

Cori Domes. Visualization of putative synapses between interneurons VD4 and LPeD1 of the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis using dual fluorescent dye labeling. Research mentor: Dr. Rick Ridgway, Dept. of Biology.

Jeb English. Inhibition of seed germination by willow extracts and salicylic acid. Research mentor: Dr. Ryan Ferrer, Dept. of Biology.

Shamil Hasanov. Identification and characterization of Vasa homologs in the tardigrade Hypsibius dujardini. Research mentor: Dr. Jenny Tenlen, Dept. of Biology.

Simone Herzberg. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Hormonal Changes on ACL Injuries in Women. Research mentor: Dr. Jeanne-Marie Guise, Oregon Health & Science University

Emma Honeyman. The vibrational spectra of potential atmospheric aerosol precursors. Research mentor: Dr. Daniel Schofield, Dept. of Chemistry.

Elizabeth Knodel. Identification of Stem-Loop Motifs in the Secondary Structure of RNA. Research mentor: Dr. Daniel Schofield, Dept. of Chemistry.

Anne Macy. Exploring a novel tool for engaging B cell receptors for use in vaccine development. Research mentor: Dr. Justin Taylor, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Charles Mitchell. Characterization of a novel RNA tertiary interaction found in THF riboswitches. Research mentor: Dr. Wade Grabow, Dept. of Chemistry.

Genny Roberts. Epigenetics of Host-Pathogen Interaction: the Case Study of Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58. Research mentor: Dr. Derek Wood, Dept. of Biology.

Caleb Thompson. Porous Organic Frame Works for Photoredox Catalysis. Research mentor: Dr. Jian Zhang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Braeden Wiebe. Identifying homologs of Notch signaling pathway genes in the tardigrade Hypsibius dujardini. Research mentor: Dr. Jenny Tenlen, Dept. of Biology.