More than two dozen Linfield College faculty and staff were among the 400 undergraduate students and professors from the Pacific Northwest who participated in the 22nd annual Murdock College Science Research Conference in Vancouver, Wash., Nov. 7-9.
The conference offered Linfield science and math students an opportunity to share research findings with their peers from other institutions through oral presentations and research posters, and gave faculty an opportunity to provide mentoring.
Sponsored by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, the event is designed for private four-year liberal arts colleges in the region to strengthen faculty and undergraduate student research in the sciences. The conference spotlights student and faculty collaborative research funded by the Murdock College Science Research Program and by other sources such as college research endowments and outside research grants.
Students gain experience talking about their research in front of a large audience, which is invaluable for graduate school, research or clinical work.
Senior Jacob Priester and biology Professor Anne Kruchten gave an oral presentation, “Examination of the folding patterns of the cortactin protein.” Junior Kevin Romero, along with chemistry Professors James Diamond and Elizabeth Atkinson, also gave an oral presentation at the conference. They discussed (+)JQ-1, which has been studied as a potential anti-cancer drug and a possible male birth control.
Other Linfield students who participated in the conference include seniors Emily Davis, Camille Scelfo-Dalbey, Yura Sim, Kylie Nomi, Daniel Namazi, Amy Hammerquist, Addison Wisthoff, Mary Depner, Dylan Bartholomew and Julie Sadino; juniors Austin Browning, Evan Tracy, Malley Nason, Justin Davis, Evan Carlson, Mariah Denhart, Matthew Creech; and sophomores, James Harger, Arun Bajracharya and Tyler Schiewe.
Faculty members representing chemistry, biology and physics also took part in the conference. In addition to Kruchten, Diamond and Atkinson, they include Joelle Murray, Jennifer Heath, John Syring, Catherine Reinke, Chad Tillberg, Jeremy Weisz and Kyle MacLea.
