Kirstin Lucas
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ATTENDANCE AT BIOLOGY-RELATED SEMINARS, MEETINGS, CONFERENCES
On 4/11/16, the Minority Advancement of Premedical Students (MAPS) program hosted Dr. Tennille Presley, who conducted a lecture on the dangers of free radicals in the environment, and how they may play a role in physiological processes, such as aging. Dr. Presley currently teaches physics at Winston Salem State University, and has her own line of beet juice dedicated to providing antioxidants to counteract the effects of free radicals.
On 3/25/2017, Drs. Mesia Steed, Tennille Presley, and Myron Brown of WSSU conducted an event at the Diggs Gallery (WSSU) titled "Musical Notes at the Heart of Biophysics." Connections between the human heart, physics, and music were assessed via participants of the event. Different types of music were played, and the physiology of the human heartbeat (BPM) was measured in response to changes in styles of music played.
On 4/12/16, WSSU collaborated with Wake Forest University to conduct a guest lecture regarding the correlation between cancer dormancy and specific protein receptors; bone morphogenetic protein II (BMPR2), a serine/throenine kinase receptor involved in paracrine signaling, along with BMPR7, show prognostic significance along with SPARC. The lecture credited research to WFU's Drs. Konosuke Watabe, Steven Kridel, Hui-Kuan Lin, KC Balaji, Yong Q Chen, Yusuke Shiozawa, Douglas Lyles, and Elizabeth Tallant.
On 3/19/16, the Minority Advancement of Premedical Students (MAPS) visited UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine's open house to hear from different panelists within the various professional healthcare positions. Dr. Gina Donato gave a "mini med school microbiology lecture" to introduce students to the style of lecturing facilitated in professional school. Topics included the various subdivisions of microbiology, including bacteriology, virology, mycology, and parasitology.
On 3/3/16, guest speaker Dr. Catherine White gave a symposium on "From the Backyard to the Professiorate: an Exciting Road Worth Traveling!" at WSSU. The focus of this discussion was to help students better understand the processes of graduate school and the expectations she was required to meet while pursuing her PhD. The aim of this presentation was to interest more students in the field of STEM-related graduate programs.