May 3, 2002

Biology symposium provides forum for outstanding research

by Lynette Roberson, A'03, Intern, Offices of Public Affairs and Publications

The 12th annual Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium, held April 5, high-lighted the research of biology students whose interests range from cell processes to evolutionary variations. Many students conducted studies as part of their senior honors thesisa very important step toward graduation. Some students discovered, though, that the presentations were much more valuable than they expected.

Olivia LeDee, biology senior from Acadiana, described the symposium as the "culmination of a student's senior research." However, she was not intimidated or nervous; she had presented her findings in a lichen study on the Galapagos Islands during last year's symposium. LeDee spent nearly a week preparing the paper and statistics for this year's presentationoutside of the year and a half she spent studying "Avian Risk Assessment in Three Dimensions." Her study focused on the ability of birds to react to threats, useful in assessing affects of human advancement in wildlife habitats. Combined with her previous symposium experience, LeDee says the ability of outsiders to understand this study made her very comfortable presenting her work.

Undergraduate research and studying conservation biology has been instrumental in making LeDee a more environment-conscious citizen. She's much more passionate about wetland degradation, for example, since she's learned to recognize it as the greatest threat to coastal hurricane protection. Her research findings also encouraged LeDee to study conservation biology on a graduate level and ultimately affect environmental policy and international development. Until then, she's committed to conducting more environmental research, a love she developed from previous research. Although there are several months before she begins doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota (where she's received a MacArthur Scholar Fellowship), LeDee already has a research project lined up.

Biology senior Mehul Sheth from New Orleans also believes research is one of a student's greatest learning tools, as well as a college-level show-and-tell. "It gives students a chance to practice their skills and show people what they've been doing for the past year," he says. Shethrecipient of the Graduating Senior in Biological Sciences Awardhas excelled in chemistry and biochemistry coursework, which he has applied to genetic research projects. However, sharing his expertise during the symposium proved to be more difficult than he imagined.

Sheth's research topic, "Glycyl-tRNA Synthetase and Transcription Termination in Yeast" (the end of DNA transcription into RNA), is difficult to explain to non-biology majors. He was nervous about the audience's response as well as about the presentation itself, because he was unfamiliar with Microsoft PowerPoint. However, Sheth used his drama experiences from high school to rid him of his stage fright. "I just pretended I was doing a monologue," he recalls. Most attendees grasped his topic fairly well and appreciated his year and a half of research and two-week preparation. Though Sheth says he could spend hours discussing his research, he admits, "It feels really good to be done."

Sheth, like LeDee, also began research early in his undergraduate career. He has worked as a lab assistant for several summers at the Tulane Medical School biochemistry lab. Though he hopes his research will set the stage for future biochemical research, Sheth plans to trade his lab notes for a stethoscope by attending Tulane Medical School in the fall. Further biological research is not in his near future, he says, but he may conduct some medically related studies later.

Other students presenting at the symposium included Crescent Combe, Debra Salvia, Catherine DiGiorgio, Gianna Griffith, Jessica Landry, Deepthi Lingam, Tabitha M. Quebedeaux, Thanh Nguyen, and Linh Nguyen.