Senior Scientific Research Presentations

April 17, 2014

Six student researchers at Johnson State College will present their senior research projects from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, in 207 Bentley Hall. The event is open to the public and features these topics and presenters:

• “A Bioinformatics Approach to Investigating Microbial Community Structure,” presented by biology senior Erika English, whose work with Professor Elizabeth Dolci, Ph.D., focused on microbes living in a pond at the former Vermont Asbestos Group mine in north-central Vermont.

• “The Effect of Storm Events on Phosphorus Concentrations Influenced by Land Use in Lamoille River Tributaries,” presented by biology senior Abby Murphy of Dracut, Mass., supported in her research by Professor Robert Genter, Ph.D.

• “Modeling Wildlife Corridors in Vermont Using the Eastern Bobcat as a Keystone Species,” presented by senior Colin Santee of Fairfax, a biology-field naturalist major mentored by Instructor Kevin Johnston, Ph.D.

• “A Comparative Study of Local Climates in Vermont from 2000-2013,” presented by Brittany McCarthy, a senior from North Troy majoring in integrated environmental science, supported in her research by Professor Tania Bacchus, Ph.D.

• “Comparing the Psychophysiological Effects of Exercise and Biofeedback Training,” presented by Melissa Rixon of Rutland and Emily Sokolowski of Elmira, N.Y., both majoring in wellness and alternative medicine and working with Associate Professor Amy Welch, Ph.D., on their research.

Each presentation will follow the standard academic format of a 10-minute slide presentation outlining the questions the researchers sought to answer, the design of their experiments, and the results from their studies.

“These annual senior research presentations showcase the broad array of quality science we are conducting at JSC – much of it involving students who work in the labs and gain hands-on experience in scholarly research,” said Hans Haverkamp, Ph.D., associate professor of health sciences and coordinator of JSC’s Exercise Physiology Laboratory.

“Several of our faculty are funded by external grants, and students are working on that research in our science labs all year round – full time in the summer and part time during the school year,” Haverkamp added. “Our annual student research presentations demonstrate that there are all kinds of opportunities at Johnson State for students to conduct high-level scientific research in biology, environmental science, and the health sciences – and to gain tremendous professional training and experience in the process.”