Ashland students present research at national meetings

Several of our undergraduate students were recently on the road at national science conferences giving presentations on their research projects.  Toxicology major Jackie Skiba and Biology major Amy Drossman have been working with Dr. Mason Posner to better understand the function of an eye lens protein that prevents cataracts, one of the leading causes of blindness in humans.  In May Jackie and Amy presented this work at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology (ARVO) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  They are currently continuing their study as paid research assistants in Dr. Posner's lab, and will be co-authors on a science paper announcing their results later this summer.

Biology alum Amy Breslin '09 recently attended the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego, California with her faculty mentor Dr. Andrew Greene to present her independent research on bacterial contamination in honey.  Amy says that:

"as a direct result of my poster presentation, I was able to interact with and make connections with several experts within the world of microbiology, such as members of the FDA, CDC, and St Jude Research Hospital. It was an EXCELLENT experience, and I am very grateful to Dr Greene for helping me to achieve so much as an Undergraduate."

Amy's research was funded by a student fellowship from the ASM, and she credits her research at Ashland for helping her secure her current position in the Microbiology Lab at Sherwin-Williams.  Amy also writes a science blog on diseases and global health.