Colby-Sawyer College Students, Faculty Present Research at Annual NH-INBRE Conference

Image caption Back row: Maggie Grant, Alex Carp, Kelly Cunningham, Nicholas Genovese, Sophia Loranger, and Ben Steele. Front row: Kerstin Stoedefalke, Chery Whipple, Alycia Ashby, Monika Adhikari, Sophia DeMarco, Meredith Ellis, Grace McLaughlin, and Malik Newcomb.

by Marketing & Communications
Sept. 30, 2021

More than a dozen Colby-Sawyer College students and faculty members presented research during the New Hampshire IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (NH-INBRE) Annual Meeting this summer in Bretton Woods, N.H.

The two-day conference, held at the Omni Mount Washington Resort, brings together students from across the state majoring in areas such as biology, public health, and exercise science as well as their professors to present research on various topics each year.

Colby-Sawyer College was represented by students Maggie Grant ’21, Alex Carp ’22, Kelly Cunningham ’22, Nicholas Genovese ’23, Sophia Loranger ’24, Alycia Ashby ’24, Monika Adhikari ’23, Sophia DeMarco ’22, Meredith Ellis ’23, Grace McLaughlin ’24 and Malik Newcomb ’22, as well as School of Nursing & Health Sciences Professor Kerstin Stoedefalke, School of Arts & Sciences Assistant Professor Chery Whipple and Professor Emeritus Ben Steele.

“The NH-INBRE conferences are a great opportunity for students to show off the research they have done during the year in a professional setting,” said Steele, who serves as the college’s NH-INBRE grant coordinator and principle investigator. “We are very proud of what our students have accomplished and how they presented it to the audience.”

The following projects were presented this year:

  • Effects of PFOA and PFHxA on Skin Fibroblast Cells and PANC-1 Cells in Cell Viability and Migration - Students, Sophia Loranger & Alycia Ashby; Faculty, Chery Whipple.
  • Effects of PFOA and PFHxA on Skin Fibroblast Cells and PANC-1 Cells in Cell Viability and Migration – Students, Sophia Loranger & Alycia Ashby
  • Impact of PFHxA & PFOA Concentration in the locomotor behavior of C. elegans – Students, Meredith Ellis & Monika Adhikari
  • Screening Antimicrobial Peptides Derived from Metazoan Genomes – Students, Alex Carp, Kelly Cunningham & Grace McLaughlin
  • Screening Antimicrobial Peptides Derived from Metazoan Genomes – Students, Maggie Grant & Nicholas Genovese
  • Scleral Lens Treatment for Keratoconus and Corneal Scar: Case Study – Student, Meredith Ellis
  • The Impact of High Intensity Interval Training on Resting Metabolic Rate in College Aged Females – Students, Sophia DeMarco and Malik Newcomb

Whipple explained that students were selected to participate in the conference based on their aptitude to work productively in the laboratory setting and their interest in biomedical research. More than 200 students, faculty and INBRE alumni attended this year’s conference following the cancellation of last year’s live event due to COVID-19.

“One of the requirements is that they present a poster or an oral presentation at the annual NH-INBRE conference,” Whipple said. “While students may feel nervous about attending and presenting at what is usually their very first conference, they inevitably discover how fun it is to share their research and network with others. It is an excellent learning experience that boosts their confidence and provides both career and continuing research support.”

NH-INBRE is a statewide initiative designed to develop a coordinated network of biomedical research and training among nine colleges and universities in New Hampshire. The initiative, led by the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College and the University of New Hampshire, is funded through an Institutional Development Award from the National Institute of Health. Colby-Sawyer has been involved with NH-INBRE since the program’s inception in 2010.