DURANGO, CO – Beginning Wednesday, May 19, Fort Lewis College will welcome some of the best student minds in biology from across the United States and Puerto Rico. The Beta Beta Beta (TriBeta) Biological Honor Society will hold its 2010 Biennial National Convention on campus from Wednesday through Sunday, May 23. Fort Lewis College’s own TriBeta chapter, Epsilon Upsilon, is the official host of the event.

The Convention will offer students and professionals the opportunity to present and immerse themselves in the leading edge of research in the field of biology.

In a special honor, several Fort Lewis College students were selected to present their research at the Convention. The opportunity to present was earned as a result of the excellence of the students’ research and their success in presenting at TriBeta District Convention in April. Four Fort Lewis students will present their work, including:

·         Sara Bombaci, Environmental Biology·         Ashley Kelly, Cellular and Molecular Biology·         Gabe Thom, Cellular and Molecular Biology·         Katie Zortman, Cellular and Molecular Biology.

At the TriBeta District Convention, Fort Lewis College biology students took home six of the twelve awards being offered.

In the Cellular and Molecular Poster Division, Gabe Thom won first place for his work with fellow student, Katie Zortman, investigating the differences in Il-6, the inflammatory cytokine that may serve as an early signal for diabetes in Native Americans and Caucasians. Edlin Jara-Molinar and Heather Dahm earned third place for their work examining the inflammatory molecule, TNFa, in pre-diabetes. Chelsea Bonfiglio received an honorable mention for her investigation of glycosylated hemoglobin in similar pre-diabetic students.

In the Organismal Biology Poster Category, Ashley Kelley took top honors for her work investigating differences in the leukocyte profiles of deer mice infected with Sin Nombre hanta virus to their uninfected counterparts. Edlin was second in this category for work examining how Sudden Aspen Decline affects the prevalence of Sin Nombre virus in wild deer mice.

Finally, in the Organismal Biology Oral Presentations, Sara Bombaci won first place for her presentation examining how avian biodiversity is affected by Sudden Aspen Decline.

“Having actual research experience, having been awarded for that has been really helpful for giving me stuff that I can actually claim experience with for applying to graduate schools,” Sara explains, “and [it] helps me stand out and helps me have something that makes me look a little above and beyond, especially with how competitive [graduate schools are] right now.”

Some of the credit for the students’ work goes to the Fort Lewis College faculty who served as mentors: Dr. Shere Byrd, Dr. Erin Lehmer and Dr. Julie Korb.

Dr. Lehmer was also chosen to speak at the TriBeta Biennial National Convention as one of the keynote speakers for the event. The second keynote speaker will be Fort Lewis College Assistant Professor of Biology and Agriculture Dr. David Blake.

For more information about the TriBeta National Biological Honor Society, visit http://www.tri-beta.org.

Click here for a video interview with FLC biology grad, Sara Bombaci.