Trinity Students Present at Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in Tampa

Trinity science students proudly represented the university at multiple conferences this fall. Kimberly Cruz ’18 was awarded first place for her poster presentation on biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences in October, where Trinity classmate Desirae Stewart ’18 received second place for her poster presentation on chemical science.

These students, with Raissa-Audrey Tseumie ’18, Laura Garcia ’18, Taylor Gage and Charlene Valdez ’17, and Dr. Patrice Moss, Clare Boothe Luce Professor of Biology, next traveled to Tampa in November to attend the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students.

Junior Kimberly Cruz gave an oral presentation on her neurobiology research with Dr. Cynthia DeBoy, Clare Boothe Luce Professor of Biology, and two researchers at Children’s National Medical Center. Focusing on multiple sclerosis and enhancing the regeneration of cells, her presentation was titled, “Sox-17 Transgenic Mice Reveal Functional Suppression of Beta-Catenin in Neuroprotection.”

The other students presented posters, including senior Charlene Valdez, who reported on her research on pancreatic cancer that she conducted with several researchers this past summer as an Amgen Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Junior Raissa-Audrey Tseumie presented her research on HIV, which she conducted on a Summer Research Opportunity Program scholarship in the Microbiology Department at the University of Iowa.