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USC Aiken Summer Scholars Institute Showcases Undergraduate Research

Aiken, SC (08/01/2019) — The University of South Carolina Aiken hosted its second annual Summer Scholars Institute Symposium, featuring research conducted by undergraduates and their faculty mentors during the summer break.

"The sole purpose of the Summer Scholars Institute is to get our students involved in undergraduate research. We want our students to 'do science,'" said Dr. Chad Leverette, interim dean of the College of Sciences and Engineering.

"They need to apply what they are learning and learn how to think outside of the box by working on cutting-edge research projects.

"For many of our students, it is the first time they have worked independently on a scientific research project with the mentorship of a faculty member."

Undergraduate research is considered a "high impact practice" that has been recognized nationally as increasing student engagement and student learning, Leverette says. It develops critical thinking in students and provides them with professional experience that supports and develops their knowledge of their disciplines. This summer, students and faculty from all units within the College of Sciences and Engineering conducted research. Disciplines explored included psychology, exercise sports science, biology, geology, chemistry, and engineering.

"SSI students' topics range from cutting-edge biomedical research, neuroscience, and exercise science topics to nanotechnology and long term survival of ecosystems," Leverette said.

Several partners throughout the area and across the state funded the Pacers' summer research, making the institute possible for these budding scientists. Generous benefactors included ADP; Savannah River Community Reuse Organization through its Workforce Opportunities in Regional Careers, or WORC grant; and South Carolina IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

"We are only in year two; our hope is to continue to add more external partners and to increase the number of participants in the program to grow the number of professional experiences we can provide our students," Leverette said.

"These professional experiences, coupled with our strong liberal arts core, is a great formula for enabling our students to be successful in professional scientific careers."

He says that USC Aiken hopes to extend the Summer Scholars Institute to high schools next year, allowing some high school students the chance to work on research projects with faculty members. The Pacer undergraduate researchers would serve as mentors to the high schoolers.

Summer Scholars Institute participants included:

Comparison of Physical Fitness, Balance and Physical Function Tests in Normal and Overweight Adults

Hannah Bayrd, exercise and sports science major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brian Parr

Developing a Lentiviral Vector to Express A3G-D128K, a HIV Vif-Resistant Anti-Retroviral Gene

Madison Elizabeth Carelock, biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. William H. Jackson

O2-Dependent Kinetics of the 2,4'-Dihydroxyacetophenone Dioxygenase (DAD) Reaction

Gabrielle Connor, chemistry
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kenneth Roberts

Effects of High Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Inhibitory Control

Deja Daniels, psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alexandra Roach

Determining mPing's Protein:DNA Interactions

Bailey Goldschmidt, a high school student; Dr. Priscilla Redd; and Jacob Reagin
Faculty Mentor: Dr. C. Nathan Hancock

Determining Vegetation Effects on Sulfide Production

Lia Hancock, a high school student
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michele Harmon

Identifying Fecal Pollution in an Urban Watershed in Aiken, SC Using Quantitative PCR

Ana S. Hebert, biology
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Michele Harmon and Dr. James Yates

Towards a Mechanically Entrapped Conjugated Polymer MOF Composite

William Thomas James IV, chemistry, and Dr. Gerard T. Rowe
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nicholas Marshall

Effect of Nanoparticle Surface Area on Thermophysical Properties of Nanofluids

Bradley Clifford Jones III, industrial process engineering
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Titan Paul

Maternal Zygotic Effect on Craniofacial Development

Maureen Kamanga, biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. April DeLaurier

Can Drones Be Used to Estimate Clutch Size in American Wood Storks?

Hannah Shay Mayo, biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kristina Ramstad

Breath Training and Pulmonary Function and Exercise Performance

Janee E. McCarthy, exercise and sports science
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Andrew Hatchett

Determining the Effects of phf21aa in Craniofacial Development in Zebrafish

Lacie Mishoe, biology; Kasey Kreutz, amd Dr. Hyung-Goo Kim
Faculty Mentor: Dr. April DeLaurier

HIV-1-Dependent Expression of Pro-Apoptotic Bax in a Self-Inactivating Lentiviral Vector

Lance Dylan Reynolds, biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. William H. Jackson

Establishing Diversity and Abundance of Benthic Foraminifera in the North Inlet (North Inlet- Winyah Bay Estuary), South Carolina

Sarah Rebecca Shealy, biology major with a geology minor
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kelly Gibson

Using ELISA to Detect Microcystins in Model Constructed Wetlands

Madison A. Smith, biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michele Harmon

Optimizing Tol2 Transposition in Zebrafish

Allison Swiecki, biology
Faculty Mentors: Dr. C. Nathan Hancock and Dr. April DeLaurier

Designing a Vector and Testing the Ability of Revsh8403 to Silence β-gal Activity

Kylie Renee Tager, biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. William H. Jackson

Investigating Protein Binding to mPing

John Timmons, a high school student, and Jacob Reagin
Faculty Mentor: Dr. C. Nathan Hancock

Determining the Role of ldlrap1a in Cholesterol Metabolism in Zebrafish

Kali Wiggins, biology, and Kayce VanPelt
Faculty Mentor: Dr. April DeLaurier

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USC Aiken Summer Scholars Institute Showcases Undergraduate Research

The University of South Carolina Aiken hosted its second annual Summer Scholars Institute Symposium, featuring research conducted by undergraduates and their faculty mentors during the summer break. Several partners throughout the area and across the state funded the Pacers' summer research, making the institute possible for these budding scientists. Generous benefactors included ADP; Savannah River Community Reuse Organization through its Workforce Opportunities in Regional Careers, or WORC grant; and South Carolina IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health.