Caribbean Region
The Caribbean annual district convention was hosted by Zeta Alpha Chapter on March 21 and 22, 2009. The program was excellent; the field trips and the speaker were marvelous. The delegates of Zeta Beta participated in all of the activities and enjoyed them.
The Zeta Beta chapter won the Chapter History award. [Submitted by Rafael Rivera, Zeta Beta Advisor]
Northcentral District 3
The NC-3 Beta Beta Beta convention was hosted by the Gamma Eta Chapter at Grand View University on April 17–18, 2009 in conjunction with the Iowa Academy of Science held at Des Moines University, located in Des Moines, Iowa. Seven chapters attended the convention; seven papers were presented at three oral sessions. There were 8 poster presentations.
Frank G. Brook Awards:
First Place: Nicole Haese, Gamma Epsilon, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, “The effects of the dietary supplement laucidin on blood glucose levels of diabetic mice.”
Second Place: Jenna Kastenschmidt, Pi Psi Minnesota State University-Mankato, “Purification of isoform specific actin capping protein antibodies and immunofluorescent studies.”
Third Place: Melanie Tyler, Gamma Epsilon, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, “Assaying of lysozyme inhibitor from egg whites.”
Honorable Mention: Allison Boardman and Melissa Deer, Beta, Simpson College, “The Role of Cadherins in regulating cell fate in the Xenopus embryo.”
John C. Johnson Awards:
First Place: Zachary Barnes, Gamma Lambda, Wartburg College, “An Investigation into the Effects of 17-alpha ethinylestrodiol on fathead minnows.”
Second Place: Rachel Firkins and Pooja Patel, Gamma Rho Drake University, “Effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on the threshold and incidence of aconitine-induced cardiac arrhythmias in the anesthetized rat.”
Third Place: Daniel Haus, Pi Psi, Minnesota State University at Mankato, “Intracellular localization of the novel polyglutamine protein KIAAl 946.”
Abstracts can be found in the Proceedings of the 121st Annual Meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science.
[Submitted by Debra Martin, District Director]
Northeast District 2
The Rho Eta Chapter at Moravian College hosted the NE District 2 Annual Conference March 14, 2009. There were 37 attendees from 11 colleges and universities in the District. There were 6 oral presentations and 23 posters presented. The speaker was Dr. Richard Niesenbaum from Muhlenberg College, and the title of his talk was “Life on the edge where (de) fences make good neighbors: A holistic approach to studying the effects of environment on herbivory.”
Brooks Awards:
First Place: Rebecca Holler, Theofiles, A., and Bridge, D., Elizabethtown College, Stress and aging in basal metazoan FOXO regulation in Hydra vulgaris.
Second Place: Marian Gaballah, Baker, M.G. and Lobo, D.H. Contact inhibition alters the .TNK-1 stress response.
Third Place: Tatianna Henderson, Hull, A.K., and Celenza, J. Monmouth University, Identification of Arabidopsis mutants that suppress the cyp83b1 auxin overproduction phenotype.
Johnson Awards for Poster Session 1:
First Place: Bennett Myers and Ward, D.W. Mount Saint Mary's University, Regulation of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation by the adhesive microenvironment.
Second Place: Krystle Hernandez, Kaufer, M., Borst, D., and Lovett, D. The College of New Jersey, Correlation of calcium concentration with methyl farnesoate concentrations in hemolymph of green crabs Carcinus maenas exposed to dilute seawater.
Third Place: Alexannder Fuchs, Hirsh, D.J., Parks, K.A., and Segura-Totten, M. The College of New Jersey, Mapping the binding region of histone H3 on barrier-to-autointegration factor (BAF).
Johnson Awards for Poster Session 2:
First Place: Andrew Mashintonio. Moravian College, Macroinvertebrate diversity in metal contaminated ponds of the Lehigh Gap refuge.
Second Place: Timothy Rosen and Staiger, J. Possible use of the E. coli PhoA gene for identifying different strains of E. coli in freshwater streams.
Third Place: Amanda de Villers, Mashintonio, A., Parrish, A. Moravian College, Ecological assessment of the Fry's Run watershed.
The 2010 Annual Conference will be hosted by the Chi Upsilon Chapter at The College of New Jersey.
[Submitted by George C. Boone, District Director]
