不良研究所

Twelve students present research at national convention

BOLIVAR, Mo. 鈥� Twelve 不良研究所 biology students recently presented research at the Sigma Zeta National Convention, with Sarah Schwemmer bringing home the Top Scientific Presentation Award for 2022 鈥� the second-straight year an 不良研究所 student has been awarded the top prize.

Sigma Zeta is a national science and mathematics honor society. The society funded 20 research projects for 2021-22 nationwide through a competitive process, with six of the projects awarded to 不良研究所 students. 

Each of the groups also wrote a research proposal, beginning as early as last spring, and each was successfully funded. They presented their research at the Sigma Zeta Convention, hosted by Concordia University, during spring break in March and will present their research during Missouri Beef Days on May 16-21.

鈥淭he students are investing a substantial amount of time,鈥� said Dr. John Murphy, associate professor of biology. 鈥淥n any given week, when we鈥檙e actually collecting data, they may spend 12 or 14 hours with me in a given week.鈥�

Murphy locally owns and operates an 800-acre farm with 200 head of cattle, where students are able to conduct their research.

This year鈥檚 research projects are:

• Ally Parker, a senior biomedical science major from Springfield, and Mary Rose Foster, a senior biology major from Frisco, Texas 鈥� 鈥淓fficacy of Neutralizing Antibody鈥� 鈥� Production of Killed BRD Vaccine in the Presence of MM-90 Injection
• Kate McDonald, a senior biomedical science major from Silex, Sarah Schwemmer, a senior biomedical science major from Goddard, Kan., and Sarah McKenzie, a senior biomedical science major from Springfield 鈥� 鈥淧erceived Effectiveness and Administration of Anthelmintics in Beef Cattle鈥�
• Kailey Weiskopf, a senior biochemistry major from St. Louis 鈥� 鈥淔ree Cortisol Levels in Saliva Samples vs Total Cortisol Levels鈥�
• Nicholas Schulte, a senior biology major with a concentration in biomedical science from Junction City, Kan., and Benjamin Yoder, a junior biochemistry major from Lee鈥檚 Summit 鈥� 鈥淚mmune system response to vaccinations and stress in weaning beef calves鈥�
• Corynn Knight, a senior biomedical science major from Bolivar, and Kaylyn Lofaro, a senior biomedical science major from Springfield 鈥� 鈥淚mmune Response to Modified Live versus Killed BRD Vaccines in Weaning Calves鈥�
• Shelby Smith, a senior environmental biology major from Dexter, and Rachel Brown, a senior biomedical science major from Chandler, Ariz. 鈥� 鈥淭he Effect of Agroforestry on Avian Diversity鈥�

Murphy said the project that Yoder and Schulte presented this year was a product of two-and-a-half years鈥� worth of data.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like a master鈥檚 thesis for them,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淢ost of the projects revolving around all of them have agriculture in them. A lot of it is looking at weaning methods for calves and then development of immune system function. While most of the students are biomedical science students, we utilize cattle as our model organism as their immune system function is similar to humans.鈥�

Schwemmer and McDonald devised a survey that was administered to different cattle producers in the region, talking about the type of wormers they were using.

鈥淲e then collected samples, which Sarah and Kate brought back to the lab to conduct a parasite analysis of the manure,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淲hat we looked for was to see if what producers were reporting they were doing was getting the outcomes that they were expecting from their anti-parasitic treatments. It ended up being pretty interesting. Sounds slightly disgusting, but they actually really enjoyed it by the end.鈥�

Murphy also said part of the Sigma Zeta funding allows for students to have their abstracts published.

鈥淎ll of my students are published authors now,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淎nd, they have the opportunity to present at a national conference, which are things they can put on their r茅sum茅s as they鈥檙e applying to medical school or dental school, etc., and that鈥檚 really, really helpful.鈥�

*Published: 4-12-2022