Nova Southeastern University’s annual Undergraduate Student Symposium was held on April 6 and 7 and started at noon in the Cotilla Gallery on the second floor of the Alvin Sherman Library.
The Undergraduate Student Symposium’s opening ceremony featured guest speaker Kenneth Dawson-Scully, senior vice president and associate provost of translational research and economic development.
According to a release sent out to students by the university, “The two-day symposium will be filled with exciting events, including an opening ceremony with keynote speaker Kenneth Dawson-Scully, Ph.D., M.Sc., a film festival reception screening submitted short films, poster and oral presentations showcasing student research, and a closing ceremony to wrap it all up. Attendees will be able to speak with students about their projects and connect with the rest of the NSU community.”
Poster and oral presentations took place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Alvin Sherman Library and featured many student-lead research projects.
Katerina Sawickij, senior marine biology major, presented her research on heavy metal contaminants in Sciaenidae family fish in Lake Sabine, Texas.
“I’m looking at about 16 different metals and across fish species. I’m looking at four different species of Sciaenidae, which are drums or croakers. So red drum, black drum, Atlantic Coker and spotted seatrout, and I did get results. I ran IT KMS analysis though another university,” said Sawickij.
Sawickij’s research found that heavy metal containments in muscle and liver tissues exceeded the limits set by FAO and WHO consumption guidelines.
“I think it’s a good opportunity for undergraduates to be able to present their research in a low stress environment that’s among our peers and professors and not the National Conference. The chance to work on our presentation skills before we would go on to national conference or grad school,” said Sawickij.
Erika Cabrera, senior behavioral neuroscience major, presented her research on how bilingualism impacts executive functioning.
Colette Costello, sophomore psychology and behavioral neuroscience major, Jenna Handal, sophomore biology major, and Ramson Munoz, senior biology major, presented their research on the molecular vibrations of way and skin cancer prevention.
“Our project is basically trying to simulate an event in which coupled with the water molecules and see if that is a conventional mechanism in which the body naturally avoids skin cancer. Basically what we do is we make a [simulation] of the DNA system. We do a bunch of snapshots to try to get a better understanding of what’s going on [in the body],” said Munoz.
In addition to student research, the Undergraduate Student Symposium also featured the Undergraduate Film Festival. For more information on the Undergraduate Film Festival see our article in our Arts & Entertainment section on page 7.
