March 16, 2009
CONTACT: Beverly Makhani, Communications
Director, WSU Office of Undergraduate Education,
509-335-6679, makhani@wsu.edu
David F. Bahr, Director, WSU Undergraduate Research,
509-335-8523, dbahr@wsu.edu
WSU Undergraduate Research Names Seven Students to Receive Spring 2009 Weir and Auvil Fellowships
PULLMAN, Wash.—Funding support from the James A. Weir Undergraduate Research Fellowship Fund and the Grady and Lillie Auvil Scholarship and Research Fund will help seven Washington State University students carry out their research projects during spring semester 2009.
“All of these outstanding spring scholarship recipients were among the record 31 students who received Weir and Auvil awards in fall semester,” says David F. Bahr, director of WSU Undergraduate Research, a unit of the WSU Office of Undergraduate Education.
“We were able to renew funding for the seven this semester, supporting their passion to continue their work on a subject that interests them” says Bahr. “Research” goes beyond work performed in a lab, Bahr says; it also includes scholarship and creative activity projects.
Spring applicants were evaluated by judges on four dimensions: a progress report on their fall research activities, information from their faculty mentor, indications their projects would be pursued to completion, and the need of funding to complete that research.
The WSU fellows, their projects, and mentors for spring 2009 are: Weir Fellow:
Brina Lewis, a biology major with an option in entomology from Tacoma whose research is titled “Suicide Gene Therapy Technique Development.” Her mentor is Margaret Black, associate professor, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Auvil Fellows:
Awndre Gamache, a biology major from Yakima whose research is titled “Characterization of Monoclonal Antibody to Trichomonas Vaginalis Surface Adhesins.” His mentor is John F. Alderete, professor and associate director, School of Molecular Biosciences.
Amy Huseby, an English major at WSU Vancouver (WSUV) whose research is titled “Judith or Jezebel? Rhetorical Erasure of Polytheism.” Her mentor is Wendy Dasler Johnson, associate professor, Dept. of English, WSUV.
Tim Lyons, a psychology major from Seattle whose research is titled “Mindfulness, Negative Affect and Communication-Related Anxiety.” His mentors are Michiyo Hirai, assistant professor, Dept. of Psychology, and Jaak Panksepp, professor, Neuroscience Program.
Shantel Martinez, a bioengineering major from Omak whose research is titled “Determining the Location of Genes Contributing to Supersoft.” Her mentor is Lesley Murphy, a technician in the USDA/ARS Wheat Genetics, Quality, Physiology, & Disease Research Unit.
Juan E. Pena, a general biology major from Pullman, whose research is titled “Genetic Characterization of Bacterial Strains Resulting in Onion Bulb Decay.” His mentor is Brenda K. Schroeder, assistant professor, Dept. of Plant Pathology.
Amy Van Nortwick, neuroscience major and Honors student from Conway, whose research is titled “The Relationship Between Neural Activity in the Brain and Regional Blood Perfusion.” Her mentor is Dave Rector, associate professor, College of Veterinary Medicine.