Jessica Stevens ’09 Earns First Place Honors at Undergraduate Science Research Symposium

(New York, NY) Jessica Stevens ’09 earned first place honors at the University of Maryland’s 11th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium on October 11, 2008. Stevens participated in the poster competition for the Chemical and Biological Sciences. She presented her project: “CDK5: A Contributor to the Insulin Phenotype of Transdifferentiated Pancreatic Beta Cells.” Her project included the research and findings of her continuing project on mammalian pancreatic development, conducted at Marymount Manhattan College under the advisement of Professor Ann Aguanno. She was one of 260 participants in her division and competed in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology group. 

This accomplishment marks one of a series of successes for students in the Biology program at Marymount Manhattan College. The award is the second time that Jessica has earned first place honors at this event and the third award at this event for an MMC Biology major. 

The Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium regularly gathers over 400 students and mentors comprising about 200 contributions at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. This year’s theme was chemistry, biology and biochemistry and how these fields contribute to breakthrough developments in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medicine. The symposium is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. 

Student presenters and faculty mentors came from universities and hospitals from across the United States, including: Georgetown University, University of Massachusetts, Baylor College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, North Carolina State University, the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Carnegie Institution of Washington, King College, Bloomsburg University, University of Maryland School of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Medgar Evers College, University of California San Francisco, Howard University, University of Maryland, La Salle University, The College of New Jersey, State University of New York at Geneseo, Morgan State University, Hampton University, Ursinus College, Towson University, James Madison University, McDaniel College, the University of Delaware, Lebanon Valley College, Slippery Rock University, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Hood College, Lycoming College, Delaware Biotechnology Institute, William Patterson University, Goucher College, Montclair State University and others.

To read about Steven’s first place honors at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in 2007, click here

To read about MMC students Stephanie Allen ’08 and Federico Floridi ’09 who earned awards at the Undergraduate Research Symposium at Dominican College, click here.

Published: October 30, 2008