Monday, April 28, 2025

8:55 AM Rick Bennett Welcome & Introductions
9:00-9:15am Kate Wilson Development of a Gestational Epigenetic Clock in Sheep. 
Mentor: Carlos Rodriguez Lopez, Ph.D., Department of Horticulture, M-G College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

9:15-9:30am Madison Argue HepG2 Gene Expression in Response to Ethanol and Fatty Acids 
Mentor: Lindsay Czuba, Ph.D., Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy

9:30-9:45am Allie Doucet Interactive Effects of Light Intensity and Nutrient Supply on Morphological Development of Tomato Seedlings (Solanum lycopersicum)
Mentor: Qinglu Ying, Ph.D., Department of Horticulture, M-G College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

9:45-10:00am Erin Lusk Maximizing Sugar Yields from Pressed Fruit: Optimization Strategies for Enhanced Fermentation and Product Quality
Mentor: Jeffery Wheeler, Ph.D., Department of Horticulture, M-G College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

10:00-10:15am Olivia Taylor The Impact of Cochlear Implantation on Physical Activity and Quality of Life 
Mentor: Matthew L. Bush, Ph.D., Department of Otolaryngology, College of Medicine

10:15-10:30am Jackson Vital Comparative Analysis of Differential Poly(A) Site Usage During Nodulation in Medicago truncatula
Mentor: Arthur Hunt, Ph.D., Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, M-G College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
10:30-11:15am Break

11:15-11:30am Ava Kruse Do Lignin-Derived Antimicrobials Decrease the Population of Bacteria Responsible for Contamination in Fuel Ethanol Fermentation?
Mentor: Jian Shi, Ph.D., Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, M-G Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

11:30-11:45am Colin Williams Identifying Novel Radiosensitizers for Pediatric Brain Tumors Using p53-Deficient Zebrafish Model
Mentor: Jessica Blackburn, Ph.D., Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, College of Medicine

11:45-12:00pm Madeline Angel Amyloid Precursor Protein and Its Relationship to Sleep, Sex, and Alzheimer’s Disease
Mentor: Michael Murphy, Ph.D., Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, College of Medicine
12:00PM

Tuesday April 29, 2025

9:25 AM Rick Bennett Welcome & Introductions  

9:30-9:45am Sophia Havard Resource Competition? Assessing Honey Bee and Wild Bee Interactions in Agroecosystems
Mentor: Clare Rittschof, Ph.D., Department of Entomology, M-G College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

9:45-10:00am Break 

10:00-10:15am Evy Yates Microbial Dynamics in Non-Alcoholic Beer: Assessing the Implications of Spoilage Bacteria from Retail Draft Lines
Mentor: Tyler Barzee, Ph.D., Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, M-G College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

10:15-10:30am Anaya Ali Ephemeral Reward Task: Under What Conditions Do Pigeons Learn it?
Mentor: Thomas Zentall, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences 

10:30-10:45am Lauren Hill Does TSP1 Down Regulate Brown Adipocyte Endocrine Function Through a CD47 Dependent Pathway?
Mentor: Shuxia Wang, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, College of Medicine

10:45-11:00am Brandon Akers Production of Ethyl Carbamate in Various Malt Varieties Through Benchtop Distillation
Mentor: Harmonie Bettenhausen, James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits, M-G College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

11:15-11:30am Lucy Thomas Overexpression of Serum Amyloid A (SAA) in the Liver Promotes the Development of Atherosclerosis in Apolipoprotein E-Deficient Mice Lacking SAA
Mentor: Preetha Shridas, Ph.D., Internal Medicine & Divisions - Endocrinology, Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, College of Medicine