BSU Student Places Second in Summer Research Symposium

Laureen Daniel’s Work Has Implications on Understanding the Aging Process

MEDIA CONTACT: Damita Chambers, dchambers@bowiestate.edu, 301-832-2628 mobile

(BOWIE, Md.) – A Bowie State University biology student paired with a faculty mentor for a summer-long research experience took second place for her oral presentation at the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Research Symposium for the Washington, Baltimore, and Hampton Roads region.

Senior Laureen Daniel competed against 13 students from six other historically black colleges and universities in the symposium. She worked with Assistant Professor Tyesha Burks to uncover the effects of the aging process on skeletal muscle atrophy, or sarcopenia, by investigating the changes underlying atrophy in adult male mice. Dr. Burks’s work on sarcopenia has earned her honors as a 2017 Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.

The three additional Bowie State biology majors also presented their faculty-guided research at the symposium. Cameron Chambers, a junior, worked with Assistant Professor Devyn Gillette on a project focused on studying the immune response of airway epithelial cells, which could have implications on the development of treatments for the genetic disorder, cystic fibrosis.

Seniors Jodi-Kay Coleman and Cybrena Sablon worked with Associate Professor Lucia Santacruz to study the creatine transporter protein in a search for a cure for the rare disease, creatine deficiency disorder, which can cause varying degrees of intellectual disability, delayed speech development, and seizures.

All four students gained valuable hands-on research experience by working with expert faculty researchers this summer to advance knowledge in critical areas of study.

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About Bowie State University
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit www.bowiestate.edu.