Finally a fresh blog entry! The below note is from BSGSA VP Jason, who chaired the committee that made CBASS 2014 such a great success this year!
Clemson Biological Annual Student Symposium is an
annual event hosted by the Biological Sciences Graduate Student Association
showcasing the research that the Biological Science, Environmental Toxicology
and Microbiology graduate students are involved in. Over the course of the day, a poster session and a talk
session were viewed and evaluated by faculty and peers. The morning talk sessions were very
well received, following a change in format from normal 15 minute sessions to 5
minute quick talk sessions, designed to concisely present one’s research to a
lay audience, delivering the main points and goal of the research without
getting mucked up in methodology.
All the talks (21 in all) were very well done, with
awards going to Christie Sampson (Habitat
Use and Critical Threats to Asian Elephant Conservation), Christopher Mayerl (The
functional significance of the fused pelvis to the plastron in Pleurodire Turtles)
and Caitlin Rinz (Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome in a Labrador Retriever
Family).
The poster session was also very well done,
with excellent posters from both the graduate and undergraduate entrants. Of the 35 posters presented, 3 graduate
and 3 undergrad posters were voted on, by their peers, as the best on
show. Graduate awards went to Tyler
Collins (Assessing the Role of Melanocortin 4 Receptors in Diversification of
Poeciliid Fishes),
Evan Apanovitch (Rising Stress: Investigating Plethodon Stressors Across Elevation
Changes), and Snehal Mahtre (Water for Electricity in the Upper Savannah Basin: Impacts
on Freshwater Bivalves). Undergraduate
winners were Sarah Hoffman (It’s Not Easy Being a Reef: The
Impacts of Corralivory and Competition on Live Coral Cover), Grant Davidson (The Effect
of Social Environment on the Development of Sailfin Mollies (P.latipinna), and Rachael Weber (Fecal Source Tracking in Little Eastatoe
Creek).
Many thanks to GSG for sponsoring the event,
all the faculty that judged, the sponsors of the raffle prizes: Brioso’s Fresh
Pasta, Moe’s Southwestern Grill, Firehouse Subs, BGR: The Burger Joint, Judge
Keller’s Store, Jimmie John’s, and Christie Sampson. Great job to all the participants, we look forward to seeing
your research advance next year!
