IMAGE OF RESEARCH 2023 WINNERS
First Place
Name: Li-Dunn Chen
Level: PhD
Department: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology
Life in a Sea of Death
Depicted in this image is a single live sperm surrounded by a sea of its fallen comrades. This photo was taken using a camera mounted to a fluorescent microscope and highlights the utility of fluorescence microscopy for measuring a critical metric when evaluating sperm quality: cell viability. Live cells fluoresce bright green and dead cells fluorescence bright red; when a cell dies, membrane integrity is lost and allows for the red fluorescent stain to enter the pores of the dead cell. At the Conservation Physiology Lab at MS State, we apply several assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to support conservation breeding programs for threatened amphibian species at zoos and aquariums all over the United States. Ultimately, ART is used to increase population numbers and to introduce new genetic diversity into endangered animal populations both in the wild and for animal species kept under human care.
Second Place
Name: Daniel Dillon
Level: Master's
Department: Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures
From Past to Present: Analyzing Social Collapse in Mycenaean Greece
This image, taken at the Palace of Knossos in Crete, connects the past to the present by providing a glimpse of the palace ruins and a reconstruction of its destruction. My research looks at the immense social collapse that took place at the end of the Late Bronze Age in which palace sites such as this one were ransacked and burned to the ground. It is through looking at the ruins and the individuals who may have inhabited them that we can gain a better understanding of how this collapse may have happened, who may have been affected, and how life was able to continue after the tumultuous end of an era. Though this occurred 3000 years in the past, the ruins of such immense, powerful sites are still able to provide us with useful information about Mycenaean Greece at the palatial economy’s inception, height, and eventual collapse.
People’s Choice
Name: Zonia Elizabeth Caro Carvajal
Level: Master's
Department: Food Science, Nutrition, and Health Promotion
Ensuring food safety and public health trough microbiological detection of mold
Molds are microscopic fungi that flourish on living tissues. They thrive in warm, moist environments and can grow on a variety of different foods, including bread, cheese, fruits, and vegetables. While some types of mold are harmless, others may produce mycotoxins that could cause foodborne diseases. In addition to the health risk, mold can result in food spoilage and unpalatability. This is a particular concern for the food industry, where spoiled or contaminated food may lead to outbreaks and product recalls. Researchers at the Department of Food Science work on isolating and characterizing mold in foods. They perform microbiological identification and classification of molds, which play an important role in monitoring food safety as well as food spoilage to prevent future contamination. By identifying the specific type of mold present in a food product, the contamination source is determined, and further steps can be considered to prevent, manage, and control the risk.
2023 HONORABLE MENTIONS
Name: Elise Adams
Level: Master's
Department: Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures
Deciphering Structural Violence Through Time Since Death and Demographic Data
Name: Larra Myron Diboyan
Level: Master's
Department: Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures
Rebuilding Memory in Diaspora: The Yotnakhparian’s After the Armenian Genocide
Name: Nicholas Fry
Level: PhD
Department: Biological Sciences
Fingers of Dewed Slime Mold, Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa
Name: Saida Zinnurine
Level: Master's
Department: Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Illuminating the unseen
Name: Casey Iwamoto
Level: PhD
Department: Forestry
The kaleidoscopic composition of soil
Name: Htet Lin Naing
Level: Master's
Department: Forestry
A forest nested in a forest
Name: Adonte Knight
Level: Master's
Department: Geoscience
In Light of the Storm
Name: Haley N. Williams
Level: PhD
Department: Plant and Soil Sciences
Another Yeast Bites the Must
Name: Krista Ruppert
Level: PhD
Department: Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture
The Worth of a Frog in the Hand
Name: Lacy Dolan
Level: PhD
Department: Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture
Bear Cub Playground
Name: Madalyn Stoecker
Level: Master's
Department: Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture
Life blooms amongst regrowth
Name: Natasha Murphy
Level: PhD
Department: Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture
First day: An Osprey has hatched