Ouachita biology team selected to present research at “Posters on the Hill” in D.C.
March 06, 2012 - Trennis Henderson
Dr. Lori Hensley, associate professor of biology at Ouachita Baptist University, and three senior biology students have been invited to present their research on “The Effects of Ajulemic Acid on Pediatric Cancers” next month in Washington, D.C.
The Ouachita team is among 74 groups invited to participate in the Council on Undergraduate
Research “Posters on the Hill” event on April 24. The groups were selected from more
than 850 applications from across the nation. Participants will meet with congressmen
and senators, displaying their research and explaining the importance of undergraduate
research.
Accompanying Dr. Hensley will be Vikki Kay Bennett, a senior biology major from Jonesboro,
Ark.; Cara McKinney, a senior biology major from Hughes Springs, Texas; and Nolan
West, a senior biology major from Bolivar, Mo. Bennett and McKinney also participated
with several other Ouachita students in the recent “Arkansas STEM Posters at the Capitol”
event in Little Rock.
Addressing Ewing’s sarcoma, a highly aggressive pediatric bone cancer, the research
focuses on the ability of ajulemic acid to kill Ewing’s sarcoma cells and limit the
migration of tumor cells. Documenting the team’s research aims and rationale as well
as their studies and results, the project highlights results that “provide the rationale
for the development of improved therapies for this devastating family of cancers.”
This marks the second time in four years that a Ouachita team has been selected to
participate in “Posters on the Hill.” Dr. Hensley and a group of her students previously
participated in 2009.
“It is a great honor to have Dr. Hensley’s group chosen again for the Posters on the
Hill event,” said Dr. Joe Jeffers, dean of Ouachita’s J.D. Patterson School of Natural
Sciences. “It gives our students a chance to talk with our congressmen and senators
to explain the importance of undergraduate research.”
Ouachita President Rex Horne and his wife, Becky, accompanied the group in 2009 and
will do so again this year. Dr. Horne will set up meetings for the students with the
Arkansas congressional delegation.
“Our students chosen to present in Washington, D.C., and other venues through the
year are a select group,” President Horne said. “These students represent Ouachita
so well and reflect positively upon their professors, the Patterson School and their
own commitment to excellence.”
According to the Council on Undergraduate Research, “Nothing more effectively demonstrates
the value of undergraduate research than the words and stories of the student participants
themselves. … This event will help members of Congress understand the importance of
undergraduate research by talking directly with the students whom these programs impact.”
Reflecting on the 2009 Posters of the Hill event, Dr. Hensley noted, “It was a tremendous
honor when the students presented their work on Capitol Hill, but the recognition,
to me, was not the most important outcome. These students achieved my primary goal:
Students gaining the confidence to ask questions about the world around them and,
in doing so, becoming increasingly able to direct their own futures.”
By Trennis Henderson, OBU vice president for communications
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