Ouachita Stories

Three students from Ouachita Baptist University’s J.D. Patterson School of Natural Sciences presented research at the Midsouth Computational and Bioinformatics Society (MCBIOS) conference March 23-25 in Little Rock. Logan Clay, a sophomore biology and psychology double major from Benton, Ark.; Jake Edmondson, a junior biomedical studies from Benton, Ark.; and Nolan Games, a junior biology and computer science major from North Little Rock, Ark., each made poster presentations at the conference. Games also was selected to give an oral presentation.

The MCBIOS is a regional meeting where research faculty, graduate and undergraduate students from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas gather and present research. To be considered to participate in the conference, students or research faculty must submit an abstract and application. MCBIOS then selects presentations to participate. Since the conference primarily is for graduate and postgraduate students and faculty, Clay, Edmondson and Games were among only a few undergraduate students accepted to present their research.

“This meeting is attended by researchers working at the top of their field,” said Dr. Nathan Reyna, associate professor of biology and the students’ research advisor. “I am very proud that the work Jake, Logan and Nolan did was seen as being on par with graduate level work. When Nolan presented his oral presentation, he may have been the only person without a PhD (or working on a PhD) in the room. The same can be said of the posters presented at the meeting.”

Edmondson presented the poster “Effect of Stress-Induced Exosomes on Global Gene Expression,” and Clay and Games presented the poster “Bioinformatic Analysis of Phage Genomes Mendoskie and Fortunato.” Games’ oral presentation was titled “Bioinformatics Analysis of Mycobacteria Phage Genomes at Ouachita Baptist University.” All three students received travel grants from MCBIOS to participate in the conference.

Clay and Games began the research for their poster presentation as Ouachita freshmen as part of a class. Games’ oral presentation also included research that he began two years ago along with several of his classmates.

“I felt very honored to be chosen to speak but I am not surprised. A lot of hard work was put into this project by several students and professors, and their efforts showed,” Games said. “It was very exciting because I got to talk about something I am very passionate about.”

“By incorporating real research into the classroom, we can get a lot of students involved in some really good projects,” Reyna noted. “Their acceptance to present demonstrates the true quality of the work the students are doing.”

The conference allowed Clay, Edmondson and Games to see scientific research and breakthroughs presented by individuals who are at the top of their fields. Each of the students was able to build connections with individuals that can be a benefit in their future studies and research.

“The conference offered several workshops that attempted to give up-and-coming scientists hands-on experience, and I was happy to take full advantage of that,” Games explained. “The best thing about the whole experience was that I got to meet several doctors and fellow students who share the same goals and dreams, and it was a wonderful opportunity to connect and build relationships.”

For more information on the conference or the J.D. Patterson School of Natural Sciences, contact Dr. Tim Knight, dean of the Patterson School, at [email protected] or (870) 245-5582.

 

By Katie Smith // Top photo: Games’ gave the oral presentation “Bioinformatics Analysis of Mycobacteria Phage Genomes at Ouachita Baptist University.”

April 7, 2017