July 12, 2018

McNair Scholars will present work on July 20

Twelve undergraduate students in a program that prepares them for careers in research will present their work at the 15th annual McNair Summer Research Symposium next week.

The symposium is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., July 20, in Morris Library’s First Floor Rotunda. This event includes 12 poster presentations from McNair Scholars. Four faculty judges will evaluate projects in in two categories: STEM fields and social sciences and humanities. First- and second-place awards are given in each category.

Topics span disciplines

Topics include “Dietary Physiology and its effects on Cancer,” “An Examination of the Comorbidity of Anxiety and Learning Disabilities in School Age Children,” “The Intersectionality of Literacy & Christianity during American Slavery,” “Stress and its Relationship with Academic Performance in Children” and “Understanding Neuroanatomy in Naked Mole-Rats (Heterocephlus glaber): Dentition.”

The complete list of undergraduate scholars, faculty mentors and topics is available at mcnair.siu.edu.

Karen Renzaglia, emeritus professor in plant biology and Rhetta Seymour, McNair Scholars Program interim director will present awards beginning at 1 p.m.

About the McNair Scholars Summer Research Institute

The Summer Research Institute is an eight-week intensive program that equips McNair Scholars with the necessary research skills to succeed in graduate school. Students pair with faculty members on their respective research projects.

The McNair Scholars Program honors the late Ronald E. McNair, a physicist and astronaut who died in the January 1986 explosion of the Challenger space shuttle.

SI Bridges to the Baccalaureate students to present, as well

In addition, six students in the SI Bridges to the Baccalaureate program will also present posters.

The SI Bridges program is funded by the National Institutes of Health and provides paid biomedical and behavioral science research training and professional development for underserved students at John A. Logan College and Shawnee Community College who will complete a bachelor’s degree at SIU in science, technology, engineering, math or social science disciplines.