Biology major Jaden Yam will be at home in Irmo, S.C., when she presents her summer research this Wednesday. Yam is one of 20 PC students who will present virtually during the Summer Research Symposium. This is the first year the event will take place online.

Some students will present to their advisors and fellow students using Zoom. Others, like Yam, will record poster presentations from home that will be available online. These students will offer live Q&A sessions about their research.

Research During a Time of Social Distancing

Like the research itself, the Summer Research Symposium will show how professors and students can adjust during a time when they can’t interact like researchers typically do.

“Conducting research remotely wasn’t what we originally anticipated,” Yam said, “but I think that we’ve made the best of the situation.”

Yam researched from home while collaborating with biology professor Dr. Mike Rischbieter, who was on the PC campus. The two are researching pollen and spores to identify which plants were present during the White River Formation of Wyoming.

“Working remotely has enabled Dr. Rischbieter and I work more collaboratively since we work simultaneously through Zoom,” Yam said. “Dr. Rischbieter manipulates the microscope while I image and measure the samples.

“As we work, Dr. Rischbieter can share his knowledge about paleobotany that I’m able to directly apply to my research project. We can exchange ideas in real time about the implications of key taxa on the environment and climate.”

Using Technology to Research

Video Conferencing isn’t the only technology that has made research possible for Yam and Dr. Rischbieter this summer. Fifty miles away, the student and professor were able to look at pollen samples using a Motic BA410E microscope, a Jenoptik Gryphax camera, and VPN connection.

Students used similar and other technology to conduct research this summer.

The Summer Research Symposium Schedule

This year’s Summer Research Symposium schedule is as follows:

9:30 to 9:55, Hyland Gonzalez, The Mexican Revolution and women in post-revolution Mexico

9:55 to 10: 15, Kobie Kirven and Mattie Kennedy, The Effects of Dietary Iron on the Taxonomic and Functional Composition of the Gut Microbiome in Zebrafish, Danio rerio

10:15 to 10:35, Briana Cody, Modifications to the Rope Braiding Machine at Presbyterian College

10:35 to 10:55, Alex E, Upregulation of Metastatic Genes in HT29 and Caco-2 cells Induced with Losartan and Treated with Chemotherapeutics

11:00 to 11:30, Hailey Caswell, Ryan McCall

12:15 to 12:35, Luca Zeigler, Grit and its Relationship with Athletic Performance

12:35 to 12:55, Victoria Miles and Roma Patel, Pain Associated with Heat Shock Protein 90 Inhibitor Use: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis

1:00 to 1:20, Jess Escobar, A computational approach to investigate the role of zinc finger protein, ZF30C in epigenetic repression of Drosophila engrailed gene

1:45 to 2:15, Kayla Bramlett, Noah Burkett, Daijah Davis, Melissa Rogers, Jaden Yam

2:20 to 2:45, Reid Haigler, Tori Snyder, Grace Wanliss

1:20 – 1:40, Marigordon Varnier, Interpreting Myoelectric Signals via Machine Learning Algorithms