Research Symposium
NSF-REU
RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES FROM RURAL AND TRIBAL COLLEGES
2023 REU Participants
Samantha Bennett
Wartburg College, IA
Mentor: Brian Darby, PhD
Project: Effects of the Conservation Reserve Program on Soil Microbial Functional Diversity and Richness
Derik Bull
Cankdeska Cikana Community College, ND
Mentor: Brent Voels, PhD; Rebecca Simmons, PhD
Project: Identification of Pollinators on the Tribal Lands of Spirit Lake Nation by DNA Sequencing of the Mitochondrial CO1 Gene
Trenton Chalmer
Cankdeska Cikana Community College
United Tribes Technical College, ND
Mentor: Jeremy Guinn, PhD; Rebecca Simmons, PhD
Brian Dover
Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, ND
Mentor: Kerry Hartman, PhD; Rebecca Simmons, PhD
Roxanne Gasperetti
University of Wisconsin, Steven’s Point
Mentor: Vasyl Tkach, PhD
Project: Wetland Management Practices Associated with Parasite Diversity
WacantkiyaManiWin Eagle
Sitting Bull College, ND
Mentor: Mafany Mongoh, PhD; Rebecca Simmons, PhD
Tygre Griffin
Turtle Mountain Community College, ND
Mentor: Scott Hanson, PhD; Rebecca Simmons, PhD
Project: Wasps & Pollination
Tyra Jerome
Turtle Mountain Community College, ND
Mentor: Scott Hanson, PhD;Rebecca Simmons, PhD
Project: Bumble Bees of the Turtle Mountains
Ethan Johnson
University of North Dakota
Mentor: Aaron Mehus, PhD; Sarmad Al-Marsoummi, PhD; Scott Garrett, PhD;Seema Somji, Ph.D
Project: Inhibition of SOX2 with Pevonedistate Upregulates Terminal Differentiation Markers KRT16 & ANXA1 in a Model of Metal Induced Bladder Cancer
Starla Littlewind
Cankdeska Cikana Community College, ND
Mentor: Brent Voels, PhD; Rebecca Simmons, PhD
Project: Identification of Pollinators on the Tribal Lands of Spirit Lake Nation by DNA Sequencing of the Mitochondrial CO1 Gene
Kimberly Matt
Salish Kootenai College, MT
Mentor: Clay Comstock, PhD; Rebecca Simmons, PhD
Project: Collection and DNA Analysis of Pollinators on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Western Montana
Aiyana Montclair
University of North Dakota
Mentor: Aaron Mehus, PhD; Sarmad Al-Marsoummi, PhD; Scott Garrett, PhD;Seema Somji, Ph.D
Project: Treatment with Pevonedistat and cisplatin Upregulates the Expression of IVL, FLG, and KRT14 In the As3+ Transformed UROtsa Cell Line
Jasmine Orea
University of California, Merced
Mentor: Benjamin Roche, PhD
Project: TRAP-seq: Developing a Method to Assess Translation in Quiescent Cells
Stephen Patten
University of Florida
Mentor: Motoki Takaku, PhD
Project: The Role of GATA3 Mutation in Breast Cancer and its Interaction with PARP1 Inhibition
Kimberly Pleets
Sitting Bull College, ND
Mentor: Mafany Mongoh, PhD; Rebecca Simmons, PhD
Project:
Abbie Rehbein
University of Minnesota, Morris
Mentor: Rebecca Simmons, PhD
Project: Sharing is caring: Pollinating flies discovered to contain similar gut microbiota as bees in the Northern Plains
Desmond Simms
Belhaven University, MS
Mentor: Aaron Mehus, PhD; Sarmad Al-Marsoummi, PhD; Scott Garrett, PhD;Seema Somji, Ph.D
Project: Effects of Hypoxic conditions on ESRP1, ESRP2, TNFA, and SRSF6 in the Kidney Cell Lines RPTEC;TERT1, HRTPT, and HREC24T
William Sutton
Middle Georgia State University, GA
Mentor: Brian Darby, PhD
Project: Network Analysis of Soil Bacteria Associated with the Conservation Reserve Project (CRP)
Priscella Trottier
University of North Dakota
Mentor: Aaron Mehus, PhD; Sarmad Al-Marsoummi, PhD; Scott Garrett, PhD;Seema Somji, Ph.D
Project: The Effects of Hypoxia on Expression Levels of mTOR, EIF4EBP1, RICTOR, and RAPTOR in HRTPT progenitor, HREC24 non-progenitor, and RPTEC-TERT Kidney Cells
Zoe Von Holten
Middle Georgia State University, GA
Mentor: Vasyl V. Tkach, PhD
Project: Parasites in a living fossil: helminths of bowfin Amia calva from Minnesota and Tennessee
Project: Improving diagnostics of Crassiphiala bulboglossa, the type-species of Crassiphiala and a common causative agent for black spot disease in fishes
Maggie Wurster
Salish Kootenai College, MT
Mentor: Lavinia Iancu, PhD; Rebecca Simmons, PhD
Project: Characterizing Necrophagous Insect Visitors and Their Gut Microbiomes