UTSA students win research awards from American Society for Microbiology

UTSA students Ann Reyes, Tricia Van Laar and Steve Rodriguez

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

(Nov. 20, 2009)--One UTSA undergraduate student and two doctoral students researching topics in microbiology and infectious diseases won competitive awards for their poster and oral presentations at the Nov. 5-7 annual meeting of the Texas Branch of American Society for Microbiology at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Ann Reyes, an undergraduate majoring in biology and math and Minority Biomedical Research Support-Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (MBRS-RISE) scholar, was awarded the Sam Kaplan Poster Award for second place among posters presented by undergraduates at the conference. The poster showcased her research characterizing the role of polyamines in the patho-physiology of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme's disease. Reyes' research is supported by the UTSA MBRS-RISE program.

Tricia Van Laar, a third-year cellular and molecular biology doctoral student, won the O.B. William Award (third place) for her oral presentation in general microbiology. The presentation described the characterization of a novel chemical pathway in Borrelia burgdorferi that leads to the development of a metabolic intermediate that could contribute to several aspects critical for the survival and infectivity of B. burgdorferi.

Steve Rodriguez, a fifth-year cellular and molecular biology doctoral student, won the S. E. Sulkin Award (third place) for his oral presentation on medical microbiology. Rodriguez discussed a pathogenic component of the Franciscella tularensis genome that is essential for virulence.

"The American Society for Microbiology's competitive awards are excellent indicators of the caliber of work carried out by our graduate and undergraduate students at UTSA," said Janakiram Seshu, assistant professor of microbiology and a member of UTSA's South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases. "These accolades also increase the profile of our research efforts by helping us attract top-notch students from different regions of Texas to graduate and undergraduate programs at UTSA."

Events

Friday, April 25, 11:00 a.m.

Día en la Sombrilla

Día en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.

Sombrilla Plaza, Main Campus

Wednesday, April 30, 12:00 p.m.

Using Covidence for Systematic Review Screening

Covidence is a systematic & scoping review tool used to streamline the process of screening and reviewing articles. Using this software, research teams can easily import studies, perform automatic deduplication, and extract data using templates. This workshop will show attendees how to start a review in Covidence, add collaborators, and get started on screening.

Virtual (Zoom)

Wednesday, April 30, 4:00 p.m.

Tabular Data with Python

In this workshop, attendees will be introduced to Pandas, a Python tool for working with data easily. It makes it simple to organize and analyze information when data is organized and categorized, like spreadsheets or tables.

Group Spot B, John Peace Library

Thursday, May 1, 8:30 a.m.

Klesse College Tech Symposium

Each fall and spring semester, students convene at the Main Campus at UTSA with booths, ideas and prototypes. A crowd of judges, local organizations, students, faculty and sponsors walk around and talk to the students about their projects and ask questions. Students get the real-life experience of "pitching" their project with hopes of getting funding or support to move to the next level.

UTSA Convocation Center, Main Campus

Thursday, May 15, 6:00 p.m.

Doctoral Conferral Ceremony

Join the doctoral candidates for the Doctoral Conferreal Ceremony and celebrate their accomplishments.

Arts Building Recital Hall, Main Campus

Sunday, May 18, 10:00 a.m.

UTSA Commencement Ceremony One

Celebrate the graduates from the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.

Alamodome

Sunday, May 18, 5:30 p.m.

UTSA Commencement Ceremony Two

Celebrate the graduates from the College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and College of Sciences.

Alamodome

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