Providence, R.I.--Six Providence College faculty members and more than a dozen student-researchers presented their work at the Rhode Island Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program's annual conference on August 3.

The conference, which was attended by more than 200 faculty, students, and administrators in the fellowship program, was held at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. The summer program is a collaboration of the Rhode Island Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (RI-INBRE) and the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

RI-INBRE's objectives are to support and develop talented individuals who are committed to research careers in Rhode Island and to build the biomedical research capacity of Rhode Island higher-education institutions.

EPSCoR is a joint program of the National Science Foundation and several U.S. states and territories. The program promotes the development of states' science and technology resources through partnerships involving universities, industry, government, and the federal research and development enterprise.

The conference was the culmination of the 10-week summer program, for which there were more than 80 fellowships awarded throughout the state. Each fellow presented the results of his or her research project in the form of a scientific poster. Along with PC, the other schools represented were Brown University, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University, Salve Regina University, and the University of Rhode Island.

PC faculty members, their student research assistants, and their specific projects are listed below.

• Dr. Elisabeth Arévalo, associate professor of biology, presented "The Uphill Climb to Determining Levels of Relatedness in Polistes erythrocephalus using Microsatellites." She was assisted by Victoria Brown '10 (Slatersville, R.I.) and Michael O'Hara '10 (Wallingford, Conn.).
• Rev. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P., assistant professor of biology, presented on the "Genetic Characterization of UTH1 and BXI1, Two Genes Involved in Yeast Programmed Cell Death," a significant anti-tumor defense mechanism in multicellular organisms. His student researchers were Christopher Chin '10 (North Easton, Mass.), David Laprade '11 (North Smithfield, R.I.), and Kevin Murphy '12 (Franklin, Mass.).
• Dr. Christopher Bloom, assistant professor of psychology, presented his research on the "The Role of Operant Contingencies and Environmental Stressors in the Animal Model." Bloom was assisted by Adam Miller '10 (Kildeer, Ill.), David Pucino '10 (Glastonbury, Conn.), Jesse Sheinhite '10 (Norwood, Mass.) and Kelly Wante '10 (Blackstone, Mass.).
• Dr. Joseph DeGiorgis, assistant professor of biology, presented on the "Characterization of Kinesin-3 and Kinesin-3 Cargo in Transit Within the Axon." His research included time at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Mass., where he looked at the squid as a model for understanding neuronal physiology. His student researchers were William Dundon '10 (Walpole, Mass.), Colin Samoriski '11 (Victor, N.Y.), and Jean Pierre Sarkis '10 (Cranston, R.I.).
• Dr. Charles R. Toth, associate professor of biology, presented "Regulation of c-myb by NF-kB Family Members During Murine Erythroleukemia Differentiation." He was assisted by Michael Ross '11 (Dedham, Mass.) and Nicholas Vincent '11 (North Providence, R.I.).
• Dr. Yinsheng Wan, associate professor of biology, presented "Mechanisms of CpG-ODN's Protection against UV-induced Cell Death," which related to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight and non-melanoma skin cancers. He was assisted by Gabriela Brum '12 (Swansea, Mass.), Michael McCauley '12 (Northport, N.Y.), and Ari Nalbandian '12 (Cranston, R.I.).

-30-