This spring, several 新万博app_新万博体育-娱乐*官网@ Hills State University students traveled to national research conferences to present their research.  

In April, five BHSU students traveled to Long Beach, California, for the largest National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) to date. Students Baily May, Ellie Moore, and Abigail Renner presented research posters, and Min Kyung Park and Vincent Peterson gave oral presentations at the conference. May is a sophomore physics major, and Peterson is a senior art major. Moore, Park, and Renner are graduate students in the Master of Science of Integrative Genomics (MSIG) program.  

“Traveling to the NCUR gave me great practice with talking about my research to a wide variety of people,” said May. “I was also able to meet people both in and out of my field who had amazing research, which I enjoyed learning about. My favorite part of this experience was attending the presentations of other students because of the diverse range of types of research.”  

“Presenting was kind of nerve-racking, especially the oral presentation, but it was also exciting,” said Park. “There’s so much research going on, and I had the opportunity to tell people about what I’m doing, and let the world know what I’m doing.” 

Park presented research titled “A general method for the development of quantitative biosensors enables the measurement of free Nedd8,” which she assisted with as an undergraduate exchange student at BHSU. “I also have my own research going on, so I’ll hopefully be presenting that next year,” added Park. 

In addition to presenting at the NCUR, Park received a $500 travel award to attend the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) meeting in San Antonio in March. Korbyn Coyle, also a graduate student in the MSIG program, received a $1,000 travel award to attend the ASBMB meeting and present his research titled “A Bioluminescent Sensor for Neddylation Assay.”  

“These travel awards are given to students whose research achievements are considered significant enough to be presented and shared at the conference,” said Dr. Yun-Seok Choi, assistant professor of chemistry and coordinator of the MSIG program at BHSU.  

“Presenting is very exciting. There are opportunities for people to ask you questions or critique your work, which is a little exciting, but also makes you a little nervous to hear, because maybe they know something you don’t,” said Coyle.  

Coyle began his time at BHSU as an undergraduate student. He first attended 新万博app_新万博体育-娱乐*官网@ Hills State University-Rapid City (BHSU-RC) before attending the campus in Spearfish, where he graduated with two bachelor degrees in biochemistry and physiology. This spring, Coyle will graduate from the MSIG program. Following his graduation, he will be working as a clinical research scientist focusing on the analysis of patient samples to advance the diagnosis and treatment of leukemia and lymphoma.