11/18/2004

Contact: Marigold Linton, KU American Indian Outreach, (785) 864-4904; or Lori Tapahonso, Haskell Indian Nations University, (785) 830-2715

KU, Haskell students, faculty bring home top awards at national science conference

LAWRENCE -- Students and faculty from the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University brought home top awards from the annual conference of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) in Austin, Texas.

Ten undergraduate students in three science programs at KU and Haskell displayed their research at the Oct. 21-24 conference, whose theme was “Science and Science Policy: Constructing an Inclusive Paradigm.”

Two students won best poster awards in their categories, and two KU and Haskell faculty members were honored.

Talia Martin, Shoshone-Bannock, KU senior from Fort Hall, Idaho, won for Best Student Poster Presentation in General Chemistry. Joseph W. Anderson, Muskogee Creek, Haskell junior from Weleetka and Sapulpa, Okla., won for Best Student Poster Presentation in Environmental Science.

Marigold Linton, who is Cahuilla and is KU director of American Indian Outreach, was inducted as SACNAS president. A psychologist, she is the first social scientist to become president of the association.

Dennis O'Malley, Haskell natural sciences faculty member, received the Distinguished Community/Tribal College Mentor Award.

Linton works with faculties at both KU and Haskell that administer more than $12 million in National Institutes of Health grant programs to encourage American Indian students to pursue biomedical science careers.

Linton's partners in the NIH grant programs include O'Malley in Haskell's chemistry department and KU's James Orr, chair of biological sciences, and Russ Middaugh, distinguished professor of pharmaceutical chemistry.

Three federally funded programs that promote diversity in scientific research supported the students' research and conference attendance. The programs are the KU Bioscience Initiative funded by the Initiative for Minority Student Development (IMSD); and, at Haskell, the Bridges to the Future Program and the Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) Program.

Three students in KU's Bioscience Initiative program, a student in Haskell's Bridges to the Future Program and six students in Haskell's RISE Program presented posters describing results of research projects at KU.

Students presenting posters are listed by their hometown, Indian nationality, their university level in school, major and the title of their research project:

DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Lawrence
Beverly S. Dennis, Muskogee Creek, Haskell senior in business administration; "Defining Ethnic Identity Through Culture, Tradition and Other Personal Values."

SEDGWICK COUNTY
From Wichita
Natalie Burris, Cherokee, KU senior, geology major, daughter of Jeff and Rebecca Burris; "Comparing Mixing Methods for Determining Rate Reactions in Batch Reactors." She is a graduate of Maize High School.

Lynn R. McGreevy, Osage, Haskell junior in environmental science, "Evaluation of Synthetic Peptide Analogues with High CXCR4 Chemokine Receptor Affinity as Inhibitors of Breast Tumor Cell Migration."

IDAHO
From Fort Hall
Talia Martin, Shoshone-Bannock, KU junior, biology major, daughter of Kathy Martin; "The Biophysical Characterization and Empirical Phase Diagram of Bovine Serum Albumin" She is a graduate of Shoshone-Bannock School.

From Idaho Falls
Nicole P. Slater, Cherokee, KU senior, biology major, daughter of Jack and Nancy Slater; “Effects of Meal Replacements on Maintaining Weight Loss.” She is a graduate of Idaho Falls High School.

OKLAHOMA
From Anadarko and Oklahoma City
Kalonie R. Hulbutta, Apache, Haskell senior in environmental science, "Detection of Nitrate and Nitrite in Environmental Water Samples."

From Calvin
Jason A. Koontz, Comanche, Haskell sophomore in environmental science, "How Does Temperature Affect the Growth and Sporulation of a Newly Discovered Isolate of Mosquito Gut Fungi?"

From Sapulpa and Weeleetka
Joseph W. Anderson, Muskogee Creek, Haskell junior in environmental science, "Using Multispectral Airborne Imagery to Monitor and Map Wetlands and Riparian Vegetation Characteristics."

From Sapulpa
Benjamin E. Baker, Muskogee Creek, Haskell junior, "Galvonic Vestibular Stimulation and Low Back Velocity Sense."

NEVADA
From Nixon
Nikki Halona Williams, Pyramid Lake Paiute, Haskell sophomore in environmental science, "Surface Plasmon Resonance to Measure Fibrinogen Adsorption on Self-Assembled Monolayers. ”