DSU Postdoctorates, Graduate Top in Research Competition
Two DSU post-doctoral scientists, a graduate student and two undergraduate students made their mark at the Delaware Neuroscience Symposium Research Poster competition, held in mid-December, by bringing back first and second place awards for their respective academic levels.
Dr. Sridhar Boppana, a DSU post-doctorate from India, took first place in the postdoctoral division with his poster on the “Expression of the vesicular acetylcholine in the larval and adult Drosophila central nervous system.” For the first time, Dr Boppana research showed the expression of vesicular acetylcholine transporter in the antennal lobe of Drosophila larvae.
Dr. Joseph Lombardo a DSU post-doctorate from Italy, took 2nd place with in poster on the “Non-reciprocal effects of KCNQ/Kv7 channel modulation on the excitability of spinal motoneurons in mouse neonates.” His research shed more light on this channel by demonstrating that it contributes to the alteration of axosomatic spinal motoneurons excitability.
Deidre Carter, a biological sciences graduate student, won 1st place for her poster presentation on “Alexander’s Disease: An Astrocyte Mouse Model of TDP-43 Proteinopathy.” It was the second 1st place award within a month for Ms. Carter; in early November she was took 1st place in the biological sciences category with her oral presentation on the same research at the Philadelphia AMP Research Symposium.
In addition, two DSU students – Krushali Patel and Justin Sherard– tied for 2nd place in the undergraduate division. Mr. Patel presented a poster on “Modeling Parkinson’s disease from Synergistic Interaction with Commercially-used Pesticides,” while Mr. Sherard presented his project on the “Overexpression of HSP27 modulates TDP-43 localization and expression”
Sherard and Carter’s mentor is Dr. Michael Gitcho, assistant professor of biological sciences. Dr. Boppana and Patel’s mentor is Dr. Hakeem Lawal, assistant professor of biological sciences; Dr. Lambardo’s mentor is Dr. Melissa Harrington, professor of biological sciences.