Greensboro, N.C. – On March 27, the Collegiate Academy of the North Carolina Academy of Science (CANCAS) recognized three Campbell students majoring in Biology and Biochemistry for their scientific research at the Annual Meeting at Guilford College.
Whitney Faircloth, Meredith Greene and Caitlin Hall each presented research conducted independently of required course work. Greene placed second and Faircloth received third in poster presentation while Hall earned third in oral presentation.
“There were many deserving students who presented their projects and had dedicated many hours to their research, so it was humbling to be awarded second place by the judges,” said Greene, whose project explored the capacity of plants to absorb lead and the ability for that lead to be detected under the leadership of Dr. Lin Coker.
Faircloth was equally excited about her placement, “I wanted to do was share my discoveries with the research community and to actually have placed was an amazing feeling.”
Faircloth and Hall worked together, along with faculty mentor Dr. Michelle Thomas, to identify three unknown strains of bacterial isolates obtained from the tubeworm Nereis succinea.
All students agree such studies were beneficial to their education at Campbell – and would gladly repeat the experience. Dr. Karen Guzman, associate professor of Biological Sciences and CANCAS President-Elect notes the impact of research in students’ future endeavors.
“Class work is an important part of a student’s education, but research experience often helps students to integrate what they have learned in a variety of classes,” said Guzman. “Whether students are headed toward a career in research, medicine or something else, the ability to integrate what they have learned in their classes will make them better professionals.”
The experience was so rewarding that Hall eagerly anticipates participating again next year.
“After we found out, my partner Whitney and I both cried and laughed and overall were very pleased with the placement,” said Hall. “This encourages me to present again next year as it was an amazing experience and we cannot wait until the 108th meeting at Elon University next year.”
Photo: Left- Campbell Senior Meredith Greene presents a poster on “The analysis of lead absorption in Arabidopsis thaliana by atomic absorption spectroscopy”at the CANCAS Annual Meeting. Campbell Senior Whitney Faircloth presents a poster on “Characterization of three newly identified bacterial isolates acquired from the tubeworm Nereis succinea” at the CANCAS Annual Meeting.Photos by Bethany Starnes.
Prepared by Chelsea Wilde, student writer