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Top: Students describing their work to participants. Stephen Situ and Ben Liu (left). Janah May Ocalman (right) Bottom: The 2016 Skyline College research team. From left: Pauline, Janah, Stephen, Griselda, Ben, Sophia, Sachin, Abigail, Akayi, Aaron, and Pinkal.

At the Society for the Advancement of Native Americans and Chicanos in Science (SACNAS) Conference on October 13-15, eleven Skyline College students presented their original scientific research to more than 4,200 participants. Skyline College students presented alongside 900 students from University of Texas, Harvard University, Yale University, University of California, University of Vermont, Stanford University, CSUs, and many other universities. The conference theme was STEM Diversity and Public Understanding. The conference was held in Long Beach and sponsored by the CIA, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and the USDA.

Papers were selected for the conference in a competitive judging from abstracts submitted in June. About half of the submitted abstracts are accepted for the conference.

Skyline College’s students worked with their mentor, Christine Case and they began their research last spring in BIOL 230 and continued through the summer in BIOL 695. Stephen Fredricks worked with the students to register and prepare them for presenting at a national conference. Chris and Stephen reported that the students were knowledgeable and professional, and represented Skyline College well.

All of these students now have their first publication:

  • Evaluation of Juglone as an Antimicrobic against Salmonella enterica. Janah May Oclaman.
  • Antimicrobial Activity of Ribes menziesii and Its Efficacy as a Food Preservative. Akayi Thein and Griselda Erazo.
  • The Effect of Cortaderia selloana on the Soil Microbiome. Abigail Mende and Aaron Tun.
  • Evaluating the Antimicrobial Activity of Rhamnus californica. Pauline Maccay and Pinkal Tandel.
  • Comparison of the Phylloplane Microbiota of Invasive Delairea and Native Plants. Ben Liu and Stephen Situ.
  • Antibacterial Activity of Sequoia sempervirens against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Sachin Sharma.
  • Antimicrobial Properties of Rubus parviflorus (Thimbleberry). Fnu (Sophia) Yunanda.

Article by Dr. Christine Case