BAR HARBOR — About 100 undergrads and 40 graduate students gathered to present their research findings, exchange ideas and network with fellow students and scientists from across the state at the 52nd annual Maine Biological and Medical Sciences Symposium last weekend.
The two-day event took place at MDI Biological Laboratory’s coastal campus in Bar Harbor and attracted a variety of biomedical students and faculty from research institutions all over the state of Maine.
“It’s a great opportunity for students of all ages to present their research, which is really important in science,” said Elisabeth Marnik, Ph.D., the science and education outreach coordinator at MDI Bio Lab. “It helps you feel like you have a place in science.”
Marnik speaks from personal experience, having completed a Ph.D. in immunology and genetics though a collaborative program offered by Tufts University and The Jackson Laboratory.
Faculty from JAX were among the symposium speakers, along with faculty from the University of Maine, MDI Bio Lab, Colby College, the MaineHealth Institute for Research and more. Students came from institutions all over Maine, including College of the Atlantic and the University of New England.
According to Marnik, symposium speakers and poster presenters shared research discoveries from a variety of biomedical subdisciplines. There was everything from clinical research on diabetes to neuroscientists studying strokes.
“I think it really speaks to the wide range of research that’s going on throughout the state,” she said.
The poster presentation room was abuzz with the enthusiastic bioscience students dressed to impress. Thirty students showcased their research on large, laminated posters while many more milled about, listening and asking questions.
Lio Cook, a COA graduate and research assistant at MDI Bio Lab, presented research they’re working on with Emily Spaulding, Ph.D. Their poster shared interesting findings about a Nucleolin, a protein found in the nucleolus, which is the command center of a cell. Cook shared that disrupted Nucleolin is seen in many neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS.
Cook explained how they added fluorescent markers to proteins on C. elegans roundworms. “Because C. elegans are transparent, we can see [the markers] in living worms through a microscope.”
“We found a whole lot more questions than we started with,” Cook proclaimed with a smile.
They went on to explain that modifying the genes of C. elegans caused an increase in the worms’ activity and an increase in backward movement. “We need to do more experiments to find out why that happens.”
For younger scientists not-yet ready to attend the symposium, MDI Bio Lab will host a Biomedical Bootcamp this summer. It’s a week-long, non-residential course for high school students interested in biomedical research.