{"id":30407,"date":"2024-02-27T11:46:27","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T16:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=30407"},"modified":"2024-02-28T09:59:05","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T14:59:05","slug":"furman-science-students-win-big-at-south-carolina-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/furman-science-students-win-big-at-south-carolina-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Furman science students win big at South Carolina conference"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Six Furman University science students took home top prize at a recent statewide competition and symposium, earning distinction in half the categories represented within the research poster event.<\/p>\n<p>The students competed Saturday, Feb. 10, at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scinbre.org\/learning\/science-symposium\/2024-science-symposium\">SC INBRE Science Symposium<\/a> in Columbia, South Carolina, an annual event that spotlights biomedical science research from 14 universities, including the three comprehensive research universities in the state \u2013 Clemson University, Medical University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30409\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30409\" class=\"wp-image-30409 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2024\/02\/Dallas-shuman-25-and-Kadence-Alexander-26-at-SCINBRE-2024.jpg\" alt=\"a Black woman in coral dress and a white woman in dark suit stand at poster\" width=\"400\" height=\"295\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2024\/02\/Dallas-shuman-25-and-Kadence-Alexander-26-at-SCINBRE-2024.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2024\/02\/Dallas-shuman-25-and-Kadence-Alexander-26-at-SCINBRE-2024-150x111.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 400px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 400\/295;\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30409\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dallas Shuman &#8217;25 (left) and Kadence Alexander &#8217;26.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Among about 100 posters presented, Furman students from biology, chemistry and neuroscience earned \u201cbest in category\u201d in three of six divisions, bringing home four awards (two Furman teams tied in Neuroscience\/Psychology). The categories, winners and their Furman mentors were:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Neuroscience\/Psychology: Dallas Shuman &#8217;25 and Kadence Alexander \u201926 work with Assistant Professor of Psychology <a href=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/people\/veronica-flores\/\">Veronica Lee Flores<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Neuroscience\/Psychology: Mindy Isaman \u201926 works in the lab of Associate Professor of Biology <a href=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/people\/linnea-freeman\/\">Linnea Freeman<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Molecular\/Cell Biology: Kobby (Charles) Frempong \u201926 collaborates with Associate Professor of Biology <a href=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/people\/adi-dubash\">Adi Dubash<\/a>. Frempong tied the category with a student from Presbyterian College.<\/li>\n<li>Chemistry\/Biochemistry: Abby Stapleton \u201924 and Ella Chandler \u201925 work with Assistant Professor of Chemistry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/people\/meghan-breen\/\">Meghan Breen<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_30411\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30411\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30411 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2024\/02\/mindy-isaman-at-poster-sc-inbre-400.jpg\" alt=\"white woman with blond hair stands at poster\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2024\/02\/mindy-isaman-at-poster-sc-inbre-400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2024\/02\/mindy-isaman-at-poster-sc-inbre-400-150x100.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 400px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 400\/267;\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30411\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mindy Isaman &#8217;26.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>While the recognition across multiple disciplines is commendable, said John Wheeler, associate provost for integrative science, the continuous engagement and representation by Furman at the conference since 2002 is most remarkable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith about 25 of us there, including two invited speakers, Linnea Freeman and Veronica Flores, Furman was the best-represented university at the meeting,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scinbre.org\/\">SC INBRE<\/a> is a premier NIH-funded program that has helped support the summer undergraduate research efforts of more than 125 Furman students in the last five years alone. Under the current award (2020- 2025) SC INBRE is the source of more than $200,000 annually in biomedical research funding to Furman, on top of independent awards made to Freeman and Flores this past year,\u201d Wheeler said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30418\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30418\" class=\"wp-image-30418 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2024\/02\/charles-frempong-at-SC-INBRE-400.jpg\" alt=\"a white man speaks with a Black man who is pointing to poster\" width=\"400\" height=\"276\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2024\/02\/charles-frempong-at-SC-INBRE-400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2024\/02\/charles-frempong-at-SC-INBRE-400-150x104.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 400px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 400\/276;\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30418\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kobby (Charles) Frempong &#8217;26 (right).<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe had great representation,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cThe conference highlighted the excellent work of our undergraduates and faculty research mentors. I\u2019m especially proud of my student Mindy Isaman for winning an award,\u201d Freeman said, noting Isaman joined her lab the summer after her freshman year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMindy is returning to work in the lab again this summer. She\u2019s hard working and passionate about science, particularly nutrition, which is a focus of our research. It\u2019s exciting when students start their research experience early like Mindy and continue to build their skills and contribute to a big project,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30414\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30414\" class=\"wp-image-30414 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2024\/02\/Ella-Chandler-25-and-Abby-Stapleton-24-400.jpg\" alt=\"two white women stand in front of research poster\" width=\"400\" height=\"270\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2024\/02\/Ella-Chandler-25-and-Abby-Stapleton-24-400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2024\/02\/Ella-Chandler-25-and-Abby-Stapleton-24-400-150x101.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 400px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 400\/270;\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30414\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ella Chandler &#8217;25 (left) and Abby Stapleton &#8217;24.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Wheeler said Furman\u2019s healthy showing at the meeting in multiple disciplines is important for funding down the road.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year, the roughly $20 million, five-year competitive renewal for continued funding will be submitted to NIH from South Carolina,\u201d Wheeler explained. \u201cLast fall, Furman competed as one of the undergraduate institutions to be included in the South Carolina funding application to NIH to be submitted later this year. Demonstrating the scope of our engagement at the statewide INBRE meeting is one clear way to showcase our commitment and excellence as a SC INBRE partner, including significantly contributing in a very quantifiable way to the nearly 100 student submissions at this meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Six Furman University science students took home top prize at a recent statewide competition and symposium, earning distinction in half the categories represented within the research poster event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":257,"featured_media":22858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,53,79,35,48,61,55],"tags":[1840,2593,208],"class_list":["post-30407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biology","category-chemistry","category-neuroscience","category-parent-news","category-psychology","category-the-furman-advantage","category-undergraduate-research","tag-sc-inbre","tag-science-symposium","tag-undergraduate-research"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/257"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}