PORT ST. LUCIE — Students in Indian River State College’s Biological Sciences programs showed off their research work on Friday, Dec. 1, at the William and Helen Thomas STEM Center on the Pruitt Campus in Port St. Lucie. The event showcases the pinnacle projects for these students’ studies at IRSC.

The event, which takes place every semester, was held from 9 a.m. to noon. Three students made oral presentations: Shauntinique Bagley’s presentation explored the impact of probiotics on gut health; Valerie Delgado explored immunoproteasome inhibition as a possible treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease; and Inga Malogowska examined the effects of environmental factors on cardiovascular variables in ultramarathon runners.

Twenty other students created poster presentations of their projects on topics ranging from an attempt to modulate the electrostatic environment of the E. coli alkaline phosphatase active site; to a study of seagrass growth in the Indian River Lagoon; to an Indian River Land Trust Geomorphology and Archeology project; to an analysis of St. Lucie County’s Five-Mile Creek historic site, among others.

“Every semester, I am amazed at the breadth of science research that our students are presenting,” said Dr. Anthony Dribben, IRSC Assistant Dean of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. “It really speaks to the diversity of our scientific community here on the Treasure Coast, as many of our students participate in internships with the many research partners we have in our area.”

Participating in scientific research gives IRSC science students the opportunity to connect the science concepts learned in their classes to real-world issues in science, Dr. Dribben said.

“As the coordinator of the Bachelor of Science in Biology program, I have the privilege of witnessing these students’ academic journey and am so proud of the work they have accomplished,” adds Merle Litvack, Student Success Coordinator for IRSC’s School of Science and Math Department. “The scope of scientific research that our BS Biology students have the opportunity to contribute to is ground-breaking in terms of its potential impact on our world.

“Each of these projects functionally contributes to the overall scientific knowledge of the subject. I want to applaud our students for a job well done and thank our network of external research partners for providing our students a place to develop their research skills and exposing them to these extraordinary opportunities.”

Learn more about STEM and about the fields of study offered at IRSC at https://irsc.edu/programs/science-technology-engineering-and-math.html

Research Partners and Undergraduate Research Advisors include the following:

• Boyce Thompson Institute, Ithaca, New York
• Far Western Anthropological Research Group Inc., Henderson, Nevada
• Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center, Stuart, Florida
• Florida International University – Center for Translational Science, Port St. Lucie, Florida
• Florida International University – Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Miami, Florida

• Florida International University – Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Miami, Florida
• McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas
• University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
• United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory, Fort Pierce, Florida
• University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences Indian River Research and Education Center, Fort Pierce, Florida