(left
to right) Kim Kanapeckas and Caleb McMahan
Erskine Freshmen Make Presentations At American Society for Microbiology
Two Erskine College students made presentations Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Branch of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) in Athens, Ga., and one captured the award for best oral presentation of a paper in undergraduate research.
Freshman Kimberly Kanapeckas of Due West received the award for her paper, “Use of the Yeast Dihybrid System to Detect Protein-Protein Interactions Involved in Carboxysome Assembly.” She used DNA technology to determine the biochemical architecture of a bacterial structure that affects the gases of the earth’s atmosphere. The paper was based on research Kanapeckas is conducting under Dr. Stefanie Baker, assistant professor of biology at Erskine.
Kanapeckas, who was an E.B. Kennedy Scholarship semifinalist at Erskine and is a Palmetto Fellow, said she was surprised to win the award. "All the other students who read papers were seniors," she said. In addition to presenting the paper, Kanapeckas responded to questions about her research.
She said she is considering becoming a wildlife veterinarian and incorporating microbiology research into her career.
Freshman
Caleb McMahan of Due West presented a poster, “Controlling Microbial
Contamination in Germinating Daylily Seeds…without the use of Hazardous
Fungicides,” based on research being conducted with Dr. Janice Haldeman,
professor emerita of biology at Erskine.
Both Kanapeckas and McMahan are 2003 graduates of Dixie High School in
Due West. Kanapeckas was valedictorian of the class and McMahan was salutatorian.
Kanapeckas received a $100 cash award, in competition with students from
throughout the southeast, including two from the University of Georgia.
McMahan’s poster was one of 40 accepted for showing, including many
by faculty members and graduate students.
Baker and Haldeman and the students attended numerous sessions and symposia
of the meeting at the Classic Center in Athens. The South Carolina Branch
of ASM held its meeting concurrently with the Southeastern Branch.
