Student takes second place at research symposium
A presentation by a Pitt-Bradford student has been awarded second place for biological sciences at a research symposium for undergraduate students.
Prashant Gabani, a biology major from Bridgeville, made a poster presentation titled “Extremophiles: Isolation and Characterization of Ultraviolet Radiation Resistant Microorganisms” at the 13th Annual University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Gabani said that he studied soil samples from a sunny spot in the Tracy Ridge recreation area in the Allegheny National Forest to find bacteria that can survive in sunshine’s ultraviolet radiation.
After he found several of such microbes, he and supervising faculty member Dr. Om V. Singh, assistant professor of biology, hypothesized that the microbes produce chemical compounds that help them resist radiation. The pair found such a compound and determined a way to extract it from the microbe using separation techniques such as high-pressure liquid chromatography.
Such compounds have therapeutic implications in the treatment of melanoma and in the cosmetic industry as sunscreen products.
The UMBC symposium is sponsored by the university’s department of chemistry and biology and the department of biological sciences with support from the National Institutes of Health to showcase research from undergraduates throughout the Mid-Atlantic.
Students present their research as posters and are judged in groups of five to seven, with the top two in each group being awarded prizes.
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