Christian Kladstrup Presents at Buena Vista University's Thirteenth Annual Scholars Day

2017 May 1

Buena Vista University's (BVU) thirteenth annual Scholars Day was held Saturday, April 29. The event provided students from all disciplines an opportunity to present their best original research, academic posters, artistic creations and performances to their peers, professors and the public.

This year's Scholars Day event featured 63 presentations from 120 students, exploring topics from literature and business to science and history.

Christian Kladstrup, a senior biology major from Spencer , was one of the students who participated. Kladstrup's presentation was titled "The Closest Bacteria Will Ever Get to Sex: How Environmental Stressors Influence Antibiotic Resistance via Conjugation," and the project's abstract is as follows:

Bacteria can share genes with each other through a process called horizontal gene transfer. Conjugation is a form of horizontal gene transfer that can be detected using genetic assays. For example, Escherichia coli BB4 possesses a tetracycline resistant gene (TETR) that it can donate via conjugation to E. coli SCS1, and this can be detected by growing bacteria on selective agar plates. We tested a number of environmental conditions and found that when bacteriophagefX174 was added to the two bacterial strains, conjugation rates increased. Another factor, when the medium was buffered to a pH of 8, altered the rate at which E. coli BB4 gave its plasmid and E. coli SCS1 received it. Once we had identified the conditions that altered conjugation rates, we looked to see if these conditions affected expression of the TraJ gene, which is involved in conjugation. Unfortunately, real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of TraJ expression levels did not show conclusive results and further analysis is necessary to determine how, at the molecular level, the conditions we identified are altering conjugation rates.

Diabetes Meets Infection: How Drug Concentrations Can Be Manipulated to Reduce Damage Done to Cells

Metformin is a pharmaceutical widely used around the world to control type-2 diabetes, and gentamicin is an antibiotic that can treat a wide variety of bacterial infections. Both drugs are shown to have possible detrimental effects towards kidney cells, with gentamicin being more damaging. Previous research has shown that when combined together, the damaging effects of gentamicin are reduced. We looked at the effects of gentamicin and metformin on human lung tumor cells to determine if they were interacting in positive or negative ways. We found there was a positive effect of exposure to both drugs in that when administered together, cells could survive higher doses of each. Mitochondria are the energy-producing organelles and are a potential target for each drug. We examined mitochondrial function in cells by staining in the absence and presence of each drug and will show our findings at Scholars Day.

Metformin is a pharmaceutical widely used around the world to control type-2 diabetes, and gentamicin is an antibiotic that can treat a wide variety of bacterial infections. Both drugs are shown to have possible detrimental effects towards kidney cells, with gentamicin being more damaging. Previous research has shown that when combined together, the damaging effects of gentamicin are reduced. We looked at the effects of gentamicin and metformin on human lung tumor cells to determine if they were interacting in positive or negative ways. We found there was a positive effect of exposure to both drugs in that when administered together, cells could survive higher doses of each. Mitochondria are the energy-producing organelles and are a potential target for each drug. We examined mitochondrial function in cells by staining in the absence and presence of each drug and will show our findings at Scholars Day.

The keynote speaker for the event was Adrienne B. Haynes, a 2010 BVU graduate, who is an attorney and business woman who specializes in helping entrepreneurs develop sustainable infrastructure and business practices. Haynes is the managing partner of SEED Law, a business law firm, and owner of SEED Collective, a consultancy. She is the founder of the nonprofit, the Construction Business Institute, and is active in both the Multicultural Business Coalition and Black Female Attorneys network. Haynes is also a member of the BVU National Alumni Association Board of Directors.

"This is a special event because it gives students' a real-life platform where they can showcase their success beyond exams and grades," said Dr. Steven Mills, assistant professor of Spanish and chair of the events committee who organized the event. "With a Scholars Day presentation, students take their hard work and form it into a new medium or method for discussion. They become experts on their topic and then stand in front of peers and become teachers about what they have done and how it adds to the greater corpus of knowledge in their field."

This year marked the first time Scholars Day and the annual Student Recognition Dinner - which was held later that evening - were combined.

"For the first time, those who presented as part of Scholars Day received an invitation to the dinner and were recognized alongside all the others receiving honors and awards for academic excellence," added Mills. "They deserved to be a part of the celebration of hard work and dedication."