Kathryn Keller 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.

Kathryn Keller, a junior biology major from Rolfe , was one of the students who participated. Keller's presentation was titled "Stressed Worms: Screening Cancer Therapeutics with Caenorhabditis elegans," and the project's abstract is as follows:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cancer is the second largest cause of death in the United States, accounting for 584,811 deaths in the most current US survey. There are a wide variety of genetic causes, and the medical community has developed a number of chemotherapeutic treatments for those specific cancers. However, research continues apace for new compounds and approaches for hundreds of other types of cancer. To increase the rate of drug discovery, we have developed a screening process which allows the rapid and inexpensive screening of possible chemotherapeutic agents utilizing a model animal: Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). Longevity studies of worms carrying mutant versions of oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes allow us to compare the effects of different media adjuncts on life span. We will report the results for mutant and wild type worm lines grown on media containing Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) or Paclitaxel (Taxol), two current chemotherapeutic agents; European Mistletoe Extract and Ginseng, two herbal supplements; and a combination of adjuncts. Additionally, we will report the effect of chicoric acid, the major active agent in Echinacea purpurea (purple cone flower), on the life span of wild type worm lines.

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."