Lucas Hadaway Participated in Buena Vista University's Eleventh Annual Scholars Day

2015 May 22

Buena Vista University's eleventh annual Scholars Day was held Friday, April 24. The event provided students from all disciplines an opportunity to present their best presentations, original research, academic posters, artistic creations and performances to their peers, professors and the public.

This year's Scholars Day event featured 43 presentations from 86 students, exploring topics from art and business to science and history.

Lucas Hadaway, a senior biology major from Sheldahl, was one of the students who participated. Hadaway's presentation was titled The effects of Vinclozolin on Zebra Fish brain development , and the project's abstract is as follows:

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC’s) have the potential to hinder development in fetal brains. Endocrine disrupting compounds mimic hormones such as estrogen, thereby supplying a developing brain with too much. This can lead to altered brain development in males. To recreate this, we will breed Zebra fish and collect their embryos to be exposed to Vinclozolin, a known Endocrine disruptor in amphibians, in varying concentrations. Vinclozolin acts on the androgenic pathway as an anti-androgenic compound. We hope to see altered brain development, specifically male brains developing female characteristics. Removing the brain and looking at slices under a microscope will give us a closer, more detailed look at the impacts EDCs have on fetal brain development.

The keynote speaker for the event was Jeff Anderson, Class of 2003, who is the executive director of communications for the Minnesota Vikings. Anderson is entering his thirteenth season with the Vikings and plays a lead role in the organization's external and strategic communications.

"For some Scholars Day is the culmination of their work at BVU, and for others it becomes the springboard that sends them into a field they had not previously anticipated," said Dr. Steven Mills, assistant professor of Spanish and chair of the events committee who organized the event. "Either way, those who participate find in it a valuable growing experience and a strong sense of accomplishment."

Photos from this year's and previous Scholars Day events, along with a video from this year's event, are available online at www.bvu.edu/scholarsday.