Graduate and undergraduate researchers from the NDSU Department of Veterinary and Microbiological Sciences presented research at the 80th annual meeting of the North Central Branch of the American Society for Microbiology, held virtually on Sept. 25.
NDSU students gave a total of eight oral and poster presentations.
Graduate student Jessica Lauer gave an oral presentation titled “Quantifying survival of Salmonella and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli on wheat grain.” Her thesis adviser is Teresa Bergholz, associate professor.
Lauer received a monetary award and a free membership in the national American Society for Microbiology.
Students who presented posters included:
• Doctoral student Madelyn Schwartz, “Scope and genetic causes of phenotypic plasticity in E. coli growth rate in response to osmotic stress.” Her thesis adviser is Peter Bergholz, associate professor.
• Graduate student Jonathan Nguyen, “Perceptions of community-engaged learning across undergraduate disciplines.” His thesis adviser is Danielle Condry, assistant professor of practice.
• Graduate student Erika Shay Bauer, “Correlation between the motility and metabolism of phylogroup D Escherichia coli isolated from soil.” Her thesis adviser is Birgit Pruess, professor.
• Seniors Star Rodriguez, Emily Holzer and Jane Fischer, “Symbiotic communities of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) are robust against frequent handling.” They are undergraduate researchers working with Peter Bergholz.
• Senior Suemeng Vang, “Evolutionary change of Escherichia coli soil isolated imposed by predation pressure from Dictyostelium discoideum.” Vang is an undergraduate researcher working with Peter Bergholz.
• Graduate student Autumn Kraft, “Survival of foodborne pathogens in soil extracts.” Her thesis advisor is Teresa Bergholz.
• Graduate student Debdutta Nath, “Exploring the effects of tillage and fertilizer regimes on ammoniaoxidizing communities.” Nath’s thesis advisor is Samiran Banerjee, assistant professor.
Peter Bergholz is president of the North Central Branch. The branch includes Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
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