UC Merced Research Week
Student Research Poster Competition
Sponsored by the Office of Research and Economic Development
March 1, 2016: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Joseph Edward Gallo Recreation and Wellness Center, Greg and Cathie Hostetler Court
All UC Merced students (undergraduate and graduate students) are encouraged to participate in the university’s eighth annual research forum. This forum will allow UC Merced’s undergraduate and graduate students to present the contents of their research to the broader university community. Students are strongly encouraged to speak with their faculty advisors for further guidance. Students wishing to participate should review abstract and poster guidelines for entry.
All abstracts should be submitted electronically using the web form that can be found at this link: http://research.ucmerced.edu/form/poster-competition.
Deadline to submit an abstract is Wednesday February 17, 2016.
On Tuesday February 23, 2016 all participants whose abstracts have been received will receive a confirmation email with information regarding the competition. If you do NOT receive a confirmation email on Tuesday February 24, 2015 but believe you should have, please contact researchweek@ucmerced.edu. Failure to notify the organizing committee may lead to your poster not being accepted on the day of the competition.
Poster competition winners will be announced at the Research Week Closing Ceremony on Friday March 04, 2016 at 11:00 AM.
If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to: researchweek@ucmerced.edu.
Prizes
Undergraduate Poster Winners
1. A $75.00 Gift Card to Amazon will be awarded to the undergraduate student with the top score in each school.
2. The winner from each school will receive a certificate of achievement from the Office of Research and Economic Development.
Graduate Poster Winners
1. A $75.00 Gift Card to Amazon will be awarded to the graduate student with the top score in each school.
2. A monetary award of $75.00 will be awarded to the graduate student with the top score in each school.
3. The winner from each school will receive a certificate of achievement from the Office of Research and Economic Development.
PLEASE NOTE: Gift cards and monetary awards will be awarded to the first (senior) author on each poster.
Instructions for Poster Presentations
Poster dimensions should be no larger than 3 feet high by 4 feet wide. The Office of Research and Economic Development will provide poster boards; however, students will need to supply their own fasteners and poster tape. Posters may be presented in either landscape or portrait format. Posters that do not follow the guidelines will not be accepted.
Students who did not submit their posters at the early drop-off* may have their posters displayed as early as 9:00 a.m. on March 1, 2016, and all posters up by 11:00 a.m. The competition is from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Students’ posters can be retrieved between 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the competition site. Posters not retrieved by 3:00 p.m. will be available for pickup in the Office of Research and Economic Development – Kolligian Library 330. All undergraduate and graduate students’ posters will be judged from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. If you are unable to present at your poster during that time frame your poster may not be judged. Each presenter has been scheduled for 10 minutes, at which time judges will discuss the project with the author and score the poster. Students may pick up their score sheet and the judges’ comments and suggestions at the Research Week award ceremony on Friday March 04, 2016.
*Early Drop-Off: This year posters may be dropped off at the Research Week Fair from 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM on Monday February 29, 2016. Please visit the Graduate & Undergraduate Student Research Poster Competition table where you can drop off your poster and retrieve the number where your poster will be placed. This is not mandatory; however, it will save you time on the actual day of competition. This will also allow you a chance to ask any questions ahead of time as well as confirm your abstract was received.
Below is an example of an abstract submission using the web form.
First name *
Esmeralda
Last name *
Aquayo
Email *
Phone number
(209) 228-4429
Level *
Undergraduate
School *
Natural Sciences
Poster title *
Differential Expression of Adhesion Molecules Associated with Hematopoietic Commitment
Associated collaborators *
Esmeralda Aquayo, Basha Stankovich, Maria Pallavicini, PhD., School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced
Abstract *
Adhesion molecules mediate cell-cell interactions in a number of cell systems, but their role in murine embryonic stem cell (mESC) differentiation is incompletely understood. To better understand the molecular basis for cell-cell interactions between mESC as they differentiate, the expression of adhesion molecules in embryoid bodies (EB) was analyzed. Expression of forty adhesion molecules was analyzed with quantitative RT-PCR during EB formation. Thirteen target molecules were differentially expressed. Six out of thirteen (46%) differentially expressed proteins were junction proteins; gap junction, tight junction or adherens junction proteins. These results suggest that the six junction proteins may have a role in cell fate decisions in the differentiation of mESC into the hematopoietic lineage. mESC lines were generated with stable knockdown of junction proteins using short hairpin RNA (shRNA) sequences. EB from knockdown mESC lines were cultured under conditions to induce differentiation along the hematopoietic lineage in colony forming assays. Hematopoietic colonies were quantified to determine hematopoietic potential in mESC with decreased expression of junction proteins. Understanding the adhesion molecule interactions between mESC allows for the possibility of guiding differentiation toward specific lineages in the future.
