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BIDDEFORD, Maine

NURDS win at Northeast Undergraduate Research Development Symposium hosted by UNE

The University of New England's 5th Annual Northeast Undergraduate Research Development Symposium (NURDS) held March 2-3 on UNE‚ Biddeford Campus drew 160 student researchers from Connecticut to New Brunswick, Canada.  

Representing 39 colleges and universities, the students presented research in biology, marine biology, physics, biochemistry, neuroscience, ecology and - new to NURDS this year - the humanities and social sciences.

The symposium, originated with funding from the National Science Foundation and now supported by the UNE Provost's Office, is the largest interdisciplinary undergraduate research conference in northern New England.  It is created, organized and run each year by undergraduate students.

This year's winners include:

First place

Roxanne Pelletier, Université de Moncton, New Brunswick, CAN, "An analysis method for the manganese content of saliva by ICP-MS"

Second place:

Justin Morse, Boston University, Boston, MA, "Calcium Handling Deficits Induced by Systemic Inflammatory Mediators in Rat Cardiomyocytes"

Third place:

Cassidy Peterson , University of New England, ME, "Gestational analysis of the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) by coupling ultrasound and steroid hormone analysis"

List of top 10 posters (unranked):

Madison Van Orden, Salve Regina University
Erika Albretson, Salve Regina University
Laura Cronley, Colby College
Matt Mulé, Tufts University
Katherine Egan, University of Rhode Island
Joseph Langan, University of New England
Chandni Patel, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Soren Hough, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Elizabeth Velazquez and Tatiana Perez, University of New Haven
Stephanie St.Pierre, Université of Moncton

Talks:

Honorable mention
Gary Forster, Adam Zec, Kirsten Randle: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, Presentations on dark matter

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.