Briggsies earn awards at the LBC Research Symposium supported by MSUFCU
April 26, 2023
On Monday, April 24, 2023, LBC held the premier event of its 16th Annual MSUFCU Research Symposium. Each spring, LBC students have the opportunity to present research from their courses, from honors options, from independent research efforts, and from faculty-mentored projects. They present to Briggs community members including alumni who serve as judges. MSUFCU generously supports the symposium and sponsors a series of monetary prizes for independent research projects and honors options.
This year’s award-winners include:
MSUFCU Grand Prize Award, with a $1,000 prize
Harsna Chahal and Nupur Huria, for "Factors Impacting Perceptions and Stigma Surrounding Menstruation: Michigan State University Perspective"
MSUFCU Honorable Mention Award, with a $250 prize
- Kierra Jursch: "Mouse Estrous Acyclicity in Response to Shift Work-Like Lighting"
- Nikita Nel: "The Relationship of Prenatal and Postpartum Depression with Gastrointestinal and Vaginal Microbial Diversity and Composition"
- Leah Zajac: "Education Videos: How Can Students Search Smarter?”
MSUFCU Virtual Research Showcase Award, with a $300 prize
- Haley Preston: "University students' attitude towards horses improved with participation in an equine activity”
Dr. Ryan Sweeder, LBC associate dean for research and faculty affairs, coordinated this year’s symposium, and has coordinated about 13 of the past 16 years’ symposia. He says, “The LBC Symposium is a wonderful celebration of all the hard work of our students who are engaged in research both in the classroom and through mentored experiences with faculty. As we are training students, it is extremely important to help them engage with the assorted practices that scientists employ. Meaningful research experiences typically include many scientific and engineering practices like asking questions, developing models, analyzing data, etc. This is the reason that LBC works to include research in many aspects of the curriculum.
We are proud of all the student presenters. Former award winners and presenters have become the recipients of competitive national level scholarships and awards and we look forward to seeing what this year’s presenters will accomplish in the future.”
Congratulations to the winners and to all the participants! We thank alumni judges Pat Merry, Mari Dowling, Lauren Jernstadt, Bri Martinez, Krysta Dunger, Jordan Fornier, Maggie Williams and special guest Jacob Watkins of MSUFCU.
The symposium continues with end-of-term research presentations within classes, until April 28.
