Biotechnology Students Earn Top Honors During Third Annual Capital Region STEM Poster Showcase

It was only the first time that Biotechnology students Siyana Brown, Mary Ritter, and Darren Seegobin presented their research to anyone, but they so impressed a panel of judges comprised of industry and college representatives during the Third Annual Capital Region STEM Poster Showcase that they took top honors in the community college research category. Their poster titled A Synthetic Biology Approach: Applying Emerging GGA Technique to Develop a Cure for Marfan Syndrome earned the top spot during the April 11 STEM event at Hudson Valley Community College. In addition to the prestige of winning their category, each student received a cash prize.

The student team was mentored by Dr. Lorena Harris, Assistant Professor in the Division of Math, Science, Technology and Health, who shared her expertise in cellular and molecular biology with them during the Biotechnology Techniques course she teaches in the Biotechnology Laboratory and Research Facility.

They decided to study Marfan Syndrome because it is one of the most common inherited disorders affecting connective tissue through the body and can lead to complications in the heart, blood vessels, eyes, skeleton, and lungs. Marfan has a reported incidence of 1 in 3,000 to 5,000 individuals and there is no treatment developed, neither a cure available to help the 0.2% of the population affected with this genetic disorder. Editing this gene could potentially stop the skeletal, cardiovascular, and ocular issues that these individuals experience.

More than 100 students from SUNY Schenectady, Hudson Valley Community College, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Clarkson University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Siena College, Skidmore College, SUNY Cobleskill, Union College, and the University at Albany shared their work at the showcase. In addition to the community college research category, there were two other categories for students at four-year colleges/universities and graduate students.

Dr. Hope Sasway, Dean of the Division of Math, Science, Technology and Health, said, “I am exceedingly proud of these students and Dr. Harris, not only for winning the competition but for always displaying their passion for biology, which is also my background. Because of this, I would occasionally pop into the lab to see what they were working on. I enjoyed witnessing their enthusiasm for research and asked them some questions, especially on the day they were practicing their poster pitch. Their ability to field questions about their project and where they could take it further was very impressive. I look forward to seeing where these talented individuals go from here and I hope that what they have achieved will inspire others to enroll in our Biotechnology A.S. Degree Program. It’s a field with so many great career possibilities.”

The Third Annual Poster Showcase was sponsored by Regeneron, General Electric, GlobalFoundries, The Center for Economic Growth, and CBET (Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training) with additional contributions from Taconic Biosciences and the Neural Stem Cell Institute.