Eastern Student Lauren Atkinson of Harwinton Presents Research Poster at CREATE Conference

2016 May 3

More than 250 talented students at Eastern Connecticut State University presented research and creative work at the university's second annual CREATE conference this past April. CREATE stands for Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern, and is the university's premier, academic year-end showcase. At the culminating event, students of all majors presented professional posters, live music, dance performances, artwork, photography, documentaries and panel discussions.

Lauren Atkinson '19 of Harwinton, who majors in Biology, presented a research poster at the event. Atkinson's presentation was titled "Isolating Antibiotic Compounds Produced by Soil Microbes."

"The discovery of antibiotics revolutionized medicine. Inexpensive and widely?available, these compounds could stop bacterial infections and diseases that previously had no cure," said Atkinson. "Today due to the widespread and frequently unnecessary use of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance is rapidly evolving among these pathogens that were once easily controlled, especially among Gram?negative pathogens. The decreased efficacy of the antibiotics currently available hinders our ability to stop infectious diseases as well as address complications among patients undergoing chemotherapy or recovering from surgery. Furthermore, during the past decade, pharmaceutical companies have limited their efforts to find new antibiotics, fueling the need for discovery elsewhere. The Small World Initiative is a novel global project that uses crowdsourcing to discover new antibiotics from soil bacteria. This study is part of the Small World Initiative. The purpose of this study is to isolate antibiotic compounds that may be used to create new antibiotics against which these bacterial pathogens have no resistance. To do this, we isolated and cultured on various media, the bacteria in two soil samples taken from Church Farm. Bacterial isolates were then characterized by morphology as well as biochemical and genetic testing. Safe non?pathogenic bacteria were used to test the bacterial isolates for antibiotic activity. We hope to improve our understanding of the diversity of soil bacteria and to discover new antibiotic compounds."

Remarking on the variety of presentations, Professor Dickson Cunningham, conference co-chair, said, "CREATE encapsulates the essence of the liberal arts in one afternoon. It is an intellectual smorgasbord."

Speaking to the value of CREATE, Eastern President Elsa Nunez said, "It takes a very strong and dedicated student to produce this quality of work, and it's important for other students to see this output." Praising the faculty, she added, "It takes a committed and skillful mentor to guide students to the work that is on display. Mentorship is such an integral part of undergraduate research."

During the one-day conference, the Student Center crawled with artistic and scholarly activity. Students in professional attire addressed their peers, faculty and family. In the cafe, ensembles performed; in the theatre, student-produced documentaries were shown; in the Betty R. Tipton Room, aisles of posters depicting scientific research were displayed; across the hall, a gallery-worth of paintings lined the walls; and on the ground floor, panel discussions and oral presentations about the humanities took place.

In celebration of students' exemplary research, experiential learning and creative activity, CREATE serves to reinforce high-impact practices such as mentored research; increases the number of students presenting their work in a professional forum; raises public awareness of Eastern's liberal arts mission and student accomplishments; and contributes to the intellectual richness of the campus community.