Butler senior wins American Society for Cell Biology poster competition

A Butler University senior won first place in the 2016 American Society for Cell Biology's undergraduate poster session. 

The senior, Victoria Kreyden, attended the meeting in San Francisco along with her poster presentation, "Investigation of the neuronal functions of the SUMO conjugating enzyme UBC-9 at the C. elegans neuromuscular junction." 

Over 100 presentations were judged in the competition.

Kreyden is studying microscopic roundworms in the hopes of making new discoveries about the human nervous system. 

Associated Professor of Biology Jennifer Kowalski spoke on Kreyden's research.

"Because of the similarities between the human and C. elegansnervous systems and the high number of genes they share, including the genes encoding SUMO enzymes, it is likely that what she learns in the worms will be relevant to understanding human nervous system function," Kowalski said. 

In addition to Kreyden's presentation, three other Butler students attended: Ashley Kline, with her presentation of "Characterizing a Role for the Misshaped Kinase in the Growth of the Germline Ring Canals in the Developing Egg Chamber"; Olivia Crowe, with her presentation of "Determination of the role of Dreadlocks (Dock) in the growth of the germline ring canals in the developing Drosophila melanogaster egg chamber"; and Lauryn Campagnoli's submission of her presentation, titled "Investigation of SYD-2 as a potential substrate of the Anaphase Promoting Complex in promoting GABA release at the C. elegans neuromuscular junction."