CSULA students, faculty to converge at biotechnology conference

Jan. 2, 2013 - PRLog -- Los Angeles, CA -- Dedicated to developing biotechnology researchers in California, the California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB) will bring together students and faculty from Cal State L.A. as well as 21 other CSU campuses at its 25th annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium from Jan. 3 to 5 at the Anaheim Marriott.

The CSU Biotechnology Symposium is designed to broaden exposure to cutting-edge biotechnologies, product-focused innovation and the spectrum of career paths available in the life sciences.

With research topics ranging from antifreeze protein to type 2 diabetes, 46 CSULA students—25 undergraduates and 21 graduate students—will present their posters during the symposium on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.

This year, CSULA’s biology major Gregory Alvarado is selected as a finalist for the Don Eden Graduate Student Research Award. The Eden Award fosters excellence in graduate student research throughout the CSU system in biotechnology-related research. Alvarado, who is mentored by CSULA Professor Robert Nissen, will present his research on “The temperature sensitive wdr68hi3812 allele reveals a requirement for dlx1a/2a expression in craniofacial development (http://csuperb.org/oars/abstract_view_inline.php?id=110&a...).”

In addition, CSULA’s biology major Kathy Trang is selected as finalist for the  Glenn Nagel Undergraduate Student Research Award. The Nagel Award fosters excellence in undergraduate student research throughout the CSU system in biotechnology-related research. Trang, who is mentored by CSU Long Beach Professor Houng-Wei Tsai, will present her research on “Sexually dimorphic expression of splicing factors in the developing mouse cortex and hippocampus (http://csuperb.org/oars/abstract_view_inline.php?id=212&a...).”

For this symposium, 266 research posters were accepted for presentation, which represent work from 146 faculty-led research groups at 22 campuses.  The number of submitted and accepted abstracts is the most in the 25 years of the CSU Biotechnology Symposium.

As part of the three-day program, CSULA Professor Sandy Sharp will lead the CSUPERB Genomic Analysis and Technologies Taskforce Meeting, while CSULA Professor Wayne Tikkanen will co-present the Scientific Teaching Workshop. Also, CSULA alumnus Willie Guillermo Zuñiga, CEO/president of Grifols Biologicals, Inc., will coordinate a Career Networking Session for students in attendance.

A highlight of the event, the CSUPERB will be “Celebrating CSU Biotechnology Alumni.” Two of the honorees are CSULA alums:   Hector Aguilar-Carreno (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/people-vmp/faculty/Aguilar-Carr...) of Washington State University and   Michael Lipscomb (http://www.biology.howard.edu/faculty/lipscomb/lipscomb_biosketch.html) of Howard University.

For more information on the symposium, visit    http://www.calstate.edu/csuperb/symposium/2013/.