CONNECT 2021

Joshua Anadu Major | Environmental Science Minor | Chemistry, Geology Class of 2021 Katy, TX How did you get started researching ? I came to OSU wanting to do research, so I emailed five professors in my first semester. I started by doing a literature review for a soil microbiology professor. That project was my introduction to thinking like a researcher. Research Impacts One of my current projects is centered around the description of a new genus and species of foraminifera living on the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean. My research advisor, Dr. Ashley Burkett, and I will be naming the new genus and species! Recent Research Activities I was just awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and will soon submit three manuscripts for publication. Most recently, I was an intern working with the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Future Plans Starting in Fall 2021, I will be a Ph.D. student at Caltech in geobiology. Brenden Determann II Majors | Biochemistry and Microbiology, Molecular Genetics Minor | Chemistry Class of 2021 Garland, TX How did you get started researching ? I joined the Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (OK-LSAMP) early after I arrived at OSU. It connected me to a research internship on campus. I later joined the lab fully and began developing experiments. I realized what research entailed and where my collegiate career could go. Each day in the lab, I learned that my passions and goals were attainable. Research Impacts Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes cryptococcal meningitis, leading to more than 180,000 annual deaths. Understanding the mechanisms of anti- fungal activity allows us to develop therapeutics to immunocompromised individuals around the world. Dr. Karen Wozniak is my research advisor. Recent Research Activities As an undergraduate, I have presented at nine conferences, including at the national level. I am now co-authoring a manuscript for publication. Future Plans I plan on attending graduate school for biomedical sciences to obtain a research-based master’s degree in immunology and infection. OSU COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SC I ENCES 19 COMPILATIONS RACHAEL EATON, PH.D. | PHOTOS PROVIDED