Through undergraduate research, Rhodes students not only collaborate with faculty members but also gain networking and presentation experience at conferences that enhances learning beyond the classroom.
This year, faculty and students in the Department of Chemistry have traveled and presented their work at various national conferences. Most participants receive funding for abstract submission as well as travel and conference fees.
Tatyana Denton’25, Joseph Shah ’25, Katherine Crutchfield ’26, and Ethan Cheng ’27 highlighted work conducted in Prof. Shana Stoddard’s Molecular Immunotherapeutics Research (MIR) lab. Denton was one of the few undergraduates selected to present alongside Ph.D. students and postdoctoral associates at the 53rd Southeastern Theoretical Chemistry Association conference. Shah delivered an oral presentation at the Southeast/Southwest NOBCChE regional conference, and Crutchfield and Cheng discussed findings from their individual projects at the NOBCChE national conference.
"I thought it was so amazing to be able to meet the 2025 American Chemical Society president Dr. Dorothy Phillips and ACS president-elect Dr. Rigoberto Hernandez as an undergraduate,” said Cheng. “These conferences are great opportunities to connect with the larger scientific community."
“My research involves the SARS-COVID-2 respiratory virus and other respiratory viruses as well,” said Shah. “We use computational programming to isolate and manipulate protein interactions between these diseases and where they bind on the human body in order to see how we can develop medicines and procedures to save lives. Working in a research lab taught me patience despite setbacks, attention to detail, and effective collaboration with a diverse team. All of these are incredibly useful skills for a career in healthcare.”
Students who conducted research with Profs. Loretta Jackson-Hayes and Terry Hill as part of a National Science Foundation grant attended the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology national meeting. They are Abinaya Kalyani Venkatarama ’25, Serena Williams ’25, Leon Ashton ’25, Ian Nutting ’27, David Jackson ’26, Carson Page ’25, and Jen Long ’27, Joe Hane ’25, who worked with Prof. Larryn Petterson, also attended the conference.
Learn more internship and research opportunities in the Department of Chemistry.