Tri Beta members awarded at 87th annual ASB Meeting

Members of Troy University’s Tri Beta Mu Epsilon Chapter attended the 87th annual Association of Southeastern Biologists (ASB) Meeting. Troy University was awarded Chapter of the Year for the Second Southeast District of Tri Beta, as well as awarded for having the most delegates attend the convention.  

Emily Hyman, a senior biomedical sciences major from Saraland, Alabama, is president of the Mu Epsilon chapter while serving as Tri Beta’s Southeast District 2 president. 

“Tri Beta Biological Honor Society is an honor society for individuals interested in the biological sciences,” Hyman said. “Membership is available to biology majors who have demonstrated academic excellence in biology and overall.” 

Hyman’s work with Tri Beta earned her a research grant, which led to a summer internship at John Hopkins.  

“The lab I worked in focused on breast cancer, and I chose that lab specifically because I am interested in cancers that primarily affect women,” Hyman said.  

Hyman said, upon completing her internship, she prepared a poster with her lab members to convey their research visually.  

Hyman was awarded second place for the Tri Beta John C. Johnson award for her research poster entitled “Weight Loss Associated Metabolite and its FDA-Approved Analog Exhibit Anticancer Properties in Breast Cancer: Implications for Secondary Prevention in Obese Survivors.” 

Madison Corkran, a junior biomedical science major from Wetumpka, Alabama, is the vice president of the Mu Epsilon Chapter and presented at the ASB meeting.  

“My research poster was on the behavioral interactions of an invasive and native crayfish of the Conecuh River watershed of Southern Alabama,” Corkran said. “We focused on quantifying the intensity of aggression due to shelter limitations between a native and invasive species of the river. 

“The results of the project showed us that the invasive species has a very high natural aggression rate that is not due to shelter limitations.  

I wanted to present my work because I really enjoyed doing it, and it has a large reach as the invasive crayfish we studied is known to be the most invasive crayfish species worldwide.” 

According to Corkran, participation in Tri Beta fosters opportunities for research involvement as well as networking with students who share similar interests.  

“Through Tri Beta, I was given the opportunity to get involved with my research project and help another graduate student with her research on temperature effects on freshwater mussels,” Corkran said. “I have also been able to strengthen my professional relationship with professors in my department.” 

Mu Epsilon’s current historian, Addison Staude, a junior biomedical sciences major from Talladega, Alabama, was elected District II Tri Beta vice president.  

“I’m excited to represent my chapter as the new Vice President of District 2,” Staude said. “I’ll be working closely with the newly elected staff to help events at the conference run smoothly.” 

Staude also presented her research, in collaboration with Hannah Emerson, on detecting pathogenic threats and antibiotic resistance markers in marine tarball biofilms.  

Staude said the hardened exterior of tarballs provides a great environment for bacteria.  

“Using a tarball that was collected from the Alabama Gulf coast, we dissected it into a core sample and outside surface sample, extracted the DNA and analyzed it with PCR using 14 distinct diagnostic markers,” Staude said.  

"We're still doing research, but there is support for tarballs being an environment for various pathogenic bacteria that affect humans, animals and marine life.” 

According to Hyman, Tri Beta provides opportunities for students to apply for research grants and present at the district and national level. 

“We also had three students presenting who were awarded research grants this year for their projects,” Hyman said. “I'm so proud of my members and all they have accomplished and will continue to accomplish in their careers.”