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ASBMB Students Receive Accolades at Conference

04/16/2024

Saint Louis University's American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) students received first prize, were inducted into the Honor Society, and presented their research at the 2024 Discover Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Conference. 

Undergraduate Student Research Presenters and Participating Faculty at the 2024 Discover BMB Conference, the ASBMB National Meeting, pose for a picture. From left are Rita Heuertz, Ph.D., Suhjin Lee, Leah Keswani, Ether Dharmesh, Vaishnavi Srirama, and Uthayashanker Ezekiel, Ph.D.

Undergraduate Student Research Presenters and Participating Faculty at the 2024 Discover BMB Conference, the ASBMB National Meeting, pose for a picture. From left are Rita Heuertz, Ph.D., Suhjin Lee, Leah Keswani, Ether Dharmesh, Vaishnavi Srirama, and Uthayashanker Ezekiel, Ph.D. Submitted photo.

Discover BMB, the annual American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) national meeting, was held in San Antonio in March.  There were undergraduate students from across the country who competed in the research poster presentation and competition.

SLU student Ether Dharmesh won the First Place Prize in the Chemical Biology category, with just six category winners selected out of 295 participants in the competition. Felllow ASBMB member Vaishnavi Srirama was inducted into the ASBMB Honor Society, ΧΩΛ, which is a distinction given to exceptional undergraduate students.

The SLU Chapter of ASBMB was awarded an Honorary Mention for being the best ASBMB chapter in the country. Four SLU students who are undergraduate members of ASBMB presented their research results. Leah Keswani (Medical Science), Suhjin Lee (Health Management), Ether Dharmesh (Biomedical Engineering), and Vaishnavi Srirama (Medical Sciences) presented a poster about the 2023 outreach event outcomes and impact.

Two of the students have been recipients of research scholarships from the DeNardo Education and Research Foundation, a grant awarded to Rita Heuertz, Ph.D., that supported student research and conference attendance for Suhjin Lee and Leah Keswani. The ASBMB SLU chapter provided additional funding for conference presentations for Vaishnavi Srirama and Ether Dharmesh.

Presenting research results were Nilan Patel (Mentor: Rita Heuertz, Ph.D.), Leah Keswani, Suhjin Lee and Vaishnavi Srirama (Mentor: Uthayashanker Ezekiel Ph.D.), and Ether Dharmesh (Mentor: Silviya Zustiak Ph.D.).