At the 2012 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) international meeting in Vancouver B.C., biology major Alex Sorum won the student poster competition in the medicine and public health category. Alex won with his poster titled, “Effects of Airway Epithelial Secretions on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Formation” which presented the research he did as a Sundquist Scholar with biology assistant professor Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright during 2011.
Sorum did research on the bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria that affects about 80 percent of cystic fibrosis patients by the age of 18. The bacteria is difficult to treat because it forms a biofilm in the lungs that protects it against antibiotics and white blood cells. He harvested secretions from a non-cystic fibrosis lung model and applied them to the bacteria to test whether the lung secretions would inhibit the formation of the biofilm. Continue reading “Sorum presents winning poster at AAAS annual meeting”
This year, two students in Augsburg’s Environmental Studies program won prestigious scholarships: one received a Fulbright research fellowship and a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, and another was awarded a Udall Scholarship. Both students say their studies and experiences at Augsburg have prepared them to make a difference in the world.
Augsburg seniors Ashley Stoffers and Erin Olsen have been awarded the esteemed Fulbright scholarship. The scholarships, administered by The Institute of International Education, provide fellowships for students to study, research, and/or teach abroad. Stoffers will be located in Korea, and Olsen will teach in Venezuela.