MARQUETTE, Mich. — Northern Michigan University has announced the poster winners from the 19th annual Celebration of Student Research, Creative Works and Academic Service Learning, held April 10.

            The top three undergraduate student award winners were: first place, senior biology-ecology/Spanish major Kelsey Huisman from Marquette, for “Conservation Genetics of the Rare Species Delphinium Exaltatum (RANUNCULACEAE) of the Appalachian Mountains and the Ozark Highlands of Missouri”; second place, senior biology major Erica Fraley of Kimball for “Exploring Potato Tuber Endophytes”; tie for third place, senior biology-zoology major Rozemary Howard of Gaylord for “Detection of mRNA via Fluroescent In-Situ Hybridization” and senior biology-ecology major Ethan Scott of Gaylord for “DNA Methylation in Genomically Imprinted Genes of Hybrid mice.”

            The top graduate student award winners were: first place, biology major Joseph Wagner of Byron Center for “An In-Depth Analysis of Winter Ice Conditions of Several Streams Located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula”; second place, Holly Mathys of Escanaba, an education, leadership and public service-learning disabilities major, for “Trends in the Delivery of Special Education Services”; and third place, family nurse practitioner major Samantha Conklin of Marquette for “Using iPod Touch Devices to Assess Quality of Life among Patients with Primary Brain Tumors.”

            Group awards were also presented as follows:

            First place: “Phytoremediation of BPA by little Bluestem Seeds” by freshman Katelyn Pershinske of Maple City and seniors Sara Stafford of Muskegon and Cody Bogner of Marquette, all chemistry-biochemistry majors.

            Second place: “Reduced Medial Prefrontal Cortical Volumes Associated with Depressive Traits in Healthy Inidividuals” by senior Joshua Maxwell of Minneapolis, Minn., and recent graduate Emily Depetro of Marquette, both psychology majors.

            Third place: “What’s in a Grade?: Pre-service Teachers’ Assessment of 7th Grade Student Learning” by graduate students Andrew Mills of Marquette and Holly Mathys of Escanaba, both education, leadership and public service-learning disabilities majors.