California State University, Monterey Bay
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center
Newsletter -Issue 2                                                                                             Fall 2016
UROC Hosts the Second Annual Fall Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, & Creative Activity Showcase! 

The Second Annual Fall Research Showcase held at the Alumni & Visitors Center on November 30 highlighted fifteen undergraduate students presenting on a variety of research topics, ranging from molecular biology, to kinesiology and marine science.

Ten oral presentations were selected, including two group collaborative presentations. Each student, or research group, completed a ten-minute oral presentation followed by a brief question and answer period.

The Showcase, designed to highlight and support undergraduate research projects, scholarship, and creative activity at CSUMB is modeled after the CSU Student Research Competition held every year on the different CSU campuses to celebrate research across the CSU.  Showcase winners are encouraged to apply to the CSU Student Research Competition in spring. 
UROC Biology Scholar, Cecilia Garcia presenting on RNA interference control of whitefly, Bemisia tabaci MEAM1

Congratulations to the winners:

1st place- Nicole Barbour (UROC Researcher, Biology)                                                       Title:Spatial and temporal variability on the Monterey Bay sandy continental shelf

2nd place- Gina Dabbah (UROC Scholar, Biology)                                                          Title: Ascospore dissemination in mummified blueberries

3rd place-Jacob Green (UROC Scholar, Biology) Title: Juvenile rockfish enzymatic response to ocean acidification
From left to right: Gina Dabbah, Nicole Barbour, and Jacob Green.
UROC Ambassadors in the Community
UROC Student Ambassadors, a new voluntary opportunity for scholars and researchers, encourages them to connect research experiences to broader impacts and to serve as liaisons to develop strong ties between UROC, CSUMB, and the local t ri-county area schools and organizations. 

UROC Ambassadors  span the academic disciplines-- marine science, psychology, humanities-- and work to enhance their professional development, leadership, and communication skills, as well as become a part of a growing professional network of community leaders. 

This fall, two UROC Ambassadors presented their research to a group of 7th graders at Los Arboles Middle School in Marina, CA. Char'Mane Robinson (current UROC Scholar, Environmental Science) facilitated an activity on bioaccumulation in Cocos Lagoon, Guam. Char'Mane used her summer research as a NOAA EPP Scholar as inspiration for this lesson and activity.

UROC Scholar Alum and future Auburn University graduate student, Alison Aceves, led an activity on parasitology based on research completed at Oregon State University.  Alison was excited to teach the students about the many types of parasites and their interactions with salmonids --- the students even built and named their own parasites out of play-dough!  

The culminating activity engaged students reflecting on what it means to do research, explore parasites and bioaccumulation-- and to never stop asking questions about our world.

The collaboration was a such a huge success that UROC has been invited back to work with the Los Arboles students next spring on two, student-led research activities during undergraduate research week April 3-7, 2017. 
UROC Ambassador and Scholar Char'Mane Robinson facilitating her bioaccumulation activity at Los Arboles Middle School.
Mr. Leucan (Los Arboles Middle School) introducing Alison Aceves (UROC Scholar Alum) and Char'Mane Robinson (UROC Scholar) to the 7th grade class.
If you would like to connect with the UROC Ambassadors program, please email Megan Bassett: mbassett@csumb.edu.  
UROC Welcomes a New Cohort of  Scholars!
UROC has selected fourteen CSUMB students to join the Scholar's Program next spring. 

The new, diverse, cohort of students represents many disciplines: Psychology, Marine Science, Human Communication, Biology, Social and Behavioral Science, Mathematics, Anthropology, and Environmental Science.  UROC is also excited to work with many new faculty mentors across the colleges in this capacity. 

Five of our UROC Scholars were also accepted into the  McNair Scholars program, also part of UROC.  

The scholars will participate in a two-day winter UROC intensive in January preparing them to apply to competitive summer REU programs. In spring, the cohort will take the first of four required seminar courses. 

The new UROC Scholars started their journey with a rigorous fall application process followed by in-person interviews before being selected.  

UROC is excited be a part of their academic journey as they develop themselves into emerging researchers, scholars and future leaders. 
Award Winning UROCers! 
Madison Heard (UROC Scholar, Marine Science) won honorable mention for the Rafe Sagarin Award for Observational Ecology at the Western Society of  Naturalists 
Conference for her oral presentation titled: "Effects of Climate Change on the Larval Development of Haliotis refucens." Madison conducted her research as part of the Monterey Bay Regional Ocean Science Research Experience for Undergraduates program during summer 2015.

Madison is currently conducting research on the effects of ocean acidification on juvenile rockfish species as a member of Dr. Cheryl Logan's Logan Lab at CSUMB. 

Blake Hansen (UROC Scholar, Mathematics) won a poster award for his poster presentation at the 2016 SACNAS Conference. Blake presented "A comparison of different machine learning algorithms for predicting gene essentiality in cancer cell lines" as part of the 2016 BD2K program, a collaboration between CSUMB and UC Santa Cruz.

Blake was one of several UROC students to present research at the SACNAS Conference. Congratulations Blake!   
Rosa Garza (UROC Scholar, Mathematics) was awarded a Chevron Scholarship to fund her 2016 summer research at the University of Southern California.  The Chevron Scholarship is awarded to a UROC Scholar and provides support intended to help Computer Science students go on to success in research, graduate studies and a STEM career.

Rosa worked as part of a team, whose research efforts were part of a global research contest (the  Kaggl e  competition) that focused on using computer code to model nerve structures in the neck to help surgical patients with pain management.
Zareen Kilpatrick (UROC Researcher Alum) published a paper with her research mentor Dr. Jeffery Hughey of Hartnell College. Their paper Mitochondrial and plastid genome analysis of the marine red alga Coeloseira compressa (Champiaceae,Rhodophyta) appeared in Taylor & Francis Online in early fall. 

Congratulations Zareen and Dr. Hughey! 
UROC in the Press

UROC publishes on eportfolios

Each scholar produces a final eportfolio as part of the UROC program outcomes.   Maximizing the Function of Student Eportfolios was published by the Association of American Colleges & Universities written by Natasha Oehlman, Dr. Heather Haegar, Dr. Bridgette Clarkston and Dr. John E. Banks.

Read more on eportfolios...
UROC Puts HIPs into Practice

UROC was covered in a piece highlighting the importance of incorporating high impact practices (HIPs) into the undergraduate experience.  Playing to your Strengths  was published in the latest edition of Public Purpose, a magazine from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). In the article, UROC Director, Dr. Banks explained how “providing opportunities for deep engagement, and especially higher-impact practices, has the potential to transform student learning and academic opportunities for the future.”

Dr. Heather Haegar (UROC's Assessment and Education Research Associate) and Dr. Carla Fresquez (UROC's Research Associate ) recently published  Mentoring for Inclusion: The Impact of Mentoring on Undergraduate Researchers in the Sciences in CBE-Life Science Edition, published by The American Society for Cell Biology.  

UROC is on the forefront of furthering discussions on increasing diversity in graduate programs, mentoring best practices and increasing undergraduate participation in research. 
Read the article here...

Summer 2016 Research Symposium
The 2016 UROC Summer Research Program culminated in the largest Summer Research Symposium taking up all three floors of the Tanimura and Antle Family Memorial Library! . The symposium was a collaboration between UROC, the Monterey Bay Regional Ocean Science Research Experience for Undergraduates program, the Naval Post Graduate School, and Hartnell Community College. 

The symposium comprised of 21 oral presentations (11 REU, 6 UROC, and 4 NPS) and 51 research posters (48 UROC, 20 NPS, and 3 Hartnell Community College). 

Prior to the symposium, UROC partnered with CSUMB's Educational Opportunity Program's summer bridge to facilitate an interactive session on how to navigate and get the most out of a research poster. The day of the event EOP staff sent them on a scavenger hunt of research posters! 

UROC was happy to see our collaborations grow this summer and is eager to see where next year takes us! 
 
Meet the UROC team!                                                  
UROC has grown quite a bit over the past two years! There are many new faces around the office, but one constant has been the UROC Administrative Support Coordinator, Bobby  Quiñonez.

Bobby Quiñonez, UROC’s longest running employee, has been with the program since January 2011. Bobby is the often the first point of contact with students to help answer questions and guide them to the appropriate UROC staff. Students quickly learn to anticipate a smiling face and a witty joke as they enter the office.

As graduate of CSUMB (2003), with degree in Earth Systems Science & Policy, Bobby enrolled in CSU San Marcos’ Single Subject Teaching Credential Program with his heart set on education.  

He came back to CSUMB to serve as the Program Coordinator for CSUMB’s Recruitment in Science Education Program (RISE) working with under-represented high school students in the Salinas and Monterey Bay area students to expand their interest and skills in science while providing them the tools and inspiration to attend college. Bobby has extended his role on campus to currently serve as member of the CSUMB Alumni Association’s Board of Directors. 

When Bobby isn’t at UROC, he’s playing guitar and yelling in his punk band, or getting yelled at by his 8-year old daughter, or experiencing eye-rolls from his wife of 11 years (also a CSUMB Alumnae).  Bobby is dedicated to providing first-class “sass” and top-notch service to his UROC colleagues, and of course, all UROC and CSUMB students.  
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