Two Westminster College biology students and their professor presented research posters at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Ga.., from Jan. 3-7.

Lauren Gross, a senior biology major from Lewisburg, Pa., researched “Ethanol Exposure Impacts Cardiac Development and Function” with faculty adviser Dr. Marosh Furimsky, associate professor of biology. Gross used zebrafish as a model for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to explore how both concentration and timing of exposure to ethanol affect cardiovascular system development and function in developing embryos.

Gross is a graduate of Lewisburg Area High School.

Lily Hefner’s research, “Investigating the Role of the Enzyme Monoamine Oxidase in Aggression,” was also advised by Furimsky. Hefner is a senior molecular biology and criminal justice studies double major from Washington, Pa., and a Pennsylvania homeschool graduate.    

The students’ participation at the SICB meeting was supported by the Spencer-Davis Fund at Westminster College, as well as the Charlotte Mangum Support Award from the SICB.

SICB fosters research, education, public awareness and understanding of living organisms from molecules and cells to ecology and evolution. This meeting attracted over 1,000 delegates from across the globe, presenting a wide range of research topics.

For additional information, contact Furimsky at 724-946-7207 or furimsmm@westminster.edu.

To learn more about Westminster’s biology major, please visit www.westminster.edu/biology.

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