California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) research scholars Chad Thomas and Adrianna Perez took first place for their poster presentations at the Society for the Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Conference from Oct. 19 to 21 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference is considered one of the largest annual gatherings of minority scientists in the country.
Thomas, a cell and molecular biology major and a Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) scholar, presented his research “NMR Methods in the Structure Elucidation of Bioactive Alkaloids from Mostuea brunonis.” Perez, a physics major and Edison STEM scholar, shared her astrophysical research, titled “Star Formation in Simulated Merging Galaxies” during her poster exhibit.
“SACNAS was a euphoric experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. I communicated with scientists from across the country and got to share my research with other scientists who appreciate all the amazing goals we are working toward in the lab,” said Thomas. “All of my hard work came to fruition when I won an award that set the tone for a chain of events that no one expected to happen.”
SACNAS offers three days of cutting-edge science workshops, networking, training, mentoring, and cultural activities for students and scientists at all levels. In all, 11 CSUDH student scholars, 11 faculty, and others took part in the conference.
All the CSUDH students who participated in SACNAS are scholars in one of four programs: RISE; Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC); Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (U*STAR); and the McNair Scholars Program.
