Month: February 2025

Lorenzo Camobreco (Biology major ‘26) applied for the Summer Scholar program to further his journey into the world of scientific research. He has been a research fellow at Roanoke since his first year and wants to continue developing and honing his skills as a researcher. His project, “rbfox1 gene expression and its impact on neurological development using zebrafish (Danio rerio)” observes how an increase in the expression of the rbfox1 gene impacts neurological development within zebrafish. With this research, Lorenzo hopes to collect data that detects changes within the shape of the brain, behaviors exhibited by affected zebrafish, and molecular changes within the zebrafish resulting from an increased rbfox1 expression. This will provide insight into how rbfox1 impacts the developing brain, hopefully supporting a hypothesized mechanism behind how rbfox1 works to create the neurological disorders observed in cases where it is expressed outside the normal ranges. During his time in the program, Lorenzo gained several research skills and techniques ranging from genetic engineering to embryonic microinjection. Furthermore, he was able to gain a better understanding of how to formulate his thinking when it came to research and was able to apply this skill to his project. Lorenzo would like to thank Dr. Lassiter for all the support he provided in helping to spark his research interest.

Congratulations on all your hard work!

Congratulations to the winners of the Fall 2024 Research Showcase! Your hard work has not gone unnoticed!

First Place: Reed, Abby: Examining storm water infiltration in a meadow restoration site: Where does the rain go? Faculty mentor: Dr. Rachel Collins (middle)

Second Place: Hill, Samson: Transition Metal Free N-Atom Transfer Reactions With Diaziridinium Salts. Faculty mentor: Dr. Daniel Nasrallah (left)

Third Place: Maan, Moazzam: A Structural Analysis of Largest Independent Sets in a Family of Circulant Graphs. Faculty mentor: Dr. Anil Shende (right)

Samson Hill (Chemistry major ‘26) participated in the Summer Scholars program conducting research with Roanoke College chemistry professor, Dr. Daniel Nasrallah and his lab partners, Alexis Hamilton and Ben Cerkovnik. His project, Transition Metal Free N-atom Transfer Reactions with Diaziridinium Salts, aims to support the development of methods to form carbon-nitrogen bonds; these bonds are vital to society as they are used in pharmaceuticals often. Previous knowledge of methods includes forming these bonds using transition metal catalysis. However, these metals tend to be toxic and expensive, so Samson’s project seeks to synthesize non-toxic and inexpensive organic molecules that can facilitate these reactions in place of using transition metals. Samson applied for the Summer Scholars program to gain experience working on chemistry research in a laboratory environment and contribute to scientific knowledge. During his time over the summer, Samson gained valuable skills such as designing and performing experiments with the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. Upon graduation, Samson plans to apply to a chemistry PhD program. He would like to thank Dr. Nasrallah, Alexis Hamilton, Ben Cerkovnik, the Summer Scholars program, and the Roanoke College chemistry department. 

Congratulations on all your hard work!

This summer, senior Elizabeth Clay (Theatre major and Religious Studies minor 25’) researched with Fine Arts professor, Dr. Nelson Barre through the Summer Scholars program after dedicating a semester to gaining hands-on experience in Dr. Barre’s class, “Play Direction”. Her project titled, “Diving Into Directing: Halley Feiffer’s” How to Make Friends and Then Kill Them” focuses on directing a play surrounding the lives of three girls who deal with substance abuse and grief. Participating in Summer Scholars has allowed Elizabeth to explore various elements of creating theatre including selecting the play, planning and executing the auditions, marketing, and developing a vital understanding of the socio-political context of the play. Furthermore, she started a Director’s Notebook to become her personalized encyclopedia that contains an analysis of the whole play and each character, scene breakdowns, the context of the play, and more that will help guide her actors, designers, and stage managers through the production process. In completion of this project, her show has been submitted for review with the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF), which will send two respondents to review the show and consider it for invitation to the Region IV festival in February 2025. Elizabeth’s show took center stage on December 6th and 7th at Roanoke’s Olin Studio Theatre. After graduation, Elizabeth plans to pursue her passion for directing and theatre with a traveling children’s theatre program before returning to school to become a theatre professor. 

Congratulations on your show!