Published April 21, 2015
Students from the University of Louisiana at Monroe Honors Program recently attended
the annual meeting of the Louisiana Collegiate Honors Council (LCHC) in Lafayette.
Three students presented research.
Dipta Pokharel, a biology major from Nepal; Susan Egbert, a pre-pharmacy major from
DeRidder; and Similoluwa Ogundare, a biology major from Nigeria, presented papers
based on research conducted at ULM.
“Our entire panel was ULM students, so it was good to present with each other and
have that support,” said Egbert, who serves as the president of the ULM Honors Program
Student Council.
Egbert’s paper, “Lichen’s Secondary Metabolites as Breast Cancer Inhibitors,” discussed
breast cancer, with a specific focus on the use of inhibitors in treatments. She reported
the results of laboratory experiments with compounds from the lichen Usnea strigosa
in which they extracted, isolated, and tested these compounds against different breast
cancer lines.
Ogundare’s paper, “Lichens as Bio-Indicators of Air Quality through Estimation of
Free Radicals in Thalli,” reported the results of measuring the amount of free radicals
in the lichen thalli using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to develop
a reference for the amount of air pollution in the area. Ogundare hopes to gain a
better understanding of the degree of penetration of vehicular emissions in forested
habitats in an effort to improve air quality.
ULM Honors Program students
Pokharel’s paper, “Light Quality Effect on the Growth of Arabidopsis Seedling,” compared
the effects of light quality from two different light sources—light-emitting diode
and fluorescent—on plant growth.
“I am extremely proud of how well-represented and how well-prepared ULM students were
at LCHC,” said Dr. Joshua Stockley, director of the Honors Program. “This speaks volumes
about the level of involvement and quality of research being conducted by undergraduate
students in the ULM Honors Program.”
Attending the conference were honors students from colleges and universities across
Louisiana. In all, 28 students represented ULM, making ULM the largest delegation
at the conference.
“It says something about the commitment, support, and loyalty of the ULM Honors Program
that we had the most students attending this meeting,” said Maroutcha Mouawad, treasurer
of the ULM Honors Program Student Council.
The ULM Honors Program also competed in the meeting’s “Quiz Bowl.”
“It was a fun experience. I really enjoyed working with my peers to put our team in
a position to compete. We may not have made it into the finals, but we had a great
time,” said Justin Bordelon.
The Louisiana Collegiate Honors Council is an association of honors program directors
and students from universities and colleges across the state. Students present papers
and posters showcasing their own work and research, discuss specific issues related
to the furtherance of successful honors programs, and compete in the Quiz Bowl competition.
“The ULM Honors Program is the best support system ever. We are there for each other,
for quiz bowl, presentations, games — everything,” said biology major Edidiong Udofia.
