11/19/02
TWO CMB REPS ATTEND BIOMEDICAL CONFERENCE IN NEW ORLEANS
AUBURN -- Aravind Somanchi, an assistant professor in Auburn University's Department of Biological Sciences, and senior Derek Fortson represented AU at the annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students.
The conference was in New Orleans earlier this month
Somanchi and Forston work in AU's Cellular and Molecular Biosciences program, part of the Peaks of Excellence research initiatives
The Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students is a national meeting that encourages undergraduate minority students to pursue advanced training and careers in the biomedical sciences.
"The conference attracts a large number of outstanding students from historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges and from a large number of graduate programs," said Overtoun Jenda, associate dean for Minority Affairs and Special Academic Projects for the College of Sciences and Mathematics.
Somanchi earned his doctorate degree in plant biology from Louisiana State University. He joined the faculty in the AU-CMB program to help strengthen its efforts in plant molecular biosciences.
Fortson is one of this year's recipients of an AU-CMB Undergraduate Summer Research Scholarship. He has a double major in biomedical sciences and foreign language-Spanish.
The Peaks of Excellence encompasses seven multi-disciplinary research areas that focus on national research and development needs. Other Peaks of Excellence initiatives include Transportation, Information Technology, Detection and Food Safety, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Forest Sustainability, Poultry Products Safety and Quality.
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