News Release

Note: This release localizes an advisory sent by the UNC system April 6, available at: http://www.northcarolina.edu under "News."
See end of release for students’ names, topics, hometowns and photos to download.

CHAPEL HILL — A dozen student researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will be among about 100 undergraduates from

UNC campuses to visit state legislators Tuesday (April 12).

The Research in the Capital Symposium will feature poster presentations and students discussing their work from 10 a.m. until noon on the first floor of the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

"Research experience is increasingly important to undergraduate education as we prepare our students for addressing emerging issues in a fast-changing world," said Dr. Patricia Pukkila, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences.

"Graduates who have learned the joy of discovery through independent research will become highly skilled workers who can make North Carolina and the nation more competitive in a global economy."

About 30 percent of UNC-Chapel Hill students receive academic credit for original research projects. Students may conduct research in this country and abroad, present their findings at professional conferences and publish in scholarly journals.

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UNC-Chapel Hill students at the symposium, their hometowns and their topics are as follows:

Patrick McNeillie: "Cross-Presentation: A Pathway for Lung Transplant Rejection."
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/research/mcneillie_patrick.jpg

Alexander Berkow: "The Activity of LSM-11, ZFP100 and SLBP in the Pre-MRNA Processing of Human Histone Protein and Its Application to Cancer Treatment Development."
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/research/berkow_alexander.jpg 

Andrew Foster: "PROMPT: Pan-Chromatic Robotic Optical Monitoring and Polarimetry Telescopes," operated by UNC-Chapel Hill in Chile.
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/research/foster_andrew.jpg

Janaka Lagoo: "The Hidden Plight of Infertile Women in Rural India."
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/research/lagoo_janaka.jpg

Simone Lawson: "The Effect of the Medical Liability Insurance Crisis on Medical Students’ Specialty Choices."
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/research/lawson_simone.jpg

Glaivy Batsuli: "Maternal Iron Status and the Risk of Preterm Birth."
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/research/batsuli_glaivy.jpg  

Sarah Mescher: "Community and Ethnic Relations in Siler City."
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/research/mescher_sarah.jpg

Andrew Fuller: "Spintronic Devices: The Future of Miniaturization in Electronics."
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/research/fuller_andrew.jpg

Justin Guillory: "The Impact of Majority Size on Political Party Cohesion in the N.C. General Assembly."
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/research/guillory_justin.jpg

Jonathan Silver: "Controlling Factors in Autoimmunity."
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/research/silver_j.jpg

Vidya Goli: "Handheld Dry Electrode for Rapid Measurement of Surface Potential in Cochlear Implant Patients."
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/research/goli_vidya.jpg

Adam Geller: "How Examples in Some News Stories Can Affect Estimates of Personal Risk."
http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/research/gellar_adam.jpg

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College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, 919-843-6339, deereid@unc.edu

News Services contacts: Print, L.J. Toler, 919-962-8589; broadcast, Karen Moon, 919-962-9585