MAC poster session winners offer scientific diversity

MAC Poster winners2022

During Cell Bio 2022 in Washington, DC, Minorities Affairs Committee (MAC) Travel Awardees and other minority scientists presented their research data at the Minorities Poster Session and during their regularly scheduled poster session. Members of the Poster Review Committee rated each abstract for originality, clearly stated hypothesis and rationale, appropriateness of methodology, and whether the conclusions fit well with the data obtained. The posters are rated on the clarity of presentation, whether the charts and figures enhanced the presentation, and the aesthetic attractiveness of the poster. Finally, Poster Review Committee members rated the presenters’ ability to present and support their data orally.

MAC established the Poster Session to provide networking opportunities for students and their faculty advisors. Every MAC travel awardee is expected to present posters at the MAC Poster Session; their posters are automatically entered in the poster competition.

Winners of the poster session for 2022 are listed below. If the poster’s title is hyperlinked, it will take you to a video or audio of the researcher’s presentation.

Undergraduate winners

1st Place: Joshua Okletey, Postbaccalaureate, Drexel University, with “Invadopodia formation is spatially and functionally coupled to the nuclear envelope by septin 9”

2nd place:  Letitia Bortey, Undergrad, Butler University, with “Investigation of FSHR-1 and its putative glycopeptide ligands in the cell non-autonomous regulation of neuromuscular function”

3rd place: Benjamin Drake Regalado Alton and Michael Anaafi, Undergrad, Weber State University, with “Metformin’s effects on pro-metastatic gene expression in triple-negative breast cancer cells”

Postdoc winner

1st Place: Chinyere Iweka, Postdoctoral Researcher Stanford University, with “Reduced expression of the cell intrinsic clock protein Bmal1 in myeloid cells accelerates cognitive decline and alters microglial function in aging mice”

Graduate winner

1st Place: Alia Edington, Graduate Student, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, with “Identification of a functional metazoan ortholog of a fungal mitochondrial morphology regulator”

Congratulations to all our winners, and great job to every presenter!

Audio and Video recorded and edited by Mary Spiro

About the Author:


Cherisa Martin is ASCB's Professional Development Program Manager.
Mary Spiro is ASCB's Strategic Communications Manager.