Vol. 98 No. 1 (2026): 100th Annual Meeting Abstracts

View Vol. 98 No. 1 (2026): 100th Annual Meeting Abstracts

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55632/pwvas.v98i1

Published: 2026-04-08

Meeting Abstracts-Oral

When Measurement and Meaning Diverge: Revisiting Platymeria and Platycnemia.

Kelly Buzzard
- pdf
The effects of fatigue on reaction time and landing force during a jumping task

Ethan Vargo-Thomas, Shawn Reese , Derek Dewig
- pdf
Growth, age, and maturation estimates of Plains Hog-nosed Snakes (Heterodon nasicus) in Iowa.

Alyssa J. Lutz, Joshua G. Otten, Zachary J. Loughman
- pdf
Evaluating the Security Awareness and Code Reliability of AI Models Against Common Software Vulnerabilities

Zachary Pfaltzgraff
- pdf
Movement Ecology and Space Use of Western Hog-nosed Snakes (Heterodon nasicus) in a Heterogeneous Sand Prairie

Paige Roswell, Josh Otten, Zachary Loughman
- pdf
Life History and Corresponding Maternal Behavior of the Little Brown Mudbug (Lacunicambarus thomai).

Hannah Holbert, Zackary Graham, Zachary Loughman
- pdf
Updated Occurrence and Species Accounts of Crayfish in Southeastern Kentucky’s Upper Cumberland River Subbasin

Kaleb Norris, Zachary Loughman , Katrhyn Schulz
- pdf
Microbiome Variation in the Genus Heterodon

Tyler Schwisow, Stuart Cantlay, Nicole Garrison, Zachary Loughman
- pdf
A Mixed-Methods Study of Students’ Definitions of Science Based on Their Experiences with A General Chemistry Course

Oluwaseun Agunbiade; Oluwatobi Odeleye
- pdf
Exploring the relationship between religious identity and Sense of belonging in STEM

Latifat Afolabi, Tobi
- pdf
Targeted deletion of FTL_1711 to evaluate its role in erythrocyte invasion by Francisella tularensis

Audrey Blust, Joseph Horzempa, Ph.D.
- pdf
Developing a new technique for tadpole measurements using a surrogate species.

Elisa Thompson, Makayla Zoellers, Heidi Ross, Zachary Loughman
- pdf
Student and Instructor Perspectives on Implicit Metacognitive Reporting in Organic Chemistry

Keyzar Dominguez, Michelle Richards-Babb
- pdf
Stress-evoked activation of corticotropin-releasing factor neurons in primary sensory cortex.

Lindsey Morais, Dr. Morgan Bridi
- pdf
Updated Range Extents of Cambarus monongalensis and Lacunicambarus thomai in Western Pennsylvania.

Jaden Rusnak, Zackary Graham, David Lieb, Zachary Loughman
- pdf
Survey for the Eastern Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus) in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia

Braden Mitchell
- pdf
Occupancy modeling of the Tumbling Creek Cavesnail and water quality analyses of Tumbling Creek Cave.

Bailey O'Brian, Zachary Loughman
- pdf
Diversity and distribution of the fishes of Elk River, West Virginia

Stuart Welsh
- pdf
Ecology of the Western Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus proximus) at an eastern Iowa sand prairie.

Daniel Pitts, Dr. Zachary Loughman
- pdf
General ecology analysis of a Regina septemvittata population in North Fork Short Creek, West Virginia.

Natalie Gillis
- pdf
Eastern Screech-owl surveys in the major physiographic provinces of West Virginia.

Cleo McMahan, Matthew McKinney, Emma Knapp, Lorelei Eagle
- pdf
Ontogeny of secondary sexual characteristics using morphometrics and urinalysis in premature Cranwell’s horned frogs (Ceratophrys cranwelli)

Anabeth Sharpe, Zachary Loughman, Kinsey Guthrie, Kinsey Guthrie
- pdf
Evaluating the Security Awareness and Code Reliability of AI Models Against Common Software Vulnerabilities

Shane Reall
- pdf
Science Through Students’ Eyes: Connecting Definitions, Attitudes, and Chemistry Performance

Tobi Odeleye, Oluwaseun Agunbiade
- pdf
Influence of Lights Wavelength and Exposure Timing on Cognitive Function in Zebrafish.

Danielle Bond, Kristen Winter
- pdf
A COMPUTATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS ON EEG HEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONY

Jordan Brown, Mahmood Hossain, Tadashi Kato
- pdf
Refining STEM Student Support Through Systematic PDSA Cycles

Michelle Richards-Babb, Marjorie Darrah
- pdf
Machine Learning Identification of Exoplanet Transit Signals in Kepler Light Curve Data

Hunter
- pdf
An Empirical Study of Nonconvex Optimization in Deep Learning

William Blackwood
- pdf
Microhabitat Determinants of Nesting-Site Selection in Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata ornata): Implications for Conservation Management

Moriah Morris, Dr. Zachary Loughman
- pdf
A Study of Amynthas sp. Reactions to Climatic Variables

Loyd Butcher, Zachary Loughman, Grace Ake, Alison Wyer, Madeline Cecil, Jeremiah Dann
- PDF
Positive emotion produces higher EEG hemispheric synchronicity of the brain.

Tadashi Kato, Jordan Tyler Brown, Mahmood Hossain, Emma R. Urbanic, Agnes Maerta Bjoerk, Sara Lael Campbell, Janna B. Huggins
- pdf
Integrating Energy Conservation Across the Mechanical Engineering Curriculum: A Five-Year Teaching Initiative

Yogendra M Panta, William Church, Maya Panta
- PDF
Integrating Experiential Engineering Design into Middle and High School STEM Summer Camps

Yogendra M Panta, Maya Panta
- pdf
Determining the Standard Metabolic Rates of Eastern Indigo Snakes (Drymarchon couperi)

Beorn Ogrodnik, James Bogan, Zachary Loughman, Holly Racine
- PDF
An eight-year evaluation of a Terrapene ornata ornata Iowa population

Brandon Mawhinney, Zachary Loughman, Joshua Otten
- pdf
Sustaining and Scaling STEM Student Success: Lessons and Future Directions from the WVU Tech SUCCESS Project

Yogendra M Panta, Kenan Hatipoglu, Tamara Floyd-Smith
- pdf

Meeting Abstracts-Poster

The Impact of Healthcare Disparities on the Health Outcomes of Black Communities

Moshe Machlev
- pdf
Automating Postmortem Interval Estimation with Computational Forensic Tools

Emilee Henderson, Kristy Henson, Josh George
- pdf
Neurodegeneration in traumatic brain injury is attenuated by the MitoNEET ligand TT01001

Autumn Russell, Werner Geldenhuys, Jason Huber, Dominick Cicala, Maryam Maghareh, A.S.M. Rokunzzaman, Rapty Sarker, Dayton Miller
- pdf
A Lunar Regolith-Integrated Geodesic Kinetic Habitat Regolith-Integrated Geodesic Kinetic Habitat with Adaptive Membrane for Radiation-Resilient Permanent Settlement in Lunar Lava Tubes

Matthew Mawhinney, Joel T. Dugan
- pdf
Cooperation, Temptation, and Escalation in Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma Tournaments

Asher Rudolph, Robert Monahan
- pdf
Applying morphometrics to a semi-quantitative measurement approach to identify spinal pathologies in human skeletal remains

Alexander Bordenet, Kristy Henson
- pdf
Surveilling hard tick diversity and Spotted Fever Rickettsia Group prevalence in North-Central WV throughout 2023

Haden Fincham, Dr. Melanie Sal, Dr. Kim Bjorgo
- pdf
A Behavioral Study on Kin Selection In False Water Cobras, or Hydrodynastes gigas

Morgan Muller
- pdf
Color Vision Conditioning in Cambarus monongalensis

Kalie Burdette, Zackary Graham, Katherine Torrance , Zachary Loughman
- pdf
Economies of Distance in Commercial Aviation Emissions Intensity and Marginal Abatement Costs

Asher Rudolph, Qing Wang
- pdf
Studying Temporal Shifts Related to Land Usage in Invasive versus Native Crayfish of the Potomac

Bayley Roseman
- pdf
Utilizing Morphometrics to Determine Burrowing Type in Fossil Crayfish

Haley Holbert
- pdf
Behavior biology of Cambarus callainus in response to dam removal

Kayla Aungst, Zachary Loughman
- pdf
Variation in renal cortical thickness and its association with chronic disease in anatomical donors

Ian Cook, Kristy Henson
- pdf
Focusing on Student Thinking to Support Student Learning of the Movement of Matter and Energy Through Photosynthesis using the 5-E Model of Science Instruction

Emma Casto
- pdf
Ground Penetrating Radar Survey of Old Roman Catholic Burying Ground, Shepherdstown, WV

Zachary Musselman, Anika
- pdf
Influence of Environmental Factors on Population Density and Growth of an Invasive Earthworm.

Madeline Cecil
- pdf
Utility of the Mitochondrial D-loop to Understand Variation in Prairie Chickens (Tympanuchus)

Lorelei Eagle, Nicole Garrison
- pdf
Fungi captured from indoor air exhibit poor growth at human body temperature

Shelby Henson, Sarah Fischer, Laura Robertson
- pdf
An Overview of Tick and Tick-Borne Disease Research at West Virginia Wesleyan College: 2018-2025

Curtis Litton, Stanley Martin, Kim Bjorgo, Melanie Sal
- pdf
Seasonal and sex-based movements of the blue crayfish (Cambarus monongalensis).

Lydia DiBiagio, Zackary Graham, Zachary Loughman
- pdf
Morphological Differences of the Thyroid Gland in Avian Model of Induced Thyrotoxicosis

Madison Stratton
- pdf
Haemaphysalis longicornis as an invasive tick species in West Virginia

Elizabeth Kittle, Ashlyn Smith, Kaylie (Kai) Toler, Taryn Veltri, Haden Fincham, Melanie Sal, Kim Bjorgo
- pdf
Assessing Muscle Cell Excitability Following Fatiguing Vertical Jump Performance: A Preliminary Analysis

Shawn Reese
- pdf
Exploring the mechanisms underlying sleep/wake-dependent control of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission

Rachel Lee, Alyssa Wolfe, Michelle Bridi
- pdf
How much information is phylogenetically informative: investigations with single and multilocus analyses of garter snake (Thamnophis) taxonomy.

Daniel Pitts, Dr. Zachary Loughman, Dr. Nicole Garrison
- pdf
The effect of UV radiation on DNA degradation in blood samples

Kiersten Davis
- pdf
The Pseudomonas aeruginosa 1244 pilin glycan enhances twitching motility and renders bacteria more susceptible to human beta defensin 2.

Shania Davis, Joseph Horzempa
- pdf
The effect of latex sap from the Poinsettia plant (Euphorbia pulcherrima) on the production of roots in propagated Tradescantia zebrina cuttings

Kaylee Haught, Rachel Cook
- pdf
Impact of Weather Conditions on Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) Audio Responses in West Virginia.

Emma Knapp, Matthew McKinney, Cleo McMahan, Lorelei Eagle
- pdf
Impacts of land cover usage on anuran biodiversity in central Panama.

Makayla Zoellers, Elisa Thompson, Brandon Mawhinney, Heidi Ross, Zachary Loughman
- pdf
The Effect of Ultraviolet Radiation on Latent Fingerprints

Addison Tenney
- pdf
The effect of cleaning agents on Bluestar and luminol blood detection

Taylar Milburn
- pdf
Leveraging Longitudinal Gamified Assessment Data to Identify and Resolve Conceptual Thresholds in Undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology

Naresh Ramesh, Velsi
- pdf
Ethanolic extract from Rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium) diminishes the viability of leukemia cells

James Standish, Joseph Horzempa
- pdf
Genetic Differentiation of Nutritionally Deprived Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Daron Weekley, Stuart Cantlay, Tesfaye Belay
- pdf
Skeletal Lesions in Covid-19 patients compared to Tuberculosis patients

Trevor Miller, Kristy Henson
- pdf
5E Learning Cycle Unit Plan Energized Ecosystems

Samantha Casto
- pdf
Project-Based STEM Learning: A Case Study on the Educational Applications of Pololu Zumo Robots

Weidong Liao, Mr., Mr., Osman Guzide
- pdf
Effects of a Drought on an Invasive Earthworm Population

Alison Wyer, Samuel Trusty, Jeremiah Dann
- pdf
Power Up Internships with the WV Career Collaborative.

Erica Harvey, Sara Sawyer, Ethan Backus, Shalika Silva, Logan Harrison, Maggie Sorensen, Lloyd Ford
- pdf
Localization of the divisome protein FtsL in Francisella tularensis LVS.

Abigale Riggle, Stuart Cantlay
- pdf
An enhanced multi-agent system for stock prediction utilizing machine learning and generative AI

Rachael Poffenberger, Skylar Guessford, Anna Hou, Weidong Liao
- pdf
Revamping existing websites through AI-assisted workflow and Vibe Coding

Taruna Suryawanshi, Osman Guzide, Weidong Liao
- pdf
Safe AI Initiative: A Call for Transparency of the Impact of Generative AI and Big Data

Jamie Kemman, Alani White, Holly White, Weidong Liao, Osman Guzide
- pdf
Refactoring a Codebase with and without Generative AI: A Comparative Study

Anna Hou, Skylar Myers, Rachael Poffenberger, Weidong Liao
- pdf
Exploratory Data Analysis for the Local Housing Market in the Surrounding Area

Skylar Myers, Jayden Kisner, Miranda Egan, Weidong Liao
- pdf
Typhinamycin – A Novel Phytochemical from Rhus typhina Extract Exhibits Antimicrobial Activity Toward ESKAPE Pathogens

Kathleen Loughman, Joseph Horzempa, Claudia Ospina
- pdf
GC-MS method development for the photochemical copper-mediated decarboxylation of 4-fluorobenzoic acid

Chelsie Blake, Andreas Baur
- pdf
Extremophiles on the Red Planet: Investigating Biocrust Viability in Simulated Martian Soil

Tanner Hoffman, Ember Morrissey
- pdf
Characterization of Putative Oxidoreductase Involved in Resazomycin Resistance in Francisella tularensis

Alexis Scott
- pdf
Use of Trade Data to Estimate Environmental Implications of Household Refrigeration Equipment Disposal

Roxana Vazquez Vega, Mason Butler, Tamara Smith, Vitalii Ishchenko
- pdf
The Effects of Microplastics and Acetaminophen on Regeneration in the Planarian Dugesia

Sara Sawyer, Macy Hilvers, Kamryn
- pdf
Circuit-Level Interventions in Stress-Responsive Hypothalamic Nuclei to Enhance Post-Stroke Outcomes

Laurel Stone, Morgan Bridi
- pdf
Sex determination of shrews through genetic analysis of SRY gene

Ana Chaguri, Linh Tran, Mark Brian Watson
- pdf
Development and Optimization of Steam Distillation for Extraction of d-Limonene from Navel Orange (Citrus sinensis) Peels.

Beth Thompson, Cody Barnes
- pdf
Assessment of the Antibacterial Potential of Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) Extracts.

Kelsi Foster Foster, Samia Hamati
- pdf
American burned: a natural remedy for ESKAPE pathogens

Stevie Starsick, Trent Taylor, Dr. Shalika Silva
- pdf
The Effects of Irrigation Methods and Volume on the Growth and Production of Pea Plants

Donaven Kinzer
- pdf
A Discussion of Activities and Outcomes of the Shepherd S-STEM Scholarship Program

Qing Wang, ROBERT MONAHAN, AMY DEWITT, HANNAH WILLIAMS-MCNAMEE, WEIDONG LIAO, OSMAN GUZIDE
- pdf
Effects of Nutrient-Induced Developmental Delay on Adult Drosophila Brain Structure

Holly White, Reagan Ackermann, Mallory Dean, Stephanie Castillo, Michael Gurson, Conor Sipe
- pdf
Molecular Detection of Human Fecal Indicators in Piney Creek, West Virginia

Aida E Jimenez Esquilin
- pdf
Sampling eDNA of brook trout within Tygart Valley River Watershed West Virginia

Annalyse M White Annalyse, Kelley Flaherty
- pdf
NL-1 Can Reverse Cognitive Deficits and Restore Astrocyte Function Following Adolescent Intermittent Ethanol Exposure

Alyssa Ihlenfeld
- PDF
Characterization and isolation of a fungal secondary metabolite that inhibits the growth of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Colton Thomas, Joseph Horzempa
- pdf
Characterization of sleep regulation and cognitive processing in schizophrenia mouse model

Victoria Shifflett Shifflett, Jacob Smertneck , Claire Melvin, Michelle Bridi
- pdf
Sex Dependent Rescue of Astrocyte-Synaptic Remodeling by Rosiglitazone Following Adolescent Binge Ethanol Exposure

Grace Angelona, Mary-Louise Risher, Hannah Sexton, Olivia Coulter, Alyssa Ihlenfeld, Tristan Muck, Darshan Sangani, Mika Jones
- pdf
Aishlynn Egan, Dept. of Biology, Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV, 25414. Screening food plants for antibacterial activity to guide future testing of antibiotic synergy.

Aishlynn Egan, Dr. Courtney Campany, Dr. Sara Reynolds
- pdf
Role of oxyR in the Resazomycin Susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Kiera Saksa
- pdf
The Effects of Seasonality and Environmental Covariates on Two Heterodon Species

Stanley R. Bielinski Jr. , Dr. Zachary Loughman
- pdf
Contribution of perR to the resazomycin susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Bailey Sebroski
- PDF
Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Landfill Soil Microbiomes in Beckley, WV

Nevaeh Wooding, Samia Hamati, Charleigh Price
- pdf
Isolation and Characterization of Bacterial Contamination in Echinacea Supplements.

Nicole Powell
- PDF
Characterization of Enterococci species in Town Run

Ava Biafore
- pdf
Examining the impact of road salt use on salinity levels in Town Run Tributary of the Potomac River.

Sophie White, Sara Reynolds
- pdf
Effects of Stress on Cortical and Subcortical Circuitry in Two Mouse Models of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Claire Melvin, Dr. Morgan Bridi
- pdf
Leadership and self-efficacy impacts of student participation in the First2 Network

Erica Harvey, Mary Ellen Sullivan, Margaret Falletta, Samantha Mitchell, Sue Ann Heatherly, Jenna Wilcoxen
- pdf
An investigation of in vitro tick feeding methods to evaluate the role of erythrocyte invasion by Francisella tularensis

Gillian Hartz, Dr. Joseph Horzempa
- pdf
Derivatives of resorufin morpholinoethyl ether exhibit antimicrobial activity against Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Meg Warner, RANDALL KOZIEL, KH TANVIR AHMED, GREGORY DUDLEY, BRIAN POPP, KARATAS HACER, Deanna Schmitt, Mackenzie Hall, VAHID LOTFIKALAJAHI
- pdf