25 Aug 2025 Hendrix students showcase research at UAMS Symposium
CONWAY – Seventeen Hendrix College students presented their research at the 2025 UAMS Summer Research Symposium, held July 26 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. The annual event highlights the work of undergraduates from across Arkansas and beyond, offering students the opportunity to showcase their scientific projects to peers, faculty and researchers.
Students participated through various programs, including the Hendrix Odyssey Program, the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) at UAMS, and the ACH Summer Science Program at Arkansas Children’s Research Institute.
This year, several Hendrix students were selected not only to present posters but also to deliver oral presentations, a distinction that recognizes excellence in research and communication. Rowan McCollum, a biochemistry major working under Dr. Julie Gunderson, Associate Professor of Biology at Hendrix. McCollum presented his SURF research in an oral session, sharing his work alongside graduate-level and advanced undergraduate researchers.
“Research can be intense, but it’s a fun time,” said McCollum. “Even if sometimes you are troubleshooting experiments or trying to understand when your data isn’t super clear. That can be frustrating at times, but at the same time, when you are able to push through, you start to see the story come together — which is really satisfying. It is always good to get great feedback and questions from others, which makes you think about your work in a different light. That can be useful when you come back to your research with all these new ideas.”
In addition to students taking part in external programs, five Hendrix students conducted on-campus research under the mentorship of Dr. Julie Gunderson, Associate Professor of Biology. Three of these students worked on a Hendrix Odyssey-funded project focused on open-source hardware design, while McCollum was one of two who contributed to an NSF-funded research project on DNA replication.
Other students were mentored by Dr. Andrea Duina, Professor of Biology. Landon Hardister and Amna Abuabdou represented his lab at the symposium. Hardister presented a poster titled Investigation on Histone Mutants Associated with Human Disease Using the Yeast Model System, a project supported by the Hendrix Odyssey Program.
The following Hendrix students were featured in this year’s symposium:
Wilson Chenault – Hendrix Odyssey Program
Neil Dogra – Summer Volunteer at UAMS
Sophia Eble – ACH Summer Science Program
Autumn Gault – Hendrix Odyssey Program
Landon Hardister – Hendrix Odyssey Program
Michelle Johnston – Hendrix Odyssey Program
Kanak Joshi – Hendrix Odyssey Program
Ashley Kordsmeier – Hendrix Odyssey Program
Abbott Kyle – Hendrix Odyssey Program
Nikolai Mannon – SURF, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UAMS
Rowan McCollum – SURF, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UAMS
Rachel Pearce – Hendrix Odyssey Program
Victoria Poland – Proteomics Research Intern, IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics
John Nichols – Arkansas Children’s Research Institute
Rinrada Seeboonruang – SURF, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UAMS
Spencer Stutts – Hendrix Odyssey Program
Kailey Thurman – Hendrix Odyssey Program
The symposium included poster sessions and oral presentations representing a wide range of biomedical and interdisciplinary topics — from genetics and pharmacology to open-source engineering and DNA replication. Hendrix students were recognized for their ability to explain complex research clearly and confidently, reflecting the College’s emphasis on integrative learning and faculty-mentored inquiry.
The Symposium is hosted annually by UAMS’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and supported by a network of programs such as INBRE, SURF, SRI, and institutional partnerships like the Odyssey Program at Hendrix.To learn more about undergraduate research opportunities at Hendrix, visit hendrix.edu/odyssey.
