Three Westfield State students presented their immunological studies at the 21st Upstate New York Immunology Conference held October 15-18 in Cooperstown, N.Y. Michael Goyette, Evan Lucey, and Jarrod Petersen were the only undergraduates to present their work at the conference, surrounded by graduate and post-doctorate presenters.
Their immunological studies featured HIV infection dynamics as well as wound healing experiments. They watched these HIV studies being completed from a closed environment while their samples were used at a lab at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Goyette, a junior biology major from Agawam, admitted to feeling slightly intimidated as undergraduate presenters, but the conference went smoothly. “Countless long nights over a couple months paid off with an opportunity to present our research at such a prestigious conference,” Goyette said. “It by far was the best experience that I have been a part of in the academic community and it would not have been achieved without the tireless efforts of our [biology] professor, Dr. Kristen Porter.”
A senior from Chelmsford majoring in movement science, Lucey attributes their success to hard work and driven personalities. “I’ve developed a whole new process of critical thinking from my research experience here at Westfield,” Lucey said. “The knowledge gained from the freedom of independent research is not achievable from the regurgitation of textbook contents in a standard academic course.”
Petersen is a senior biology major from North Attleborough. He is grateful for the amount of feedback and networking available while presenting at the NYIC. While much of his free time was spent prepping for this conference, he believes that it was well worth the investment. “For months we spent our free time in the laboratory conducting research, finalizing ideas, and prepping the poster leading up to the conference,” said Petersen. “It was a huge payoff to present our findings and receive such amazing advice and suggestions, which can only be gained outside of the classroom.”
The Upstate New York Immunology Conference is supported by a National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases R13 grant in addition to corporate sponsors. The goal of this conference is to foster collaborations and interactions among participants, as well as opportunities for fellows and students to present their work.