Six students from Calumet College of St. Joseph recently presented their research findings at the Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium (CAURS).
The students and their research are:
Cullen Chakeen – “Ginger, an orthomolecular species, a possible preventative for Alzheimer’s disease”
Elena Cortes – “Echinacea, slowing down the rate of Alzheimer’s disease”
Amy Gasiorowski - “A malaria fighting orthomolecular compound, Echinacea, could be an Alzheimer’s disease preventative”
Thomas Moore – “Nutritious, delicious, and good for you… Ginger, possibly an Alzheimer’s preventative”
Jennifer Salczynski – “Preventing Alzheimer’s disease with a sushi garnish”
James Stahl – “Echinacea… a possible preventative for Alzheimer’s Disease”
Dr. Sandra Chimon Peszek, the Director of the Science Program, was the faculty advisor for all of the students. She specializes in Bio-analytical Chemistry with an emphasis on Alzheimer’s Disease. According to Dr. Peszek, “Our students spent a year designing their project, extracting their compounds, and utilizing various bio-analytical instruments to determine whether or not the natural compounds they looked at were possible preventatives for Alzheimer’s disease. To their surprise, they discovered various components which made up the Echinacea plant and the Ginger root, in combination with some vitamins (which are found in the plants themselves) were successful preventatives. They presented their finding after careful data analysis and interpretation to various conferences. They are currently working on putting together their discoveries in a peer-reviewed journal article. Once submitted they will then continue on to part 2 of the experiment and that is to test their findings with neural cells and determine its neuro-toxicity levels.”
The Science Program at Calumet College of St. Joseph began in 2011 and new science laboratories were a major part of the new addition which opened in 2012. The program since has become one of the College’s most popular majors and has four concentrations: Life Science Pre-Professional, Restoration Ecology, Exercise & Sports Science, and Forensic Science.
