UNG biology faculty and students attend entomology conference

Biology faculty and students from the University of North Georgia (UNG) recently attended and presented at the 91st Entomological Society of America Southeastern Branch meeting in Memphis, Tennessee.

Faculty members Drs. Evan Lampert, Tom Diggs and Davison Sangweme attended the conference with students Brandon Fuller, Kieu Oanh Nguyen, Fatima Ndiaye, and Sayma Al-Rashid. The four-day event hosted nearly 500 research authors and more than 300 attendees, which included undergraduate students, graduate students, university faculty, government scientists, industry scientists, and guests.

"It was a great learning experience," said Nguyen, an undergraduate majoring in biology. "There's so much more out there than the basic pre-med, biology, and business route for students. The presentations really inspired and encouraged me to participate in the oral presentation competition in the future." 

Fuller, a junior biology major, presented a poster about his experiences in a field research-based course taught by Diggs, assistant professor of biology, and Lampert, associate professor of biology.

Nguyen, Al-Rashid and Ndiaye presented a poster about caterpillar biochemistry research co-mentored by Lampert and Dr. Clarke Miller, assistant professor of chemistry. 

Sangweme, assistant professor of biology and a parasitologist, attended in order to gather information about insects that transmit infectious diseases and share a poster of mosquito surveys at UNG. 

As an international organization, the Entomological Society of America is the largest professional group of entomologists in the world.