The 13th Annual TLSAMP Undergraduate Research Conference
From February 25th to 26th, the TLSAMP(Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance of Minority Participation) Undergraduate Research Symposium was held in Downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. The Univeristy of Memphis chapter of TLSAMP attended that conference with 6 presenters. 4 for Oral Presentations and 2 for Poster Presentations.
Alejandra Arriaga, Senior Civil Engineering Major, and I did a poster presentations as a team. We did our research on Processing Large Datasets of Truck Probe Vehicles using GIS and Database Management Software.
Kasey Chatman, Senior Biomedical Engineering Major with a Minor in Exercise and Sports Science, did an oral presentation on Preparation of a Solid State Reference Electrode.
Mamadou Diallo, Senior Biomedical Engineering Major, did an oral presentation on Mechano-Stimulation of Cell Seeded Scaffold For Improved Tendon Repair.
Reginald Pruitt, Jr., Senior Biomedical Engineering Major, did an oral presentation on Reconfiguring a Portable Mapping System for Electrophysiological Characterization of Tissue Engineered Cardiac Patches.
David Ray, Senior Biology and Chemistry major, did an oral presentation on Loss of GALNT3 Induces Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition in Trophoblast Stem Cells.
Sadly, Alejandra and I did not place. However, we had 3 winners from our chapter: Reggie Pruitt, who won 3rd place in Engineering Oral Presentations, David Ray, who won 2nd place in Science Oral Presentations, and Mamadou Diallo, who won 1st place in Engineering Oral Presentations.
Enjoy the pictures below!
Here is some of our TLSAMPers enjoying the Symposium.
Here is David Ray during his presentation.
Here is Kasey Chatman during his presentation.
Here is Reggie Pruitt during his presentation.
Here is Mamadou Diallo during his presentation.
(From left to right: Reggie Pruitt, Mamadou Diallo, Sidney Babalola, and David Ray)
Sidney Babalola is a Senior Biomedical Engineering Major, the President of the NSBE(National Society of Black Engineers) chapter at the University of Memphis, and Assistant Coordinator of the TLSAMP chapter at the University of Memphis. He is very proud of these 3 winners. He is especially proud of David Ray, his fraternity brother in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
(From left to right: Carlos Wells, Reggie Pruitt, Mamadou Diallo, David Ray, and Kasey Chatman)
Carlos Wells is a PhD Student major in Biomedical Engineering. He won last year at the TLSAMP Research Symposium. He won 1st place in the Engineering Poster Presentations. Carlos is a member of many organizations and honor societies at the University of Memphis. He is the Graduate Chair of U of M NSBE and the Research Coordinator of TLSAMP. He took time to help us with our presentations and he was not easy on us! He gave us a difficult time and made sure we knew our material and expressed it in a correct manner. He gave us a hard time because he wanted us to succeed and do well in our presentations. He helped us with numerous things such as answering certain questions, maintaining eye contact with the judges and our audience, when to give a lot of information and when not to give a lot of information, etc. Carlos made sure we portrayed ourselves professionally and confidently when explaining our research.
(From left to right: Reggie Pruitt, Mamadou Diallo, Regina Hairston, David Ray, and Kasey Chatman)
Ms. Hairston is the Director and Coordinator of the TLSAMP chapter at the University of Memphis. She is a loving, sweet, consultative, caring, and motherly figure to us TLSAMPers. If it was not for her, most STEM majors that I knew who are currently in graduate school or in the workforce would not have been able to graduate or be exposed to new and unique opportunities to further their education. She has been a positive impact on many STEM majors and has influenced many students in multiple ways. She originally received her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and later received her M.S in Counseling Psychology and an MBA. She is a first-generation college student and she always share her personal experiences of being one. She has a great sense of humor and is always there for us whenever we need her. She is someone we can share our struggles with and seek for advice on how to solve certain problems we are facing. An addition to that, she is a very tremendous speaker!
After the Symposium, on our way back to Memphis, we decided to head to Casey Jones, an Old Country Store and Southern and Soul Food Restaurant in Jackson, Tennessee, in order to celebrate our success and victory of our winners!
While we we were eating, one of our TLSAMPers, Blessing Adeyemo, Senior Chemistry Major with a minor in Biology and Math, shared her experience of growing up in Nigeria and in America and the cultural differences she faced when she was in high school. Blessing was very modest about it and even though her experience in America was a bit rocky, she managed to overcome it and become the headstrong, levelheaded, confident, intelligent, and strong young lady that she is today! Just hearing her story and hearing Ms. Hairston’s input on it gave everyone a new perspective about African countries. Another one of our TLSAMPers, Kelsey Teague, Senior Engineering Technology Major, shared her experience studying abroad in South Africa and how the culture is different there versus the culture in America.
Everyone else sat around chatting, socializing, and telling some really funny jokes. Sidney announced that post-graduation, he will be working at Smith&Nephew Orthopedics as a Quality Engineer I. Everyone clapped their hands for him and congratulated him on this impressive opportunity! All of his hardwork and diligence paid off and now he is being rewarded with a guaranteed job after graduation. We are so proud of him!
Later, we finally arrived at the University of Memphis and bid each other a good night and went home.
Now, I want to give shoutouts to 4 TLSAMP Participants!
He is one of the Senators of U of M NSBE. He is also part of the Biomedical Engineering Society/Society For Biomaterials. Ever since, I first met him, I could tell that he is a nice guy. He is always smiling and in a good mood. He never gets mad nor agitated and always remain calm in situations while under the pressure and stress of research activities, engineering homework and projects, and life in general. He is a lighthearted man who cares about his friends and loved ones and goes above and beyond to help them in anyway he can. You all, seriously, I never have seen Kasey get mad nor go into panic mode. He is always calm.
He is the other Senator of U of M NSBE. He is also part of the Biomedical Engineering Society/Society For Biomaterials. Reggie is another calm individual. He does not let anything get to him and manage to always look at the bright side of things. Last year, he participated in the Engineering Poster Presentation of the TLSAMP Research Symposium, but he did not place. Instead of being sad and letting it bring him down, he pushed harder and did better, and he ended up winning 3rd place in this year’s competition. That shows dedication and commitment. He even won 2nd place in the Engineering Poster Presentations at the University of Memphis’ 27th Annual Student Research Forum. I am so glad I ever met him. Every time I see him, he gives me a sense of happiness. He is always willing to go the extra mile to lend someone a hand and is a good friend. If I had one word to describe Reggie, it would be prudent. He cares about his future and other’s future as well.
David Ray is the President of the National Society of Leadership and Success chapter at the University of Memphis, Secretary of the Black Student Association, and the Treasurer of the Minority Association for Pre-Medical Students. He is one cool and calm individual. He always carry himself in a professional manner and has outstanding leadership skills! (After all, he is the President of NSLS). While we were on the bus, David shared his future goals and aspirations, and told us about the steps he started taking when he was a freshmen. One of them was to pursue research and to start searching for medical schools to attend. And he thought about this during his first year of college. That is really saying something about his career focus! David is an earnest student and I can tell that he is going to be very successful in his future.
He is a member of U of M NSBE and the Biomedical Engineering Society/Society For Biomaterials. He is originally from the African country, Guinea.
He came to the United States of America in 2010. He wanted to go to France but he decided not to because he saw the multiple, potential opportunities that America had in store for him. After he first arrived in America, he realized that America is not the place he thought it was. He experienced culture shock and became dispirited with the way things were going at the time. But he managed to get back up and break out of his state of hopelessness by thinking about his future.
I remember when I first met Mamadou. It as back in Fall 2013. He was working on Physics homework in the library and I was just coming from a study group for my introductory Computer Science class. In Spring 2014, we took Calculus 2, taught by James E. Jamison, together. Mamadou is a very upbeat and enthusiastic guy! He always brings a smile to his peers’ faces. There is never a dull moment with him. He is always in motion and moving a mile a minute! Mamadou is always active in research and very passionate about it. He believes that he will change the medical industry and the world with the discoveries he has made from his research.
Mamadou is a very persistent person. He shares his experience of living in Guinea and how things were different back home. In addition, he is a very humorous person! His mannerisms, interactions, and conversations with Sidney are so hilarious and it makes everyone laugh. They were definitely a riot on the bus. It is as if they are an Engineering Dynamic Comedic Duo! LOL.
As a result of Mamadou’s dedication and passion to his research, he was invited to the Orthopedic Research Society Conference in Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida. ORS is a well-known national conference for orthopedic science. From March 7th to March 11th, he and his Biomedical Engineering classmates spent their Spring Break in Florida having fun in the Sun, chilling, and relaxing in Florida! But at the same time, they were there for a purpose. Mamadou presented his research and he amazed the audience. The same goes for his peers. Kasey and Carlos attended the conference as well and also had a good time.
Here is Mamadou and his BioMed peers. Mamadou told me that later in the year, he and Carlos will attend a research conference in Canada! Yes, that is right. CANADA! Doing research for your professors can expose you to new and exciting opportunities. If you go above and beyond in your duty of research, who knows what unique opportunities it could lead you to. It can possibly lead you to a future job, internship, or a chance to travel to another state or country.
While I was at the TLSAMP Symposium, I managed to network with the President of the ACM chapter at Tennessee State University, Isaiah Grigsby. He requested to link up with William Cannon Moyer, the President of the ACM at the University of Memphis, for future collaborations. Ms. Hairston gave a speech during the Symposium and Isaiah was blown away by it. He said that Ms. Hairston is an excellent speaker and invited her to give a speech at Tennessee State University. Ms. Hairston shared her trials and tribulations of being a First Generation College Student and how it shaped her to be the woman that she is today. She really encouraged the audience to never give up and to pursue graduate school in the long run. No matter how turbulent things may seem now, it will all be worthwhile in the end once you compete your Masters or your PhD.
Also, I ran into someone at the Symposium.
This is Chrystina Williams, Neuroscience major at UT Knoxville. I met her during my volunteer trip to Costa Rica. She joined her TLSAMP chapter at UT Knoxville for the first time and it was her first time attending the Conference! She learned a lot from it and networked with other college students as well.
Here are some pictures from last year’s TLSAMP Research Symposium.
(From left to right: Sidney Babalola, Calvin Mackie, Regina Hairston, and Jason Moore)
Jason Moore was the Assistant Coordinator for TLSAMP before Sidney. He graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Memphis and now works at Allworld Project Management as an Associate Project Manager/Field Engineer.
Calvin Mackie is an award-winning mentor, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur. He was an extraordinary speaker at the 2015 TLSAMP Research Symposium at Tennessee State University. He made us laugh but most importantly he stressed the importance of being a STEM major, pursuing research, and attending and finishing graduate school. Calvin is also one of Sidney’s role models and he aspires to be just like him someday.
I am thankful that I am in an organization like TLSAMP. We are one big happy family! We joke around, we bicker, we argue, we hang out, we set aside our differences, we motivate and encourage each other, and we learn to accept one another, just like a family.
Mamadou and Sidney tease each other and make fun of each other but it is only playful banter, as if they are brothers. Sidney and I joke around a lot during NSBE meetings and TLSAMP meetings, but everyone understands that it is just the way we interact. Of course, when it is time to be serious, we drop all of the foolishness and get down to business.
I remember when I first joined TLSAMP back in Fall 2013. I was only 18 years old and a sophomore at that time. At first, I was nervous in joining TLSAMP because most of the members were in their early to mid-twenties, but Ms. Hairston made my transition a nice and smooth one. She was so understanding, inviting, and encouraging. She made sure I was focused on my studies and was always eager to hear good news from me. I don’t know where I would be today if it was not for her. Ms. Hairston even keeps in contact with former TLSAMPers, who either attend graduate school or in the engineering or STEM-related workforce. She is a very wonderful maternal figure for us young adults who are trying to figure out what we want to do in life and in need of guidance from someone who has been in our shoes. She is so relatable in many aspects and always willing to share stories of herself and others in order to prevent us from making the same mistakes. She is truly a sensational woman.
Again, I am proud of Reggie, David, and Mamadou for placing at the competition. They really put their all in their presentations. They bothered Carlos and Ms. Hairston night and day and Carlos worked with them on their presentations until they were too exhausted to speak. Reggie, David, and Mamadou even had to miss things in order to achieve and succeed! They made sacrifices, so did Carlos and Ms. Hairston. Carlos brutally judged them and ripped them apart! But that was only because he wanted them to stand out and exceed other’s expectations of them. He really cares about his fellow researchers and his fellow undergraduate TLSAMP members. That shows true dedication and commitment from both parties.
Well, that is it for now! I hope some of you get the unique opportunity to join a an advantageous, valuable, and rewarding organization like TLSAMP!
There are many reasons why it is important to start doing research as soon as you can in your college years.
1. It allows you to bond with your professors that are in your major.
2. It allows you to network and meet new people.
3. It allows you to gain more information and make you smarter and well-rounded in your field of study.
4. It makes you stand out amongst some of your other peers.
5. Most importantly, it increases your chances of getting accepted into Graduate School! (Graduate Admissions actually look at your resume and transcript to see if you did any research during your undergrad years.)
So yes, if you plan on attending Graduate School or Medical School, make sure, during your undergraduate years, you RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!
