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Quest For Knowledge
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
Youngstown State University graduate student Hiba M. Ismail channeled her passion for antimicrobial resistance precautions into a project for Quest 2012.
The program, a forum for student scholarship, involved graduate and undergraduate students from every college, presenting their research before faculty judges.
Ismail’s project, “Super Bugs: Stop Feeding and Making Them Stronger!,” examined the use of antibiotics in a hospital setting. Sometimes a patient is prescribed an antibiotic that’s stronger than what’s need to battle the infection. Other times the dose is incorrect.
“I see it in a hospital setting, and as a mother I see it,” said Ismail, of the city, who works at St. Elizabeth Health Center and as a part-time YSU professor.
She advocates a stewardship program, which has been implemented elsewhere with success and at a low cost, she said.
Antimicrobial stewardship means using the proper medication at the right dosage for the proper duration.
Jeffrey T. Coldren, a professor in YSU’s psychology department and director of undergraduate research, said student participation this year is up 11 percent compared with last year. Some students present their research as part of a class; others complete the work to explore a particular interest.
Students are allotted 15 minutes for their presentations, and judges from the faculty ask questions and then score the students based on organization, visual aids, knowledge of the topic, quality of work, professionalism and communication.
Monetary awards are presented to the winners in each college, and overall undergraduate and graduate winners are offered scholarships from the YSU Foundation.
This is Quest’s 23rd year.
Though undergraduate research is becoming more common, it’s more expected at large universities, Coldren said.
At YSU, faculty have closer relationships with students, he said. Students are able to approach a professor with an idea for a research project to get their views and guidance, Coldren said.
“Knowledge is generated; it’s not just something they read in a book,” he said.
In exercise and wellness, student Brian Peppel examined the health benefits of Nintendo’s Wii Fit in young and older adults.
In history, Danilo Comichista explored “Gangs of Antiquity,” showing how the roots of organized crime stretch back to ancient Greece, Rome and Meso-America.
White-collar crime, loan sharking and forms of fraud were all practiced in those early civilizations.