Biology majors Tajamian Foster (left) and Natalia Adams (right)
Article Submitted By Dr. Helene Peters
MOUNT VERNON— BPC Biology Majors Tajamian Foster and Natalia Adams presented original research, during the annual Biology Seminar Day Monday, November 28 to fulfill course requirements for BIO 431 Studies in Biology II. BPC students, faculty, and staff as well as interested community members attended the event. Tajamian Foster investigated the effect of the energy drink, Monster Energy® brand on athlete performance amongst basketball athletes at Brewton-Parker College. She found that the energy drink had an ergogenic effect on both the male and female basketball players, with 46% of the female basketball players and 28% of the male basketball players having faster sprint times during a Running-based anaerobic sprint test. Results showing the difference between the energy drink and placebo for the Ruler Drop Test and Squats Test was statistically insignificant. Natalia Adams’ study focused on the occurrence of athlete’s foot (Tinea pedis), caused by the dermatophytic fungus, Trichophyton rubrum Malmsten 1845. The women’s and men’s soccer team, women’s softball team, and men’s baseball team at Brewton-Parker College participated in the study. She identified an experimental treatment group of 10 athletes based upon fungal plate growth to study the effectiveness of Tinactin® spray. Both of these students’ research will be presented in poster format at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Georgia Academy of Science at Young Harris College in Georgia. The Division of Math and Natural Science aims to develop the student’s analytical thinking skills, focusing on the application of mathematics and natural sciences to practical problems. For more information on the Division of Math and Natural Sciences and/or future events open to the community, please contact Dr. Helene Peters at 583-3157 or hpeters@bpc.edu.