On Friday, November 14th, several Walla Walla university students will be attending the

Murdock College Science Research Conference held in Vancouver, WA. Various WWU
students will present their research to many other science students and faculty from private
colleges and universities in the Pacific Northwest. Most colleges and universities are able attend
this conference through invitation; however, other academic institutions are able to request an
invitation to the conference so their respective students have the opportunity to present any
research they may have in addition.
Over the course of two days, 34 talks and 250 presentations will take place at the Hilton Hotel in
downtown Vancouver. Of the 250 presentations to occur, nine we be given by WWU students.
Liesl Cole, Leah Dann, Daniel Gross, Carly Leggitt, Christopher Lindsey, Taylir Schrock, Lydia
Kore, Summer Thresher, and Rebekah Hawkins will all present their research along with many
other students from various schools from the Pacific Northwest.
Dann and Leggitt gathered research for two months in the Philippines for their particular poster
they will be presenting. Liesl is presenting a poster that combines research from the two months
Dann and Leggitt spent in the Philippines, and research from students a few years ago.
The best part was by far all the scuba diving we did to collect data, stated Dann. Danns
presentation is entitled Call doctor cucumber. In her presentation, she will examine the
association between sea cucumbers and a reduction of tropical coral disease. Everything takes
more time than you expect! The research itself, data analysis, and even making the poster took
longer than I thought it would. But it's also a whole lot of fun, especially when you get to work
with amazing people.
Dann believes coral reef health is tremendously important, as reefs provide vital services to
humans and contain incredible biodiversity. With reefs in decline, looking at all the factors that
play in to their well being may be helpful in conservation efforts and raising awareness.
I think being able to do research has expanded my view of the world, Dann confirmed. It has
provided me with invaluable skills, made me a more competitive grad school applicant, and I
have learned so much more than I expected.
To find out more about the upcoming Murdock conference as well as how to become involved,
contact David Lindsey and/or Jim Nestler for more details.