ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEASTERN BIOLOGISTS (ASB)

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ANNUAL MEETING

ASB RESEARCH & PRESENTATION AWARDS
​PREVIOUS AWARDEES

ASB Student Research Award ($1000) – Sponsored by ASB Patron Martin Microscope  

• 2021 - Skyler J. Fox, Furman University, Greenville, SC

          Citizen science platforms as tools connecting communities to research and education: A case study using iNaturalist

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Steven Gardner, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
  Natural tissue concentrations in adult Ambystoma maculatum and larval DNA damage from exposure to arsenic and chromium
• 2018 - No award was made this year
• 2017 - Steven Gardner, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL
  Developmental and interactive effects of arsenic and chromium to developing Ambystoma maculatum embryos:  Toxicity, teratogenicity, and whole-body concentrations​
• 2016 – Annalee M. Tutterow, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
  Variation in survivorship among North Carolina bog turtle populations
• 2015 – Stephanie K. Momeni, University of Alabama Birmingham
• 2014 – Justin C. Strickland, Department of Biology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
• 2013 – Sheri A. Shiflett, Department of Biology, Virginia commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
• 2012 – Lindsay D. Leverett, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
  ​

ASB Senior Research Award ($1000) 

• 2021 - John Quinn, Furman University, Greenville, SC

          Patterns of vertebrate richness across global Anthromes: Prioritizing conservation beyond biomes and ecoregions

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Carolina M. Siniscalchi, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
  ​The systematic value of pollen morphology in Chresta Vell. ex DC. (Vernonieae, Asteraceae)
• 2018 - John Quinn, Department of Biology, Furman University, Greenville, SC
  Changes in spatial distribution of Southeastern salamanders in the Blue Ridge region with respect to future climate change scenarios
• 2017 - No award was made this year
• 2016 – Steven J. Price, Department of Forestry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
  Effects of mountaintop removal mining and valley filling on the occupancy and abundance of stream salamanders
• 2015 – No award was made this year
• 2014 – Ashley B. Morris, Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
• 2013 – Matthew J. Heard, Department of Biology, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC
• 2012 – Michael E. Dorcas, Davidson College, Davidson, NC 

ASB Student Oral Presentation Award – Animal Biology ($300)

• 2021 - Jean Ross, Elon University, Elon, NC

          Multiple functions for multiple signals: the role of sound and vibration in mediating courtship and competition in a            Neotropical katydid

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Melissa Encinias, James Madison University, Harrisburg, VA

​         Divergence of male mating preferences in sympatric Calopteryx aequabilis and C. maculata populations

• 2018 - Sarah Britton, Western Carolina University, Asheville, NC

          Indirect effect of a competitor on life history and reproductive traits in a cavity nesting bird

• 2017 - Robin Hauschner, Berea College, Berea, KY
  Climate change and the effect of temperature on the release of Proterometra macrostoma (Trematoda: Digenea) cercariae from their snail intermediate host
• 2016 – Kathryn M. Greene, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
  The effects of conspecifics on burrow selection in juvenile spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum)
  
  

ASB Student Oral Presentation Award – Aquatic Biology ($300)

• 2021 - James Valentine, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS

          Linking males, females, and nymphs of Perlesta species (Plecoptera: Perlidae) in Mississippi using DNA barcoding

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Christa Edwards, University of Tampa, Tampa, FL
  Antrhopogenic sound in the sea: are ascidians affected?
• 2018 - Harrison Seitz, High Point University, High Point, NC
  An examination of UV radiation tolerance and photoenzymatic repair capabilities across temperature in the freshwater cladocerans Scapholeberis mucronata, Diaphanosoma birgei, and Moina spp.
• 2017 - Hannah Grice, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA
  Effects on Campostoma oligolepis digestive morphology and gut microbiota composition across a gradient of  urbanization
• 2016 – Devin N. Kinney, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH
  Effects of roundup and reduced hydroperiod on the behavioral response of Hyla versicolor tadpoles to predators
  
  

ASB Student Oral Presentation Award – Cell and Molecular Biology ($300)

• 2021 - Jonathan Black, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

          Synthesis and assembly of functionalized RNA nanorings

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Tania Perez, Miami Dade College, Miami, FL
  Investigating the assembly pathway for the yeast mitoribosomal small subunit
• 2018 - Ogechukwu Otiji, Georgia Gwinnett College, Lawrenceville, GA
  Do correlations exist between harm avoidance, risk assessment, the stin2 polymorphism, and marijuana use in college students?
• 2017 - Chathurani Ranathunge, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
  Patterns of selection acting on transcribed and anonymous microsatellites in latitudinal populations of common sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)
• 2016 – Taeler Dahm, Belmont University, Nashville, TN
  p53 mediated regulation of CCNH in response to paclitaxel-induced mitotic stress
  
  

ASB Student Oral Presentation Award – Microbiology ($300)

• 2021 - Two winners

          Jonathan Kilroy, Boston University, Boston, MA
          Proposal of three models of extractive-fermentation bioreactors for the conversion of crude glycerol to biobutanol            by Clostridium pasteurianum
          Jessica Wakeman, Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC
          Optimization of Dunaliella salina growth using commercial fertilizers and salts

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Eric Weingarten, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS
  ​Microbial community compositional and functional differences observed along wetland salinity transects
• 2018 - John Spencer, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA
  The effects of antimicrobial peptides WAM-1 and LL-37 on multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii
• 2017 - Jordan Lewis, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC
  The effects of coastal renourishment on the presence of Escherichia coli
• 2016 – Tyler Wilson, High Point University, High Point, NC
  Synergistic effects of amoxapine and beta-lactam antibiotics against MRSA​​​
  
  

ASB Student Poster Presentation Award – Animal Biology ($300)

• 2021 - Sierra Croney, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC

          The effect of canopy openness on saproxylic Coleoptera diversity in the Wilson Creek Watershed

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Josh Hendricks, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY
  ​Population dynamics and unique foraging ecology of copperheads in the Red River Gorge, KY
• 2018 - Amanda Lafferty, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
  A comparison of habitat selection and cold tolerance of the invasive fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, in piedmont and montane regions of the Carolinas
• 2017 - Kristen Carlisle, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL
  Preliminary comparison of L-cysteine, N-acetyl-L-cysteine, and apple peel protective effects on acrylamide toxicity in embryos of Xenopus laevis
• 2016 – Brian K. Bonville, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
  Effects of genotype, environment, and their interaction on leaf terpenes and the abundance of a specialist aphid in Solidago altissima
  
  

ASB Student Poster Presentation Award – Aquatic Biology ($300)

• 2021 - Perla Morales, Nash Community College, Rocky Mount, NC

          Geometric morphometric analysis of candidate species within Desmognathus fuscus

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Wesley Franklin, Southern Arkansas University, Magnolia, AR
  ​Microfiber prevalence and abundance in freshwater fishes from Lake Columbia, AR
• 2018 - Christopher Elsey, Shorter University, Rome, GA
  Investigation of the presence and identity of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in the Coosa River and its Rome tributaries in Floyd County, GA
• 2017 - Cara Vielhauer, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
  Identifying Daphnia species by morphological traits and DNA barcoding
• 2016 – Anna Lee Whitaker, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA
  The effect of female egg production on male mating behavior in the copepod Tigriopus californicus
  
  

ASB Student Poster Presentation Award – Cell and Molecular Biology ($300)

• 2021 - Jordan Ogg, Stetson University, DeLand, FL

          Amyloid-Beta-Induced chemotaxis behavior and neuronal morphology in transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Noha Shendy, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
  The epithelial stem cell phenotype is controlled by the expression and activity of NF-KB family members
• 2018 - Emily Lucero, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
  Macrophage susceptibility and behavior when exposed to oncolytic vesicular stomatitis virus
• 2017 - Josh Herman, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
  The roles of Gaq and PLC in regulating mechanosensory and thermosensory behavior in Drosophila melanogaster
• 2016 – Maria A. Trujillo, High Point University, High Point, NC
  Mapping the sorting signals of the cytoplasmic domain of atg27
  ​

ASB Student Poster Presentation Award – Microbiology ($300)

• 2021 - Annie Bright, Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC

          Identification and characterization of oil degrading bacteria

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Madison Studstill, Union University, Jackson, TN
  Biofilm formation and virulence factors of Candida albicans in JEG-3 cell line
• 2018 - Joshua Herndon, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN
  Exogenous polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) promote changes in growth, phospholipid composition, membrane permeability and virulence phenotypes in Escherichia coli
• 2017 - Kadiatou Keita, Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, AL
  ​Multi-walled carbon nanotube effects on soil microbes and plant growth
• 2016 – Lyssa Y. Baker, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN
  Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) impact antimicrobial peptide resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae and cause reduced motility in P. aeruginosa

ASB Student Poster Award ($300) - This award was revised in 2016 (see above)

• 2015 – Anna R. Moravec, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN
  Membrane remodeling via utilization of exogenous polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) modifies virulence phenotypes in Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus
• 2014 – Pratikkumar P. Patel, Department of Biology, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA
• 2013 – Carol B. Starkey, Department of Biology, Marshall University, Huntington, WV
• 2013 – Lauren E. Carter, Department of Biology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
• 2012 – Chance D. Ruder, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
  
  

ASB Research Award in Microbiology ($500) - This award was revised in 2016 (see above)

• 2015 – Blake W. Nelson, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH
  ​Assessing the abundance and distribution of Escherichia coli on oceanic beaches in South Carolina
• 2014 – Andrew J. Jajack, Department of Biology, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH
• 2013 – Matthew Boyce, Department of Biology, Virginia Wesleyan College, Norfolk, VA
• 2012 – No award was made

AFFILIATE RESEARCH & PRESENTATION AWARDS
​PREVIOUS AWARDEES

The following awards are sponsored by ASB Affiliates and are listed in alphabetical order by Affiliate. Students will have the opportunity to select awards for consideration at the time of abstract submission for the annual ASB Meeting.

North Carolina Botanical Garden Award ($300) 

• 2021 - Emily Opmann, Middle Tennessee State Univeristy, Murfreesboro, TN

          Assessing the clonal nature of running glade clover (Trifolium calcarcum; Fabaceae)

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Logan Clark, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
  Blazing new paths to investigate blazing stars: Development of microsatellite markers and evaluation of species boundaries between Liatris helleri and Liatris turgida
• 2018 - Byron Burrell, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
  Habitat preference and herbivory effects in a rare plant preserve with reduced human interaction
• 2017 - Lauren Whitehurst, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA
  Implementing a DNA barcoding pipeline to prevent the introduction of invasive species into the Port of Savannah
• 2016 – Erin Fegley, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
  Modeling herbivory to protect viability of a rare, monocarpic perennial, pitcher’s thistle
• 2015 – Jesse E. D. Miller, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  Long-term landscape change in Ozark dolomite glades, 1939-2012
• 2014 – A. Renee Fortner, Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
• 2013 – April P. Punsalan, Department of Biology, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
• 2012 – Andrea R. Benson, University of Tennessee Chattanooga, TN

Southeast Chapter of the Ecological Society of America – Eugene P. Odum Award ($500)  

• 2021
  • Shannon Walker, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

                   Belowground characteristics of coastal dune grasses with implications for species-specific effects on                                       erosional resistance

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019
  • Nicholas Flanders, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA​
    Effects of environmental conditions on survival of a bird-dispersed mistletoe, Phoradendron leucarpum
• 2018
  • Tesa Madsen-McQueen, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
    Environmental niche divergence in southeastern Kalmia species: integrating phylogeny, community, composition, and ecology
  • Christopher Payne, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
    MultiEDA:  An interactive exploratory data viewer for mulitvariate plot-based inventory data
• 2017
  • Lauren Whitehurst, Columbus State University
    ​​​​Implementing a DNA barcoding pipeline to prevent the introduction of invasive species into the Port of Savannah
  • David Nielsen, Appalachian State University
    Mechanisms driving the asymmetrical distribution of Polystichum acrostichoides on north/south ridges in a southern Appalachian woodland
• 2016
  • Dennis Tarasi, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    Abiotic community changes with species invasions
  • Phoebe Cook, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
    No evidence for sexual selection on color dimorphism in Megalagrion calliphya damselflies
• 2015
  • John A. Jones, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
    Ecological and behavioral consequences of sympatry between golden-winged and chestnut-sided warblers in the southern Appalachians
  • Honorable Mention – Jesse E. D. Miller, University of Wisconsin, Madison
    Long-term landscape change in Ozark dolomite glades, 1939-2012
  • Honorable Mention – Dennis Tarasi, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
    Invaded communities differ in composition and structure from uninvaded communities
  •  Honorable Mention – Kaitlyn D. Peters, Longwood University, Farmville, VA
    Terrestrial leaf litter alters nutrient and oxygen flux in the sediments from a small man-made pond in central Virginia
• 2014
  • Lauren C. McCarthy, Department of Biology, Center for Biodiversity, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
  • Honorable Mention, Z. Carter Berry, Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
• 2013
  • Kyle A. Palmquist, Curriculum for the Environment and Ecology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
  • Honorable Mention – Teresa Moody, Center for Wildlife Health, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
• 2012
  • Keri M. Goodman, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
  • Honorable Mention – Kyle A. Palmquist, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC

Southeast Chapter of the Ecological Society of America – Elsie Quarterman-Catherine Keever Award ($500) 

• 2021
  • Behil Alemu, Georgia Gwinnett College, Lawerenceville, GA

                   Evaluating mammal diversity across habitats fragmented by a power line cut

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic) 
• 2019
  • Zoe Bergman, James Madison University, Harrisburg, VA
    Response of restoration chestnut seedlings to forest management strategies
• 2018
  • Mallory Munden, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC
    The impact of crab pot distribution on diamondback terrapin presence in the waters around Masonboro Island, North Carolina
• 2017
  • Maggie Howard, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA
    Inbreeding Depression in the Introduced Spider Latrodectus geometricus
• 2016
  • Alissa Brown, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
    Does the spatial pattern of tree recruitment in temperate forests reflect a species’ successional status?
• 2015
  • Catherine J. Cole, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
    An unusual succulent in the Appalachian understory: Leaf morphology and light capture in Sedum ternatum
  • Honorable Mention – Ceil C. Martinec, Troy University, Troy, AL
    ​Multivariate analysis of nematode communities in northern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf sediments following the Deepwater Horizon spill
• 2014
  • Charles R. Watt, Department of Biology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
  • Honorable Mention, Timothy J. Cole, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Samford University, Birmingham, AL
  • Honorable Mention, Grayam R. Sailor-Tynes, Department of Biology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
• 2013 – Cakey Worthington, Department of Biology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
• 2012 – Anne B. Cubeta, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC

Southern Appalachian Botanical Society - Richard and Minnie Windler Award

• 2021 (Systematics) 
  • Elizabeth McMurchie and Andrea Weeks

                   Vascular flora and ecological community assessment of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship,                     Loudon County, Virginia

• 2021 (Ecology)
  
  • Justin P. Williams and Tracy S. Hawkins                   
    

​                   Acorn weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) predation dynamics in a Mississippi bottomland hardwood forest      ​

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019
  • Peter W. Schafran, Elizabeth A. Zimmer, W. Carl Taylor, and Lytton J. Musselman 
    A whole chloroplast genome phylogeny of diploid species of Isoetes (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta) in the Southeastern United States
  • Timothy M. Shearman, G. Geoff Wang, Robert K. Peet, Thomas R. Wentworth, Michael P. Schafale, and Alan S. Weakley
    A community analysis for forest ecosystems with natural growth of Persea spp. in the Southeastern United States 
• 2018
  • Shannon N. Grover, Jesse E. D. Miller, and EllenI. Damschen
    Indirect effects of landscape spatial structure and plant species richness on pollinator diversity in Ozark glades
  • John H. Wiersema, Piero G. Delprete, Joseph H. Kirkbride, Jr., and Alan R. Franck
    A new weed in Florida, Spermacoce latifolia, and the distinction between S. alata and S. latifolia (Spermacoceae, Rubiaceae)
• 2017
  • Varma-Rose J. Williams and Heather F. Sahli
    A comparison of herbivore damage on three invasive plants and their native congeners: implications for the enemy release hypothesis
  • Jonathan P. Evans, Callie A. Oldfield, Mary P. Priestley, Yolande M. Gottfried, L. Dwayne Estes, Alfire Sidik, and George S. Ramseur
    The Vascular Flora of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee
• 2016
  • Jessica L. Allen and James C. Lendemer
    Japewiella dollypartoniana, a new crustose lichen widespread in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America
  • Lauren F. Howard
    A quarter century of change without fire: the high-elevation pitch pine community on Panther Knob, Pendleton Co., WV
• 2015
  • Sabrina Y. S. Sewell and Wendy B. Zomlefer
    Floristics of piedmont gabbro upland depression forests in Jasper County, GA
  • Katherine E. Culatta and Jonathan L. Horton
    Physiological response of Southern Appalachian high-elevation rock outcrop herbs to reduced cloud immersion
• ​2014
  • ​Lisa E. Wallace and Christopher H. Doffitt
    Genetic structure of the mesic forest-adapted herbs Trillium cuneatum and Trillium stamineum (Melanthiaceae) in the South-Central United States
  • Donald G. Ruch, Byron G. Torke, Kemuel S. Badger, John E. Taylor, Benjamin R. Hess, and Paul E. Rothrock
    The vascular flora and vegetational communities of Cabin Creek Raised Bog, Randolph County, Indiana
• ​2013
  • ​Joey Shaw, Hill Craddock, and Meghan Binkley
    Phylogeny and phylogeography of North American Castanea Mill. (Fagaceae) using cpDNA suggests gene sharing in the Southern Appalachians (Castanea Mill., Fagaceae)
• ​2012
  • ​ James A. Schrader and William R. Graves
    Taxonomy of Leitneria (Simaroubaceae) resolved by ISSR, ITS, and morphometric characterization

Southern Appalachian Botanical Society – Earl Core Student Research Award ($750) 

• 2021 - Noah Dennis Yawn, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
• 2021 - Michelle L. Gaynor, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Cheyenne Moore, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
• 2019 - Mason McNair, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
• 2018 - Nicholas Flanders, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
• 2018 - Jonathan Kleinman, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
• 2017 - Jennifer Hastings, Ohio University, Athens, OH
• 2017 - Adam Ramsey, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
• 2016 – Eranga Wettewa, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS
• 2016 – M. Taylor Perkins, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN
• 2015 – Jenna Dorey, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY
• 2015 – Jerald Pinson, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
• 2014 – Jessica Allen, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY
• 2014 – Anna Nicole Long-Aragon, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
• 2013 – Clayton M. Costa, Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, MD
• 2013 – Renee Fortner, Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
• 2013 – Karoline Oldham, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
• 2012 – Matthew Hansen, Towson University, Towson, MD

Southern Appalachian Botanical Society - John E. Fairey Scholarship for study at a biological field station​

• 2021
  • Luke Sheaffer, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
  • Brittany Martin, Haywood Community College, Clyde, NC
  • Alna Hicks, University of Tennessee Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN
  • Brandon Wheeler, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
  • Morgan Gaglianese-Woody, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
  • Neely Millard, University of Tennessee Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN
  • Laura Hamon, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019
  • Venus Jafari, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
    Mountain Lake Biological Station - Plant Diversity, Evolution, and Conservation
  • Brandy Benz, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
    Highlands Biological Station - Fern Identification and Ecology
  • Robert Helsel, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
    Eagle Hill Institute - Mosses: Structure, Ecology, and Identification
  • Aryan Kadkhodaei, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
    Mountain Lake Biological Station - Plant Diversity, Evolution, and Conservation

Southern Appalachian Botanical Society – Outstanding Student Oral Presentation Award ($300) 

• 2021 - Rebekah Shupe, Marshall University, Huntington, WV

          The effect of fire an oak-forest regeneration: A 25-year study

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Marietta Shattleroe, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
  Investigations of the forgotten Geum, Geum geniculatum Michx., Bent Avens
• 2018 - Tesa Madsen-McQueen, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
  Environmental niche divergence in southeastern Kalmia species; integrating phylogeny, community composition and ecology
• 2017 - Lauren Whitehurst, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA
  Implementing a DNA barcoding pipeline to prevent the introduction of invasive species into the Port of Savannah
• 2016 – Peter Schafran, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
  Towards a phylogeny of Isoetes in the Southeastern United States
• 2015 – Scott Cory, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
  Ecophysiological responses of Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) Christmas trees along an elevational gradient
• 2014 – Jamie D. Smith, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
• 2013 –
• 2012 – Andrea R. Benson, University of Tennessee Chattanooga, TN

Southern Appalachian Botanical Society – Outstanding Student Poster Presentation Award ($300) 

• 2021 - Katie Krogemeier, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

          Impacts of polyploidy on the ecophysiology of Solidago altissima

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Claire Ciafre, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN
  The confluence of disjunct plant species in a remarkable Eastern Highland Rim seepage grassland, Putnam County, Tennessee
• 2018 - Lee Rumble, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
  Measuring spatial and temporal shifts in forest structure and composition post-beech bark disease in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• 2017 - Carolina Siniscalchi, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
  Development of SSR markers for *Chresta* (Asteraceae, Vernonieae) using genomic data
• 2016 – Nikolai Hay, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
  Preliminary analysis of genetic diversity in Geum radiatum suggests inter-population diversity
• 2015 – Catherine J. Cole, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
  An unusual succulent in the Appalachian understory: Leaf morphology and light capture in Sedum ternatum
• 2014 – Jessica M. Bartek, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA
• 2013 – Gwendolyn Casebeer, University of North Carolina Asheville, NC
• 2012 – Jennifer S. Stanley, University of Tennessee Chattanooga, TN

Southeastern Section of the Botanical Society of America – Outstanding Student Oral Presentation Award

• 2021 - Emily Oppmann, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN

          Assessing the clonal nature of running glade clover (Trifolium calcaricum; Fabaceae)

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Brandon Fuller, University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA
  The phylogeography of the southeastern species of the genus Dalea L. (Fabaceae) using a phylogenetic approach
• 2018 - Tesa Madsen-McQueen, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
  ​Environmental niche divergence in southeastern Kalmia species: integrating phylogeny, community, composition, and ecology
• 2017 - Chathurani Ranathunge, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State University, MS
  Patterns of selection acting on transcribed and anonymous microsatellites in latitudinal populations of common sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)
• 2016 – Dennis Tarasi, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

​           Abiotic community changes with species invasions

• 2015 – Jessica L. Allen, New York Botanical Garden
  High elevation endemics and climate change: The future of rare lichens in the Southern Appalachians
• 2014 – Titian Ghandforoush, Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
• 2013 – Ryan Dorkoski, Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio University, Athens, OH

Southeastern Section of the Botanical Society of America – Outstanding Student Poster Presentation Award

• 2021 - Regina Javier, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

          ​Gas exchange characteristics from differently colored leaves of Croton petra

• 2020 - No award was made this year (COVID-19 pandemic)
• 2019 - Annelise Kim, Georgia Southern University Armstrong Campus, Savannah, GA
  Investigating phenotypic plasticity of Hydrocotyle bonariensis in response to soil type and salt spray
• 2018 - Lee Rumble, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
  Measuring spatial and temporal shifts in forest structure and composition post-beech bark disease in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• 2017 - Carolina Siniscalchi, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
  ​Development of SSR markers for Chresta (Asteraceae, Vernonieae) using genomic data
• 2016 – Alissa Brown, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Does the spatial pattern of tree recruitment in temperate forests reflect a species’ successional status?
• 2015 – Catherine J. Cole, Appalachian State University
  An unusual succulent in the Appalachian understory: Leaf morphology and light capture in Sedum ternatum
• 2014 – Kristin Emery, Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Asheville, NC
• 2013 – Anastasia M. Woodard, Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University,  Jonesboro, AR