St. Bonaventure has many clubs and extracurriculars offered, and one of the newer editions to campus is the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Student Chapter. The club has recently celebrated its one-year anniversary as it came into fruition in the 2018 spring semester.
“The goal of the ASBMB Student Chapter is to enhance the experience and skills of molecular biology by creating an environment suited to research and communication with the scientific community,” said Joshua McGraw. “The ASBMB Student Chapter at St. Bonaventure University strives to work with the community in order to seek interest in science throughout. Research in such an advanced field is important for success, and this club’s intentions are to strengthen these practices by bringing together a more structured organization at which students can interact and participate in the molecular world through research and communication with others.”
The chapter currently consists of about 21 members. Senior Makenzie Evans serves as the president of the club with McGraw serving as vice president. Senior bioinformatics major Sam Chen is the treasurer and junior biochemistry major Erin McNell is secretary. The faculty advisor, biology professor and director of the biochemistry program, is Dr. Xiao-Ning Zhang.
The members usually meet once a month in Walsh 201 and put together events that occur throughout the year. The club is open to anyone who is passionate about science or educational outreach, and right now the chapter boasts students from both science and education backgrounds.
Members are eager to share their excitement with others around them. “I’m most excited about the new opportunities that will come our way in the future that will allow us to expand our chapter and do new activities, both with students on campus and from local school districts,” McNell said. “My favorite thing about the ASBMB Chapter is being able to teach others about the importance of STEM.”
The meetings consist of reviewing planned events that are coming up and brainstorming future plans. The events that are planned are geared toward educating both the university and local communities in new and fun ways like creating DNA-themed jewelry. The organization is currently planning to host an Earth Day event. Past events have included: working with middle school students to learn about the mechanisms of DNA, visiting local elementary schools for science-related learning events and a workshop for local teachers.
“I’m very excited about this club as I see the potential it has to reach a large group of people and help them become more aware of science in general,” said Evans. “Furthermore, from the events ASBMB has participated in thus far, it’s great to see how many kids enjoy our activities and actually retain the information that we are teaching them. It’s very refreshing to see younger children excited about science.”
The members of the club look forward to expanding and building upon the work they have accomplished so far. Their enthusiasm promises that this group will be able to continue and widen their impact not only on campus, but in the surrounding community as well.
“I am most excited for the potential that this chapter has in terms of outreach. It is wonderful to think that the actions of this club could inspire someone’s interest in science,” said member and junior biology major Nick Jodush. “In terms of on campus, as we only just received funding, it has been difficult to hold on-campus events. However, I think in the future we will be able to invite local schools onto campus to show them all the great research we have been doing.”
By Faith Topolski, Staff Writer
topolsfl17@bonaventure.edu
