Student wins research competition

RELEASED: Nov. 18, 2009

      EAU CLAIRE — University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire senior biology major Hannah Humbach, Madison, earned first-place honors in a competition of oral presentations of undergraduate research as part of the North Central Branch meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
      Humbach, who presented "Expression Analysis of the MBP1 Gene in Candida albicans" to ASM members from states in the upper Midwest, competed against 10 other undergraduate contestants from the region. Her research adviser is Dr. Daniel Herman, assistant professor of biology.
      Humbach's research examined the presence of the protein MBP1 in the yeast C. albicans to determine if the protein causes the yeast to grow in a way that causes infection in humans. She concluded that the MBP1 protein is involved in making the yeast grow as a pathogenic form, but it also must interact with another protein to do this when nitrogen is not readily available in the yeast's environment. Humbach hopes to continue her research on this topic.
      For more information, contact Humbach at humbachr@uwec.edu.
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