The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) hosts a yearly conference that gives students the opportunity to share their research and connect with others in the field. This year, the conference was held in Orlando, Florida from November 5th-10th. On Monday, November 6th, Miami University had 7 undergraduate student presenters competing in the annual Undergraduate Student Poster Competition. In this competition, students are assigned into topical groups of ten students, with awards going to the top three presenters from each group. Miami University had 3 students place at this year's competition.

Madeleine Keller ‘24 was awarded 1st place in Group 6 of the Food, Pharmaceuticals, and Bioengineering category. Keller’s poster was titled, “Psilocybin Pathway Optimization via Gene Species Variation Towards Improved Strain Performance” and described her work done under the mentorship of Professor Jones. In this work, Keller evaluated the use of psilocybin pathways from a group of lesser known psilocybin mushrooms with the goal of constructing a more genetically optimized and efficient psilocybin production process. They have identified a set of lead strains and are now working to evaluate their performance in benchtop bioreactors.

Madeleine said that she felt “grateful to have had the opportunity to share all that I’ve learned throughout my time at Miami." Madeline added that "the opportunity to have hands-on training and experiences in the research lab at Miami has greatly influenced my decision to apply to Ph.D. programs, starting next Fall.”

Jessica Flower ‘23 (MS ‘24) was awarded 2nd place in Group 4 of the Food, Pharmaceuticals, and Bioengineering category. Flower’s poster was titled, “Evaluation of Biosynthetic Approaches Towards the Production of Non-Natural Psilocybin Derivatives,” and detailed her work done under the mentorship of Professor Jones. Flower’s work describes her undergraduate research project focused on the development of several new approaches to produce psilocybin derivative compounds in E. coli. These compounds are of interest due to their potential as novel pharmaceutical candidates for treatment of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Part of the work presented at AIChE was published earlier this year in the peer-reviewed journal, Biotechnology and Bioengineering. Flower is expanding on this work as part of her MS Thesis in Miami’s Combined BS/MS program in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering.

Jessica called the AIChE Annual Meeting “a great opportunity to share the work that I am passionate about. I have spent 3 years in the Jones Lab gaining the skills and experience needed to accomplish this work, and seeing others become excited about my project at Miami is a rewarding feeling.”

Michelle Ebu ‘25 was awarded 3rd place in Group 8 of the Food, Pharmaceuticals, and Bioengineering category. Ebu’s poster was titled, “Reparative Mechanisms of Stem Cell-based Therapy using hPSC-Extracellular Vesicles for Necrotizing Enterocolitis” and detailed work completed during a summer research experience at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Ebu’s work focused on the study of a new treatment strategy for necrotizing enterocolitis, a deadly gastrointestinal disease that primarily impacts premature infants. Her work characterized the cell proliferation and cell type distribution in the intestinal wall of healthy and diseased rat pups using fluorescent microscopy imaging.

Upon reflecting on her experience, Michelle said, “I am extremely grateful to my mentors and professors who have guided and supported me throughout this journey. Their expertise and encouragement have been invaluable in shaping my skills and passion. I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Miami University for providing me with a nurturing environment to learn and grow.”

Sharing that he feels “glad to see the hard work and accomplishments of our excellent students are being recognized on this national stage," Professor Andrew Jones remarked: "I couldn’t be more proud of all of our students and I look forward to seeing them continue to build upon their work when we return to the research labs at Miami.”

Other Miami student presenters in this poster competition were Paul Carter ‘23 (MS ‘24), Chris MacFarlane ‘23 (MS ‘24), Ellie Kornreich ‘24, and Anna Wirsch ‘25. Student registration and travel expenses were funded by a generous grant from the Miami University Center for Career Exploration and Success.