Samantha Jones, a biology student at Southern Arkansas University, recently presented her research at the 104th Annual Meeting of the Arkansas Academy of Sciences, winning first place in the Medical Science and Parasitology division.
Jones, of El Dorado, competed against other universities across the state and presented research she conducted in the laboratory of Dr. James Hyde in the Department of Biology at SAU.
Her research focuses on keeping pituitary cells alive outside the body to allow for further studies of the cells’ structure, communication, and genetics. Her work focuses on microscopic techniques and imaging and uses newly acquired microscopy equipment obtained through an INBRE grant awarded to Dr. Hyde.
Jones will be graduating from SAU next year and plans to attend medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
In addition to her research in the Biology Department at SAU, Samantha is a volunteer T-ball coach and raises three children.