Christarsha Young-LeMar
Biotechnology majors Christarsha Young-LeMar and Kelsi O’Rourke presented “A Model System to Study the Lung Microbiome” at the Celebration of Scholarship and Creativity on April 18. It received funding through a WSU Faculty Mini-Grant that was awarded to their faculty advisor Professor of Biology Maura Collins Pavao, Ph.D.
“This project involved the development of a chemostat system to simulate pathogenic bacteria that grow together in the lungs of an immunocompromised patient,” according to the project’s abstract. “A medium was developed that simulates lung fluid. This medium was used to determine growth rates of different bacteria in batch culture. Based on the results, optimal conditions for growth of five organisms together in the chemostat were determined.”
Young-LeMar said she did this research project to “learn more microbiology skills.”
She also presented the project at the Boston Bacterial Meeting at Harvard University on June 1.
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