Spotlight on Excellence
Dr.
Acholonu Presents Paper at Two International Conferences and
Gets Elected as Executive Board Member of the World Federation
of Parasitologists
Dr. Alex D.W. Acholonu, Professor of
Biology at Alcorn State University, recently returned from
Abuja, Nigeria where he attended the 2nd Science and
Technology Conference ( July 25th -28th,
2006) at the invitation of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The theme of the Conference was: “Strengthening partnerships
with the Nigerian Diaspora.” He chaired a session on
Biotechnology/ Food Security and Nutrition and additionally
presented a paper on “Introduction of the Cultivation of Sweet
Corn at Awaka, Owerri North Local Government Area, Imo State.”
Dr. Acholonu said that he is making an effort to introduce the
growing of sweet corn in his home Town, Awaka, famous for the
production of high quality field corn.
Dr. Acholonu also attended the 11th
International Congress of Parasitology (ICOPA XI) which took
place in Glasgow, Scotland, from August 6th-11th,
2006. He presented a paper titled “Trichomoniasis in Imo State,
Nigeria with comments on its prevalence as compared to other
sexually transmitted diseases” – a paper now published in the
Proceedings of the 11th International Congress of
Parasitology and co-authored by Alphonsus Njoku and Ambrose
Opara from Imo State University who collaborated on the
investigation with him.
During the Congress attended by about
forty eight countries in the world, Dr. Acholonu was elected as
one of the Executive Board Members of the World Federation of
Parasitologists (WFP) to serve from 2006-2010. The World
Federation of Parasitologists is an apex organization for
scientific societies all over the world concerned with
parasitism or with interest in Parasitology. Its aim is to
promote and coordinate exchange of knowledge, research and other
activities related to parasitism; and to assure the continuity
of holding International Congresses of Parasitology. The
Executive Board is the governing body of the World Federation of
Parasitologists.
Biology
Major Student Wins First Prize at Conference
Rhonda E. Price, a sophomore
(Health-related professions) from Detroit, MI won the “First
Place in Poster Presentation” Award at the INSPIRE PMB
conference 2006. This is a national meeting that focuses on
undergraduate research in the fields of polymers, material and
biomedical sciences. The conference was held on September 22-24
at the Southern Miss campus in Hattiesburg, MS. Rhonda’s faculty
advisors are Drs. Jon Ignacio Moreno and Marta Piva from the
Department of Biological Sciences.
