TBI student George Robinson (left) is among the students who will be presenting their work at a r... TBI student George Robinson (left) is among the students who will be presenting their work at a research symposium for undergraduates at UT Nov. 3. Robinson conducted research with Ryan Quinn and Colin Dodson from SiMMo3D Simulated Medical Models.Eight area high school students who are also students in the Texas Bioscience Institute’s Middle College program offered through Temple College will be traveling to Austin Nov. 3 to present research at the first-ever Capital of Texas Undergraduate Research Conference being held at The University of Texas at Austin. The conference will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the UT Union Building.

The conference has been organized by Christopher Apgar, a 2016 graduate of the TBI program who is now a junior neuroscience major at UT.

“I wanted students from across the state to have the opportunity to come present their research at a Tier One research university,” Apgar said.

More than 100 students from 13 universities across Texas will be presenting research at the conference. The TBI students are the only high school students who were invited to participate in the event.

The eight TBI students will be presenting research they conducted over the summer as part of the TBI Summer Research Program. That program allows TBI students to work with mentors from local institutions on original research projects.

The students who will be presenting their research at the UT conference are:

Alyssa Cabading (Killeen High School), who did a research project with Dr. Ruth Ann Murphy from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Chantelle Cancel (Ellison High School), Alana Ordonez (Harker Heights High School) and Caitlyn Stanke (Rogers High School), who did a research project with Drs. Nasir Uddin and David Sprague from Emergent Biotechnologies, LLC and the Orion Institute for Translational Medicine, Inc.

Kelby Kosel (home schooled), who did a research project with Dr. Binu Tharakan from Baylor Scott & White Health.

Kara Paulk (Belton High School), who did a research project with Dr. June Wolfe from the Texas A&M Agrilife Blackland Research Center.

Jackson Post (Harker Heights High School), who did a research project with Gabriel Krizin from Inventive Group Inc.

George Robinson (Troy High School), who did a research project with Ryan Quinn and Colin Dodson from SiMMo3D Simulated Medical Models.

Alyssa Cabading will be giving an oral presentation as well as presenting a poster about her research. Awards will be given for the best posters and presentations in six different categories.

The conference also will feature a panel discussion and a keynote speech by Dr. John Goodenough, inventor of the lithium-ion battery.

Dr. Dawn Buckingham, who represents District 24 in the Texas Senate, sent Apgar a video to play at the conference in which she called the event “Impressive and needed.”

The TBI Middle College Program offers high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to earn up to 60 college credit hours in STEM–focused classes (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) through Temple College. For more information on the program, visit http://templejc.edu/tbi/middle-college.