Sigma Alpha Iota

16 Summer 2024 • sai-national.org Education Sisters in STEM By Gianna Marrano ver the past few semesters, in our mission to bring together all women and non-binary people who share a love for music, Nu Alpha Chapter has noticed an increase in STEM majors as part of our sisterhood. is year, four of our members have participated in research labs on e College of New Jersey's campus and we would like to highlight their studies and how they use the values of Sigma Alpha Iota to succeed in their research. Psychology majors Bianca Luna and Emalina Ascenzo have been completing research in their own respective labs. Luna's work focuses on social change and social collective, and she is currently working on her senior research project. Her research project focuses on the salience of "immigration policies and how it affects identity conflict for U.S. born Latines" (Luna 2024). is research is forming the framework of Luna's senior research project for next school year. Ascenzo's research focuses on cognitive development in young children. For her lab, she conducts studies about learning and memory in children. Her lab is currently conducting three studies on topics ranging from generalization in 10-12 month old children and preference chunking in children around the age of two years old. is research is crucial for Ascenzo as she plans to continue her music studies by going to graduate school for music therapy. When asked about how they use the values of Sigma Alpha Iota in the lab, they both came back with similar responses of how they use teamwork and communication in both activities. Ascenzo elaborated that "good communication and teamwork skills are super important. In both groups I have to work with other individuals, so it is important to be able to work well with other people" (Ascenzo 2024). As our corresponding secretary, Ascenzo has definitely showcased her outstanding communication skills, connecting with other student organizations to help the outreach of SAI. She also expressed the importance of having a kind personality in both environments, as she works with young children. Luna mentioned that in her lab she is building off of the prior work of her professor. She stated that this is similar to how in Sigma Alpha Iota we build off of each other to be the best chapter we can be. She also has a partner in her lab that she works closely with, and they support each other in their respective projects. We are proud to see our sisters using teamwork and communication not only in their labs but also in SAI. Whether it's Ascenzo finding other student organizations to co-sponsor our events or Luna working with other Inter-Greek Council representatives to plan Greek Week activities, these are definitely skills that have helped our chapter thrive and succeed. In the world of natural science, members Cecelia Lawyer and Madelyn Murphy are working in the biology department on their research. Lawyer describes her role in the lab as using "...the bacterial two-hybrid system to determine if there are protein-protein interactions between YqgF and proteins with known roles in the 16s rRNA maturation process" (Lawyer, 2024). Lawyer's lab is studying YqgF, which is a protein hypothesized to be involved in the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) maturation in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1. ey are determining the relationship between these two proteins to better understand YgqF's role in the process. Murphy's lab is focused on the role that serotonin receptors play in contributing to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). ey use serotonin-deficient mice to measure differences in cardiorespiratory maturation right aer birth. ey have also experimented with the variable of prenatal nicotine exposure. e main techniques they use in their lab are "... measuring whole-animal breathing and heart rate, taking electrophysiological measurements of isolated neural circuits of interest, and immunohistochemistry, which is the targeted staining of tissue that can be seen with a special microscope" (Murphy, 2024). Lawyer and Murphy gave two very detailed responses when asked what skills they use as a member of their lab and in their Nu Alpha responsibilities. ey both mentioned a different, yet important trait of being a dedicated member of both our chapter and their labs. Lawyer talked about the importance of having effective time management in both Sigma Alpha Iota and in her lab, especially last semester when she was our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Acceptance Committee co-chair on top of doing her research. She also mentioned that having effective time management allowed her to give 100% to both at the same time. Effective planning is also important for Lawyer as she handled her duties in SAI and her lab. ere were similarities between having to plan which experiments to do with the results from the past week and helping plan events for the chapter as part of the Sisterhood Committee. Murphy talked about another core trait, however, that she used in her biology lab and in SAI. She stressed the importance of applying feedback to make the environment better in both the lab and the chapter. Additionally, she also stated that: "...the mindset of remaining steadfast and committed to improvement is something that good musicians and good scientists share! Both lab science and music are a long game of slow improvements that build up over time. It can be easy to get discouraged when results don't come immediately, but both musicians and scientists know that with dedication and patience, results will begin to show!" (Murphy, 2024) Not only does her quote apply to the art of practicing music, but also to improving our chapter and making sure that we are doing the best we can to spread our mission and unite women and non-binary people who share a love for music. It has been a rewarding experience for all chapter members to have different majors in the group all bringing something different to the table. e overlap between STEM and the arts has shined in our chapter, and we are so proud that our members uphold the values of Sigma Alpha Iota not just in chapter but everywhere they go on campus, including the lab. Gianna Marrano is a member of Nu Alpha chapter at e College of New Jersey. She has served as the Service Chair from 2022-23 and as Editor from 2023-24.

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