PRECS is a program designed to provide community college students with authentic research experiences in the area of phenotypic plasticity, the phenomenon of a single genotype producing multiple phenotypes depending on the environment.
Parkland's Dr. C. Britt Carlson and Dr. Nathan Schroeder of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, are the program's creators. PRECS a three-year program funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Students present their research at their home community colleges as well as at Illinois Summer Research Symposium on the University of Illinois campus. This collection contains their work as well as participant videos captured during the research process.
Submissions from 2022
PRECS Participant: Kayleigh Ambrose, Kayleigh Ambrose
The Effects of Temperature Changes on Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates (How Climate Change May Affect Our Ocean's Raves), Kayleigh X. Ambrose, Molly Fleming, and Carla Caceres
PRECS Participant: Olivia Barrett, Olivia Barrett
Exploration of Squash Plant Floral Volatiles Influencing Beetle Attraction, Olivia Barrett, Nicholas Seiter, Esther Ngumbi, Joseph Spencer, and Sarah Hind
PRECS Participant: Richard Carr, Richard Carr
PRECS Participant: Chandra Davies, Chandra Davies
Concentrating on Carbon Concentration in Algae, Chandra Davies and Steven Burgess
PRECS Participant: Kaithren Garcia, Kaithren Garcia
How to Quantify Female Mate Preference in Threespine Stickleback, Kaithren Garcia, Megan Tucker, Meghan Maciejewski, Usan Dan, and Alison M. Bell
PRECS Participant: Anthony Lamb, Anthony Lamb
Polinators in Peril - Are Illinois Native Bees Getting Smaller?, Anthony Lamb, Tristan Barley, and Adam Dolezal
Stressed Out: Why Does Ancient Maize Thrive in High-Stress Conditions?, Alexander C. Lozano, Aaron Mleziva, and Esther Ngumbi
PRECS Participant: Sarah Porth, Sarah Porth
Intra- and Interspecific Variation in Tadpole Lateral Line Cells, Sarah Porth, Lisa Surber, and Eva Fischer
PRECS Participant: Sarah Redman, Sarah Redman
Exploring Amaranth’s Color Palette: Linking Phenotype, Plant Adaptation, and Human Health, Sarah Redman and Chance Riggins Ph.D.
PRECS Participant: Stephanie Thomas, Stephanie Thomas
Bacterial Metabolism of Glucosinolates from Brassica: Association with Isothiocyanate Production, Stephanie Thomas, Jiaxuan Li, and Michael J. Miller
Submissions from 2021
GEMS Student: Brittney Bailey, Brittney Bailey
GEMS Student: Can Improved Diet Quality Alleviate Harmful Effects of Pesticides and Viruses in Honey Bees?, Brittney Bailey, Ed Hsieh, and Adam Dolezal
Nature & Nurture: Examining How Diverse Organisms Adapt to Changes in their Everyday Environment., Brittney Bailey, Soohyun Lee, and Faith Smith
PRECS Participant: Elijah Davis, Elijah Davis
Effects of Color Polymorphism and Lighting Environments on Male Bluefin Killifish Behavior, Elijah Davis, Ratna Karatgi, and Becky Fuller
PRECS Participant: Harrison Hall, Harrison Hall
Can In Vitro Phenotypes of Fusarium graminearum Indicate In Planta Aggressiveness?, Harrison Hall and Santiago Mideros
PRECS Participant: Min Rung "Nicole" Hsu, Min Rung (Nicole) Hsu
Evaluating the Efficiency in the Application of Transformation and CRISPR/Cas9 Gene-editing Technique on Pumpkins, Min Rung (Nicole) Hsu, Maria Malvino, and Sarah R. Hind
PRECS Participant: Soohyun Lee, Soohyun Lee
Bioinformatics Protocol for Assessing Contamination Level and Quality on Genomics Data of Ensifer meliloti, Soohyun Lee, Mario Ceròn Romero, and Katy Heath
PRECS Participant: Amiyah Moore, Amiyah Moore
PRECS Participant: Anh Nguyen, Thi Lan Anh Nguyen
Determining the Causal Link of Honey Bee Gut Microbial Composition on Behavioral Maturation, Thi Lan Anh Nguyen, Cassondra L. Vernier, and Gene E. Robinson
PRECS Student: Gabi Ortiz, Gabriela Ortiz
Mapping Traits in a Soybean Recombinant Inbred Line Population, Gabriela Ortiz, Chris Montes, and Lisa Ainsworth
PRECS Participant: Samta Oza, Samta Oza
Behavioral Plasticity in Response to Environmental Cues in Poison Frog Tadpoles, Samta Oza, Lisa Surber, and Eva K. Fischer
GEMS Student: Faith Smith, Faith Smith
GEMS Student: Biofilm Production in Rhizobia Influences Clover Drought Response, Faith Smith, Kevin Ricks, and Anthony Yannarell
PRECS Participant: Megan Tucker, Megan Tucker
The Genetics of Aggression in Unique Three-Spined Stickleback Populations, Megan Tucker, Colby Behrens, and Alison M. Bell
PRECS Participant: Lauren Urie, Lauren Urie
Sometimes, When it Rains it Pours: How Does Flooding Alter Plant-Herbivore Relationships?, Lauren R. Urie, Erinn Dady, and Esther N. Ngumbi
PRECS Participant Interview: Harvey Vela, Harvey Vela
The Effects of Forest Management Practices on Wild Bee Abundance and Functional Traits, Harvey Vela, Marissa H. Chase, and Alexandra Harmon-Threatt
Submissions from 2019
Fungal Endophytes Interact with Endophytic Yeast Isolated from Soybean Leaves, Baldemar Basurto, Natalie Christian, and Katy Heath
Precs Participant: Baldemar Basurto, Baldemar Basurto and Parkland College
Plasticity or local adaptation?: Survival of L. parva larvae in varying salinity, Kaitlyn Cortez, Lauren McDaniel, and Becky Fuller
Precs Participant: Kaitlyn Cortez, Kaitlyn Cortez and parkland college
Precs Participant: Erinn Dady, Erinn Dady and Parkland College
Verification of Successful Kainic Acid Injections in a Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Mouse Model, Adrian J. Garcia, Robbie J. Ingram, and Catherine A. Christian
Precs Participant: Adrian Garcia, Adrian Garcia and Parkland College
Construction of a Tn5 mutant library in Xanthomonas cucurbitae, Keirsten Kline, Rikky Rai, and Sarah R. Hind
Precs Participant: Justina Lee, Justina Lee and Parkland College
Direct Impacts of Heat Stress on Illinois Soybeans, Jessica O'Connor, Charles Burroughs, and Lisa Ainsworth
Precs Participant: Jessica O’Connor, Jessica O'Connor and Parkland College
Precs Participant: Isiah Ramos, Isiah Ramos and Parkland College
Stress Induced Remodeling in the Nematode C. elegans, Becky Rose, Rebecca Androwski, and Nathan E. Schroeder
Precs Participant: Becky Rose, Becky Rose and Parkland College
Comparative Efficacy of Novel Endolysins in Queso Fresco, Daniella Smith, Maxwell J. Holle, and Dr. Michael Miller
Precs Participant: Daniella Smith, Daniella Smith and Parkland College
Effects of Mycorrhizae on Struvite Dissolution Can plant-fungus mutualism increase the viability of a sustainable phosphorus fertilizer?, Isako Battista Di Tomassi, Erinn Dady, Neha Chatterjee, and Andrew Margenot
Precs Participant: Isako Di Tomassi, Isako Di Tomassi and Parkland College
Precs Participant: Jessica Trueblood, Jessica Trueblood and Parkland College
Submissions from 2018
PRECS Participant: Jessica Alvarez, Jessica Alvarez and Parkland College
Methamphetamine Effects on Adolescent Brain Development in Both Sexes, Jessica Alvarez, Sarah Westbrook, and Joshua Gulley
Finding dex-1 Phenotype Suppressing Components, Matthew Barnum, Kristen Flatt, and Nathan E. Schroeder
PRECS Participant: Matthew Barnum, Matthew Barnum and Parkland College
PRECS Participant: Lily Feeny, Lily Feeney
PRECS Participant: Allison Houghton, Allison Houghton and Parkland College
Identifying KIF Subtype that Mediates Axonal Targeting of Kv7 Channels, Allison Houghton, Jennifer Walters, Mary Hong, Dhruv Joshi, and Hee Jung Chung
Production of Bioactive Isothiocyanates by Bacterial Myrosinase, Juan Isaiz, Xiaoji Liu, and Michael J. Miller
PRECS Participant: Juan Isaiz, Juan Isaiz and Parkland College
Sperm-mediated Effects of Predation Risk on Reproduction in Male Threespined Sticklebacks, Shayne Kempfer, Erika Carlson, Jennifer Hellmann, Jason Keagy, and Alison Bell
PRECS Participant: Shayne Kempfer, Shayne Kempfer and Parkland College
PRECS Participant: Seldon Kwafo, Seldon Kwafo
PRECS Participant: Jami Martin, Jamilyn Martin
The Effect of Imidacloprid on Honey Bee Queen Fecundity, Jamilyn Martin, Julia D. Fine, Amy Cash-Ahmed, and Gene E. Robinson
PRECS Participant: Helen Senerchia, Helen Senerchia
Phosphorus vs. Mycorrhiza: Mitigation of Lead Uptake in Tomatoes, Helen Senerchia, Liz Miernicki, and Andrew Margenot
PRECS Participant: Amber Toussaint, Amber Toussaint
How Does Climate Change Affect Endophytic Fungi?, Amber Toussaint, Natalie Christian, and Katy Heath
Submissions from 2017
Determining Effects of Heat Stress on Illinois Soybeans, Ava Alford, Charles Burroughs, and Lisa Ainsworth
PRECS Participant: Ava Alford, Ava Alford and Parkland College
IVD Formation in Monodelphis domestica, Emma C.B. Gray, Jen Maier, and Karen Sears
PRECS Participant: Emma Gray, Emma C.B. Gray and Parkland College
PRECS Participant: Staci Hammer, Staci E. Hammer and Parkland College
GIRK2 and GABABR1 Downregulate in Response to TTX as GIRK2, GABABR1, and GABABR2 Are Not Affected by BC Treatment, Staci E. Hammer, Amanda Weiss, and Hee Jung Chung
You Are What You Eat: Food-Drug Interaction in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Allison G. Kelley, Liao Ling-Hsiu, and May Berenbaum
PRECS Participant: Allison Kelley, Allison G. Kelley and Parkland College
PRECS Participant: Kayla Kulinski, Kayla Kulinksi and Parkland College
PRECS Participant: Elliot Ping, Eva C. Ping and Parkland College
Thick Slice Clarity for Localization of Novel Neuroactive Target Gene Products, Eva C. Ping, Michael C. Saul, and Lisa Stubbs
PRECS Participant: Cassandra Smith, Cassandra Smith and Parkland College
Neuroanatomical Tracing of the Gut -- Brain Axis, Ricardo P. Torres, Elizabeth A. Davis, Coltan G. Parker, and Megan J. Dailey
PRECS Participant: Ricardo Torres, Ricardo P. Torres and Parkland College
PRECS Participant: Aaron West, Aaron K. West and Parkland College
Soybean Cyst Nematode Hatching Behavior, Aaron K. West, Sita Thapa, and Nathan E. Schroeder
