BHS Majors Attend the 57th Annual ACCA Student Scholarship Symposium
On Saturday, April 5th five Wheaton College students attended the 57th Annual ACCA Student Scholarship Symposium hosted at Lewis University. The annual symposium is sponsored by the Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area (ACCA), a consortium of 14 private liberal arts colleges from around the Chicago-land area. The symposium features undergraduate research in STEM and Social Sciences.
Students from Dr. Meredith Sommars’ lab attended, including Mattias Dyrud and Anastasia Lau. Mattias 
presented his work entitled, “Effects of coconut oil on hepatic lipid accumulation, cell viability, proliferation, and gene expression.” His research sought to disentangle the health impacts to human liver of consuming coconut oil. This trendy health food has generated conflicting evidence regarding whether its consumption improves or exacerbates lipid accumulation in the liver. Mattias made a surprising discovery that suggests coconut oil may in fact promote mitochondrial biogenesis in human liver cells, a result which may lead to future studies.
Dr. Derek Rosenberger's lab was also represented, with three students - Hannah Chung, Charlie Leys and 
James Petno - presenting research titled "Tribolium flour beetles: Stored product pests and secret saprophages?". Three other students who contributed to the work - Sam Elsen, Lela Plankeel and Isabelle Pastoor - were unable to attend. The team's work investigated the historical habitat associations of two Tribolium flour beetles, which are important invasive species that cause severe economic damage to stored grains worldwide. These beetles also serve as a model organism for ecological and behavioral studies. The team found that Tribolium beetles have a surprisingly high attraction to rotten wood, well beyond that of the wheat flour upon which they are a pest. These findings may explain how these beetles are able to persist on the landscape despite efforts to control them at grain mills.
Research engagement is an important part of student training in the Biological and Health Sciences department at Wheaton College. Every year dozens of students are mentored by faculty in their research labs, making discoveries about how life works and growing in their understanding and appreciation of God's good creation.
"Transformative" Microscope
On January 21, 2025 Wheaton College unveiled a confocal microscope that was gifted to the College. Confocal microscopes are typically found at large research universities due to their substantial cost. This positions Wheaton College among a select group of primarily undergraduate institutions with such advanced research equipment.
“Having access to a confocal microscope at a small Christian college like Wheaton is quite uncommon and a real blessing,” said Dr. Corbin Renken, Assistant Professor of Biological Health and Sciences.
Two BHS Majors Receive Significant Award
Kenna Oyen and Grace Snavely, BHS Majors receive the Great Physician Scholarship, a one-time award towards spring tuition for a junior pre-medical student (by class year, not credits) with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Congratulations Kenna and Grace!
