North Park biology students placed first and third at the听TriBeta NC-1 District Research Conference.
Two of 91社区福利鈥檚 recent graduates won presentation awards at the听2026 Beta听Beta听Beta听(TriBeta) North Central-1听(NC-1)听District Research Conference.听Joshua Brito BS听鈥26鈥攚ho majored in biomedical sciences鈥攔eceived first place, and听Andrew G. Daoud BS听鈥26鈥攚ho majored in molecular biology and biotechnology听鈥攅arned听third place. Saint Xavier University hosted the conference on its campus on March 28.
All presenters at听TriBeta听district research conferences are students with research grants, making the events highly competitive. As a result of winning the competition,听TriBeta听invited Brito to present his work at the听TriBeta听2026 National Convention, held from May 27鈥31 at Florida State University. His oral presentation, 鈥淭he Role of CCL21 in Tumor Surveillance,鈥 was one of only 10 in the biomedical sciences category.
In addition to achieving third place at the district conference, Daoud contributed to Brito鈥檚 research.听Relatedly, he听received听scholarships听from the Taiwan Education Exchange Program and听the听Friends of Taiwan Foundation听this year听for a 10-week research experience in Taiwan听over the summer,听during which he is conducting听cancer听immuno-epigenomics research at National Chung Cheng University under the supervision of Dr. Michael Chan.
Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Tracy O鈥機onnor and Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Paul Janus听advised听Brito and听Dauod听while they attended North Park.
鈥淛osh and Andrew were a joy to have in the lab these past two years,鈥 O鈥機onnor shared. 鈥淭hey approached their projects with the work ethic of graduate-level researchers, working听over the summer before undertaking directed research for credit to gain the necessary skills to complete their projects. This allowed them to gain meaningful insights into the molecular mechanisms by which immune cells are trafficked into and out of the brain and how the brain protects itself from cancer. We听plan听to publish these results in a field-specific scientific journal next year.鈥
听TriBeta is an honor society for students, particularly undergraduates, dedicated to improving understanding and appreciation of biological study and extending the boundaries of human knowledge through scientific research. Each year, TriBeta hosts 12 district and regional conventions where members have the opportunity to present their research and network with like-minded students from other institutions. National conventions are held biennially.
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