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White Ibis Birds And Bilingual Development: FAU Research Students Showcase Their Projects

When it comes to changing the way cancer drug therapies work or studying language skills development,or even how bird populations migrate around the Everglades for more food, Florida Atlantic University research students are looking for solutions. 

Tasso Cocoves is in his second year of getting a master's degree in environmental science at FAU. At a research symposium on FAU’s Davie campus Friday, he presented to a panel of judges. His project tracks white ibis prey in the Southern Everglades.

“Specifically, I’m studying white ibis prey composition,” Cocoves said. “I’m quantifying what ibis are feeding their nestlings in these coastal colonies.”

He suspects ibis diets are shifting because of climate change. 

 Hear from students presenting their projects.

From the FAU Department of Psychology, doctoral candidate David Giguere is looking at something completely different: experimental developmental language psychology.“There’s a lot of evidence that kids who grow up hearing two languages, they tend to have lower levels of skill in each language,” Giguere said. “So I wanted to see, well, what happens in adulthood. Do they eventually catch up?”

All of the students presenting their projects at the symposium had the chance to win a small stipend for their research. Here’s a list of the winners:

Doctoral level:

Saheed Oluwasina Oseni won for his project: "Role of Pathogen-Induced Inflammation On Prostate Cancer Stemness and Recurrence: A Bioinformatics Approach" (He is a three-time winner, with wins in 2017 and 2016.)

Graduate level:

Tasso Cocoves won for his project, which is titled: "Nesting White Ibis Prey Composition of Coastal Colonies in Everglades National Park."

Undergraduate level:

Tolbey Bain won for his project: "Targeting the Crosswalk Between Diabetes and Prostate Cancer with Metformin and Genistein Isoflavone Combination Regime."

Students from the PhD, Masters, and Undergraduate levels had to present to a panel of judges, as well as answer peer questions.
Caitie Switalski / WLRN
/
WLRN
Students from the PhD, Masters, and Undergraduate levels had to present to a panel of judges, as well as answer peer questions.
David Giguere presents his presentation, which is the basis for his discertation on billingual language development.
Caitie Switalski / WLRN
/
WLRN
David Giguere presents his presentation, which is the basis for his discertation on billingual language development.

Copyright 2018 WLRN 91.3 FM

Caitie Switalski is a rising senior at the University of Florida. She's worked for WFSU-FM in Tallahassee as an intern and reporter. When she's in Gainesville for school, Caitie is an anchor and producer for local Morning Edition content at WUFT-FM, as well as a digital editor for the station's website. Her favorite stories are politically driven, about how politicians, laws and policies effect local communities. Once she graduates with a dual degree in Journalism and English,Caitiehopes to make a career continuing to report and produce for NPR stations in the sunshine state. When she's not following what's happening with changing laws, you can catchCaitielounging in local coffee shops, at the beach, or watching Love Actually for the hundredth time.