Sara Abdulelah

My research focuses on how different concentrations of the atrazine herbicide in water affect olfactory sensory neuron damage in crayfish. My work consists of my research team and I collecting crayfish, treating them with different concentrations of atrazine for 15 days and collecting the lateral antennules/olfactory organs of the crayfish to observe. After preparing the antennules, we section them using a cryostat and observe the sections under a microscope to determine how neurons were affected. Our results suggest that increased atrazine exposure leads to lasting neuron damage, and sometimes neuron death.

My main objective was to watch over the work of the dentist and occasionally help out with patients, as I am considering dentistry as a future career path. I did lots of that, along with helping the dental assistants clean the room after each patient, calling patients in and walking them out, etc.

I was involved in Campus Kitchen events and fundraisers, some more than others. I also did office work, emailed other organizations to make event plans, sent "thank you" letters, and occasionally helped Clara deliver fresh produce to a local neighborhood of senior citizens.

I tutored children refugees who have recently come to America. They are all in middle school and below and many of them are not strong in the English language, thus I helped them with their school work by translating. I also taught a group of refugees myself. I created my own worksheets (in subjects math and English) and tested their skills and helped them out as much as I could. The group was a range of many ages, from 3 years old to 18 years old.