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TRIO Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program

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Mori Williams Cropped

Mori Williams is a student at Eastern Washington University earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Chemistry and a minor in Japanese. He has worked in an Organic Chemistry lab at his university, which involves saponification, NMR readings, and reflux methods. For his 2020 EWU McNair Research Internship, he worked with Dr. Camille McNeely in researching cyanobacteria in local areas such as the Spokane River. In the fall, Mori will be applying for a PhD in Environmental Science. His research interests focus on finding types of toxins in bodies of water such as lakes, ponds, and the ocean to find solutions for reducing those toxins.

 

For graduate school, he was accepted into the PhD Program in Toxicology at Oregon State University and the Masters in Atmospheric & Environmental Science Program at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with full funding. Mori plans to starting attending South Dakota Mines in the fall 0f 2021.

2020 EWU McNair Faculty Mentor: Dr. Camille McNeely

Research Title: Nutrient Concentration for Cyanotoxins at Turnbull 

Abstract: This study analyzed concentrations of microcystins from cyanobacteria along with factors associated with cyanobacterial growth in wetlands of the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR) near Cheney, Washington. Cyanobacteria are oxygen-producing bacteria that use sunlight as an energy source to convert CO2 into biomass. These bacteria have been around for over 3 billion years. Recently, cyanobacteria have contaminated drinking water and aquatic ecosystems due to eutrophication, rising CO2 levels, and global warming. Due to anthropogenic sources such as agricultural run-off and discharge from wastewater treatment facilities, cyanobacteria have access to higher concentrations of phosphorous and nitrogen, allowing them to produce toxins. Depending on nutrients available and the type of cyanobacteria, they can release different toxins that have diverse health effects on animals (including humans) such as organ damage, respiratory failure, skin irritation and fever. TNWR has been observed in the past to have eutrophication and may be at risk for cyanotoxin production. This study had multiple hypotheses; (1) at least some wetlands will contain measurable concentrations of microcystin, (2) cyanobacteria will be most abundant under high nitrogen conditions, and (3) cyanobacteria abundance will be positively correlated with indicators of eutrophication such as high chlorophyll concentrations.

 

Samples were collected from nine wetlands around TNWR throughout three summer months. Major forms of nitrogen and phosphorus were analyzed using an Alpkem 3 flow analyzer. Chlorophyll and phycocyanin concentrations were determined using fluorometry and spectrophotometry. Phycocyanin is a pigment found in cyanobacterial cell walls. An ELISA-based test was used to determine concentrations of microcystins. Preliminary results revealed traces of microcystins in the water at TNWR with the lowest concentration at 0.49 ppb and highest concentration at 1.48 ppb. There is a positive correlation between phycocyanin and microcystins (t = 4.36) and a negative correlation between total nitrogen and microcystin (t = -3.02).

12 McNair Scholars Present at EWU’s 2021 CSTEM and McNair Spring Research Symposium

12 EWU McNair Scholars Present at EWU Virtual Symposium

By Liina Koivula | 10/27/2021
Mori Williams Society of Toxicology Award 2021

EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams Awarded Opportunity to Attend Society of Toxicology Program

By Jaeger, Corinne | 06/30/2021
Mori Williams Awarded GSA SDM

EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams Awarded Graduate Student Assistantship

By Jaeger, Corinne | 06/30/2021
Mori Williams Graduate School Acceptances 2021 SDM

EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams Accepted to Masters Program at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

By Jaeger, Corinne | 05/11/2021
Green back drop (lime to jade), with title of article, names of scholars and an image of each

EWU McNair Scholars Lucia Roussa and Mori Williams Present at NCUR

By Jaeger, Corinne | 04/27/2021
Mori Williams Graduate School Acceptances 2021 OSU

EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams Accepted to Toxicology PhD Program at Oregon State University

By Jaeger, Corinne | 03/02/2021
Darlene Geology Presentation 2021

EWU McNair Scholars Present their STEM Research and Experiences

By Jaeger, Corinne | 02/02/2021
Mori Williams Research 2020

EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams Completes Summer Research Internship

By Tennyson, Bryn | 11/09/2020
Mori Williams McNair Acceptance Announcements 2020

Mori Williams selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

By Jaeger, Corinne | 06/25/2020
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