Hillsdale College Professor and Recent Graduate Publish Biology Research
Shannon Golden ’24 won two awards for her presentation of the recently published research.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Shannon Golden ’24 and Andrew Russell, associate professor of biology, recently published an article on preventing bacterial biofilms that lead to tooth decay. Golden received two awards for her presentation of the research, which she worked on through Hillsdale’s LAUREATES program as an undergraduate.
“Hillsdale’s LAUREATES program involves students in the entire research process — from experimental design and data analysis, to troubleshooting and forming conclusions,” Russell said. “Shannon took ownership of this project and researched something that she was passionate about. It was really exciting to see her efforts recognized.”
“Hillsdale’s LAUREATES program involves students in the entire research process.”
Golden received two awards from Beta Beta Beta, the biological honor society, for her presentation of the research, winning first place at the 2024 TriBeta District Meeting and second place at the 2024 TriBeta National Meeting.
Golden and Russell worked together on the research as part of Hillsdale’s LAUREATES program, which offers funding to select rising seniors to conduct six-week scientific research projects during the summer.
The project investigated whether zingerone, a component of ginger, could prevent tooth decay by interfering with certain bacteria’s ability to form biofilms on the surface of teeth. The results suggested that it might.
Golden collected data and performed analysis, while Russell conceived and designed the analysis and served as the principal investigator. They co-wrote the paper, which was recently published in BIOS, TriBeta’s quarterly journal.
Science majors at Hillsdale are accepted into programs at top institutions, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, and Mayo Clinic.