Several graduate and undergraduate students attended the 87th annual Louisiana Academy of Sciences competition held on Mar.  9,  2013 at Grambling State University, where an undergraduate student took first place.
There were a total of 21 undergraduate students and 10 graduate students that participated in several different categories.  Some of the undergraduates participated on more than one team.
One undergraduate student, Tyler Dufrene, a mathematics junior from Raceland, participated in the science and humanities oral competition and won first place.
Dufrene did research on the anatomical accuracies and inaccuracies of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Great Lady.”
“The purpose of the study was to examine the accuracy with which Leonardo da Vinci presented the female body,” Dufrene said. “The results of this undertaking were reached using photographs and medical illustrations to show the accuracies and inaccuracies of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings, including, but not limited to, the locations, sizes and structures of female organs.”
The competition was divided into different sections. There were poster presentations, poster competitions, oral presentations and oral competitions.
In poster presentations Nicholls State University had two groups of undergraduate students participate.  One group of three undergraduate students participated in the molecular and biomedical biology competition. Their research was on the characteristics of aromatase expression in breast cancer cell line McF-7. Aromatase is found to be higher in human breast cancer tissue than in normal breast tissue.  
The other group was composed of six undergraduate students. Their research was on the use of lytic bacteriophage for antibacterial therapy in shrimp agriculture for the control of vibrios.
The University had one group of two undergraduate students and one group of six graduate students that participated in the environmental sciences, zoology, higher educations, science and humanities section of oral presentations.  There was also one undergraduate student that participated in the chemistry and earth science department.
The two undergraduate students presented research on combined biological and chemical pretreatment method for lignocellulosic ethanol production from energy cane. Lingnocellulosic refers to dry plant matter.
The six graduate students presented research on the comparison of seasonal reproductive patterns of two populations of female alligator gar, Atractosteus spatula, in coastal Louisiana.
The one undergraduate student who participated in the chemistry and earth science oral presentations did research on Leonardo da Vinci and science.
The University had the most participants in oral competition, where Dufrene took first place.
Under the oral competition, the University had participants in botany, environmental science and zoology part. There were two groups of graduate students each containing two students, and one group of two undergraduate students.
The first group of two graduate students did research on the sustainability of water in shrimp aquaculture system through wastewater treatment and reuse.
The second group of graduate students did their research and presented  it on the prevalence of three grass shrimp species in a Louisiana estuary and the intensity of infection by the ectoparasite, Probopyrus pandalicola, on the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio.
Lastly the one group of two undergraduates was the same group that presented under the oral presentations.
The next department under oral competition that the University had participants in was microbiology and molecular and biomedical biology. There were two groups each containing three undergraduate students that participated.
The first group presented research on a survey of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in sewage and sewage treatment plan. The second group did antimicrobial property of curcumin.
Dufrene presented his research project to his honors class, and his honors humanities professor Deborah Cibelli suggested he submit an abstract to the Louisiana Academy of Sciences.
“I submitted my abstract for a chance to present my research project, and I also applied to be a part of the oral competition,” Dufrene said. “I did and in February, I received an email stating that I had been selected to present my project, as well as compete in the oral competition. I was very excited and grateful for this wonderful opportunity.”
Dufrene’s research project started out as an assignment for his honors Humanities class in August of 2012.  
“The research project required many hours of research including analyzing modern medical images, reading related articles, watching documentaries and browsing scholarly websites, not to mention several hours of practicing for the oral competition,” Dufrene said.
Dufrene won the title of “Best Undergraduate Oral Presentation in science and humanities” but was not present during the award ceremony to find out he had won.
“It was not until a few days later that I officially found out I won, and I received a certificate and a $100 check in the mail,” Dufrene said. “I was excited and thrilled to find out that my project won first place and am grateful for winning this prestigious award; however this achievement would not have been possible without the help and guidance of my honors professors, Cibelli.”
This is a great opportunity for students to participate in research activities, Dufrene said.
“It gives students the opportunity to explore and investigate their academic fildes in depth, as well as learn and improve problem solving, teamwork and communication skills. Research also enables students to make connections and create lasting relationships with the best and brightest in their discipline.”