Alex Dawson, a Junior in Dr. Shahid Mukhtar’s lab, received the Dean’s Award for a poster he presented at the University of West Alabama’s 6th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium in March 2017. Dawson was one of more than 40 undergraduate students to present a research project at the regional symposium.

His poster, titled “Intensive Aquatic Protein Production using Duckweed as a Model Platform: Growth Characterization,” is the first step in developing a transgenic protocol for the use of duckweed (Spirodela Polyrhiza) as a protein rich food source. This step in the development is an inexpensive and efficient way to grow the plants. Dawson’s team used the high nitrogen and phosphate rich environment found in sewage water as the testing environment and the pond water it came from as a control. Then they used the sewage water with plant hormone supplements as the variable and sewage water with a control buffer as the control. They found that duckweed grows quickly and stays alive the longest in an environment with high nitrogen and phosphate content supplemented by a plant hormone called kinetin. Over the course of 14 days, they observed that the plants in the sewage tanks with kinetin fully converted the surface area of the tanks up to four days faster than the control pond water.

Dawson, who’s on schedule to graduate in Spring 2018, plans to pursue a master's and doctorate degree in Biology after completing his undergraduate degree.