Wittenberg’s Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences is excited to host the annual national meeting of Beta Beta Beta (or TriBeta) Biological Honor Society NE-4 District from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, in Bayley Auditorium of the Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center.
Covering Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky, the national honorary has invited multiple Wittenberg students into its ranks. This will be the first time the University has hosted the meeting.
According to its website, TriBeta welcomes students, particularly undergraduates, dedicated to improving the understanding and appreciation of biological study and extending boundaries of human knowledge through scientific research. Since its founding in 1922 at Oklahoma City University, more than 200,000 people have been accepted into lifetime membership, and more than 626 chapters have been established throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. As the honor society grew over the years, it was divided into regional and district groups, each of which holds a convention annually. At the heart of every district and national meeting are student research papers presented in the style of graduate meetings, as well as awards for outstanding individual and chapter accomplishment. The Xi chapter of the honor society was established at Wittenberg in 1928.
Elizabeth E. Powelson Professor of Biology Cathy Pederson will serve as the conference’s keynote speaker. The title of her talk is “Mystery Illnesses Affecting Millions: Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Long COVID.”
Pederson, who did advocacy work during her sabbatical this past semester, has been in the news a lot lately for her research with POTS. Since 2016, she has published more than 15 articles, one book chapter, and given several professional talks on the quality of life for people living with chronic invisible illnesses like postural POTS, chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). Most recently she has been quoted in articles by Rachel Uda titled This Chronic Condition has Surged in Women who have Recovered from COVID on Katie Couric Media and by Agnes Arnold-Forster in Refinery 29 magazine on My Rare Chronic Illness, which is now viral on TikTok as well.
Additionally, Pederson did a full podcast interview for AJ Chat, which usually features actors and writers. The host’s son was diagnosed with POTS last summer, hence the invitation. Founder of Standing Up to POTS (SUTP), a 501(c)(3) organization, which awarded a $100,000 grant last year to top POTS researchers in Australia to study long COVID, Pederson was also a featured presenter for the American Junior Academy of Science and is a regular presenter on POTScast, which already has 82,000+ listeners from 85 countries and was created by two members of the SUTP board of directors.
The current members of Wittenberg’s TriBeta society include Maya Hagander ‘23 from Stafford, Virginia; Evie Chatfield ‘23 from Springfield, Ohio; Julianna Fisher ‘23 (secretary) from New Albany, Ohio; Mitzi Goebel ’23 from Mason, Ohio; Claire Muia ‘23 (treasurer) from Clarksville, Ohio; Leah Vogt ’23 from Jeffersonville, Indiana; Lilia Moorman ’23, from Olmstead, Falls, Ohio; Morgan White ’23 from Fisherville, Kentucky; Alaina Lentz ’23 (vice president) from Coshocton, Ohio; Katie Wisniewski ’24 from Sylvania, Ohio; Haley Scott ’25 from Russiaville, Indiana; Nick Brown ’24 (historian) from Fairborn, Ohio; Patrick Bretland ’23 from Hamersville, Ohio; Lexi Repp ’25 from Franklin, Ohio; Branden Nicholas ’24 from Oak Park, Michigan; Parker Hayes ’24 from Cincinnati, Ohio; Olivia Norbut ’24 from Grove City, Ohio; Alannah Browning ’24 from Kettering, Ohio; Tony Calovini ’24 from Pataskala, Ohio; Shannon Csordos ’25 from South Plainfield, New Jersey; Grace Koperna ’24 from Macedonia, Ohio; William Westermeyer ’26 from Loveland, Ohio; and Hannah Marcin ’24 from Dorset, Ohio. Kunal Chatterjee, assistant professor of biology, is the chapter advisor.
Chapter advisors can register their students for the conference through this link.
