COVID-19 research conducted by Youngstown State University student receives national recognition

Youngstown State University Biochemistry senior Kira Bowman has received national recognition for her COVID-19 research.

Bowman’s project focused on the extraction of COVID-19 from wastewater and was entered into the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in Denver in November. The project won second prize. 

Youngstown State University was contacted by the Ohio Department of Health and Ohio State University in 2019 to take part in a CDC-sponsored project aimed at tracking COVID-19 on college campuses throughout the state using the institutions’ wastewater.

Bowman was able to examine wastewater from five different resident halls on Youngstown’s campus, where higher numbers of COVID were found after holiday breaks.

Dr. Chet Cooper, a biology professor at Youngstown, spoke with WKBN about the benefits of doing research work at a relatively small institution, saying, “We can get a good number of students actually into a research lab using the instruments that other students at larger institutes don’t get to handle.” 

Over the past ten years, students at Youngstown State University have received five awards due to their research from the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference.

Bowman also spoke to WKBN about what this recognition means for her and her post graduation goals, saying, “I definitely didn’t expect to see myself in this situation when I started here at YSU. I appreciate that we are a little bit of a smaller school, so I do have these opportunities to connect with professors and participate in research.”

Bowman has plans to attend medical school after graduating from Youngstown.

Dr. Cooper spoke highly of Bowman, saying, “She’s a very independent worker, a critical thinker, and her work ethic is impeccable.”

The research and observation of the school’s wastewater will continue through the summer.

More information about Youngstown State University can be found on its website.