January 14, 2015

Sheree Watson, an OHSU graduate student in environment health, won a Graduate Student Oral Presentation Award at the Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos & Native Americans in Science national conference in October 2014. Watson's research talk, "Distribution of Polyphosphate Accumulating Organisms in the Columbia River Estuary," was chosen for the category of Marine Sciences. Over 1,000 posters and 95 oral presentations were delivered at the conference.

Watson works with two advisors in the OHSU Institute of Environmental Health, Joseph Needoba, Ph.D., and Tawnya Peterson, Ph.D., both assistant professors in the Institute's Division of Environmental and Biomolecular Systems.

SACNAS was founded more than 40 years ago by career academics and research scientists committed to unifying their voice and offering guidance to Hispanics/Chicanos & Native Americans in the STEM fields. Today, the National Conference is a gathering of nearly 4,000 students and professionals. Taking place over three days, the conference showcases both undergraduate and graduate student presentations, and offers scientific symposia, keynote addresses, professional development sessions and a grand exhibit hall in which students can interact with over 600 program representatives from colleges and universities across the nation.