Elissa Tam ‘22 of Fishers, Indiana, has achieved great success in her time here at the University of Southern Indiana. Tam, a USI Honors student, received her bachelor’s degree in biology during the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education commencement ceremony this spring. Elissa served as the Student Ambassadors Secretary, the Eagles in Action President and was involved in multiple marketing and communications efforts by the University, including The College Tour and COVID-19 vaccine promotions.
Elissa works alongside Dr. Alex Champagne, Associate Professor of Biology, who encouraged her to undergo her own research as a student. She says they “started from scratch” with a sample of the American Alligator skin lipids, where she then extracted the lipids and performed a technique called thin layer chromatography to separate the different types of lipids. She says Champagne was a great mentor and initiated her interest in research.
The results of Elissa's initiatives played a role in her being awarded the 2022 Trustees Distinguished Merit Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement not only in a student’s major, but also in the liberal arts and sciences that play a key role in core curriculum. This award is determined after each college at USI nominates one student for the $2,000 dollar award.
She was also named the 2022 Pott College Distinguished Graduate after one nominee was selected by each department as the overall Department Distinguished Graduate. The Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education Distinguished Graduate Awards were established to reward graduating students with excellent academic success.
Elissa Tam presenting her research over American Alligator skin at the annual meeting of the Indiana Physiological Society.
Elissa has also taken her success outside of the USI campus, presenting her research on American Alligator skin at the annual meeting of the Indiana Physiological Society at Marian University in Indianapolis. Out of the 30 student abstracts submitted, Elissa’s was one of the eight selected for an oral presentation. Approximately 100 people from different institutions around the state attended, including professors, industry professionals, and graduate and undergraduate students.
Elissa delivered a talk on her research and answered follow-up questions. “I can attest that when Elissa gave her presentation, she not only gave a great recount of her research, but she brought the energy level in the entire room up and delivered her talk like a seasoned pro," Champagne said, noting each professional he spoke to at the meeting expressed how impressed they were with Elissa’s presentation.
Below are a few tweets of meeting attendees commenting on Elissa’s presentation:
At the end of the meeting, Elissa was awarded the Bonnie Blazer Yost Award for the best overall student oral presentation, competing against undergraduates, graduates and medical students for the award. "It feels like my biggest accomplishment in my research, the founder presented me with the award herself," Elissa said.
Elissa Tam being presented the Bonnie Blazer Yost Award for best overall student oral presentation.
As Elissa's time here at USI has come to an end, she says it is satisfying to wrap everything up. She leaves us with a few words of wisdom from her time here:
“Don’t be afraid to explore, take classes that aren’t within your major because you never know what might interest you. Take advantage of the smaller class sizes at USI to become part of the community, make USI feel like your home away from home. USI professors are unique, they have a lot of genuine care and are invested in your career.”
Elissa plans to work as a Patient Care Tech for St. Vincent Digestive Care Center while she applies for medical schools this summer. Her dream career goal is to go into Palliative Care after medical school.