Two undergraduate students from St. Mary's College of Maryland, Yaylin Flores Baca '28 and Cesia Perez '28, recently attended the 2026 annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), held March 7–10 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The ASBMB Annual Meeting is one of the largest gatherings in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology, bringing together researchers, educators, and students from around the world to share new discoveries and advances in the molecular life sciences.
At the meeting, Yaylin and Cesia jointly presented a poster entitled “Role of Heme Binding in Peroxiredoxin Structure and Redox Function: A Directed Research Experience for Undergraduate Scientists,” based on their directed research with Assistant Professor Yunling Deng at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Their project explores how the iron-containing molecule heme affects the structure and activity of peroxiredoxins, a group of proteins that help protect cells from harmful oxidative damage. They presented their work during the undergraduate poster session, participated in the undergraduate poster competition, and received valuable feedback from conference attendees.
Attending the conference was an exciting and inspiring experience for the students. In addition to sharing their research, they learned about cutting-edge discoveries in biochemistry and molecular biology and interacted with scientists from across the country. The experience strengthened their enthusiasm for health-related science and further motivated them to pursue future studies and careers in biomedical research.