Cynallyhia Indriago of Columbia Awarded Research Fellowship

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HARTSVILLE, SC (05/17/2010)(readMedia)-- Coker College junior biology major Cynallyhia Indriago of Columbia, S.C., has been awarded a $9,000 summer research fellowship funded by the National Science Foundation. She will spend eight weeks at Purdue University in Indiana studying genes important in plant-fungal interactions.

Indriago's work at Purdue is directly related to the research she is doing at Coker College with Dr. Joseph Flaherty, assistant professor of biology. Flaherty has been awarded a five-year, $502,000 CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a student-centered research program concentrating on gene discovery in fungi.

The focus of Flaherty's research is Fusarium head blight, which is caused by the fungal plant pathogen Fusarium graminearum. A worldwide threat to cereal crops, Fusarium head blight has caused more than $3 billion of crop loss in the United States over the past decade.

Founded in 1908, Coker College is an independent, comprehensive college with a liberal arts core required of all students. Coker provides quality educational experiences in and out of the classroom that prepare graduates for professional and personal success. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks Coker one of America's Best Colleges. The Princeton Review rates Coker a Best Southeastern College based on academic reputation and student satisfaction.

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