'I think the ability to do undergraduate research and publish the data in a journal is a great opportunity for SMCC students as it helps them connect their learning to real world problems and come up with solutions,' said Dr. Sudipta Biswas.
A team of researchers from the Mathematics, Science and Engineering (MSE) Division at South Mountain Community College recently had their results from their STEM-CURE project published in the journal, Ecological Genetics and Genomics. The team included current SMCC student Saul Lopez and SMCC alum Theresa Morales, along with SMCC faculty Dr. Sudipta Biswas, Ted Ransome and Marianne Smith, who helped guide the students in their research.
The team worked together to conduct research on “community health prognosis in different neighborhoods and its relation to food, water and soil exposure” as part of their STEM-CURE project. The focus of Lopez’s and Morales’ research was lettuce that was commonly grown in community farms in the Phoenix metro area.
Lopez, who is currently studying biology at SMCC, was tasked with analyzing the bacterial genomics in the lettuce after DNA extraction and sequencing. Morales, who graduated from SMCC and is currently studying microbiology at ASU, was involved in analyzing the bacteria in the soil and irrigation water. The analysis and sequencing of these samples were done in partnership with ASU.
The students formulated the results of their study in their paper titled, “Analysis of Microbiomes in Irrigation Water, Soil and Lettuce from Community Farms in the Phoenix Metro Area”, which they then presented at both the WAESO Conference at ASU in February 2025 and at the Arizona Nevada Academy of Science conference in April 2025.
The team submitted the paper to the Ecological Genetics and Genomics Journal for editorial and peer review, and after some minor revisions, it was accepted for publication in Volume 37 of the journal in September 2025.
This notable achievement allowed for the students to not only showcase their hard work and dedication to the project, but was also a true representation of the rewarding opportunities happening in the MSE department and at SMCC.
“I think the ability to do undergraduate research and publish the data in a journal is a great opportunity for SMCC students as it helps them connect their learning to real world problems and come up with solutions,” said Dr. Sudipta Biswas.
To read the article published in the Ecological Genetics and Genomics Journal, click here.
