Elizabeth McManus of Brookfield wins University of Scranton Library Research Prize

Elizabeth McManus of Brookfield was awarded The University of Scranton's 2019 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize in the Undergraduate Upper-level category.

The Weinberg Memorial Library inaugurated the prize in 2011 to recognize excellence in research projects that show evidence of significant knowledge of the methods of research and the information gathering process, and use of library resources, tools, and services. In 2017, the prize was named for Professor Emerita Bonnie W. Oldham, who founded the prize at the University. Winning projects in each of the three categories receive a $500 prize. Charles E. Kratz, dean of the library and information fluency at Scranton, presented the awards to the students.

McManus, a biochemistry, cell and molecular biology (BCMB) major with a minor in computer science, submitted to the competition her project "Preventative and Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines," completed in her capstone course BCMB 490. For her research, she used the library's curation of disciplinary resources to research and prepare a project culminating in a 35-minute presentation on the topic of vaccines to prevent and therapeutically treat cancer. At first reporting she was "overwhelmed" by the amount of information out there on this topic, she realized she needed to adapt her research strategy by using the database MEDLINE/PubMed to seek out review articles; her goal in doing this was to develop "a more substantial understanding of the topic" by filling in "the gaps in [her] knowledge." McManus said, "By first establishing a wide breadth of knowledge on the topic, I prepared myself for the depth of research that followed."

Honorable Mention awards in the Undergraduate Upper-level category were presented to Anna Maria Giblin, a junior history major with a philosophy minor and a legal studies concentration from Berwyn, who submitted her paper, "The Jungle," completed in the course HIST 350: An Environmental History of the United States; and to senior occupational therapy majors Catherine Moloney from Hockessin, Deleware; Gabriela Lins from Ocean, New Jersey; and Kaitlin Kenyon, Centerport, New York; who submitted their group paper "The Efficacy of Virtual Reality in Upper Extremity Rehabilitation Post-Stroke," completed in the course OT 494: Evidence Based Research.

Prize winners were honored at a reception held in the spring semester in the Heritage Room of the Weinberg Memorial Library.

For more information about the Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize, contact Donna Witek, information literacy coordinator at The University of Scranton's Weinberg Memorial Library, at 570-941-4000 or donna.witek@scranton.edu.