九色视频鈥檚 Iota Omicron聽Chapter of the Beta聽Beta聽Beta聽Biological Honor Society聽(TriBeta)聽was recognized聽with multiple awards at the 2026聽SouthCentral聽Regional Convention held April 10鈥�12.
The regional convention offers students the opportunity to present original research, engage with peers and聽faculty聽and grow professionally through scientific discussion and collaboration. The recognition of HCU鈥檚 Iota Omicron chapter reflects the group鈥檚 commitment to academic excellence,聽research聽and community-building.
Dr. Lisa Ellis, HCU聽Associate Professor of Biology聽in the College of Science & Engineering,聽and fifteen students attended the annual event where the chapter鈥檚 collective achievements, programming and student engagement were honored among the region鈥檚 top chapters.
HCU students earned multiple individual honors. Collin Posadas and Martin Navarro聽Ballagan聽each received first place for their poster presentations while Jeevan聽Thoppil聽earned second place. Eduardo Lopez Quintero delivered an oral presentation of his research and Abigail聽Inocian聽won first place for designing the Chapter History E-Book.聽With these awards, Iota Omicron was the聽runner-up to the聽District II Chapter of the Year聽award.
鈥淥ne of the reasons I love teaching at HCU so much is because of the ability to truly get to know聽all of聽our science students聽whether or not聽I teach them in class. I see them grow from聽freshmen聽to seniors and to know the time and effort they put into their聽courses,聽and their research makes the awards they win at this convention even more special,鈥� said Dr. Ellis.
At this annual convention, students develop as scientists by presenting their own research, engaging with questions from faculty and staff, and critically evaluating the work of their peers through thoughtful discussion. They also gain insight from a keynote speaker on topics such as graduate or health profession programs, scientific literacy, and career development. In addition, HCU students strengthen their chapter community by collaborating and generating ideas for the coming year鈥檚 activities.
HCU鈥檚 continued success at the聽TriBeta聽convention underscores the聽University鈥檚 strong emphasis on聽the development of future scientists聽and promotion of聽undergraduate research.