MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs will host the final two speakers for the fall “Raider Research Series” that showcases faculty research. 

The free public lectures will be held from 11 a.m. to noon Monday, Oct. 21, at the MT Center in the Sam Ingram Building, 2269 Middle Tennessee Blvd. Light refreshments will be served. Those interested in attending should register at bit.ly/4eHHxSX.

Shannon Hodge, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, will first present, “The Heroes of Forty-six: Bioarcheology, Forensic Anthropology and History of the Mexican American War.”

Hodge teamed up with Department of History professor Derek Frisby and Forensic Institute for Research and Education founder and former director Hugh Berryman to study skeletal remains of Tennessee soldiers who died during combat in the Mexican American War in Monterrey, Mexico.

The remains excavated by archaeologists from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Mexico were soldiers whose sacrifice helped cement the “Volunteer State” nickname for Tennessee. President James K. Polk asked for 2,600 volunteers and Tennessee sent 30,000, Hodge explained.

“We assembled an international team of bioarcheologists, forensic scientists, and historians, and spent two years studying these remains,” said Hodge, whose presentation will cover the project’s details.

Following Hodge will be Souvik Banerjee, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, who will present, “Structure-Based Development of Small Molecule Therapeutic Agents for Treating Resistant Metastatic Cancers.”

“Worldwide, cancer ranks as the second most common cause of mortality, after cardiovascular disorders, and continues to pose a serious threat to individuals globally, with an increase in the number of deaths from multidrug-resistant metastatic cancers,” Banerjee explained.

His presentation will highlight recent successes in a research group he leads at MTSU.

Spring sessions for the “Raider Research Series” will be held Feb. 24 and April 7, with speakers to be announced.

To learn more about the workshops and training available through the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, visit the website at https://www.mtsu.edu/research/workshops.php. 

To learn more about all ORSP opportunities, visit the main website at https://www.mtsu.edu/research/. 

Off-campus visitors planning to attend should obtain a special one-day permit from MTSU’s Office of Parking and Transportation at www.mtsu.edu/parking/. Parking is available in the Ingram Building lot. A searchable campus map is available at bit.ly/3IWpzxP.

— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu)