Biology Department
Biology Department News 2000 -2001
- Nearby Prairie/Woodland in Consideration for Possible Southwestern College Biology Field Station. A generous land donation to Southwestern College by the Moore family may be used to establish a field station/laboratory. The ~240 acre property located just northwest of Winfield City Lake would be used for outdoor educational and field research purposes by faculty and students. It is a unique cluster of several different biological environments, including a 3/4 mile section of Grouse Creek, oak woodland, and both upland and lowland prairie habitat. This area has a great deal of potential for introducing all students to the local bio-region, and for conducting a variety of biology field studies and research projects. There is also the possibility of developing an outreach program in outdoor environmental education for visiting school groups. Pictures of the Moore property can be viewed in the biology section of the photo tour of our facilities.
- Southwestern Biology Seniors Graduate with Honors - The biology, marine biology, and biochemistry programs presented Bachelor's degrees to 24 students on May 6. The accomplishments of this graduating class are really something to brag about. They included three of the campus' six Masterbuilders, one out of four 4.0 valedictorians, seven members of Who's Who Among College Students, three members of the Order of the Mound, and nine members of Beta Beta Beta Biology Honor Society.
- Max Thompson Honored by Colleagues. Max Thompson's service to Southwestern College was honored with a reception and dinner in early April. In attendance were a great number of friends, family, faculty, and alumni. Several individuals, including President Dick Merriman, Dean Dave Nichols, Professor Bob Wimmer, and Dr. A. Townsend Peterson from KU shared their experiences with Kansas' most famous ornithologist and orchid expert. Although Max will be retiring from active teaching and other professorial duties, he will be maintaining an office on campus and will continue to produce botanical magic in the greenhouse.
- Science Advisory Council Meeting. Select Southwestern College science alumni visited with faculty, students, and staff in early April to discuss the future of the science program, including plans for the Science Alumni Reunion at Homecoming 2001 and the Southwestern College Science Hall of Fame.
- BBB District Convention. Southwestern's Chapter of Beta Beta Beta, the undergraduate biology society, attended the District Meeting at the Reis Biological Field Station near Steelville, Missouri. Unfortunately, the meeting was held on the weekend before our campus' final exams, so we were only able to bring a delegation of three students: Matt Harris, Dustin Wilgers, and Paul Mages, as well as faculty advisor, Patrick Ross. Other schools in attendance included Pittsburg State University, Truman State University, Missouri Western State College, William Jewell College, Southwest Missouri State University, Central Missouri State University, Avila College, and University of Missouri-St. Louis. All of the Southwestern students attending made research presentations that were well received. Paul Mages' research entitled "Cnidae Of A Crab-Eating Anemome: Is Bigger Better?" received the Frank L. Brooks award for the best oral presentation. Dustin Wilgers' research entitled "Kansas' Risk Assessment: The "Dispersal Probability Index" for the Colonization of Dreissena polymorpha into Kansas' Lakes" received third place for the John C. Johnson award for the best poster presentation. Southwestern College, the smallest school in attendance, was the only delegation to be awarded more than a single research award.
- Senior Research Projects. Five biology seniors completed
research projects during their final year at Southwestern College.
Those students with an asterisk by their name completed their research
projects in fulfillment of the requirements for departmental
honors.
- Nathan Eckert*. The Potential Predator-Prey Relationship between the Redear Sunfish and the Asian Clam.
- Dustin Wilgers*. Kansas' Risk Assessment: The "Dispersal Probability Index" for the Colonization of Dreissena polymorpha into Kansas' Lakes.
- Matt Harris*. The Role of Hsp70 in Muscle and Gill-Based Salinity Protection of the Plains Killifish (Fundulus zebrinus).
- Paul Mages*. The Effect of Male Familiarity on Female Sexual Enthusiasm in Guppies, Poecilia reticulata.
- Maren Harding. Soil Characteristics Associated with a Northern Population of the Woolly Cottonflower, Gossypianthus lanuginosus.
- Jennifer Miller leaves Southwestern College - We are sad to announce that our recently hired plant biologist, Jennifer Miller, has decided to leave Southwestern College at the end of this academic term. Her husband, Matt Miller, was offered a position as Communications Director with the Nature Conservancy in Boise, Idaho. Unfortunately for us, the offer was too good to pass up. Jennifer hopes to find a teaching position in the area at the community college or university level. We wish both of them good luck in their new venture.
- Southwestern Biology Students Receive Undergraduate Research Grants - Three biology students (Dustin Wilgers, Matt Harris, and Paul Mages) received grants to help in the completion of their senior research projects. These grants were awarded by Beta Beta Beta, the National Undergraduate Biology Honor Society. For more information, please read this article.
- BBB Initiation - Southwestern's chapter of Beta Beta Beta, the Biology Honor Society, held its annual initiation in January. A total of 8 members were initiated including active members David Elliott, Kari Good, Jared Gerhardt, Carina McGowan, Maren Harding, and Emily Bauer as well as associate members Scott Ross and Kristi Weaver.
- Alvin Finished - The folks at Parson's Taxidermy have finished up their work on preserving Alvin the Alligator for generations to come. A few faculty have been able to stop by the showroom in Derby to see the final product and were quite impressed. Unfortunately, the massive nature of the mount will mean that bringing Alvin back to her home will not be a simple task. The appropriate preparations are underway and we hope to have our reptilian buddy back sometime later this year.
- New Biology Course in Human Dissection Available. As part of some curricular changes in the Human Anatomy & Physiology course, faculty member Patrick Ross will be offering an additional upper level course in Human Dissection for students that have already taken Human Anatomy & Physiology or Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates. This new 1-credit course will give students hands-on training in cadaver dissection as they prepare the specimen for presentation to the lower level class. This semester, there are eight students involved and they are quite busy.
- Southwestern College Establishes Science Hall of Fame. In an effort to honor Southwestern alumni that have made significant contributions to the field of science, the campus has established a Science Hall of Fame. The first set of honorees will be made during the Fall 2001 Homecoming celebration. More information on this announcement can be found in this article.
Sept 2000
- Southwestern Biology Department welcomes new faculty member, Dr. Jennifer Miller
A new face has appeared in the Beech Science Center this fall. It belongs to our newest faculty member, Dr. Jennifer Miller, who just recently completed her doctorate at the Pennsylvania State University. Her doctoral research has shown for the first time that ozone, a major smog constituent, has a direct effect on the genes associated with the aging process in plants. According to Dr. Miller, "Plant scientists have long known that ozone accelerates the process through which the leaves of a plant age, eventually die, and drop. However, our work provides the first evidence that the genetic program that controls the aging process is directly affected by ozone exposure."
Jennifer will be teaching Botany, Microbiology and Cell Biology as well as a new course entitled Biotechnology Techniques. She will also be contributing to the LAS program with a class entitled "Plants, Places, and People." Jennifer is accompanied by her husband, Matt Miller, who is a freelance nature writer. Matt will be taking some time off from his writing to teach several sections of WAD - Dr. Bob Gallup takes up the reins of the Natural
Sciences Division
With the retirement of Max Thompson, a new leader has been chosen to lead Southwestern College's Science Division into the 21st century. Our new boss is Dr. Bob Gallup, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Physics. Bob has been with the college since 1993 and has received numerous teaching awards for his energy and enthusiasm. We hope he brings the same flair to his new administrative duties. - Biology and Biochemistry Students Participate in Summer Research/Educational
Activities
- James Larson was awarded an REU fellowship at the Savannah River Ecological Laboratory through the University of South Carolina. His project examined patterns of genetic variation in the stonefly, Pteronarcys scotti, which is found in the creeks of North Carolina.
- Ashley Helfrich was awarded a National Science Foundation REU fellowship at the University of Kansas. Ashley was examining the role of calmodulin in muscle tissue using Western blots and chemoluminescense.
- Spencer Duncan worked as a research assistant at University of Oklahoma. His research activities centered around the investigation of the effects of perchlorate on amphibian development. Perchlorate is a suspected toxin found in rocket fuel and fertilizers.
- Mike Ziser was award a National Science Foundation REU at Indiana University. Mike was investigating environmental factors involved in the production of m-protein in Agrobacterium tumefaciens. This protein is responsible for controlling the timing of conjugation in this bacteria, but appears to have numerous other functions in other organisms.
- Paul Mages was awarded a National Science Foundation REU at Western Washington University (Shannon Point Marine Center). He studied nematocyst anatomy and physiology in relation to body size in the sea anemone, Telia crassicornis.
- Pam Brown was awarded a National Science Foundation REU at Pepperdine University. Pam's plant physiology research project answered the question "Is Xylem more Vulnerable to Embolism at Coastal vs. Chaparral Sites?"
- Greg Bomhoff was awarded a REU at the University of Oregon (Oregon Institute of Marine Biology). His project was entitled "Effects of Lactic Acid on Oxygen Affinity of Hemocyanin in the crab, Cancer magister."
- Jamie Carpenter participated in a cancer research project at the Snyder Memorial Research Foundation Laboratory here in Winfield. Her project involved adenylosuccinate lyase detection in melanoma via immunoprecipitation and western blotting.
- Elizabeth Kramer spent the summer involved in an Environmental Education Internship with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples, Florida in which she taught groups of 6-8 year old youngsters about natural history, ecology, and conservation.
- Craig Lang conducted workshops and other actitivities throughout the summer at the Sedgwick County Zoo, including the Junior Zookeeper and Junior Curator programs.
- Tanner Lundy conducted research on avian mortality associated with communications towers in Cowley County. His work on tower kills is funded in part by a grant from the Kansas Ornithological Society.
- Dustin Wilgers and Maren Harding participated in a research project with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to help combat the invasion of zebra mussels into Kansas. They are monitoring boating patterns in order to track possible invasion routes for this introduced species.
- Matt Harris and Nathan Eckert worked on fish survey crews in Kansas gathering baseline species assemblage and water quality data for the Kansas Division of Wildlife and Parks and the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Heath Horyna worked with Qual Labs, an environmental monitoring company, conducting water quality assays for municipal water supplies and reservoirs in the state of Kansas.
- Heather Black spent the summer at the Oregon Institute for Marine Biology taking classes on Invertebrate Zoology and Marine Birds & Mammals.
- Emily Bauer and David Elliott spent their summers participating in the University of Kansas School of Medicine Primary Care Summer Mentorship program. This program provides undergraduates interested in medicine the opportunity to receive a wide range of experiences in the medical care field.
- Shane Alford participated in a medical research internship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in which he helped map the molecular epidemiology of the Coxsackivirus B3.
- Ali Wait, Junior Biology Major, Wins Prestigious Award from University of Kansas
Medical Center
Every year, the University of Kansas Medical Center accepts up to six students from rural areas of Kansas into its Scholars in Primary Care Program. This year, two of the twelve finalists were from Southwestern College and one of them, Ali Wait from Sublette, Kansas was picked to receive the honor. The Scholars in Primary Care Program provides these select students with a longitudinal premedical curriculum through mentoring with physicians and community health research. Recepients are guaranteed admission into the University of Kansas School of Medicine if they successfully complete all of the requirements of the course. This is the second time since the inception of the program in 1997 that a Southwestern College student has received this award. - Southwestern College and Biology Faculty lauded by Nature, International Journal
of Science
The August 10, 2000 issue of Nature, one of the preeminent international journals of science, discusses the controversy over the Kansas State Board of Education's elimination of evolution from the state's science standards. The article focuses on the degree to which academic institutions and faculty have rallied around good science education and opposed the actions of the Board. In particular, the article describes the resolution drafted by the faculty of Southwestern College which condemned the Board's move to de-emphasize the teaching of evolution. Southwestern biology professor Pat Ross was singled out by the article as being a state leader in mobilizing the pro-evolution vote. The full text of the article can be found at this link. - Graduates Continue Their Education in Science.
This fall, a number of our biology and biochemistry graduates will be continuing their education at institutions of higher learning across the country. Joshua Wheatley '00 will be beginning a doctoral program in Biochemistry at the University of Illinois who have awarded him a sizeable scholarship. Chris Knapp '99 is pursuing graduate studies in Physiology at the University of Oklahoma. Mandy O'Brien '99 will be beginning a Master's Degree program in Ecology at Penn State. Angela Tran '00, Jason Siemens '00, and Daniel Miller '00 will all be attending the University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kansas City, Missouri. Other students beginning their medical education include Jessie Brass Fisk '99 (Medical Technician certification program at the University of Idaho), John Nelson '00 (Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine), Sara Potter-Chattam '99 (Physical Therapy program at Wichita State University), Derek Long '99 (Northeastern School of Optometry in Tahlequah, Oklahoma), and Rachelle Jesseph (Physician's Assistant program at Wichita State University). And Glenn Hammons '98 has just finished up a course of study at the College of Oceaneering in Los Angeles, California which will certify him as a medical technician specializing in the problems associated with professional divers. - Southwestern Graduates Putting Their Biology Degrees to Work. Several of our recent alumni have become involved in a variety of science related careers. Mandy Mundinger '00 and Corey Benton '00 are both working as research associates at Abbott Laboratories in McPherson, KS. Shane Armstrong '98 is working as a sales representative for Muro Pharmaceuticals. Joyelle Pickett '98 is continuing her interest in marine biology by volunteering at Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. Amy Sherffius '00 is working as a Burn Technician at Via Christi St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Wichita, KS. Teresa Davis '99 is working in Oklahoma as the Environmental Management Director for the Ponca Tribe.
