Biology

March 16, 2016 – Allegheny College junior Angelina Winbush of Pittsburgh has been awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Exceptional Research Opportunities Program (EXROP) internship for summer 2016.

The award will allow Winbush, a global health studies major and biology minor, to spend 10 weeks doing full-time research in the lab of an HHMI scientist. It also provides a $5,000 award, participation in a local summer research program with other undergraduate researchers, and long-distance travel and housing arranged and paid for by HHMI.

This is the second time that an Allegheny College student has received an EXROP award. Erin Brown, a physics and mathematics double major who graduated from Allegheny in 2015, was awarded an EXROP internship to work at the Salk Institute for Biological Science during summer 2013 and did research at the Salk Institute as an EXROP summer capstone student scholar during summer 2014.

Winbush will be placed in the lab of Matt Waldor, M.D., Ph.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and faculty member at Harvard School of Medicine. Dr. Waldor and his team conduct research on infectious diseases.

“I decided to apply for EXROP because I wanted to gain additional research experience to supplement the clinical opportunities I’ve had,” Winbush says. “I plan on pursuing an M.D./MPH and hope to integrate research into my future career as a pediatrician. I am looking forward to learning with new research techniques as well as exploring the infectious diseases challenges at the forefront of public health today in Dr. Waldor’s laboratory.”

“Angelina is well positioned for this research position at Harvard through HHMI; she is an incredibly talented researcher and dedicated learner,” says Caryl E. Waggett, Ph.D., chair of global health studies and associate professor of environmental science at Allegheny. “Her training in global health studies has provided her with the theoretical framework necessary to align her research with her passion for improving access to preventative health strategies for high-risk populations. This summer research will allow her to refine her analytical skills while maintaining connections through Allegheny’s local and global programming to the populations and individuals who are most affected.”

At Allegheny, Winbush conducted summer research in the Department of Global Health Studies alongside Waggett. Winbush helped to evaluate the health status and needs of students at two low-income elementary schools in order to make recommendations for new and current wellness programs. She and three other students also have had a poster presentation accepted at the fifth annual Public and Global Health Education Summit in Washington, D.C.

Winbush serves as a health coach with Allegheny College and the Community Care Network in Meadville; education chair for the college’s Honor Committee; and resident adviser with the college’s Office of Residence Life.

In addition, she is a delegate to the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, which allowed her to travel to Warsaw, Poland, in 2013 and Cape Town, South Africa, in 2014. She also is a Youth Ambassador for the U.S. Department of State’s Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program.

The EXROP Program links the resources of HHMI’s Science and Science Education departments to provide outstanding summer research experiences to bright, motivated undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds and groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences. HHMI continues to work with EXROP students after their summer study programs to encourage them to pursue careers in academic science.

Each year, approximately 125 scientists volunteer to mentor EXROP students in their labs during the summer. In addition to doing laboratory research, the students attend two meetings at HHMI’s headquarters in Chevy Chase, Md., to present their research in a poster session.

Since EXROP’s inception in 2003, 798 undergraduates from 160 colleges and universities have been matched with 214 HHMI investigators, professors, group leaders and early career scientists.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Professor of Biology and Environmental Science Scott Wissinger recently published two review papers in an edited book volume titled Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands: An International Perspective on Their Ecology. A chapter titled “Beaver Pond Wetlands” features collaborative work with Allegheny students over the past 15 years at the Bousson Environmental Research Reserve. The second paper, written with collaborators from Switzerland and France, is a comparative study of the ecology of alpine ponds and wetlands in Europe, North America, and New Zealand. Both papers were written while on sabbatical last year in New Zealand, and the author gratefully acknowledges support from the Academic Support Committee.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Joe DeMarchi ’16 and Assistant Professors of Biology Matt Venesky and Lisa Whitenack presented their research at the 2016 Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology annual meeting in Portland, Oregon in early January. Professor Whitenack led a workshop titled “Broader Impacts and Beyond: K-12 Outreach and Engagement.” Joe presented a poster titled “Understanding how temperature mediates disease outcomes in a terrestrial salamander.” Professor Venesky presented a talk, with co-authors Julie Murone ’16 and Joe DeMarchi, titled “Exposure to corticosterone affects host resistance, but not tolerance, to an emerging fungal pathogen.”

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Barbara Iglewski, Ph.D. ’60 is in impressive company as a 2015 inductee into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, a group that also includes Nancy Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; Martha Graham, who revolutionized American dance; and Eleanor Smeal, Ms. Magazine publisher and women’s rights advocate.

Professor emeritus at the University of Rochester Medical Center School of Medicine and Dentistry – Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Iglewski was recognized for her work in microbiology, especially for a landmark discovery: that Pseudomonas, a type of infection, spreads by individual bacteria communicating with one another. Her work has had a global impact on research on cystic fibrosis.

“Being inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame is the biggest honor I have ever had,” Iglewski says. “It’s not only an honor, but it’s a very humbling experience.”

Microbiology was a relatively new field when Iglewski began her studies at Allegheny. “I wanted to take microbiology, but physics – which was scheduled at the same time – got in the way,” she recalls. “I went to Professor Gerald Reisner and asked if I could be brought on as a special student, and he agreed to do so. He got me hooked.”

Iglewski went on to study viruses at Penn State University and then worked at the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center in Portland, where she studied bacterial pathogenesis – how bacteria actually cause disease.

In 1986, when she was chosen to head the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Rochester, Iglewski became the first woman to head a department at UR’s School of Medicine and Dentistry.

As she advanced in her own field, she also used her influence to help create opportunities for other women. As chair of the American Society for Microbiology’s publication board for almost a decade (she was also president of the ASM from 1987 to 1988), she promoted the appointment of women as editors and to the editorial boards of the association’s publications.

And she’s not done yet.

“While women now make up about 50 percent of the graduate students in many STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math] fields,” Iglewski says, “the further up the ladder you get, the fewer women you see. We have made enormous progress, but women in the U.S. have not achieved equality. There are certainly multiple factors holding women back, especially in the STEM fields.”

As Iglewski continues to help other women establish their STEM careers, she also recognizes a larger context for her efforts. “The fight for women’s rights is not over,” she says. Fortunately, the National Women’s Hall of Fame is full of examples of women, like Iglewski, who prove that the nation and the world benefit when women are given equal opportunities to reach their fullest potential.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Dec. 7, 2015 – The Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience, an organization that is part of the Society for Neuroscience, has honored Allegheny College professor E. Lee Coates with its Career Achievement Award.

The presentation took place in Chicago during the group’s annual meeting in October. Two Allegheny alumnae, Amy Jo Stavnezer, the academic organization’s incoming president, and outgoing president Lisa Gabel presented Coates with the award.

One of the organization’s highest honors, the Career Achievement Award is given to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to undergraduate neuroscience education and research. Coates, who has been at Allegheny since 1992, teaches in the biology department and in the neuroscience and global health studies programs.

“Lee is an accomplished teacher and scholar,” said Gabel. “His former students describe him as an exceptional mentor and friend. His impact on their careers is felt long after they have left the halls of the biology and neuroscience departments at Allegheny College.”

Coates is the project director of a $1.5 million undergraduate science education grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to build a global health program at Allegheny College. The grant supports the establishment of an interdisciplinary major, creation of two tenure-track faculty positions, resources for faculty and curriculum development, collaborative research opportunities for students on and off campus, and opportunities for students to engage in health-related study experiences both abroad and in the United States.

He was also the director of a $400,000 W.M. Keck Foundation grant titled “Ways of knowing and habits of mind: Exploring the intersection between neuroscience and the humanities.” The grant funded the development of four interdisciplinary courses at Allegheny College: “Neuroscience and Dance Movement,” “Neuroscience of the Visual Arts,” “Mind and Brain” and “History of Neuroscience.”

Additionally, Coates has been awarded more than $98,000 by the National Institutes of Health and $82,000 by the National Science Foundation to fund his research on nasal CO2 receptors and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

“I was surprised and honored to receive the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience Career Achievement Award and humbled to be in the company of past recipients,” said Coates. “While the award was given to me, in part, for my role in the development of the neuroscience program and interdisciplinary neuroscience and humanities courses, my Allegheny neuroscience colleagues should share this recognition with me as I couldn’t have developed these programs without them.”

“I am also honored to be recognized for my teaching and mentoring of neuroscience students, although the real reward is following the careers and achievements of our neuroscience graduates,” said Coates. “I enjoy keeping in contact with the graduates and seeing many of our neuroscience alumni at the yearly Society for Neuroscience meeting. Based on the success of our graduates it appears that we have developed a first-rate undergraduate neuroscience program that prepares students well for life after Allegheny.”

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Garrett Devenney ’16, Erica Bryson ’15, and Assistant Professor of Global Health Studies and Biology Becky Dawson presented the lessons learned from their community-based participatory research project at the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting November 3 in Chicago. Their poster highlighted the Community Health Needs Assessment Project, which is being conducted in collaboration with the Meadville Medical Center.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Susan Washko ’16, Jared Balik ’16, and Professor of Environmental Science and Biology Scott Wissinger co-authored a paper, “Predicting ecosystem-level effects of species shifts in elevation associated with climate change in alpine ponds,” presented at the 100th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America. The collaborative research was supported by a Harold State Fellowship award to Susan and a Beckman Scholars program award to Jared from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN), part of the Society for Neuroscience, awarded Professor of Biology and Neuroscience Lee Coates the Career Achievement Award in October. Two Allegheny College alumnae, incoming FUN president Amy Jo Stavnezer ’94 and outgoing FUN president Lisa Gabel ’96, presented the award to Professor Coates.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Alexandra Hess ’16, Caroline McAllister ’16, Joe DeMarchi ’16, Makenzie Zidek ’16, Julie Marone ’16, and Assistant Professor of Biology Matthew Venesky recently had a manuscript published in the peer-reviewed journal Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. The article is titled “Salamanders increase their feeding activity when infected with the pathogenic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.” This publication was the result of a Fall 2014 independent study (Bio 590).

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Assistant Professor of Biology Matthew Venesky recently co-authored a paper titled “Taking tadpole biology into the 21st century: a consensus paper from the first tadpoles international workshop,” which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Herpetologia Brasileira. The manuscript was written during a 2014 trip to Brazil, where Professor Venesky was an invited symposium speaker at an international workshop on tadpole biology.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research