The Vespa - Randolph-Macon College

RANDOLPH#MACON BIOLOGY $
NOVEMBER , %""&
The Vespa
Evolution of Intro Biology
General Biology at Randolph Macon wi! never be the same!
Computer enhanced micrograph of cell nucleus "redrawn from Starr & Ta#art, $%%&'.
Until this year introductory
biology at Randolph Macon was
taught basically like it had been
for the last !" years with two or
three lectures per week and one
three#hour laboratory. “The
lectures were pretty much an
exercise in stenography,” said Dr.
David Coppola, who replaced Dr.
Wallace Martin as Chair of the
Biology Department in July, “and
the labs were like baking a cake:
students followed a recipe to
obtain predictable results.”
According to Coppola, biology
departments around the country
have been struggling to find ways
of making intro biology more like
the fascinating field of discovery
that practitioners experience. The
rather radical surgery performed
by the Biology Department at
RMC was to create a brand new
course that capitalizes on many
proven science teaching reforms.
The new course, called Integrative
Biology meets for two three#hour
periods per week in what has been
termed a “studio format.”
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Tiger tiger burning
bright, a tiger beetle
that is. Tiger beetles (family
Cicindelidae) have been widely
studied by biologists because they
are model organisms for research
on many important ecological
principles. Additionally, their life
requirements allow them to function
as superb bioindicator species
to monitor environmental
changes. Thus, they represent a
natural resource to be conserved
and to that end knowledge of their
natural history is essential! In this
spirit, a molecular genetic study of
these amazing insects was undertaken
by Ryan Woodcock ('05) as
part of a senior research thesis
with Dr. J.Foster and Dr.
C.B.Knisley as co-advisors. The
primary purpose of this
study was to resolve
the taxonomy of
some particularly
problematic
species utilizing
mitochondrial
DNA
analysis. The
ultimate goal of
this project is to produce a phylogenetic
"tree," a sort of pedigree
of the inherited relationships
among the component parts of a
group of organisms and usually
depicted in a branching diagram.
Ryan Woodcoc(
Notably, doing biology and talking
about biology are seamlessly
integrated during the class
periods. “Students in Integrative
Biology experience a very active
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RANDOLPH#MACON BIOLOGY $
NOVEMBER , %""&
method of learning,” said Coppola.
“Within minutes of arriving in the
first class students are doing
experiments and collecting real
data.” Many of the experiments
are open#ended since the course is
divided into four three#week
modules that allow time for in
depth study of key biological
principals. From studying the
genetic basis of alcohol resistance
in fruit flies to the e(ect of toxins
on fish embryo development,
students design their own
experiments and present their
results as scientific papers or in
other formats that are actually
used by practicing scientists.
“We knew this change in intro
biology was going to be radical,
however, it puts us at the forefront
of science teaching reforms
nationally, “ said Coppola. “Our
faculty put their heart and soul
into this new course. This is an
incredibly gifted and committed
group of educators. Unlike
professors at big universities our
focus is on teaching first.”
And how have the students
responded to this pedagogical
experiment? Anonymous
comments from the course
evaluations for Integrative Biology
are promising: “The course was
filled with material that could be
applied to our lives and to society
in general. This made learning
easier and much more
interesting!” And, “It was a great
course. I can’t wait to take the
next semester.” And, “The class
was the best science class I’ve ever
had because it was more about
understanding than memorizing.”
Vespa is latin for wasp. The RMC mascot is a
ye!ow jacket which is actua!y a member of
the wasp family.
SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE
RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
The summer undergraduate
research fellowship )SURF*
program had a bright group of
biology participants again this
year. The program, which began
in '++&, supports student
research in all disciplines.
Students are under the supervision
of RMC faculty and receive a
generous stipend and funds to
support their research. Many
biology students continue to
pursue their SURF projects in a
senior thesis and go on to present
their results at scientific meetings.
Thomas Rhone )above le)*
studied the e(ects of the cancer
protein Bcr # Abl in a group of
cells in the fruit fly embryo. Using
genetic techniques, Thomas
expressed Bcr # Abl only in this set
of cells and then examined how
Bcr # Abl expression in these cells
a(ects development and the
movement of cells.
Margarita Tobar )abov*
middle* examined two slightly
di(erent versions of the Bcr # Abl
protein and compared how these
a(ected cell movements during
development in the fruit fly.
Salem Sha!er )above right*
cloned and isolated the SP#'"
gene from guinea pig sperm. This
gene has not been described in
guinea pigs.
Welcome Dr. Grace
Lim#Fong. Grace was
born and raised in Singapore.
She came to the USA to attend
University of California, Berkeley
where she studied molecular
environmental biology.
She then attended graduate
school at Scripps Institution of
Oceanography in La Jolla,
California where she completed
her doctorate in marine
microbiology. As a graduate
student, she discovered a new
source of anti-cancer compounds
from a marine bacterium.
She was also a recipient
of a Howard Hughes Medical
Institute Fellowship. Dr Lim-
Fong was a postdoctoral researcher
at the University of
California, San Diego prior to
her arrival at R-MC, studying
how bacteria move DNA
around in their cells. In her
spare time, she enjoys hiking,
camping and performing “culinary
experiments” (Grace’s
phrase for cooking) in her
kitchen.
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WHAT’S HAPPENING?
• The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has awarded a
generous $40,000 grant to Dr. Chas Gowan to further the
goals of watershed management. An ambitious watershed
study has been undertaken by Allison Dungan as a senior
research project with Dr. Gowan as advisor. The final
products will include a retrofit of eight LID (Low Impact
Development) practices on the RMC campus, four community
outreach events called “Mechumps Days” targeted
at local government, business, and private citizens in the
watershed, and a student research report describing the
efficacy of the LID for improving storm water quality.
• Dr. Barry Knisley and his collaborators have just published
a field and natural history guide which addresses all
107 known tiger beetle species found in North America
above the Mexican border with stunning illustrations. The
text includes full distribution maps and biological accounts
that emphasize points for identification, behaviors, and
habitats. It is a valuable reference for amateur naturalists
and professionals alike!
• During his sabbatical leave Dr. Wallace Martin is working
on a National Science Foundation funded project in
collaboration with Duke University that is investigating the
phylogenetic relationships among an ecologically important
group of fungi (mushrooms and their kin).
• Sarah Gaskill, a senior biology major at RMC, had her
work presented at the Society for Neuroscience Meeting
held in Washington, DC, in November. Her research, supported
by a grant from the National Science Foundation to
her supervisor Dr. Coppola, seeks to understand the role of
experience in the development of the olfactory system.
This work is a continuation of a SURF project that she
undertook last summer.
BIOLOGY STUDENTS HEAD FOR JAMAICA MON!
Professors Falls and Lim-Fong
will be taking a group of 14 students
to Jamaica as the field component of
marine biology, one of several field
travel courses available in the Biology
Department. The field component
of the course will take place at
the Hofstra University Marine Laboratory
in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica,
West Indies, for ten days over
Spring Break.
The course will emphasize identification
of marine organisms and
the ecology of coral reefs, rocky
beaches, tide pools, mangrove
swamps, and sea grass beds. It will
include introductory classes and
orientation in Ashland before Spring
Break and concluding classes after
Spring Break.
High points of the field work
include snorkeling in a bat cave,
participating in an octopus hunt at
night, sighting and chasing nurse
sharks, encountering sea wasps and
the Portuguese Man-of-War, and
numerous snorkeling excursions to
coral reefs.
EDITOR, RYAN WOODCOCK, %""& GRADUATE OF RMC BIOLOGY
As a part of his senior research project Ryan collaborated with researcher Michael G. Kippenhan,
molecular biologist Alfried Vogler and his advisors Dr. Barry Knisley, and Dr. Jim
Foster on a manuscript recently submitted for publication. Next year he will attend graduate
school where he plans to study molecular phylogenetics.
Contacts: Editor, rwoodcoc@rmc.edu;
Biology Dept., dcoppola@rmc.edu;
Dept Webpage, www.rmc.edu/directory/academics/biology
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