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Highlight: GRADUATE BIOLOGY Dr. Samantha Chapman examines mangrove biodiversity at Twin Cays, a group of small islands near the crest of the barrier reef of Belize, Central America. Like the discipline itself, Villanova’s department of Biology is dynamic — growing and changing to incorporate the latest advances in all areas of the life sciences. Through its research opportunities and degree and certificate programs, the department of Biology provides graduate training across the broad spectrum of the biological sciences. The 25 faculty members and postdoctoral fellows in the department interact with about 50 graduate students in the classroom and lab every semester. The department offers both master of arts and master of science degrees, as 4 • well as several certificate programs in the broad areas of Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology and Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology. In addition, the combined B.S./M.S. program in Biology offers a researchintensive course of study for highly motivated incoming undergraduates who wish to complete both degrees in just five years. Success of Our Graduates More than 50 students have earned their master’s degree in Biology over the last five years, about half through the research-intensive master of science program. A large number of both fulland part-time graduate students are actively engaged in thesis research. Graduates regularly go on to positions of prominence in their discipline, often pursuing research careers in academia or industry. Former students include Patricia Melloy, M.S. 1997, who completed her doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania and postdoctoral training at Princeton University and has now taken a faculty position in Biology at Farleigh Dickinson University; and Lesley Bechtold, M.S. 1996, who is now the
manager of the Histopathology and Microscopy Center at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. New Faculty Research Villanova Biology faculty are the epitome of teacher-scholars, performing cutting-edge research that involves students and brings currency to the classroom. Recently hired faculty bring new areas of research interest and expertise to campus. Dennis Wykoff, Ph.D., a molecular geneticist, joined the faculty in fall 2006. He received his doctorate at Stanford University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco and Harvard University before arriving at Villanova. In 2008, he received a major three-year grant from the National Science Foundation entitled “Evolution of the phosphate starvation response in yeasts.” This grant funds Dr. Wykoff and students in their investigations of how a simple response to phosphate starvation has changed in yeast species that last shared a common ancestor more than 100 million years ago. This basic research should help us to understand how different species tailor their genetic composition to their specific environment. Samantha Chapman, Ph.D., is an ecosystem ecologist who does research in tropical and temperate natural ecosystems and managed agroecosystems. Dr. Chapman received her doctorate from Northern Arizona University and did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, arriving at Villanova in fall 2007. Her current research in mangrove ecosystems and Southern Appalachian forests focuses on how plant biodiversity and land management influence ecosystem services such as carbon and nutrient cycling. She mentors graduate and undergraduate students working on a wide range of research projects such as investigating the impacts of biodiversity on invasive species and examining the migration of plant species in response to climate change. James W. Wilson, Ph.D., joined the Biology department in the summer of 2008. He obtained his doctorate from Columbia University in the department of Microbiology and performed postdoctoral research at Yale University, Tulane University and Arizona State University. Dr. Wilson’s teaching and research interests focus on microbiology and bacterial engineering, including extensive work with the human gastrointestinal pathogen Salmonella typhimurium. He has been involved with numerous experimental payloads aboard NASA Space Shuttle missions and has examined the effect of spaceflight on the ability of bacteria to cause disease and alter their gene expression. These studies identified a set of previously uncharacterized transcriptional regulators that could serve as targets for antibacterial therapies and bacterial genetic manipulation strategies. News from Biology In 2008, Aaron M. Bauer, Ph.D., was named as the inaugural holder of the Gerald M. Lemole M.D. Chair in Integrative Biology, Villanova’s first endowed chair in the sciences. In this capacity Dr. Bauer will work to foster excellence in teaching and research in Biology and to increase interdisciplinary interactions with the liberal arts, promoting both science literacy for humanists and ethically and socially responsible inquisition for scientists. Faculty members and graduate students from the department of Biology will be actively involved in the 127th annual meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU). The AOU is the largest Western Dr. James Wilson’s experiments on the effect of spaceflight on bacterial gene expression and virulence are carried aboard the Space Shuttle. Photo courtesy of NASA. Hemisphere professional organization for the scientific study of birds and more than 700 ornithologists are expected to attend. The conference will take place August 12 – 15, 2009 on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, with Villanova acting as an official co-host. Villanova is specifically sponsoring a special poster session (for posters by more junior students) and one of the keynote speakers. Villanova’s Robert Curry, Ph.D., is the chair of the Committee on Local Arrangements for the meeting. Biology faculty members John Olson, Ph.D., and Susan Smith, Ph.D., and graduate students Stephanie Wright, Jen Mortensen, Wendy Lenhart and Josh LaPergola, are members of the Local Committee. Villanova faculty and students will also participate in the scientific program, presenting results of ongoing research. The conference web site is www.birdmeetings.org/aou2009. For additional information about the Biology program please visit www.gradbiology.villanova.edu • 5
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