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Dr. Linda Jones assists senior Kaylin Canup with
using lab equipment for her research project.
and makes us better citizens of the world
and universe,” Dr. Jones said. “At least, I
like to think that.”
A consummate researcher with more
than two decades of lab experience, Dr.
Jones conveys the pride of a mother in
the successes of her students. “In some
ways, my students are like my children,
which I don’t have,” she explained. “As I
get to know them and become aware of
their aspirations, I want my students to
succeed, and I will do my best to help
them get to where they want to be.”
Dr. Linda Jones and senior Lauren Martin
review experiment results in the lab.
A Scientific Method
Dr. Linda Jones makes one thing clear, “I teach difficult
things.” Noting that her biology students often go on to
study in advanced programs, she added, “I’ll do whatever I
can to help them learn it.”
Her willingness to lead her students into the world of
scientific research was demonstrated this past March when
Dr. Jones accompanied Young Harris College senior biology
majors Kaylin Canup, of Commerce, and Lauren Martin, of
Acworth, to the annual meeting of the Georgia Academy of
Science at Kennesaw State University, where each presented
work.
“I am always proud of my students who show an interest
in science and are willing to work to learn more. Research is
always a challenge, often fun like a puzzle and often
disappointing when problems appear and clear results aren’t
to be had,” she said.
Canup and Martin, both YHC soccer players, have been
planning and implementing their experiments for most of
the past two years of their upper-level course work.
Canup, who is adding a minor in chemistry to her degree
and plans to become a physician assistant, examined the
effects of both lead and mercury on the development of the
nervous system in zebrafish embryos. Both chemicals are known to
have detrimental effects on neural development in humans. Her research
found alterations in the timing of the formation of the lateral line—a
sensory system in fish—in response to exposure to these neurotoxins.
Martin, who has been accepted into the Schools of Radiation and
Imaging Technologies at Grady Health System in Atlanta, investigated how
light exposure alters the amount of myelin basic protein (MBP)
formed during development in zebrafish embryos. A higher
incidence of multiple sclerosis has been correlated with
human populations that live at high latitudes and thus
have decreased exposure to sunlight, and she hoped
to establish a link to the onset of MS and exposure
to differing levels of light. Though she has repeated
this experiment several times, the results are not yet
conclusive.
Both students credit Dr. Jones’ skillful mentoring as
instrumental in their drive to perform research and present
their work. “Her experience has guided me through the ins
and outs of this project and what we could do. I had never
done any other type of research. This is my first big thing. I’m
hoping to do more research work, either in MS or radiation,”
said Martin.
Canup added, “I feel like Dr. Jones goes above and
beyond and would not hesitate to help me out. She wants
everybody to succeed and get where they want to go.”
Faculty Feature
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