Moravian College

What’s the Big Deal about ALGAE?
Yi Li ’08 was new to Moravian, wandering the hallways of Collier Hall of Science, when she felt an urge to
knock on the door of the new chair of the Biology Department. To her delight, Professor Diane Husic responded.
The two spoke excitedly about Yi’s research hopes, and as quickly as that, a research bond was formed.
That’s the kind of thing that can happen at
Moravian—and does.
The result was that during her sophomore
year, Yi Li was pursuing the mysteries of a
species of algae—Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
to be precise—that had engaged Professor
Husic’s attention since graduate school. Singlecell
organisms such as these probably long
ago made the transition from water to land.
The clues as to how they may have adapted to
the terrestrial environment and led to the
development of plants may exist within these
particular algal cells.
Yi became the talented assistant to Professor
Husic and Lehigh University scientists working
to fi nd what mechanism propelled tiny water
dwellers to advance the cause of evolution by
taking up residence on land.
The research zeroed in on certain genes that
enable a chain reaction of adaptation. They
contain the information to produce enzymes
that might make it possible for the organism to
adapt its chemical reactions to make possible
living in a radically different environment on
the shore, surrounded by a gaseous atmosphere
containing a relatively high level of oxygen
compared to what exists in water. “This alga,”
Professor Husic says, “represents a link between
completely aquatic organisms and higher plants.
We are trying to unlock that transition.” Vital
information from the recently completed genetic
map has greatly boosted the chances for success,
she adds.
Yi Li was ready for the sophisticated task. She
comes from China, not too far from Beijing.
She considered many options before deciding
to follow a biochemistry future. She was once
enrolled as a sociology student, and had also
thought of becoming an ambassador or a veterinarian.
She says she now feels at home in the
lab, making and recording precise observations.
Her commitment to science was made in the
summer of 2005, when she was given the
opportunity to immerse herself in research full
time for ten weeks under Professor Husic’s
direction. That research has continued to the
present time.
Her career goal involves another kind of
transition: from laboratory to skin. She plans
to make chemical substances within the
cosmetics industry.
Sarah Mueller ’06 not only took part in a biology experiment that was high-level; she pursued research that has potential for helping
defeat Parkinson’s disease. Sarah worked with Cecilia M. Fox, assistant professor of biology, on a process by which use of the
chemical element selenium may be an important factor in preventing “free radical” molecules from destroying dopamine neurons,
thereby interfering with the progression of the disease. The results were encouraging, she says, and “very exciting.”