Fall 2011 - the Department of Biology - Syracuse University

4DeanGeorge M. LangfordEditorErnest HemphillCopy EditorKathleen M. Haley ’92contentsNote from the Editor 1Letter from the Chair 2Letter from the New Chair 46A Family Story: My Journey from the Middle Kingdomto Syracuse and Back by Samuel Chan 6Faculty Profile: Kari Segraves 10Graduate Student Profile: Dawn Higginson 1410Graduate Student Profile: Zaara Sarwar 16Under Graduate Student Profile: Tess Cherlin 18Undergraduate Student Profile: Sarah K. Wendel 1919Undergraduate Student Profile: Emily Williams 21In Memoriam: Elias Balbinder, Roger Milkman 22Faculty News 24Graduate News and Achievements 25Evolutionary Change in Introductory Biology atSyracuse University by Jason Wiles 26Undergraduate Research Conference 2936Undergraduate Activities and Achievements 3026More Graduate Program News 31Biology Staff: Deborah Herholtz 32Who, What, When, Where 33PhotographySteve SartoriDavid RevetteOlle PellmyrAssistant Dean forAdvancementKaren Weiss JonesBiology Giving Focus – Undergraduate Studies 35Dr. Ghaleb Daouk on Giving to Biology and theCollege of Arts and Sciences 36Alumni Giving 37FALL 2011FALL 2011Graphic DesignW. Michael McGrathAddress UpdatesEvelyn Lott (ealott@syr.edu)Communicationsmuwith Alumniand FriendsTHE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITYDepartment ChairRamesh RainaContributorsSamuel Chan, Tess Cherlin,Ghaleb Daouk, ErnestHemphill, Dawn Higginson,Richard Levy, Ramesh Raina,John Russell, Zaara Sarwar,Kari Segraves, Sarah Wendel,Jason Wiles, Emily WilliamsSyracuse UniversityDepartment of Biology110 Life Sciences Complex107 College PlaceSyracuse NY 13244315-443-2012biology.syr.eduInsideA Family Story: My Journey from the MiddleKingdom to Syracuse and Back by Samuel ChanEvolutionary Change in Introductory Biology atSyracuse University by Jason WilesDr. Ghaleb Daouk on Giving to Biology and theCollege of Arts and SciencesBIOLOGY.SYR.EDUON THE COVERConfocal microscope section ofdeveloping mouse oocytes labeled byGreen Fluorescent Protein (GFP). Nucleiof all cells are shown in red. Oocytedevelopment proceeds through a stagein which oocytes become individualizedfrom cysts of interconnected germ cells.

LetterFROM THE NEW CHAIRBy Ramesh RainaStephen Sartori4THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

UC San Francisco; three are attorneysworking in two of the top patent lawfirms; and the two others are working inthe financial world and the World Bank.Both of my children, Lydia and Albert,graduated from Jamesville-Dewitt HighSchool and then from MIT engineeringschool.Looking back, I have been fortunatein having many blessings in life; forexample, because my family movedcontinuously to many parts of Chinaduring the war years and I subsequentlystudied and lived in different societiesand countries, I learned several Chineselanguages (Mandarin, Cantonese, inadditional to my parents’ dialects),Japanese and some German. I am capableof doing simultaneous translations(mostly sermons in the church) betweenthe two Chinese languages, Japanese,and English. For example, when BillyGraham gave his Crusade sermons inthe Carrier Dome in April 1989, I did thesimultaneous translation for the Chinesein the audience.As my classmates and I gathered forour 50th reunion celebration in HongKong, the atmosphere was quite strainedand our greetings awkward and formal aswe tried to match faces and names fromthe distant past. But once we becamereacquainted, identified one anotheralong with our original nicknames in thelocal dialect, and joined in warm laughterand feasting on the local favorite dimsums,it seemed a half century vanishedin an instant. I was overwhelmed with thefeeling described in the Chinese proverb“fallen leaves longing to return to theirroots.” I was particularly impressed bymy classmates who devoted their lives tobuilding the local community and society.For example, Peter Mak, after servingas head master of the local high schoolfor many years, committed himself toorganizing the benevolent society forretired senior citizens. Others had joinedtogether early in their careers to foundand build three high schools, and overthe years systematically supported theopportunities for all school children.Returning to Hong Kong after somany years away, I, like most visitors,was overwhelmed with the physicaltransformation as China becomes amodern industrial state. However,perhaps even more remarkable hasbeen the transformation of the socialstructure of China under a differentpolitical system. My father was borna few minutes before his twin brotherand thereby became the eldest son ofthe eldest son. The advantages andresponsibilities of being the eldest sonwere his, and the fate of his siblings,cousins, and other family memberswas manual labor tilling the soil. Hadthat tradition continued one moregeneration, my elder brother Dan wouldhave inherited the title of “eldest son;”Moses, Julia, and I would have beenhis subordinates. Instead, the vagariesof war and revolution separated us andmany other Chinese of my generationfrom our homes and traditions.In the case of the Chan family, thedetermination, resourcefulness, andshear grit of my mother, along with herfaith that all her children were equal andwould succeed, resulted in professionalcareers for all of us.It has been a year and a half since Ireturned from the reunion, and I havebeen reflecting on what I observedin Hong Kong, my past years, andjust where I fit into the world order. Iwas born in China, grew up in HongKong, and was educated in Japan andthe United States. My students, bothundergraduate and graduate, andpostdoctoral fellows have come from allover the world. Now, due to the Internetand technological advances, it seems thewhole world is at our fingertips. I am nolonger a “pure Chinese,” nor just a proudnaturalized Chinese American, but rathera world citizen.I do admit to having two personalitytraits probably “inherited” from myparents: first, I am an emotionalindividual, as my father revealed he wasduring the most difficult period of hisChanlocal education programs providinglife, and second, I also possess a fiercelycompetitive nature––particularly revealedin matches of racquet-using sports. Iprobably learned this competitivenessfrom my mother while she struggledto survive and overcome extremehardships in her life. All in all, at thisjunction of my life, I feel blessed andhumble. A country boy from China, thesecond son of a political refugee whohad gone through much hardship inlife, I was given ample opportunities toobtain a higher education, to be trainedas a scientist, and serve as a professorand mentor to many American andinternational students from all over theworld. I am so thankful to all my formerstudents who studied in my laboratory.Many of them are themselves establishedprofessors in important positions hereand abroad; still others are in the field ofmedicine and health-related professionsserving others in a different capacity. Iwas asked recently by some graduatingstudents in my class what I would do ifI had a second chance to relive my lifeagain. My answer is the following: Otherthan some personal failures, and a coupleof overly ambitious but futile researchprojects, I would probably start all overagain doing exactly what I have donethese past 40-some years.9

FACULTY PROFILE:Kari SegravesExamine any natural community and you will find a bewildering network of species interactions thatrange from non-specific, intermittent associations to ones that are profoundly specialized and lasting.As Charles Darwin emphasized in the Origin of Species, it is without question that this “entangled bank”of interactions has played a critical role in creating the diversity of species on Earth. The importance ofspecies interactions, however, extends well beyond this scientific perspective. They are part of our everydaylives—from the gut microbes that assist us with digestion to the stimulating effects of caffeine, a chemicalbyproduct of plant evolution that discourages insect herbivores. My research focuses on the interactionsbetween plants and insects, two species-rich groups that are important both in terms of biodiversity andagriculture.If someone had told me in my senior year of high schoolthat I would become a biology professor at a highly rankedresearch university, I would have said that they were crazy. Atthe time, I was exploring careers in photography or math, and itwas purely fortuitous that I decided to round out my senior yearwith a course in ecology. It wasn’t until much later in my careerthat I began to appreciate the uniqueness of this educationalexperience, especially for someone growing up in a tiny town insoutheastern Washington State. My devoted teacher took us onfield trips nearly every day the weather was decent, traveling tothe local river in a dilapidated school bus to catch insects, pressplants, and seine for fish. In addition to these short trips, wealso journeyed on weeklong adventures to Mount St. Helens andthe Oregon coast, where we identified countless organisms andobserved firsthand many of the concepts discussed in class. Itreally wasn’t until our final trip to the Oregon coast that I realizedI wanted biology to be a bigger part of my life. As I stood kneedeepin the cold Pacific waters, I knew that I wanted to learnmore about the natural world around me.I decided to attend Washington State University whereI promptly declared biology as my major, and during mysophomore year I started taking upper division biology andother science courses. That year I studied limnology, marineinvertebrate ecology, and botany. Much to my surprise, Idiscovered my favorite classes were botany and chemistry,two seemingly disparate subjects. During my junior year, afriend pointed out that the university housed a biochemistrydepartment where I could pursue both of my interests. So Idecided to double-major in biology (ecology and evolution) andbiochemistry, with the idea that the latter addition would makeme marketable, because at the time I believed that a degree inecology and evolutionary biology was unlikely to lead to a “real”job. My days were divided between donning my lab coat to studythe effects of alcohol on spermatogenesis in rats and taking field10 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

trips to northcentral Idaho to survey plantand insect populations.As I learned more about eachof my projects, I found myselfgravitating toward my research on theplant Heuchera, or alum root. I wasinvestigating a moth (Greya) that bothfeeds on these plants and pollinates them,but what I found particularly intriguingwere the genetic features of the plants.Across its relatively small geographicIt really wasn’t until ourfinal trip to the Oregoncoast that I realized Iwanted biology to be abigger part of my life.As I stood knee-deep inthe cold Pacific waters,I knew that I wanted tolearn more about thenatural world aroundme.range, we found that the plants varied inchromosome number, with some havingthe typical diploid set of chromosomes(two of each chromosome) whileothers were tetraploid (four of eachchromosome). On top of this, there wasalso some evidence for hybridizationwith another Heuchera species. Theseinteresting findings led me to stay atWSU for a master’s degree, where Istudied how these genetic factors affectedthe plant’s ecological interactions withGreya moths and the other insects thatvisited the flowers. I decided to use acombination of lab and field approachesin my project, employing moderntechniques in “molecular ecology”to assess the relatedness of plantsand apply this to my field research. Iwas surprised to learn that in somepopulations the diploid and tetraploidplants differed slightly in flower shape,whereas in other populations the twochromosomal complements were difficultto distinguish. What was really excitingwas the finding that, even when therewas no apparent physical difference,both Greya and various other insectvisitors could distinguish between thetwo genetic forms. For instance, I foundthat bumblebee queens preferred tocollect nectar from tetraploids whereasthe workers of the same species foragednearly exclusively on diploid plants. Soin instances when I was challenged to tellthe two types of plants apart even with mymolecular toolkit, I found it interestingthat the flower visitors possessed anunknown mechanism to distinguishthem. Although I enjoyed working in thelab, it was the field research that solidifiedmy desire to continue on with a Ph.D.After spending several years workingon the Greya moths that pollinated andfed on Heuchera, I became interestedin how mutualistic associations evolve.Mutualisms are interactions betweenspecies where both partners benefitfrom the association. For example, thefemale moths that forage for nectar onHeuchera pollinate the plant and alsolay eggs in the flowers. Once the larvaehatch, they feed on a small fraction ofthe plant’s seeds, so both the moth andplant benefit from the interaction. Asa master’s student I began to focus onhow the balance is maintained betweenpartners in a mutualistic association, andwhy one partner doesn’t take advantage ofthe other such that it gains more from theinteraction. For instance, what preventsthe moths from laying so many eggs thatthe larvae consume all of the seeds? Inessence, why don’t moths cheat?Given my interest in the evolutionof cheating in mutualism, I decided toattend Vanderbilt University for a Ph.D.where I was advised by Olle Pellmyr,a leading researcher studying howmutualisms evolve. He focused on theinteraction between yucca plants andyucca moths (Tegeticula) as his mainstudy system. I saw many advantages toworking with Olle on Tegeticula as thesemoths were familiar because they areclose relatives to the Greya moths that Istudied on Heuchera, and the yucca-yuccamoth interaction is a textbook exampleof mutualism. Yuccas, or century plants,feature prominently in desert ecosystemsas an important resource for manyanimals. The plants and their flowersYucca aloifoliaYucca shidigeraYucca filamentosaFALL 201111

are beautiful and are often cultivatedin gardens. Some yuccas are relativelyfamous; Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia), forexample, is both the name of a nationalpark in California and a popular U2album.Yuccas are only pollinated by yuccamoths, and the relationships betweenthe moth and the plant has becomeextremely specialized during theirevolutionary history. During the daythe small white yucca moths benignlyrest inside yucca flowers, but at nightthey become bandits, stealthily flittingfrom yucca flower to yucca flower to layeggs and pollinate. The female yuccamoths deposit eggs inside of the flowers,hypodermically injecting them into thefloral tissue using a modified structurethat resembles a needle (similar to thestinger of a wasp). Just after laying anegg, a female will climb to the top of theflower and purposefully pollinate usinga bit of pollen that she carries in a ballunder her head. Females have specializedmouthparts used for collecting anddepositing pollen, and these mouthpartsare not found in any other insect. Suchactive pollination behavior is incrediblyrare, as nearly all pollinators accomplishthe task by accidentally brushing pollenonto the receptive surfaces of flowers. Bypurposefully pollinating the flower, thefemale yucca moth is ensuring a foodsource for her offspring, since the eggswill eventually hatch into small larvae thatfeed exclusively on yucca seeds. In theend, the plant generally comes out aheadbecause the moths pollinate more seedsthan the larvae destroy; thus, the plantgains an extremely effective pollinator bygiving up a few seeds.My Ph.D. project focused onhow cheaters evolve in mutualisticinteractions, and I took advantage ofa new discovery that Olle had madewhile conducting field research in thesouthwestern United States. When hebegan working on yucca moths, therewere only a few named species, andhis observations of the moth Tegeticulayuccasella led him to believe this entitywas actually a composite of severalunrecognized species. A combinationof DNA sequence analysis andmeasurements of the shape and size ofthe moths showed that Olle was right,Figure 1: Tegeticula yuccasella in a yucca flower. The female in the lower right is laying an egg,and the female on the left is actively pollinating.and revealed that T. yuccasella consistedof at least 14 distinct species. The trulyexciting finding was that two of thesenew species were “cheaters,” or mothsthat avoided pollination and laid eggsdirectly into developing fruit. Cheaterscapitalize on the efforts of the pollinatormoths, and their larvae feed on yuccaseeds in competition with pollinatormoth larvae. In theory, cheaters shouldoverexploit the mutualistic partners byeating all the seeds, and the final resultwould be extinction of all three species.Yet, a quick look at the evolutionaryhistory of the cheaters shows thatthey have happily coexisted with themutualistic moths for upwards of twomillion years; clearly, cheaters are notdestabilizing the mutualism. Duringthe course of my Ph.D. work, I usedbehavioral studies of the moths, fieldobservations, and molecular analyses ofthe evolutionary histories of the pollinatorand cheater moths to examine howcheaters might have evolved. Althoughthe evidence remains thin, our bestguess is that cheaters may come intoexistence when a mutualistic interactionis more complex than the simple scenarioof two interacting partners. That is, incircumstances when multiple pollinatormoth species coexist on a singleyucca species, there is an evolutionaryopportunity for one pollinator speciesto cheat because the other pollinator isstill providing a benefit to the plant. Weare still exploring this hypothesis andare learning more about how mutualistscan turn to the dark side and becomecheaters.This idea about how communitycomplexity might lead to cheating drewme to think more deeply about how themultitude of interactions present in acommunity could influence the pair-wiseinteraction between mutualist partners.We often think of mutualisms as existingin isolation of their surroundings andignore the effects of other species. Partof the reason for doing so is one ofsimplification; species often interact withhundreds of other species, and tryingto study even just the direct effects of afew interactions can be challenging. Forinstance, a typical pollination mutualismwill involve a focal plant species that hasOlle PellmyrS12 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

dozens of pollinator species all of whichalso interact with dozens of other plantspecies. The picture becomes even morecomplex when the diverse community ofherbivores and predators is added. Butone of the great qualities about the yuccastudy system is its inherent simplicity. Incontrast to other mutualisms, the yuccayuccamoth interaction typically has onlya single pair of mutualists (one plant andone moth species) and they interact witha small handful of other species—fromspiders that sit and await prey in flowersto beetles that feed on yucca flowers.When I arrived at Syracuse Universityin 2005, I decided to use the yuccasystem to ask how community complexityaffects the mutualism between theplants and moths. My colleagues andI are focusing on the plant side of thestory, trying to understand how all ofthe direct and indirect interactions withthe community impact seed production.At the outset, we thought the resultswould be straightforward: communitymembers that fed on the plants shouldharm seed production and those thategravesfed on the herbivores should improveseed production. That’s not quite whatwe found. Instead, we learned that someherbivores could increase seed set. Inparticular, we found that plants beingfed on by a small flower-feeding beetle(Hymenorus) produced more seeds thanplants lacking the beetle. Althoughthe obvious direct effect of the beetles(destroying floral tissue) is bad for theplants, we found that the beetles alsoproduce a strong indirect effect. Not onlydo they consume plant tissue but theyalso incidentally eat yucca moth eggs. Bydoing so, they are reducing the number ofmoth larvae feeding within fruit and thisincreases seed set. So, counter-intuitively,we’ve shown that a flower-feeding insectcan benefit plants.Our next step in this project involvesdetermining how the community ofinsects interacting with the plants andmoths might influence pollen movementamong yuccas. Yucca plants arehermaphrodites—single flowers produceboth pollen (sperm) and eggs—meaningthat a given plant can pass on its genesby serving as either a mother (producingseeds in fruit) or as a father (siringseeds in fruit of other plants). So far,our analyses have only focused on howwell a plant fares as a mother, and doesnot include the plant’s performance as afather. To remedy this, we are currentlyusing molecular tools similar to theones used in human paternity tests toassess the number of seeds an individualplant has sired. We expect that the maleperspective of the plant may differsubstantially from the female perspective.For instance, we’ve shown that the flowerfeedingbeetles improve seed set fromthe female perspective, but since thesebeetles can also quickly consume all ofa plant’s pollen, we’re betting that theydecrease the ability of a plant to sireseeds. If the pollen is removed beforea moth can collect it, then that plantwill not sire any seeds. Consequently,the benefits gained through femalereproduction may come at a cost to malereproduction. In the end we hope to painta full picture of the effects of a number ofinsects that interact directly and indirectlywith yuccas and their pollinator moths tounderstand more about how these typesof mutualisms are shaped in naturalcommunities.As the yucca project draws to a close,I’ve decided to return to my work on theHeuchera system to learn more about howvariation in the number of chromosomesimpacts interactions between species.Rather than focusing exclusively oninsects, I’m working with the soil fungithat inhabit the roots of Heuchera. Theinteraction between the plants andfungi is thought to be mutualistic as thefungi forage for critical plant nutrientsthat they then trade with the plant forcarbohydrates. I’m interested in the tiesbetween DNA content and the nutrientrequirements of plants and how thesefactors in turn affect interactions withthe mutualistic fungi. Since many ofour crop plants also have extra sets ofchromosomes (e.g., bananas, wheat, andstrawberries), knowing more about theseinteractions that can help plants growin nutrient-depleted environments maybe useful in agriculture. I find it excitingthat my research might help us engineerbetter crops, and I look forward to thediscoveries to come.Figure 2: Hymenorus densus beetles feeding on yucca flowerFALL 201113

GRADUATE STUDENT PROFILE:Dawn HigginsonI’ve learned to be vague when strangers ask me what I do. A bluntreply of “I study sperm” typically results in a stunned or mildlybemused expression and a quietly uttered response of “Oh!” Thatends most conversations with non-biologists.Sperm were discovered in 1677 byAntonie van Leeuwenhoek, a draper byprofession and an amateur microscopist.In his spare time, he built simple, singlelens microscopes that could magnifyobjects up to 270x, sufficient to seeeven some bacteria. In his letter to theRoyal Society of London describing hisremarkable discovery, he communicatedthe sensitivity of the topic:“And if your Lordship should considerthat these observations may disgust orscandalize the learned, I earnestly begyour Lordship to regard them as privateand to publish or destroy them as yourLordship see fit.”Fortunately, Leeuwenhoek’s workwas published and attracted considerableattention from scientists at the time.However, the role of sperm and eggs inthe production of new individuals was notunderstood or widely accepted until the1880s. Today, it is common knowledge thattransfer of paternal DNA through spermto an unfertilized egg occurs in all sexuallyreproducing animals.I first became interested in spermwhile working on the evolution ofinsecticide resistance in the pinkbollworm, a pest in cotton fieldsworldwide. The pink bollworm is a smallmoth whose caterpillars eat the developingseed heads from which cotton fiber isharvested. In the United States, pinkbollworm damage is limited by plantingtransgenic cotton plants, geneticallymodified to produce Bt-toxin protein,the gene for which was isolated fromthe bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. Bttoxinbinds to the gut of caterpillars; thecaterpillars stop feeding and eventuallydie. Outside of legally required “refuges”in which unmodified cotton is planted,virtually all cotton grown currently istransgenic, potentially resulting in intenseselection for bollworms resistant to Bttoxin.After the widespread introductionof Bt cotton to the US agricultural system,the proportion of pink bollworms inArizona fields resistant to Bt-toxin actuallydropped from a surprisingly high level atthe time of introduction to undetectablelevels. As part of a master’s thesis, Iwas tasked with understanding whyresistance to Bt-cotton was not found inthe field despite the ease of generatingresistant pink bollworm strains in the lab.Experiments conducted by members ofmy research group at the University ofArizona revealed that resistant moths wereless likely to survive the winter than mothssusceptible to Bt. Additionally, I foundthat resistant males sired fewer offspringthan susceptible males when competingto fertilize a female’s eggs, despite havingsimilar mating frequencies and fertility.While trying to understand this result, Ilearned that moths and butterflies producetwo types of sperm: one type participatesin fertilization while the second typecontains no DNA. Sperm lacking DNAoften makeup more than 90 percent ofthe total sperm transferred to females. Iwas completely stunned by this fact. Whyspend so much energy making spermthat couldn’t fulfill the primary function offertilization? Follow-up research by my labgroup found that resistant males transferfewer sperm, of both types, to femalesthan do males susceptible to Bt-cotton.After finishing my M.S. degree at theUniversity of Arizona and a brief hiatusworking in a University of Montana labstudying bark beetles (the scourge ofwestern forests, killing whole stands oftrees and increasing the likelihood oflarge-scale wildfires), I still couldn’t stopthinking about the bizarre infertile spermof moths. I found myself borrowing allthe sperm-related books from the libraryand decided that I wanted to investigatethe evolution of unusual sperm traits in adepth that only a Ph.D. dissertation wouldallow. I started looking at grad schools andfound the best place in North America,and arguably the world, to pursue mystudies was in the lab of Scott Pitnickin the Department of Biology at SU. Iapplied, was accepted, and spent the nextseveral years happily submerged in thestudy of how reproductive traits are shapedby selection resulting from male-malecompetition for mates and female choiceof sires.My doctoral research focused onunderstanding why sperm that share acommon function, fertilization, have suchdiverse morphology. For example, withininsects alone, any one of the four mainconstituents of sperm—the acrosome,nucleus, mitochondria or flagellum—maybe absent or form the most prominentfeature of sperm morphology. The answeris, in part, that sperm do much more thanjust fertilize an egg. In the case of specieswith internal fertilization (most terrestrialand some aquatic animals), sperm mustnavigate the often complex chemicaland physical environment of the femalereproductive tract to locate and fuse withan egg. Sperm also often undergo thefinal stages of maturation outside of thebody of the male that produced them. Inaddition,Hisperm typically have to competewith the sperm of rival males within thefemale while avoiding competition withsibling sperm. The diverse morphology ofsperm is believed to reflect adaptations toovercome e these many challenges facingsperm.To test ideas about how spermmorphology ogy evolves, I have focused ondiving beetles es (Dytiscidae). The grouphas been around since the time of thedinosaurs, and today there are nearly4,000 living species. Diving beetlescan be found in almost any lake, pond,stream, or puddle worldwide. Prior to mywork, the sperm of a handful of closelyrelated species had been examined.From this limited sample, it was evidentthat the sperm of diving beetles oftenjoin together at the head to form amulti-sperm conjugate that swims in a14THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Figure 1: Sperm pairing in Graphoderusliberus. The heads of two sperm are tightlyjoined (upper left) with the flagella free.coordinated manner before dissociatingprior to fertilization. To determine if suchconjugates are typical for diving beetles, Icharacterized the sperm fromFigure 2: An aggregate composed of six spermapproximately 140 additional species in Rhantus consimilis. The sperm have beendistributed across the family. From this DNA-stained making the heads prominentwork, it was evident that most species (lower left). Aggregates are composed ofproduce conjugates and that amongvariable numbers of sperm within males.species, conjugates take one of threeFigure 3: Dimorphic sperm and a conjugateforms: 1) aggregates, where variableof Hygrotus sayi. Males produce sperm withnumbers of sperm align with their heads this work it is evident that sperm evolvecheckmark-shaped and filamentous headsin register; 2) pairs, where strictly two rapidly but diversification is constrained to(top panel). The tip of one checkmarkshapedhead slips into a pocket at the basesperm join with their heads aligned; 3) particular traits.rouleaux, where the tip of one sperm head Why should diving beetles evolveof another to form orderly stacks calledslips into a pocket at the base of another conjugates to begin with? For divingrouleaux to which filamentous spermto form an orderly stack of sperm (a novel beetles, like other internally fertilizingheads attach (lower panel). The conjugatestype of conjugate unknown prior to my species, the female reproductive tractare composed of hundreds of sperm andresearch). Additionally, males of some is the selective environment of sperm.are highly motile. Sperm have been DNAspecies produce two distinct types of I hypothesized that conjugates mightstained and imaged using epifluorescence.sperm that differ in total length or head allow sperm to maintain positions in theFlagella are not visible.shape. Unlike moths and butterflies, both female close to where eggs are released,sperm morphs contain DNA althoughit is unknown if both can participate infertilization. Formation of conjugates anddimorphism sometimes co-occur, resultingin complex conjugates composed of bothtypes of sperm.I mapped sperm traits ontophylogenetic trees based on DNAand thereby increase their probability ofbeing used for fertilization. If this weretrue, formation of conjugates and aspectsof the female reproductive tract would beexpected to evolve in a correlated manner.Diving beetles have a conduit-stylereproductive tract: sperm enter and travelto the site of storage before exiting throughapparently anchoring within the duct.The few people who aren’t deterredby my response “I study sperm” often askme what is the point of my research andhow does it help humans. I sometimesbristle at this question. Is there nointrinsic value to understanding thegginsonsequence from two mitochondrial and a separate duct to the site of fertilization. origins of the tremendous diversity lifetwo nuclear genes, which representI measured the dimensions of the entrythis planet and how diversity of formsevolutionary relationships between species.duct, storage organ(s) and exit duct of 42affect function their environment?Next, I evaluated how well differentspecies of diving beetles. Using statisticalBut I know this is insufficient. Insteadmodels of sperm evolution fit the observedmethods that control for similarityI explain that despite the discovery ofdistribution of sperm traits the trees.produced by shared evolutionary history, Isperm more than 300 years ago, spermOnce I found the most likely model offound that presence of sperm conjugatesmotility (critically important for fertilityevolution, on, I used this model to infer whatwas correlated with small sperm storagehumans and many other species), thethe sperm of long extinct species of divingorgans and short exit ducts. Furthermore,impact of morphology sperm function,beetles might have looked like. I concludeddimensions of the female reproductiveand the process of fertilization are poorlyaggregates are the ancestral sperm form tract t changed advance of spermunderstood. As with many mammals,diving beetles and subsequently diversifiedconjugation, indicating that sperm evolveotherwise healthy human males ofteninto pairs or rouleaux. My analyses alson response to selective pressure createdproduce a large proportion of sperm withrevealed that pairing most likely evolved onthree separate occasions, that conjugatesreverted ed to their ancestral aggregatedby the altered conditions in the femalereproductive tract. This prompted me toexamine the behavior of the conjugates“abnormal” morphology. My work strivesto understand why unusual variants insperm morphology occur and how thesecondition twice within the lineage withrouleaux, and that sperm dimorphismevolved a minimum of five times in divingbeetles, including both species whichdo and do not form conjugates. Fromin the females’ reproductive tracts.Conjugates were almost always foundwith their tips inserted into the exit duct(closest to the site of fertilization) and wereable to maintain this preferred position byvariations in form impact the fertility ofthe males that produce them.FALL 201115

GRADUATE STUDENT PROFILE:Zaara SarwarGrowing up in Bangladesh, in a traditional societywith conservative values, I have been fortunateto be exposed to a rich diversity of experiencesin my academic and social life. This would not havebeen possible without the encouragement of my familywho treasure education above all else.My mother, a renowned classicalmusician, exposed my sister and me tothe rich heritage of our culture. My father,a scientist and entrepreneur, showed ushow with a sound education we couldcontribute to the development of oursociety. The achievements of my parentshave shown us that we can use oureducation to help Bangladesh, my homecountry, to become a more advanced andglobalized nation. For instance, my sisterwho has obtained a master’s degree inpublic administration intends to promotethe betterment of Bangladesh throughher work in the public sector. As formyself, I have always been interested inthe sciences. My interest in the biologicalsciences dates to reading The Double Helixby James Watson. Watson’s descriptionof the elucidation of the structure of theDNA molecule and its elegant simplicityin relation to its role as the repositoryof all genetic information stimulatedmy interest in molecular biology. Thisalong with strong high school sciencecourses instilled in me a fascination forbiochemistry and physical chemistrythat facilitate life processes. This ledme to earn a B.Sc. in chemistry andmathematics from Queen’s Universityin Canada, following which I decidedto further my education by enrolling inthe structural biology, biochemistry, andbiophysics Ph.D. program at SyracuseUniversity.At Syracuse University I joined Dr.Anthony Garza’s lab where the mainfocus of research is the mechanisms ofbacterial biofilm formation. In nature,and of particular interest to medicine, inmany chronic infections bacteria grow assurface-associated communities of cellsembedded in an extracellular polymericmatrix. The bacteria in the biofilm oftenrespond collectively to environmentalstimuli, sometimes expressing genes orshowing pathogenic activities not evidentwhen the cells are growing in isolationor in planktonic culture. In addition,bacteria growing in biofilms are oftenparticularly resistant to host defensemechanisms and conventional therapieswith antibiotics.Recent studies have shown thatbiofilms in the environment can actas reservoirs for pathogens such asVibrio cholerae and Shigella spp. betweenepidemics. Bacterial biofilms thrivein drinking water and food sourcesthat do not undergo proper sanitationprocedures. In fact, poor drinking waterquality is one of the primary meansof spreading infectious diseases inBangladesh. Children are especiallysusceptible to infectious diseasescaused by biofilm formation. Moreover,malnutrition of children, which is acommon phenomenon in Bangladesh,makes the children even morevulnerable to chronic diseases. I believethat understanding the mechanismsof bacterial biofilm formation, howbiofilms are maintained, and how cellscommunicate within the biofilm are veryimportant. These topics are the subjectsof my dissertation research.In our laboratory, we study the gramnegativesoil bacterium Myxococcusxanthus. Although not a humanpathogen, M. xanthus grows in biofilmsin which the bacteria act cooperativelyin movement and in subduing anddigesting bacterial prey which are theirsource of food. In addition, in response toadverse environmental conditions such asnutrient depletion, M. xanthus undergoesa complex life cycle during which bacteriain the biofilm aggregate and formmulticellular structures called fruitingbodies (Figure 1).16 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITYS

Figure 1: Fruiting body development of M.xanthus. Vegetative rod-shaped cells grow inthe presence of nutrients. When nutrientsare depleted, the cells aggregate and formmulticellular fruiting bodies. Individualrod-shaped cells within the fruiting bodyare transformed into spherical myxosporesthat are resistant to extreme conditions. Thespores germinate into vegetative cells whenabundant nutrients are again available.The social behavior and the complexlife cycle of M. xanthus make it well suitedfor studying cellular communication andmulticellular developmental processes inbacterial biofilms.Differential gene expression inresponse to environmental changes iscritical for biofilm formation processessuch as fruiting body development inM. xanthus. In a number of cellularregulatory systems, detecting changesin the environment and respondingby changing gene expression involves“two-component signal transductionsystems” (TCS), which in a general formis described in Figure 2. TCSs typicallycontain a histidine kinase sensor anda response regulator that modulateschanges in gene expression. The histidinekinase sensor is autophosphorylatedin response to an environmental cue.The phosphate is then transferred tothe response regulator, thus activatingit. The activated response regulatorcan then control expression of itstarget genes. About 20 TCSs that areimportant for various stages of fruitingarwarbody development have been identifiedin M. xanthus. Two key regulators offruiting body development are the Nla6and Nla28 TCSs. These TCS genes areexpressed during the early stages offruiting body development. Mutationsin these TCS genes result in delayedaggregation and inefficient sporulation.Thus, even though these TCS genesare expressed during the initiation ofdevelopment, they are important for bothaggregation and sporulation, two majorstages of fruiting body development.The goal of my project is to identify andcharacterize the histidine kinase sensorcomponents of the Nla6 and Nla28 TCSsFigure 2: Two-component signaltransduction system. The transmitterdomain of the histidine kinase isautophosphorylated at a histidine residuein response to changes in environment. Thephosphate group is then transferred to anaspartate residue in the receiver domainof the response regulator protein. Thisactivates the response regulator by inducinga conformational change and it can thenregulate transcription.(Nla6S and Nla28S respectively), andto identify the environmental signalsthat activate these TCSs, thus triggeringfruiting body development.The nla6S and nla28S geneswere initially identified by sequenceanalysis. These genes were thencloned into expression vectors, andthe proteins synthesized in Escherichiacoli and purified to investigate theirin vitro activity. Functional histidinekinases are able to hydrolyze ATP andautophosphorylate on a conservedhistidine residue. ATP hydrolysis andautophosphorylation experiments showedthat both kinases were active in vitro.The next part of my project was toidentify the signals that activate theNla6 and Nla28 TCSs. As both TCSs areexpressed during fruiting body initiationthey could be involved in sensing nutrientlevels and cell density. Since fruiting bodydevelopment is triggered by nutrientlimitation, it is very important for M.xanthus to monitor the level of nutrients.In order to investigate whether theseTCSs are nutrient sensors, the phenotypeof the TCS mutants were studied inthe presence and absence of essentialnutrients known to trigger fruitingbody development. The results of theseexperiments indicated that these TCSswere not nutrient sensors.At the onset of fruiting bodydevelopment M. xanthus cells have todetermine the cell numbers in theirenvironment, because a certain celldensity is required to progress intofruiting body formation. M. xanthusaccomplishes this by using a signalmolecule known as a quorum signal. Thisprocess of cell density determination,known as quorum sensing, is usedby most bacterial species duringmulticellular processes such as biofilmformation. Thus, I wanted to investigatewhether Nla6 and Nla28 were involvedin quorum sensing. Experiments showedthat both TCSs are involved in regulatingthe quorum signal synthetase gene. Also,the quorum signal molecule regulatesthe expression of the nla28S gene. Theseresults together imply the histidinekinases are involved in sensing thequorum signal molecules.Histidine kinases are widely used bybacteria as sensors to detect a wide rangeof environmental cues. Although, a lot ofwork has been done on histidine kinases,not much is known about their sensoractivities. This work will provide valuableinsight into signal detection by histidinekinases.FALL 201117

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT PROFILE:Tess CherlinMy name is Tess Cherlin, and I am a 10th gradebiology teacher at O. Perry Walker High Schoolin New Orleans, Louisiana, by way of Teach forAmerica, a program that gives people the opportunityto go from being an average college graduate to atransformational teacher. I would say I have Syracuse tothank for pursuing my dreams in a far away place; afterfour years of serious winter, I needed a change. Recently Ireceived a diploma in the mail informing me, reassuring me,that I did graduate from Syracuse University on May 15, 2011,with a bachelor’s of science in biochemistry. Phew!Nevertheless, just two months out and a busy girl! “Making bank” as they say, of their female offspring, a process that isI am missing Syracuse a lot. Although I and living pretty frugally on the 700 initiated early in fetal development.feel at home in a jazz-filled, semi-tropical, block of Euclid Avenue. My house was Over the course of a year, I learned tosometimes French-speaking atmosphere, big, beautiful, and not air-conditioned. I dissect zebrafish ovaries out of 2-weekoldSyracuse is still on my mind. I get nods remember having to wake up at 7 in thefish up to adult fish. For a while I wasof approval as I jog through Audubon morning every day, including weekends, in a rut because I was not able to findPark with my bright orange Homecoming because the sun would almost literally any physical structures that resembled2007 T-shirt. Walking around Tulane’s cook me alive. But man did I lovethe germline cysts I had seen in othercampus, where I am residing until I summer in Syracuse.animals. But then one day I went to acan move into my shotgun home, IMy research focused on determining lecture given by Dr. Joshua Johnson,am nostalgic for Hogwarts’ look-alike whether zebrafish ovaries developed professor of obstetrics, gynecology, andbuildings, rather than those covered with similarly to those of Drosophila, Xenopus, reproductive sciences at Yale University.lilac. And there are no black squirrels–– mouse, and human. In animals studied The talk was about egg destruction inalthough there are a plethora of black cats so far, the developing ovary contains mammals, but at one point he startedand cockroaches!structures called germline cystsspeaking about Medaka fish and theThe summer heat in New Orleans (clusters of interconnected egg cells), germline cysts observed in this fish. Iis something a tad more familiar and which breakdown into oocytes thateagerly read everything available on thecomforting. Last year, I was a summer become incorporated into primordial Medaka and learned that they were quiteresearch student at SU funded by the follicles. The formation and breakdown similar anatomically and morphologicallyRuth Meyer Scholarship and the Renée of the germline cysts is vital for the to zebrafish, that is, small bony fishes. ICrown Honors program, which allowed reproductive success of a female animal. was shocked and excited to see the cystme to continue my research in Dr.When these cysts do not breakdown structures in the Medaka and to realizeMelissaCherlinPepling’s lab. My project involved the female is infertile. Today there is a I had seen comparable structures mystudying infertility using zebrafish as a rise infertility among women, and own microscope images of zebrafish. Itmodel organism. Not to say one species’ researching possible causes of this is was not that zebrafish don’t have cysts, itlife is worth less than another, but for a particular interest of the Pepling lab. was just that I couldn’t recognize them.some reason I felt more comfortable For example, estrogen and estrogenlikemolecules have been observed to many observations, I was able to make aAfter volumes of articles and makingsacrificing fish than mice; the organismmy lab most commonly studies. I worked inhibit the breakdown of germline cysts. preliminary conclusion: zebrafish ovaries9 to 5 at SU, gave campus tours on There is evidence that women are being do contain germline cysts.my lunch break, and worked at SUNY exposed to environmental estrogen-like With assistance, collaboration, hardUpstate Medical Hospital on Tuesdays compounds (BPA for example), possibly work, and a bit of luck, I was able to findand Thursdays the evenings. I was leading to improper ovary development my way through an unknown world.18 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

I learned how to read scientific articlesand use the information to better myunderstanding. My peers and supervisorsaided me in ways I would never haveanticipated for which I am very grateful.Working relentlessly reminded me whyI love science so much and where hardwork could take me. Finally I used mylucky encounters to my advantage. I couldvery well have sat and vegetated listeningto Joshua Johnson speaking about ovarieswhile eating some complementary cookiesin the back of the Lundgren room. InsteadI used the clue he gave me and succeededin finishing strong with my capstonethesis.Senior year brought some stressesranging from deciding what future stepsI would take in my life, my zebrafishresearch, and biochemistry lab with Dr.Chan. Sometimes, what I really wanted todo was lounge about on the Quad, read abook, and drink some People’s Place icedcoffee. I definitely fell asleep on the greencenter-point of our campus while reading aparticularly long article on Xenopus ovariandevelopment. Nonetheless, I learned a lotbeing a biochemistry student at SyracuseUniversity. Everything I have learned, Iwant my future students to know. I wantto teach so that I can share my knowledge,share my passion, and share the skills,maybe not just biology-related, to help mystudents succeed.I decided to apply to and join Teachfor America because I wanted to use mydegree after college in a way that suits whoI am. I have participated in teaching manytimes throughout my college experience,from tutoring at Nottingham HighSchool, to assistant teaching at a bilingualelementary school in Strasbourg, France, toaiding in an English as a Second Languageclassroom for immigrant and refugeeadults in the Near West Side of Syracuse.Giving others the knowledge that I have isvery important to me. Right before senioryear I saw a road waiting for me (gradschool) and I didn’t drive down it. I didn’tfeel like that was the next step I wanted totake. For me, teaching biology to kids inNew Orleans is where I need to be now soI can give my students what I received. Thegreatest experiences in my life have beenmy education, and I have pushed to makeevery experience in my life educational. Iwill never stop learning and will never stopasking questions and investigating. Oneday I hope to be a medical anthropologistso that I can bring all of my interests,passions, and skills into one profession.It is my hope to use everything I havelearned in my life to build a foundation todo something that doesn’t just make mehappy, but has the potential of positivelyaffecting many people. I don’t see myselfbeing a high school biology teacher for therest of my life, but I know I will always be ateacher and will always be a student.UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT PROFILE:Sarah K. WendelThere was more than the usual commotion when I arrivedin the Meru District Hospital maternity ward in Tanzaniaon that warm July day in 2010. I had been volunteering inthis unit since my arrival in Arusha, in northern Tanzania, fourweeks earlier. The dilapidated facility, 10 miles east of Arusha,serves city dwellers, subsistence farmers, and the surroundingsemi-nomadic Maasai tribes. Women from the outlying villageshad crowded into the small ward that day. They lay head to toeon the three narrow beds in the birthing room. In the postnatalunit, new mothers and their babies were crowded four to a bed.The staff of two midwives was stretched thin.Sarah with Maasai children; Meru Mountain in thebackgroundLesha, a Canadian midwife called meover to a birthing bed. “You have watchedlong enough,” she said. “Can you gosolo?” I looked down at the laboring woman.She was petite and pretty, with a broadface and high cheekbones. She appearedto be about the same age as me—and shelooked very frightened. Despite my apprehension,I gave her a reassuring smileand took a deep breath. I had watchedup to 10 deliveries a day for weeks. Butcould I do this? I had already watcheda woman die in childbirth. I slipped ona pair of gloves. The noise and chaos ofthe maternity ward receded as I focusedon this singular task. Lesha watched asI timed the patient’s contractions withmy wristwatch and checked to make surethat the baby was head down, feeling forit with my thumb and index finger aftergently pushing on her abdomen as itstiffened in a contraction. The patient wasfully dilated and in active transition. Thehead crowned, and as the baby emerged, Igently placed my hands on its shoulders,guiding the small body as it slid out. Itwas a girl! She gave a good squawk. Afterclamping and cutting the umbilicalword, I cradled the baby, showing her toher mother. Asante, asante, she told merepeatedly, her eyes wet with tears. Thankyou.Over the next six weeks, I learnedother medical skills, such as removing aplacenta, giving injections, and changingIVs. I became a trusted member of theFALL 201119

Sarah, other internsand midwife, SafariOB ward’s medical unit. I learned I couldfunction in a hectic environment, whereresources were limited and the need wasoverwhelming. This was why I had cometo Africa—to learn, to challenge myself, tomake a small difference in the world.“That’s when I feel most alive,” PaulFarmer, the renowned doctor and anthropologist,has said, “when I’m helpingpeople.” I heard Farmer speak at SyracuseUniversity, and his remarks influencedme deeply. His muscular idealism and hispassionate belief that healing constitutesa basic human right spoke to me personally.That is why I have traveled to developingnations to do what I could with mylimited skills and have worked abroad andat home in communities of need. It’s notthat I expect to change the world, but I doexpect to make a difference in admittedlychallenging situations—whether it is easingmisery abroad or going up against arecalcitrant insurance company at home.In the summer of 2009, I volunteeredas a medical intern at a public clinic inCusco, Peru. While conditions were notas bare as I later encountered in Tanzania,the facility, called Belenpampa, waslocated in a dilapidated building in thecenter of the city and provided medicalcare to the city and outlying areas of Cusco.That lack of equipment was striking.If patients wanted a nurse to use gloveswhile examining them, they bought themthemselves because the clinic could notprovide them. I learned technical skills,such as dressing wounds and taking vitalsigns. The need there was great. WhenendelI arrived each morning, 50 people werelined up at the admissions counter.Closer to home, SU gave me the experienceto work in two different laboratoriesin my undergraduate career. After myfreshman year, I earned a summer undergraduateinternship program at the NationalGenome Research Institute at theNational Institutes of Health, working inDr. Eric Green’s laboratory on a researchproject based on comparative genomicswith chimpanzee and human X chromosomesequences.For my Honors thesis and Distinctionin Biology, I worked at SUNY UpstateMedical School with Dr. Mary Lou Vallanoin the Department of Neuroscienceand Physiology. Her current focus is oncerebral vasospasms, which are a narrowingor constriction of brain blood vesselscausing reduced blood flow to the brainand the death of neurons. They are oftenassociated with strokes resulting from nutrientdeprivation and are a complicationof a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Subarachnoidhemorrhages (SAH) make up 7 percentof all strokes but are the most deadly,with more than a 50 percent fatality rate,particularly due to cerebral vasospasm. Todate, no therapies have proven to preventcerebral vasospasm following SAH. As alaboratory, we are looking at the differentfactors that contribute to cerebral vasospasmsand trying to determine if thereis anything that can be done to decreasetheir severity and duration. Specifically,I looked at how to characterize the vasospasmmolecularly and if there are indicatingfeatures controlling the severityand duration of the vasospasms.With graduation now over, I am excitedto take the next step. I have beenawarded an Intramural Research TrainingAward at NIH with Dr. Tom Quinn,head of the Center for Global Health atJohns Hopkins University and an activemember of the National Institute of InfectiousDisease and Allergies, and startedworking there in July. I have learned in anup-close-and-personal way that medicineis not all about gleaming newborn babiesand happy patients. It is hard work andlong hours. Inspired by Farmer’s observationthat “no one should have to die of adisease that is treatable,” I continue on,eager to undertake the challenge of a careerin medicine.Syracuse has shown me that all thesedreams are possible. As Henry DavidThoreau once said, “If you have built castlesin the air; your work need not be lost;that is where they should be. Now put thefoundations under them.” Syracuse Universityhas laid the foundation. Now, all Ihave to do is keep building.W20 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT PROFILE:Emily WilliamsAs a freshman entering the new and exciting world of college,I was undecided on the path of study I wanted topursue. I had several interests and was eager to explore allof the possibilities offered at Syracuse University. If there was onething I was confident in, however, it was that I wanted to stay asfar away from science as I could. If someone had told me duringmy first semester at SU that I would be graduating with a degreein biology, I probably would have laughed in their face. I hadenough trouble simply accepting the fact that I had been enrolledin the daunting BIO 121, a class that I had chosen as a “back-up”in case the courses that I really wanted to take were full.illiafacts together into a story, describing the natural world in which we live. BiologyA few weeks into my first semester and much to my surprise, there was onecourse that seemed to strike my interest and stand out from the rest––BIO 121.The more I learned in the class, the more eager I became to learn more. Up untilcollege, I found science to be a collection of boring facts that I was required tomemorize. I viewed it more as an inconvenience than anything else. So, why thischange in perspective? I believe this shift was entirely due to the style in whichscience was presented to me. In high school, my science classes were monotonousand dull. In biology class, for example, I was expected to memorize discretefacts and was evaluated based on my ability to recite back these facts. At Syracuse,on the other hand, biology was taught in an enthusiastic manner that tied thesewas no longer the dull and monotonous field I once knew it to be. For the firsttime, it seemed completely relevant and absolutely fascinating. I was convincedthat I needed to learn more, so the next semester I enrolled in two biology classes.It was these introductory classes at SU that helped me to discover a passion forscience and ultimately led me to declare my major in biology.Not really having a solid plan on where I would go from there, I decided tofollow several of my fellow biology classmates in the pre-med route. I completedthe pre-med curriculum and spent a lot of my time exploring the medical fieldat the Syracuse Veteran’s Administration Medical Center and Rochester GeneralHospital. Before I knew it, I was approaching my third year at SU. I was not farinto my junior year when I came to the realization that I had enough credits tograduate the following spring, a year earlier than I had anticipated. I seriouslybegan to consider my post-graduation plans. I thought a lot about what led meto major in biology in the first place and came to the conclusion that medicinewasn’t what I truly wanted to pursue. Rather, I thought, I’d like to pull from myown experiences in the science classroom (from once struggling to stay awake tolearning for the pure enjoyment of it) to promote science literacy and highlightit’s relevance in our everyday lives. What I’d really like to do is give students, whomay not be overly enthusiastic about learning, an opportunity to view science inthe same light I do––with fascination and a yearning to learn more.After a little investigating, I came across a program offered at Syracuse Universitythat seemed to be just what I was looking for. The School of Education’s masterof science in science education degree is designed for those, like myself, witha background in science but with little or no experience in education. In additionto the education curriculum, the Department of Science Teaching encouragescollaborative projects with the College of Arts and Sciences and SUNY College ofEnvironmental Science and Forestry to effectively prepare students for careers inscience teaching. It sounded like a perfect fit.FALL 201121

At the same time, I became aware ofanother interesting opportunity offeredat SU: a one-year Engagement Fellowshipgiving graduating seniors from alldisciplines the opportunity to remain inSyracuse for an additional year. The fellowshipprovides a tuition scholarship forboth graduate coursework and an internshipin Central New York, so that studentsmay “thrive personally and professionally,while benefiting the community inseveral ways.”Hoping that the two programs mightcomplement one another, I applied toboth the master’s program as well as theengagement fellow’s program. To myexcitement, I was accepted into both andso I began planning my year of engagement.For the coursework aspect of thefellowship, I intend to take the coursesoutlined in the master’s program. As forthe employment, I will be working for SayYes to Education located in Syracuse. SayYes is a national, non-profit organizationthat aims to improve high schools andgraduation rates of economically disadvantagedyouth in urban communities.Students participating in the program areenabled through tutoring, after-schooland summer programming, psychologicalservices, and scholarships. Say Yes alsohas chapters in New York City, Hartford,and Philadelphia, but Syracuse is thelargest initiative, being the first to operatedistrict-wide.After being accepted into the scienceeducation program, I was encouragedto apply for the Robert Noyce ScholarsProgram. This program, funded by theNational Science Foundation, “respondsto the critical need for mathematics andscience teachers by encouraging talentedscience, technology, engineering, andmathematics (STEM) students and STEMprofessionals to pursue teaching careers.”In return for this scholarship, I havecommitted to two years of teaching in ahigh-need school district upon graduationfrom the master’s program. I lookforward to returning to Syracuse in thefall, as well as the many new experiencesthat will follow.In MemoriamELIAS BALBINDERElias Balbinder passed away on January 3,2011. He was born in Warsaw, Poland, in1926. When he was 2 years old, his familysensed the emerging political upheavalsin Europe and moved to Argentina, whereElias received his secondary education. Hemoved to the United States and earneda B.S. in zoology at the University ofMichigan in 1949, and a Ph.D. in zoology(genetics) at Indiana University in 1957. Hewas a postdoctoral fellow at the CarnegieInstitution of Washington, Department ofGenetics, at Cold Spring Harbor, and at theUniversity of California at San Diego beforecoming to Syracuse in 1962 as an assistantprofessor of genetics in the Department ofBacteriology and Botany. He rose to the rankof professor in the Department of Biologybefore leaving in 1975. Subsequently, he wasthe head of the Laboratory of Genetics andCarcinogenesis at the AMC Cancer ResearchCenter and Hospital, Lakewood, Colorado,and held a faculty position at the Departmentof Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Genetics,University of Colorado Health SciencesCenter in Denver. Before retiring, he workedfor an additional eight years for the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency in Denverin their pesticides program, which deals withmatters related to agriculture and publichealth.Elias with some of his former graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at the silveranniversary of the Adirondacks Molecular Biology and Genetics Conference in 1992. L-R: MegDooley (Ph.D. ’78), Bob Callahan (Ph.D. ’70), Len LaScolea (Ph.D.’73), Chris Cordaro (Ph.D.’69), Elias, Art Blume (Ph.D. ’68), Stu Marcus (Ph.D. ’72), Colin Stuttard (Postdoc ’66-69),Frank Macrina (Ph.D. ’72), Pete McCann (Ph.D. ’70)While he was at Syracuse University, Eliasconducted research in molecular genetics,funded by NSF and NIH, focusing on theregulation of the tryptophan operon inSalmonella typhimurium. He taught courses inbacterial genetics and physiology of bacteriaand participated in a course on regulatorycontrol mechanisms, inaugurated in 1965, thatwas instrumental in introducing the emerging,revolutionary concepts in molecular biologyto the scientific community in Syracuse,and that featured four prominent visitingscientists at the cutting edge of their field.Elias played a seminal role as co-founder, in1967, of the Adirondacks Molecular Biologyand Genetics Conference, which providedan informal forum to discuss and debate theemerging concepts of molecular genetics;22 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

the conference continued annually for 25years. Held in the informal atmosphere of theUniversity’s Adirondack conference centers,first at Sagamore and later at Minnowbrook,these meetings were highly stimulatory anduseful for over a thousand graduate students,postdocs, and faculty from the northeasternUnited States and Canada.The respect and affection generated byhis interactions with the numerous graduatestudents and postdocs Elias mentored at SUis exemplified by the following comments.“The things I learned from him both asa scientist and a young adult have carriedthrough my adult life and my career at theNational Cancer Institute. In addition to beinga great scientist Elias was a gentle and caringperson who was able to spark the excitementof doing science in me that has lasted to thepresent. During my own career he has servedas a role model in my mentoring of graduateand postdoctoral students.” (Bob Callahan,Ph.D. 1970)“His doctoral graduates not only learnedhow to be good scientists, they also learnedhow to think like good scientists. I owe hima huge debt of gratitude for the time, effort,and resources that he invested to make methe man I am today.” (David Schwartz, Ph.D.1979)“Elias Balbinder was my doctoraldissertation advisor, and no studentcould have hoped to have a more caring,understanding, and patient mentor. Thosecharacteristics were balanced with a demandfor rigorous science and critical thinking.He taught me how to think about researchproblems and write about results. Writingscientific manuscripts under his guidancewas a seminal learning event for me. To thisday, I still cannot open a bottle of Lepage’sRubber Cement without the smell remindingme of a worked-over manuscript with pagefragments held together by that stuff. Foryou young readers, “cut-and paste” had adifferent meaning in 1970! When it came todata management, I vividly recall our boundnotebooks and how their distribution wassomething of a sacred ceremony. How wewere to use them was made clear and wenever met to talk science in Elias’s officewithout them. Sharing data was yet anotherexample of the scientific culture of the lab.The Balbinder collection of thousands ofgenetically defined Salmonella typhimuriumstrains was there for use by the scientificcommunity. Requests for mutants seemed toroll in nonstop, and were always honored. Twoyears ago the NIH published a policy on datasharing in research. Elias knew the right thingto do long before the government steppedin to “help out”!” (Francis L. Macrina, Ph.D.1972)Several of his departmental colleaguesformed lasting friendships with Elias thatcontinued after his departure from Syracuse.His enthusiasm and caring enriched ourlives, and have left a rich store of cherishedmemories.H. Richard Levy, Professor EmeritusROGER MILKMANRoger Milkman, who was on the faculty of theDepartment of Zoology from 1960 to 1968,died on January 5, 2011. Roger earned hisA.B., A.M., and Ph.D. (1956, with P.R. Levine)at Harvard, and did postdoctoral researchwith Boris Ephrussi at the Sorbonne andCNRS in France. Before coming to Syracusehe was assistant professor of zoology at theUniversity of Michigan and after leaving, hejoined the faculty of the biology department atthe University of Iowa, where he was active forover 30 years before retiring.Roger’s research interests were broad andinterdisciplinary, embracing important issuesin population genetics, evolution, embryology,and physiology. His laboratory studies ofa polygenic trait in the fruit fly Drosophila(the crossveinless phenotype), and on themolecular genetic evolution of the bacteriumEscherichia coli are classic, as is his publishedtheoretical work on the forces acting ongenetic variation in natural populations. As ascientist, Milkman will be most rememberedfor his contributions to the selectionist vs.neutralist debate, for his 1978 paper “Selectiondifferentials and selection coefficients” thatunified two conceptualizations of selection,and for his development and application ofa “clonal frames” theory accounting for thestructure of genomic diversity in E. coli.He was a passionate, demanding teacherwho used metaphor, song, and limericks toexplain complex topics in genetics. ThoruPederson (B.S. 1963, Ph.D. 1968) recallstaking his first biology course, “Zoology 10,”which was taught by Milkman. Pedersonwrites: “The fall semester of the course washeld in Hendricks Chapel due to renovationsunderway in the classroom building and Dr.Milkman gave his lectures in academic robes,citing the chapel setting as the reason. He wasthe first science teacher who excited me, andover the years I have realized that he was oneof the most superb teachers I have ever had.He launched the course by imitating the strutand squat of a courting herring gull male, theacademic robes adding a profile that remainsas a photographic image burned into mymemory.”Professor Milkman will be remembered forhis vigorous engagement of people and ideas.He observed with sharp eyes, ready tongue,and keen wit. He loved his teaching, science,life, classical music, good food, fine wine,chocolate, languages, instant repartee, andhumor. He is survived by his wife of 52 years,Marianne; four children, Ruth, Louise, Janet,and Paul; and six grandchildren.H. Richard Levy, Professor Emeritus(Note: Some portions were taken from anobituary by Bertil Hille, the Wayne E. CrillEndowed Professor at the University ofWashington Department of Physiology andBiophysics, with input from a number of friends,family, colleagues, and former graduate (Ph.D.)students.)FALL 201123

Faculty NewsMichael Cosgrove has beenpromoted to associateprofessor with tenure.Marvin Druger continueshis retirement by serving assecretary of the educationsection of AmericanAssociation for theAdvancement of Science,doing a radio programon WAER (Science on theRadio), teaching FreshmanForum, giving campus tours,reviewing grant applicationsfor the National ScienceFoundation, writing for 55-Plus Magazine, and promotingfour books, including thesoon to be released sequelto his Strange Creatures andOther Poems, titled EvenStranger Creatures and OtherPoems. Marvin and his wife,Pat, recently returned from atrip to the Galapagos Islands,where he claims to haveinterviewed a tortoise thatremembers Charles Darwin’svisit.Scott Erdman attendedthe 26th Fungal GeneticsConference sponsored by theGenetics Society of Americaand held in Asilomar,California, in March. Hepresented a poster and atalk entitled “Genome-widescreens using a naturalproduct saponin to identifythree PDR pathway targetgenes, PDR19, PDR20 andPDR21, which influence lipidhomeostasis and membranepermeability in Saccharomycescerevisiae.” During the pastyear he continued serving thedepartment as associate chairand director of undergraduatestudies.Jason Fridley’s grant proposal“Will climate change alterrates of old field successionacross the U.S. easterndeciduous forest? A crosslatitudeexperimentalnetwork.” was recentlyfunded. This study involvesexperiments on tree seedlingstrying to “invade” old fieldsacross a climate gradient,with study sites in Syracuseand Florida. Jason spent Juneconducting research in theUnited Kingdom and attendeda conference on vegetationresponse to climate change inLyon, France.James Hewett was electedto serve on the Council ofthe American Society forNeurochemistry, and alongwith Sandra Hewett, wasrecently awarded a grant fromthe NIH titled: “Constructinga Conditional Slc7a11 (xCT)Null Mouse.”Sandra Hewett the newlyarrived inaugural BeverlyPetterson Bishop Professorof Neuroscience traveledto Turkey in September tospeak at the first TurkishInternational Stroke Meeting“Novel Therapeutic Strategiesand Targets for the Treatmentof Stroke” held September29-October 2, 2011 at AntalyaPapillon Ayscha Hotel andConvention Center. Thetitle of her presentation was“The Janus-faced effects ofastrocyte IL-1beta signaling:system xc- at the crossroads ofprotection and injury.”Dean George M. Langford,research associate TorstenWollert, and MichaelCosgrove, along withcollaborators from DartmouthCollege, the Marine BiologicalLaboratory at Woods Hole,and the McLaughlin ResearchInstitute, report in the Journalof Biological Chemistry thediscovery of a motor protein(Myo5a) associated with thetransport of neuronal synapticvesicles. In conjunction withanother protein called myosin-VA, Myo5a attaches to vesiclescontaining neurotransmittersand moves them to the cellsynapse as part of a “motorcargo” system. The study hasimplications in understandingmalfunctioning transportationsystems and the action ofneurotoxins that result ininsufficient or excessiverelease of neurotransmitters.Katherine Lewis gave a talkat a conference organized bythe Belgium Society for Celland Developmental Biology inJuly in Rochehaut, Belgium,and also attended theInternational Brain ResearchOrganization Conference inFlorence.Melissa Pepling gave a talkat Utica College in Octobertitled “Estrogen signalingand regulation of primordialfollicle formation.” Shealso served on the Cellular,Molecular and IntegrativeReproduction NIH studysection in February. In Julyshe attended the annualSociety for the Study ofReproduction meeting, andchaired a session there.Also attending and givingpresentations were hergraduate students RobinJones and Sudipta Dutta andundergrad Marta Dzyadyk.Scott Pitnick along withgraduate students andpostdoctoral fellows Outi Ala-Honkola, Dawn Higginson,Stefan Lüpold, and MollieManier gave research talks atthe 2011 Society for the Studyof Evolution Conference inPortland, Oregon, and will begiving talks at the Biology ofSpermatozoa Conference inEngland.Scott Pitnick, John Belote,and Mollie Manier had theirresearch on fluorescentDrosophila sperm highlightedon NSF’s Science Nation inAugust, and were awardeda grant from the NationalScience Foundation “Geneticand functional analyses ofsperm length evolution inDrosophila.”Ramesh Raina assumedthe position of chair of theDepartment of Biology in July.John Russell has steppeddown as chair of theDepartment of Biology after12 remarkably successfulyears, but will continue as amember of our faculty. Hisclosing remarks as chairare included in this issue ofBIO@SU (see page 2).Kari Segraves has beenpromoted to associateprofessor with tenure.Tom Starmer notes that aftermany years of waiting foryeast taxonomists to gettheir “stuff” together, thethree-volume The Yeasts:A Taxonomic Study, 5th ed.Elsevier (Kurtzman, C.P., J.Fell and T. Boekhout, eds.) hasbeen published. Included inthis treatise is a review titled“Yeast Ecology” by Tom andhis long-time colleague AndréLachance.Jason Wiles presentedresults of a study on howevolution is viewed andtaught in predominantlyIslamic nations during the2011 annual meeting of theAmerican Association forthe Advancement of Sciencein Washington, D.C., onFebruary 18. Jason notes thatthoughts about evolutionare just as diverse in the24 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Muslim world as in westernsocieties. Thus, the teachingof evolution varies by countryand cultural attitudes withinthese countries. (Excerptedfrom Inside SU, February 18,2011)The Department of Biologyhas welcomed several newfaculty colleagues in thepast few months and morewill arrive in the comingsemester. These includeHeather Coleman (plantbiotechnology), David Althoff(evolutionary biology), JanniceFriedman (evolutionarybiology), Susan Parks(acoustic communicationin whales), Katherine Lewis(neurobiology), James Hewett(neurobiology), and SandraHewett as the inauguralBeverly Petterson BishopProfessor of Neuroscience.More information is availableon our new colleagues inJohn Russell’s remarksand we hope to provide anextended introduction ofthese new faculty membersin the 2012 edition of BIO@SU.Graduate Activities and AchievementsThe following students have defended their master’stheses since the last edition of BIO@SU:Xi Chen Thesis: Controlling bacterial persister cells usingantimicrobial peptides with Trp and Arg repeats. Advisor: Dr.Dacheng Ren (Biomedical and Chemical Engineering)Current position: Ph.D. student attending New York University.Zhongan Chen Thesis: Effects of white-tailed deer on forests on anitrogen-poor soil in Minnesota. Advisor: Mark RitchieChristopher Duke Thesis: Potential reproductive benefits of analternative reproductive tactic in the yellow dung fly Scathophagastercoraria. Advisor: Al UyGrant W. Gephardt Thesis: Effects of prenatal exogenous estrogenexposure on male germ cell development and embryonic survival.Advisor: Melissa PeplingCurrent position: sales representative, Life Technologies, Inc.Rebecca A. Ruppel Thesis: Using patterns of chromosomeinheritance to test the mode of polyploid formation in Heucheracylindrical. Advisor: Kari SegravesThe following students have defended their doctoraldissertations since the last edition of BIO@SU:Aditya Dutta Dissertation: Molecular characterization of geneticcomponents of pathogen defense in Arabidopsis. Advisor:Ramesh RainaCurrent position: Postdoctoral research scientist, ColumbiaUniversityA profile of Aditya and his research was included in the 2010edition of BIO@SU.Dawn M. Higginson Dissertation: Evolution of sperm conjugation indiving beetles. Advisor: Scott PitnickCurrent position: Postdoctoral Excellence in Research andTeaching Fellow at the Center for Insect Science, which is aresearch division within the University of ArizonaA profile of Dawn and her research is included in this issue ofBIO@SU (see page 14).Ellen M. Wisner Dissertation: The consequences of anthropogenicdisturbance on communication and the operation of sexual selectionin the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis). Advisor: Al UyCurrent position: University Lecturer, New Jersey Institute ofTechnologyJorge Hurtado-Gonzales Dissertation: The maintenance of malecolor polymorphism in Poecilia parae. Advisor: Al UyA profile of Jorge and his research was included in the 2009edition of BIO@SU.GRADUATE STUDENT AWARDSAND ACHIEVEMENTS:Liz Droge-Young was awarded a Rosemary Grant Award forGraduate Student Research from the Society for the Study ofEvolution, and also a Direct Travel Grant by the Journal of CellScience and the Journal of Experimental Biology to attend theBiology of Spermatozoa Conference in England this autumn.Dawn Higginson was awarded a three-year NIH/PERTPostdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Arizona.FALL 201125

EvolutionaryChange inIntroductoryBiology atSyracuse Universityby Jason WilesIf you earned a degree in biology at SyracuseUniversity sometime during the last four decades orso, you will likely, and fondly, recall Professor MarvinDruger’s introductory biology courses, aptly subtitled“Adventures in Life.” Professor Druger detailed thegenesis and history of these courses as well as manyof the special features of the BIO 121-123 sequence ina retrospective article that appeared in BIO@SU twoissues ago. (You can find previous issues of BIO@SU on our department’s web site: biology.syr.edu.) Ashis friends, colleagues, and many thousands of formerstudents can attest, Dr. Druger’s personality andenthusiasm were infused in his courses, which madelasting impressions on countless alumni and which willlinger in institutional memory for a long time to come.Jason Wiles lecturing to his biology class in Gifford Auditorium.(Acrylic painting by Julie Green who graduated in the Class of 2012with dual majors in biology and illustration.)26 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

During the few years since the last SU student heard therecorded voice of Dr. Druger sign off from another year of“Adventures” and hung up their headphones in the Lyman Halllaboratory, there have been sweeping changes, not only in theintroductory sequence, but also across the entire Departmentof Biology. In the fall of 2008, the department moved fromour former separate locations in Lyman Hall and the BiologicalResearch Laboratories to the Life Sciences Complex (LSC). Thisremarkable facility united our department in an environmentmore conducive to cross-disciplinary interaction. Moreover,the LSC adjoins the Center for Science and Technology thathouses the offices and research laboratories of the faculty of theDepartment of Chemistry. This has increased synergy acrossdepartments, not only among faculty, but also between graduateand undergraduate students. The teaching facilities for biologyand chemistry are now in close proximity, and the Milton Atriumbetween the two buildings provides a place for students to hangout between classes, work collaboratively, or grab a quick snack orlunch.The tight and drab space in Lyman Hall devoted to Druger’sBIO 121-123 is an unlamented part of our past. Most of the firstfloor of the research wing of the LSC is devoted to introductorybiology, and much of that space is taken up by four large,open, and brightly sun-lit lab spaces in which students workcollaboratively in teams of four at benches with the necessaryconnections including Internet ports. We can comfortably serve96 students at a time, and with multiple lab sections, almost 900students in a week.While I do address a similar breadth of the life sciencesthat Professor Druger did with his “individualized” approachto general biology, I no longer use the audio-tutorial methodof instruction. New and renovated physical facilities allowme to adopt a more interactive approach to instruction in theintroductory biology courses, even in large lecture classes.Gifford Auditorium has been renovated, and its presentationtechnology updated. Overhead projectors have been replaced bymultiple displays with a variety of input options, so the powerof the Internet and the e-textbook as well as video feeds frommicroscope or specimen cameras can be seamlessly incorporatedwith PowerPoint presentations during lectures. Lecture sessionsare more interactive as well, and attendance is up thanks toadoption of personal response devices. With their “clickers,”students individually respond to questions throughout thelecture, and a survey of their collective response is available inreal time. This lends itself well to small group interactions andcompetitions during class meetings, which is more engagingthan entirely instructor-centered lectures. It also gives me abetter idea of students’ understandings and misconceptionsimmediately, rather than after the next exam. The lecturematerial is directly tied to a new catalog of laboratory activitiesthat has been designed to stress team-based inquiry, problemsolving, and hands-on experimentation. But those who recallwith pangs of nostalgia their experiences with Professor Druger’scourses can take heart. I have kept and revised a few of hisexcellent activities, and yes, students still do fetal pig dissectionsin the second semester.While the BIO 121-123 sequence retains the familiar diversityStudents use “clickers” to respond to questions duringlectures. Software on the instructor’s computer collects andgraphically displays results in real time, providing instantfeedback on student understanding of concepts.of biological content, the path students take through introductorybiology has changed considerably. This has been done partlyin recognition of the fact that students entering biology comefrom very diverse backgrounds in terms of preparation and priorexperience. Moreover, I have made changes to accommodatestudents intending to major in biology: those who need a biologybackground for nutrition, psychology, and exercise science, andthose simply fulfilling science requirements of various collegeswithin the University. Beginning with basic biochemistry, cellbiology, and genetics, students in Biology 121 explore the diversityof organisms within a framework of major themes, includingthe flow and regulation of energy and information within livingsystems, and the central and unifying concept of evolution. Uponcompletion of this course in the fall semester, students intendingto major in biology may then go directly into upper-level coursessuch as Biology 326: Genetics and Biology 327: Cell Biology thatbuild upon the conceptual foundation of the introductory course.Biology 123 continues the exploration of biodiversity, includingthe anatomies of humans and other animals, plant biology, andecology, again understood through the lens of evolution, witha focus on how these concepts help us to understand and solvereal-world problems. This course may be taken with or withoutlaboratory (Biology 124) at the discretion of the students or asrequired for various programs.Regardless, however, of whether they aspire to becomephysicians, biomedical researchers, or ecologists, or whetherthey are more interested in politics, business, the humanities,or the arts, we treat all incoming freshmen as “potential” biologymajors, or at least as future citizens who need to know aboutthe living world and science in general. To that end, we havebeen working with the faculty of the Department of Biology andscientists in other fields whose work is connected to ours toincorporate the research of Syracuse University professors intoour introductory and other undergraduate biology courses. Aspecific example of linking courses with faculty research is ournew approach to teaching about genetics and developmentalprocesses using zebra fish (Danio rerio), the primary modelorganism of interest to Professor Craig Albertson, Professor KateFALL 201127

Biology 123 students dissecting fetal pigs in the “Druger Laboratory” named in honor of Marvin Druger.Lewis, and Ph.D. candidate Nicole Jacobs-McDaniels (profiledin the last issue of BIO@SU), who designed these exercises tocomplement the 123/124 curriculum. Students observe zebrafish embryos in various stages of development and comparedifferences between the emerging structures in “wild type” fishversus those with a particular mutation. Using techniques likegel electrophoresis with DNA samples from the fish, studentsalso “see” the genetics responsible for the observed phenotypes.Through these types of experiences, not only do our studentslearn about foundational concepts of biology, but they alsolearn about current techniques and build skills that will helpequip them to engage in independent research with our facultymembers.Aside from the content of the course, the new laboratoriesand enhanced teaching space and facilities have made it possibleto make additions and changes to how the course is taught. Forone, TAs are much more connected to what’s going on in thelabs. Whereas TAs once checked-out audio-tutorial CDs or tapesto students who may have been assigned to any of the otherTAs for recitation, our TAs now circulate among the studentteams actively engaging them throughout the period. Also,now even the teaching assistants have assistants. Upper-levelundergraduates who have been successful in the introductorycourses are invited to enroll in Biology 360 as biology laboratoryassistants. These budding biologists serve as peer mentors forour freshmen, and they are a tremendous help to the TAs––answering questions from their mentees, maintaining stocksolutions and other supplies, serving as another set of safetymindedeyes, and getting a great review of general biology inthe process. Historically, graduate TAs had been assigned torecitation periods at various times in the week, separate from thetape labs and hands-on laboratory work. The recitation sessionhas now been incorporated into the lab block. This provides agreat deal of flexibility as TAs can run recitations before, during,or after the laboratory according to the nature of the week’sprocedures.Another way we have been introducing undergraduates toresearch in the life sciences is through new iterations of Biology200: Selected Topics. As in the past, teaching assistants offersections of this course with topics of particular interest to them.Recent TA-led titles include pathophysiology, medical ecology,and biotechnology and bioethics. In addition, a new title underthe BIO 200 banner, Introduction to Biology Research atSyracuse, is offered as a way to introduce promising freshmento the ongoing investigations of our faculty in the life sciences.Students who have successfully completed Biology 121 and whoare interested in careers as scientists are invited to enroll inthis course in which they read and produce written responsesto our faculty members’ primary research articles, are treatedto technical presentations from those faculty members and/orpostdocs and graduate students, engage in related discussion,and compose reviews of the literature around a topic of scientificinquiry. One of the main goals of the course is to steer talentedundergraduates toward opportunities in research that arealigned with their interests and goals and which will be mutuallybeneficial to the student and their faculty research professor.Qualified students desiring to do so are subsequently beingplaced in research laboratories at Syracuse, SUNY College ofEnvironmental Science and Forestry, or SUNY Upstate MedicalUniversity as a result of their experiences in the new Biology200. This placement then allows students to develop a thesisas part of the Honors Program and/or the biology degree withdistinction.These changes in the introductory biology courses havebeen exciting, but we have faced, and continue to face, somereal challenges. For example, Professor Druger’s 121/123 coursewas extremely cost effective. In one small lab room with onlyone demonstration bench, he was able, remarkably, to deliverhis course to hundreds of students with very little expense. Inour new facilities, which are excellent, we now have 4 spaciouslaboratories housing 24 student benches, each stocked weeklywith the necessary materials. This is much more expensive, and28 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

we are often constrained in what we can do by the enormity ofthe student subscription. With all of the added recurring costs,we have had to make do in some cases with outdated equipment,such as decades-old microscopes, that might otherwise havebeen replaced. The role of the TA has also changed, and as thejob has become more time intensive, our graduate students mayfind it more difficult to balance their teaching and research.However, with these challenges come opportunities, andwe have been making the most of it. All told, we’ve made greatstrides, and we are in a wonderful position to continue toimprove our students’ experiences in introductory biology. Andwe have an extraordinary environment in which to engage inscience education research around our innovations. There arecurrently several graduate students and faculty members fromthe Department of Science Teaching who are actively collectingand analyzing data from our students in Bio 121/123/124.Examples of such projects currently underway are lessonstudy research on how biology graduate students acquireteaching skills; how upper-division undergraduate peer leadersbuild critical thinking skills and content proficiency throughhelping freshmen; how online resources can help studentsunderstand evolution and its relevance for solving real-worldbiological problems; and how supplemental instruction mayincrease retention and achievement among underrepresentedpopulations. Moreover, the progress we make on campus isextended to secondary-level classrooms in more than 20 highschools who offer our general biology curriculum through theSyracuse University Project Advance (SUPA) program.There is a lot going on in and around introductory biology atSyracuse, but none of it would happen without the coordinatedefforts of a large number of individuals working together. Imay teach the big lecture sections and direct the programin general, but I could never do it alone. Mary Graziano,laboratory coordinator and lab instructor for 121 and 124, is anindispensable member of our team, and we depend on her tokeep the labs running day in and day out. Our graduate TAs,a group of budding professionals who impress me more eachyear, number in the teens, and we need each and every one ofthem. Many tens of undergraduate laboratory assistants andpeer team leaders serve as aids to the TAs and valued tutors andadvisors for their fellow undergraduates. Surabhi Raina teachesevening and summer sections of 121/123/124 for our UniversityCollege. Nearly 40 high school teachers and several support staffare involved with Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA)Biology. Our administrative staff in the Department of Biologyas well as other faculty members lend their hands and advice.And all of this is managed by the astonishingly capable BeverlyWerner, our tireless course coordinator for the introductorysequence. With my stellar support team and hundreds of brightSyracuse University students, we’re keeping up the grandtradition of introductory biology that Professor Druger passeddown to us. And although the courses will continue to evolve,we’re definitely still having “Adventures in Life.”Undergraduate Research ConferenceKatelyn Heim and ProfessorRalph SlepeckyKadiah Kamara, SamanthaBalakirsky, Sofia PezoaJaQuella TaylorYoung SonThe 16th annual Undergraduate Research Conference in conjunction with the Senior Award Ceremony and a poster session washeld April 28-29, 2011, in the atrium of the Life Sciences Complex. Posters describing the results of 25 projects and involving29 undergraduate students were presented. Topics reflected the diversity of research opportunities available for undergraduateresearch at Syracuse University and neighboring academic institutions. Studies included investigations of the role of specific genes inspinal cord development in zebrafish, light-chain immunoglobulins in chronic leukemia, oocyte development during ovary embryogenesis,Caenorhabditis elegans development, moss communities in grasslands, phenotypic integration in cichlids, kin selection, andthe characterization of specific genes in senescence in Arabidopsis. Mentors for the student participants this year included professorsFondy, Lewis, Erdman, Maine, Pepling, Uy, Belote, Fridley, Albertson, Raina, and Mathew Maye and James Dabrowiak (Department ofChemistry). Mentors from other institutions included Jeffrey Amack, Vladimir Sirotkin, Michael James, Patricia Kane, and Andras Perl,all from SUNY Upstate Medical University; Rebecca Bader, Biomaterials Institute; and Xiao-Jie Yan and Nicholas Chiorazzi from TheFeinstein Institute for Medical Research of North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.FALL 201129

Undergraduate Activities and AchievementsTHE UNDERGRADUATECLASS OF 2011Each spring the Department of Biologycelebrates the achievements of graduatingbiology and biochemistry studentson Senior Honors Day. Students arerecognized for academic excellence,research accomplishments, or excellencein both academics and research. Severalof our seniors, as indicated, also earneddegrees with distinction in biologyor biochemistry in recognition oftheir successful completion of a highqualitybiology/biochemistry thesis.The Donald G. Lundgren MemorialAward––the department’s highest honorfor undergraduates––is presented foroutstanding scholarship and research. Thisyear’s ceremony took place April 29.ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: Daniel D.Fernandez, Marisa F. Gobuty, Cassidy S.Henneman, Lua A. Jafari, Sundus S. Mian,Lauren C. Monoxelos, Paige N. Mullins,Aaron J. Roy, Colin P. Shea, Yanina Tovpeko(also Distinction in Biology), Jesse S. Turiel,Emily L. Williams, Sarah D. Zuckerman.RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENT: Jennifer E.Benner, Brain R. Birnbaum, Tess A. Cherlin,Moira R. Concannon, Tony H. Gao, JosephW. Gervasio, Christina I. Giovinazzo,Katelyn M. Heim (also Distinction inBiology), Eugenia A. Im (also Distinctionin Biochemistry), Joanna C. Kurman (alsoDistinction in Biology), Alyssa C. Lau (alsoDistinction in Biolochemistry), KristinaMartimucci (also Distinction in Biology),Uchenna J. Mbawui, Lynaya R. Morris,Marisol A. O’Neill (also Distinction inBiology), Jennifer Roscoe (also Distinctionin Biology), Young H. Son (also Distinctionin Biology), Carey A. Stuart, ViktoriyaZlamanyuk.SCHOLARSHIP & RESEARCHACHIEVEMENT: Elizabeth F. Barone,Erica J. Brenner, Kyle J. Fahey, Elizabeth A.Gengo, Guang Yu Lee (also Distinction inBiochemistry), Qi Wen Li (also Distinctionin Biochemistry) Jamison D. Patak, LyubaE. Polinkovsky (also Distinction in Biology),Sarah K. Wendel (also Distinction inBiology).DONALD G. LUNDGREN MEMORIALAWARD FOR OUTSTANDINGSCHOLARSHIP AND RESEARCH:Nathaniel J. Miska, whose research wasconducted with Professor Mathew Mayeof the Department of Chemistry, was alsoawarded a Distinction in Biochemistryand graduated with honors from theRenée Crown University HonorsProgram. His thesis was Quantum DotBiofunctionalization. Nathaniel was alsogiven the Biochemistry Award sponsoredby the Department of Chemistry.UNIVERSITY HONORS: The following biology/biochemistrystudents were awardeddegrees with honors from the RenéeCrown University Honors Program. Anhonors degree requires completion of honorscourses and extracurricular activitiesstressing academics, global awareness, civicengagement, collaboration, and commandof language. Students must also completeand defend a capstone project. Those indicatedby an asterisk were also awardeda Distinction in Biology or Biochemistry.Tess Cherlin, Jessica Cho, Julie Green (adual major, Julie did her capstone projectin art illustration), Lua Jafari, Qi Li, KristinaMartimucci,* Nathaniel Miska, Lyuba Polinkovsky,*Jennifer Roscoe,* Colin Shea,Carey Stuart, Yanina Tovpeko,* Jesse Turiel(a dual major, Jesse wrote a thesis in geography),Sapir Vangruber, Sarah Wendel.*PHI BETA KAPPA: Marta N. Dzadyk, BaileyS. Fitzgerald, Marisa F. Gobuty, Sundus S.Mian, Lyuba E. Polinkovsky, Yanina Tovpeko.SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARS:Designation as a Syracuse UniversityScholar is the highest academic honorbestowed at the University. Twelvegraduating seniors were named SUScholars at the May 15 Commencement.This included biology major SarahWendel and biochemistry major Qi WenLi. A description of Sarah’s and Qi’sachievements and activities as described inSU News May 9, 2011, is as follows:Sarah Katherine Jane Wendel, a biologymajor carrying a Chinese studies minorin the College of Arts and Sciences, is aRemembrance Scholar and participatesin the Renée Crown University HonorsProgram. Also, she is active as a sciencetutor for undergraduates. Sarah’s threestudy abroad experiences include Englishlanguage mentoring in Hong Kong andhospital and clinic internships in Cusco,Peru, and Tanzania, Africa. Her work inPeru was supported by a Mark and PearleClements Internship Award. Locally, Sarahcurrently serves as an emergency roomobserver at Upstate University Hospital,shadowing an attending physician inpediatrics. Sarah also volunteered at CrouseHospital. She serves on the executive boardof Habitat for Humanity’s SU chapter andadvises students traveling to Hong Kongabout aspects of life abroad. Note: A profileof Sarah appears in this issue of BIO@SU.Qi Wen Li, a biochemistry major inthe College of Arts and Sciences and aRemembrance Scholar, discovered herpassion for scientific research whileworking in the laboratory group ledby Robert Doyle, associate professorof chemistry, with whom she is now apublished researcher. A McNair, Ornstein,and Crown Scholar, Qi’s research hasbeen supported by the iLEARN programat SU. She undertook summer researchat Yale University through a Mark andPearle Clements Internship Award andpursued research abroad at the GrazUniversity of Technology in Austria aspart of the National Science Foundation’sInternational Research Experience forUndergraduates program. Qi plans tocontinue her studies in a doctoral programin biochemistry and molecular biophysicsat the California Institute of Technology.NEWS OF OTHERUNDERGRADUATESCROWN, WISE-MARCUS 50-YEARFRIENDSHIP AWARDS: These awards arecompetitive grants awarded by the HonorsProgram to aid students completing theircapstone projects. This year’s Crown,Wise-Marcus 50-Year Friendship awardeesinclude biology/biochemistry majorsSamantha Balakirsky, Amanda Cole, MartaDzyadyk, Amari Howard, Vera Osafo, VivianYu, and Colin Shea.30 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECTSAND SCHOLARSHIPS: During the pastacademic year and summer, a total of 31different student projects of mentoredresearch with faculty members in thedepartment were carried out. Eightstudents spent their summer doingresearch in the labs of biology faculty.These students are Samantha Balakirsky(Lewis), Elizabeth Bonarigo (Erdman/Sirotkin), Peter Chuckran (Frank), MartaDzyadyk (Pepling), Kemardo Henry(Raina), Kadiah Kamara (Lewis), SophiaPezoa (Lewis), and Ellen Shin (Garza).Another three undergraduate studentsfrom other institutions were part of theSyracuse Biomaterials Institute summerREU program and worked in the labs ofdepartment faculty members (Coleman,Erdman, and Pepling). The departmentacknowledges and thanks the generousand important support of the followingfunding sources for these projects: RuthMeyer Scholars Fund, Renee Crown HonorsProgram, Lewis Stokes Alliance for MinorityParticipation, Syracuse BiomaterialsInstitute, Korczynski-Lundgren Fund, andthe Levy-Daouk Fund.REMEMBRANCE SCHOLASHIPS: Each yearSyracuse University awards 35 scholarshipsin memory of the 35 Syracuse Universitystudents lost in the bombing of Pan AmFlight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, onDecember 21, 1988. The scholarships areawarded on the basis of distinguishedacademic achievement, citizenship, andservice to the community. Scholarshipsfor 2011-12 were awarded to biology/biochemistry students Kadiah Kamara,Vera Osafo, Margaret Spinosa, andVivian Yu.More Graduate Program NewsJACK AND PAT BRYAN LIFE SCIENCESLECTURESIn April, Günter Wagner, the Alison Richard Professor of Ecologyand Evolutionary Biology at Yale University, presented this year’sJack and Pat Bryan Life Sciences Lectures at Syracuse University.His two lectures were “How Evolution is Cheating Probability,”and “Evolution of transcription factor function and the origin ofevolutionary novelties”The lectures were co-presented by the Biology GraduateStudent Organization (BGSO) and the Department of Biology.His first lecture was followed by a poster session featuring thework of life sciences graduate students across the University.Students in biology, environmental sciences, biomaterials,exercise sciences, chemistry, physics, and forensic science wereinvited to submit posters.Wagner’s research is focused on understanding the evolutionof complex characters, including questions of how they canevolve by random mutation and selection, the biological natureof character identity and the genetic mechanisms for the originof novel characters.The lectures are made possible by a generous gift from PatBryan in memory of her husband, Jack, a longtime member ofthe department’s faculty who was deeply committed to graduateeducation and research.ANDREW SIEFERT AWARDED NSF GRADUATERESEARCH FELLOWSHIP TO STUDY PLANTCOMMUNITIESAndrew Siefert, a biology graduate student, received a 2011National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate ResearchFellowship. Siefert, whose faculty mentor is biology ProfessorMark Ritchie, is studying plant diversity and the role it plays ingrassland communities.The oldest fellowship of its kind, the NSF Graduate ResearchFellowship recognizes and supports outstanding graduatestudents in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering,and mathematics disciplines, who are pursuing research-basedmaster’s and doctoral degrees in the United States and abroad.Students receive an annual stipend, tuition assistance, and a onetimeinternational travel allowance.Seifert is studying grassland communities at Green LakesState Park, Fayetteville, N.Y., collecting data on plant traitsin response to both naturally and experimentally inducedenvironmental changes. He is also exploring patterns in leaftraits from plant communities collected at inland salt marshesin Central New York and forests in Eastern North America, incollaboration with other researchers, to compare Green Lakes’plant communities with those in different environments.Siefert holds a B.S. in environmental resource management(2007) from Pennsylvania State University, Schreyer HonorsCollege.Nikhilesh Dhar (Raina) was awarded the “Syracuse UniversityOutstanding TA Award” for 2011. This award selects about 20TAs from the Graduate School from over 800-plus TAs acrossthe University. This award honors the University’s best graduatestudent teachers.Jing Dai (Belote), Nikhilesh Dhar, and Pallavi Gupta (Raina)were awarded teaching mentor appointments with the GraduateSchool’s TA Program for the 2011 summer Teaching AssistantOrientation Program. This appointment is made in recognitionof the accomplishments as a graduate student and teachingassistant at Syracuse University. This prestigious award selectstop graduate student teachers to staff the annual New TAOrientation Program. These teaching mentors provide trainingand support for new TAs at the University.FALL 201131

BIOLOGY STAFF:Deborah HerholtzIt is a fair guess that virtually every biology major since 1991 has met Deborah (Deb) Herholtz theindefatigable undergraduate programs secretary. It is Deb who finds advisors for students, keeps records,helps students with petitions and other paperwork, and tries to answer questions or send students tothe persons most likely to be able to help. For absent-minded professors, Deb is the indispensible guidewho tries to keep us updated on the ever-changing requirements for various programs, and reminds us ofadvising schedules and various deadlines for grades and student reports. In her spare time, Deb organizesthe graduation reception and helps organize the Senior Honors Day. That is, she does the work and the restof us take as much of the credit as possible.erholtzshe has been with the department longerDeb was born in Syracuse but spentmuch of her life and currently lives inCentral Square. She is one of those hardynatives who has been here for everysnowfall record and commutes throughthe snowbelt to campus. Deb beganworking at Syracuse University some 23years ago in the sociology departmentbefore transferring to the Departmentof Biology almost 20 years ago. In fact,than most of the current faculty, and isthe person we depend on for an historicalperspective on our graduates and theevolution of the curriculum. Deb’s abilityto identify, locate, and contact studentsboth present and in the past is key tocomposing relevant segments of BIO@SU. When we find ourselves feelinghassled and taking matters too seriously,Deb brings us back to earth with cutepictures and stories of her nieces andnephews, her cats, or an occasional funnyitem she has spotted on the Internet. Debis the epitome of the claim that officestaff is what makes an organization or adepartment succeed.32 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Who, What, When, WherePeter V.N. Bodine B.S. ’80 isa senior director in clinicaldevelopment and medical affairsoperations at the SpecialtyCare Business Unit of Pfizer inCollegeville, Pa., and serves aschief operating office for eightdisease areas. After earning a Ph.D.in biochemistry from TempleUniversity, his career has includeda postdoctoral fellowship at theMayo Clinic, a faculty appointmentat Thomas Jefferson University,and positions in discovery researchand project management at Wyeth.He and his wife, Judith LaLonde,B.S. in chemistry ’82, live insuburban Philadelphia with theirthree middle school-high schoolaged sons.Meg Dooley Ph.D. ’78 (with EliasBalbinder) is an associate professorat the College of Staten Island/CUNY.Garth D. Ehrlich Ph.D. ’87 (withBernie Poiesz and Judi Foster) isexecutive director of the Center forGenomic Sciences and Scientific,Governmental, and RegionalAffairs Liaison Officer at AlleghenySinger Research Institute inPittsburgh. He is also professorof microbiology and immunology,professor of otolaryngology-headand neck surgery, and professorand vice chairman of humangenetics at Drexel UniversityCollege of Medicine.Gretchen Galvin B.S. ’08 receivedan M.S. in medical biology atC.W. Post Campus of Long IslandUniversity. She has been acceptedinto the Class of 2015 at theUniversity of Buffalo School ofDental Medicine.Tom Grove Ph.D. ’76 (with RichardLevy) has sold his company,ProteoGenix, and is now semiretired,doing some consulting, andstarting to expand his activities innon-science areas.Andrew W. Gurman B.S. ’73 is aphysician in Altoona, Pa., witha practice limited to wrist andhand surgery. He is active in theAmerican Medical Association,where he serves as vice speaker ofthe House of Delegates and is amember of the board of trustees.Dr. Gurman and his wife have twogrown daughters.Robin Hemphill B.S. ’87 isthe deputy chief safety officerand director of the Veteran’sAdministration National Center forPatient Safety. She resides in AnnArbor, Mich.William J.M. Hrushesky B.A.’69 recently retired as seniorclinical investigator and directorof research at the WJB DornDepartment of Veteran’s AffairsMedical Center. He continues asresearch professor at the Universityof South Carolina’s School ofMedicine’s Department of Celland Developmental Biology andAnatomy. Dr. Hrushesky’s careerin medicine has also includedtenured professorships at theUniversity of Minnesota andAlbany Medical College. He haspublished more than 761 scientificarticles and holds several patents.He is a founder of MedicalChronotherapeutics, which focuseson optimally timing medicalpreventatives, diagnostics, andtreatments relative to rhythmichuman biologic time structure. Heresides in West Orange, N.J.Michael M. Krinsky, B.A.’70 hasbeen inaugurated as the 173rdpresident of the Connecticut StateMedical Society. Previously he hadserved as president and councilorof the Hartford County MedicalAssociation, the largest countyorganization in Connecticut, andas vice-speaker of the House ofDelegates of the state medicalsociety as well as its vice-president.He is in the private practice ofneurology in Bloomfield andVernon, CT. He founded thepractice in 1979 and remainsclinically active. He received hisMD degree at Columbia UniversityCollege of Physicians andSurgeons in 1974. He has servedas an assistant clinical professorof neurology at the University ofCT School of Medicine and onnumerous hospital and voluntaryagency committees in addition tohis work with the medical society.He founded the neurology andmovement disorders clinic at theHebrew Home and Hospital inWest Hartford, CT, and served asthe medical director and neurologyconsultant at the regionalEaster Seals Center. He and hiswife Marcia are the parents ofthree grown children and threegrandchildren.Jeffrey P. Levine B.S. ’83 is professorand director of Women’s HealthPrograms in the Department ofFamily and Community Medicineat the University of Medicine andDentistry of New Jersey - RobertWood Johnson Medical School.“Dr. Jeff” lives in Hillsborough,N.J., with his wife, four daughters,and a menagerie of adopted pets.Malavi Madireddi Ph.D. ’96 (withDavid Allis) is principal scientist,Discovery Biology-MetabolicDiseases at Bristol Myers Squib,Princeton, N.J.Stuart Marcus Ph.D. ’72 (with EliasBalbinder) is chief medical officerat DUSA Pharmaceuticals, Inc., inWilmington, Mass.Joseph Parise B.S ’92 is theassistant chief of service inradiology at the Tampa FloridaVA Hospital. He and his wifeDominique have four children.Dr. Parise notes that he would loveto hear from some of his fellowalumni from ’90-’94. His e-mailaddress is:jparise@tampabay.rr.comTraycie West Pinkoski B.S. ’88 hasrecently moved to Vicenza, Italy, fora three-year assignment with theU.S. Navy.Shoba Ragunathan M.S. ’93 worksfor Pfizer in Pearl River, N.Y.B. Todd Schaeffer B.S. ’77 is anendoscopic surgeon of the nose,sinuses, neck, and skull base. Dr.Schaeffer serves as assistant clinicalprofessor of otolaryngology atMount Sinai School of Medicineand associate chair of the dept.of otolaryngology at North ShoreUniversity Hospital in Manhasset,N.Y. He recalls fondly bringinghome fruit flies on spring breakto continue his freshman biologyexperiments, and listening toMarvin Druger on reel-to-reeltapes––innovative teaching andperhaps a harbinger of onlinecourses.David Schwartz Ph.D. ’79 is asenior faculty member at HoustonCommunity College SW inHouston, Texas.Rion G. Taylor Ph.D. ’08 (with RoyWelch) has taken a position asassistant professor of biology atMidAmerica Nazarene Universityin Olathe, Kansas.Spiro Tzetzis B.S. ’91 is the newlyappointed medical director for theDepartment of Health Servicesat his alma mater, SyracuseUniversity.Jerry Winkelstein B.S. ’61 is nowretired from a long career inmedicine that included medicalschool at Albert Einstein College ofMedicine, residency in pediatrics,and service as a pediatrician in anEskimo village. He spent much ofhis career on the faculty of JohnsHopkins School of Medicinewith clinical responsibilities incaring for patients with geneticallydetermined deficiencies, andconducting research focusingon the biology, biochemistry,and molecular genetics ofthe complement system. Dr.Winkelstein majored in theold zoology department andacknowledges the influence ofthe faculty, particularly SeymourGelfant, in instilling a love forresearch and laboratory work.PLEASE SEND UPDATES ONYOUR ACTIVITIES TO:hehemphi@syr.edu orErnest HemphillRoom 114Life Sciences Complex107 College PlaceSyracuse NY 13244FALL 201133

Publication of Dick Levy’s book on the history of theDepartment of Biology is scheduled for early summer 2012.The book is tentatively priced at $29.95. You can reserve yourcopy by e-mailing Dick at hrlevy@syr.edu. We will contact youwith exact details once the book is published.34 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

The faculty of the Department of Biology takes our mandate ofeducating the next generation of life scientists extremely seriously. Aswe move forward and continue to recruit more outstanding undergraduatesto our programs, we are experiencing increased demandsfrom these talented students to engage in special opportunities suchas faculty mentored research experiences. Providing such opportunitiesfor students has been a hallmark of our educational approach inthe Department of Biology and its predecessors for almost a century.Each year a growing number of students participate in research andmany of these projects form the core of theses produced by studentsin the Honors Program or the degree with distinction in biologyor biochemistry options. Among the many students participatingin research this past academic year, 27 seniors were recognized forresearch or scholarship and research at Senior Honors Day. Undergraduateshave often been coauthors on papers published in peer-reviewedjournals and also have presented posters at national meetingsof various scientific organizations. We are, of course, extremely proudof these accomplishments of our students and faculty mentors.The advantages for students to work in the research laboratoriesare many. For those considering a graduate study in the life sciences,it is an important window into the nature of research and commitmentnecessary to complete a graduate or professional degree ina specific area of biology. Students intending to pursue careers inteaching also find the opportunity to actually do science and engagewith peers doing laboratory or field work gives them a perspective onscience that goes far beyond learning biology and teaching methodsin the classroom. However, in talking to students and alumni it isclear that the major benefit is simply the opportunity to meet facultyindividually in an environment quite different than the classroom,to say nothing of working with postdoctoral fellows and graduatestudents all focused on doing experimental work.Funding of the undergraduate research experiences has alwaysbeen through many sources. Through the Honors Program (Crown-Wise Scholars), Ruth Meyer Scholarships, Korczynski-LundgrenFund, and the Levy-Daouk Fund, we are able to provide funds forfaculty-mentored projects during the academic year and summerstipends to a small number of students engaged in extended projects.With the current interest in our programs and given the amountof support available from these sources, our funds are presentlyinadequate to meet our current needs. We are, therefore, turning toour alumni and friends for help in supporting this program. Giftsspecified for undergraduate studies this year will be added to theLevy-Daouk endowment funds to help increase our annual funds returnedfrom this account and available for the purpose of supportingundergraduate research. Please consider a gift of whatever amountyou feel appropriate to help us continue offering these importantexperiences to as many of our students as possible.To provide your financial support to Biology Undergraduate Studies,please send your gift via the enclosed reply card envelope. Formore information about giving to the Department of Biology and theCollege, contact Karen Weiss Jones, assistant dean for advancement,at 315-443-2028 or 35

Dr. Ghaleb Daouk ’79 on Giving to Biologyand the College of Arts and SciencesMy start in the biomedical sciences came as an undergraduate at SU in the Department of Biology.I had the privilege to carry out an undergraduate research project with H. Richard Levy, professorand chair emeritus of biology. The opportunity to work closely with an outstanding faculty memberand human being, Dick Levy, and the chance to get engaged directly in research discoveries, instead of justlearning about them in textbooks, further fueled my interests in basic research, and led me into medicalschool and first-rate research universities such as at MIT, for which I have been ever grateful. Recognizingthe importance that such experiences have for students, I have always felt it important to give back to thedepartment and the college. I strongly encourage you to consider a gift to the Department of Biology or theCollege via the appeal made in this issue of BIO@SU.Ghaleb Daouk graduated from SU’s College of Arts and Sciences magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He earned an M.D.degree from the American University of Beirut, and a master’s degree in management of technology from the MIT Sloan School of Management.His post-doctoral research in molecular biology at MIT was followed by his clinical training in pediatric and renal medicine at MassachusettsGeneral Hospital/Harvard Medical School, where he served on its faculty for 11 years before moving to Children’s Hospital Boston. There hecurrently holds patient care, teaching, and several administrative responsibilities. He is also a co-founder together with his wife, Dr. RimaKaddurah-Daouk, of a Palo Alto-based biotechnology company, Avicena.Ghaleb is currently a member of SU College of Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors and he chaired its life sciences sub-committee during theconstruction of the Life Sciences building. He also chairs the SU biology alumni board. In 2000, he established the Daouk-Levy undergraduatestudentship fund in biology in honor of his mentor, former SU biology chair H. Richard Levy. He also established the Ghaleb and Rima DaoukVisiting Professorship in the Life Sciences at SU, which will be inaugurated in fall of 2011 with public and research lectures by distinguished SUalumnus Thoru Pederson ’63, G’68 (B.S., Ph.D.), Vitold Arnett Professor of Cell Biology, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine.36 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

GIVINGTOBIOLOGYAT SU:In this issue of BIO@SU we are continuing our appeal to our many alumni and friends for yourhelp in supporting the programs of the Department of Biology. In these times of fiscal austeritythroughout the country, it should come as no surprise that our teaching and research needs haveoutpaced direct University funding. Whether you donate regularly to SU or are considering a first timegift, we hope that you will consider designating your contribution to support biology at SU. Your supportwill directly benefit the quality of our teaching programs and research.Our needs are diverse and encompass all aspects of our program, so we have decided to concentrate our efforts on three areas.Your donation to the Biology Gift Fund can be designated for use in one of the following ways.Emeritus Chairs ProgramHonors the efforts of previous Biology Department Chairs John M. Russell, H. Richard Levy, David Sullivan and JudithFoster and provides the Biology Department Chair with flexibility to meet critical needs, such as one-time purchases of majorscientific equipment, support for new course development and rewarding outstanding achievements of biology faculty andinstructors in teaching and research.Undergraduate ProgramsSupports opportunities for undergraduates to participate in field study and unique research opportunities in class, withfaculty members and summer research projects. Supports improvements in undergraduate teaching facilities and equipmentin laboratories, independent research opportunities, travel to research meetings and thedevelopment of new courses addressing the most contemporary issues in biology.Graduate ProgramsSupports opportunities for graduate students to travel to national andinternational meetings, participate in advanced courses at major researchfacilities, and rewards outstanding students in the program with researchfellowships.With your help, we can ensure that biology faculty and students have theresources they need to excel. A pledge form and return envelope are enclosedfor your convenience. Your support will be greatly appreciated.For more information about giving to the Department of Biology and theCollege of Arts and Sciences, contact Karen Weiss Jones, assistant dean foradvancement, at 315-443-2028 or kmweissj@syr.edu.

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGEPAIDSYRACUSE UNIVERSITY,SYRACUSE NY