Fall 2011 - the Department of Biology - Syracuse University

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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
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Fall 2011 - the Department of Biology - Syracuse University

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