Undergraduate Individual Investigations

BSCI Faculty Participating in Our Individual Investigation Program

Campus

Faculty

Fall, 2009 availability

Spring, 2010 availability

Summer, 2010 availability

Criteria for the students (coursework, GPA, etc.)?

Research topic(s) available might include:

Kent

Barbara Andreas

No

Updates of taxonomic groups in the herbarium; bryophyte field studies

Kent

Darren Bade

Yes

Students who are succeeding in school are more likely to be successful conducting an individual investigation

Variety of aquatic ecology topics in local lakes and Lake Erie.

Kent

Chris Blackwood

Yes

Yes

Yes

Must meet with the student to determine eligibility

Community ecology of microbes associated with plant roots, decomposition, and greenhouse gas emissions from soil; Use methods from molecular biology, microbiology, soil science, forestry, geography (GIS), bioinformatics, theoretical ecology

Kent

Brent Bruot

Yes

Must have a good GPA and have taken cell biology.

Relationship between the hormone resistin, obesity, and polycystic ovary syndrome

Kent

Heather Caldwell

NO

Yes

Yes

NO, just an interest in doing laboratory work and no allergies to animals.  I require one semester of volunteering before an invdividual investigation.

Neuropharmacology, neuropsychiatric disease modeling, and the neural regulation of social behavior.

Kent

Robert Carlson

Yes

No

No

Exploration of methods for aquatic environmental science, Landscape Ecology

Kent

Andrea Case

Yes

GPA>3.0; at least four BSCI courses completed beyond 10110/10120

pollination biology, plant population ecology, genetics of sex determination in flowering plants

Kent

Derek Damron

Yes

I would like to meet with them in order to assess their level of commitment and what their expectations are with respect to their career goals.

The generalized topics would be anessthetic pharmacology in the heart, anesthesia-induced organ protecion, diabetes-induced heart failure (diabetic cardiomyopathy) and diabetes-induced sensory neuronal dysfunction (diabetic neuropathy).

Kent

Ferenc de Szalay

Yes

Some coursework background in a area relevant to their research topic is expected. 

Community ecology of aquatic invertebrates/plants

Kent

Gail C. Fraizer

Lab Full

Yes

Must do well in genetis, and have time to commit 9 hrs/wk and 2 semesters (summers best).

Cell biology, RNA and protein expression in prostate cancer cells

Kent

David Glass

Must meet with the student to determine eligibility

Kent

Walter Hoeh

Maybe

Students shoud have an interest in research and at least two semesters to commit. Students should meet with Dr. Hoeh. 

Molecular evolution and systematics; biparental inheritance of mitochondria; mitochondrial gene expression; invertebrate breeding system evolution and sex determination  

Kent

John Johnson

Lab Full

Lab Full

Maybe

Must have an interest in neuroscience/physiology research, have at least two semesters to commit, and GPA>3.2. Accepting students for 2010-2011 AYn. 

Examining the neurobiology of sickness behavior and/or neural-immune responses to stressor exposure

Kent

Kline, D

Maybe

Students should have completed cell biology and must confer with Dr. Kline

Cellular physiology of oocytes, eggs, and early embryos.

Kent

Mark Kershner

Yes

Yes

Yes

Relevant coursework to ecology of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Ecology of streams/wetlands

Kent

Edgar Kooijman

Yes

Yes

Potentially

Lab work in chemistry, cell biology, and a desire to do lab work. Will need to meet with the student to determine eligibility. 

Exchangable apolipo-proteins/lipid droplet proteins or project regarding physical characterization of lipids. Langmuir monolayers, nuclear magnetic resonance and general lipid biochemsitry are the main techniques that will be acquired. 

Kent

Adam  Leff

Yes

Possibly

Possibly

Having taken either cell biology or microbiology desirabe,

Currently examining the role of certain bacteria in a particular disease syndrome of crayfish

Kent

Laura Leff

Yes

Yes

Yes

Prefer students who have taken cell biology or general microbiology

molecular microbial ecology--effects of acid mine drainage on streams, effects of agriculture and land use in general on streams, nitrogen cycling, responses of microorganisms to environmental stress

Kent

Patrick Lorch

Yes

Yes

Yes

Depending on the project, I may require an animal behavior course.  I often try to assess that they will have enough time to commit each week.

Mormon cricket movement behavior.  Diet analysis.  GIS and spatial data analysis.  Student-motivated insect behavior projects

Kent

Jenny Marcinkiewicz

they have to be serious students,with some interest in research and at least cell bio, preferably some physio.

Kent

Eric M. Mintz

Yes

Yes

Yes

Students shoud have an interest in research and at least two semesters to commit. Students should meet with Dr. Mintz. 

Neurobiology of circadian rhythms

Kent

Mike Model

Yes

Yes

Yes

Should be organized, with good attention to detail and some aptitude for technology

Use novel optical microscopy methods to investigate diverse biological topics, such as apoptosis, cell locomotion and cytoskeleton, receptor endocytosis.

Kent

Xiaozhen Mou

Yes

GPA > 3.0; have taken microbiology

Identify bacteria that degrade specific organic compounds in marine and fresh water system using advanced molecular tools . Isolate bacterial species that can degrade alkenone in marine sediments.

Kent

Helen Piontkivska

Yes

Yes

Yes

Completed/taking Elements of Genetics and/or Cell Biology; for seniors, Evolution; GPA >2.75

evolution of viruses, genome evolution, human genetic variation and disease, genomics of disease-related genes, including cancer genes

Kent

Oscar Rocha

Genetic diversity and breeding systems of tropical treesGenetic diversity of tropical crop plants

Kent

S.  Vijayarghavan

No

Sperm physiology, moelcular biology, protein function.

Kent

Sean Veney

Lab Full

Lab Full

Coursework in physiology, neuroscience or animal behavior.  GPA of at least 3.0.  Able to commit at least 10 hours a week.  Preferably able to work in the lab for at least a full year.

Hormones and Behavior.  Development of sex differences in the brain and peripheral tissues.

Regional Campuses

Stark

Paul Bagavandoss

Discipline to work and already taken the cell biology course (BSCI 20140)

Cannabinoids and cell growth

Stark

Penny Bernstien

Already have 1-2

Yes

Yes

Discipline to work and already taken the cell biology course (BSCI 20140)

Animal behavior-related projects: especially communication, social behavior, zoos, domestic animals, pets – willing to be flexible - currently most interested in cat petting, cat rubbing or watershed related projects 

Stark

Kim Finer

No

Completed Basic or General micro, I prefer =or >3.0 GPA

1) Investigating the characteristics (infectivity, surface components, transformation efficiency) of the filamentous form of Agrobacterium.  2) Epidemiological surveys (hospital data) on the HAIs caused by  Acinetobacter baumanii. 3) Projects identified by students in the field of microbiology—particularly related to infectious disease

Stark

Robert Hamilton

Yes

Willing to do lab and/or fieldwork

invertebrates, aquatic systems (e.g. ponds, wetlands, streams), field plant surveys

Stark

John Lovell

No

I prefer completion of Cell Biology and GPA 3.0 or higher

Aging, Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, Chronic Pain

East Liverpool

Qunxing Ding

Yes

Yes

Uncertain as yet

No

neurodegenerative disorders, protein aggregation, siganl transduction related with diabetic issues.

Trumbull

Mary Russell

Yes

Interest in working in a molecular biology lab.

Using PCR, cloning, tissue culture, protein expression, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry techniques to probe the role of the intermedite filament protein synemin in the human heart.