Grand Valley: Biology News

College of Health Professions Open House

2012-03-15 00:00:00.0

The College of Health Professions is getting ready to host the Winter 2012 Open House on March 22, 2012 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the Center for Health Sciences. This event will highlight all the majors and programs within the College of Health Professions and allow students to explore different career options within the allied health field. For more information, click here.

Annoesjka Steinman appointed to Natural Resources Commission

2012-01-17 00:00:00.0

Biology Master's Program Graduate of 2008, Annoesjka Steinman, was recently appointed to state Natural Resources Commission. Regarding the appointment, Annoesjka had this to say:

"Still fairly new to Michigan, I took Dr. Carol Griffin's Natural Resources Policy class for fun in 2003. I was so impressed and excited, I enrolled in the brand new Natural Resources Management Graduate program with Dr. Neil MacDonald as my adviser. If any of the fabulous GVSU faculty had told me I might eventually serve the State of Michigan by being appointed by the Governor to the Natural Resources Commission, I would have laughed! My recent appointment to the Commission is definitely an exciting new challenge in my career. What a privilege to be able to discuss, research, and implement natural resources policies that best serve our resource-rich state and its citizens."

Congratulations Annoesjka!

Graduate student Robert Slider receives teaching honor

2011-06-28 00:00:00.0

Biology graduate student, Robert Slider, is one of 92 fellows selected for the 2011 W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Woodrow Wilson Michigan Teaching Fellowship. Robert is an Arctic Ecologist with three field seasons in Alaska researching the impacts of climate change on plants as part of an international study. He has also been a teaching assistant in biology and aquatic plants at GVSU.

Recruiting both recent college graduates and those seeking a different career, the three-year fellowship is awarded to promising educators with strong backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Fellows receive $30,000 to pursue a customized master’s degree program that prepares them to teach in high-need urban or rural secondary schools in seven local districts across the state.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, established in 1930, supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Grants are concentrated in the United States, southern Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

To read the article published in the Lansing State Journal, click here.

Outstanding Graduating Natural Resource Management Major

2010-06-16 00:00:00.0

Thomas Schmidt is the 2009/2010 Outstanding Graduating Senior Natural Resources Management Major. After graduation Thomas plans on obtaining some research experience with Dr. Greer and will begin preparation for graduate school by taking the G.R.E. He will also be searching and applying to schools that catch his interest in plant ecology as he is still unsure of where exactly to continue his education.

Outstanding Graduating Biology Major

2010-06-15 00:00:00.0

Corey Kapolka is the 2009/2010 Outstanding Graduating Senior Biology Major. Following graduation, Corey will be taking a year off from school to explore potential work experiences and communicate with graduate programs. "There are many excellent plant biology and ecology programs that I am considering whose faculty are addressing invasive threats to our native ecosystems, and I hope to be able to contribute to the development of new methods of curtailing these threats. My ultimate goal is to work in a position where I am able to facilitate the improvement of public policies and understanding regarding invasive species through education and research, because I believe our current methods of solving these problems are sorely lacking in long-term efficacy."

GVSU alumna wins Science prize essay

2010-02-23 00:00:00.0

GVSU alumna, Dr. Louisa Stark, wins Science prize essay for her essay entitled, "Making Genetics Easy to Understand." Dr. Stark graduated with a degree in Biology from GVSU in 1979 and is now the director of the Genetic Science Learning Center (GLSQ) at the University of Utah. In 2009, she was also awarded GVSU's Distinguished Alumni Award.

Dr. Stark's essay focuses on what role genetics play in today's society, something Dr. Stark calls, "genomic literacy," and addresses the need for people to become more aware of the issues surrounding genetics, so that informed decisions can be made. In order to create this genomic literacy, Stark has helped to develop websites like Learn.Genetics, which provide educational material and classroom activities that are easy for everyone to understand. The website is designed for students from the middle school level to the graduate student level, and includes many different types of tools for learning the material.

To view the essay and the Learn.Genetics website, please click on the links below:

learn.genetics.utah.edu/

www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5965/538

Graduate student Melissa Conte is recognized in The OBSERVER

2009-10-19 00:00:00.0

One of our very own Bio grad students, Melissa Conte, has been recognized in The OBSERVER, for the wonderful work ethic she exhibited in Fairbanks, Alaska, while working as a Biological Technician during the past two summers for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In order to access the published article, please click on the link below:

observertoday.com/page/content.detail/id/530904.html

Assistant Professor Robert Hollister receives NSF grant

2009-10-02 00:00:00.0

Biology's Dr. Robert Hollister was awarded $502,600 over the next five years to document ongoing changes in tundra vegetation in Alaska as part of the Arctic Observatory Network. The project is in collaboration with the Florida International University, the University of Alaska at Anchorage, and the University of Texas at El Paso. Ultimately the goal of the project is to understand the changes in vegetation occurring in the Arctic to make more accurate forecasts. The project will also study the amount of carbon dioxide released by the soils, the amount of energy absorbed by the vegetation, and the nutrient content of the plants.

The project will take at least four students to Alaska each summer to collect field data. For more information see faculty.gvsu.edu/hollistr/

or contact Bob Hollister at hollistr@gvsu.edu



Assistant Professor Robert               The Barrow Arctic Research Center

Hollister      (BARC)

MS student Jesse Lincoln wins Outstanding Poster Award

2009-08-06 00:00:00.0

Jesse Lincoln's MS thesis research culminates six years of studies regarding a possible interaction between the invasive "Tree-of-Heaven" (Ailanthus altissima) and neighboring legumes (pea and bean family). Tree-of-Heaven is capable of remarkably fast rates of growth on nutrient poor soils where legumes often dominate due to their ability to fix (capture) atmospheric nitrogen, frequently the most limiting nutrient to plant growth. Legumes house nitrogen-fixing bacteria (rhizobia) in root tumors called nodules, wherein the legume supplies the rhizobia with an optimal environment for fixation. Jesse experimentally demonstrated that Tree-of-Heaven releases compounds from its roots that stimulate increased nodulation in red clover (Trifolium repens). The increase in legume nodulation is most likely an outcome of stress induced by well known phytotoxins exuded by the roots of Tree-of-Heaven. Jesse is currently investigating the identity of the genes in red clover that are stimulated by Tree-of-Heaven. Jesse's work may answer, at least in part, why Tree-of-Heaven can grow so well in nutrient poor soils.

Jesse's faculty advisors are Gary Greer and Margaret Dietrich.

Assistant Professor Erik Nordman puts into action the Michigan Sea Grant

2009-08-06 00:00:00.0

Biology's Dr. Erik Nordman puts into action the Michigan Sea Grant, a project designed to explore the potential conflicts with locating wind power facilities in coastal areas of Muskegon, Ottawa, and Allegan counties. Researchers will examine the issues surrounding wind farms, in order to help communities avoid conflicts over wind energy development.

If you would like to get involved in this project or receive more information, you may contact Dr. Nordman at (616) 331-8705 or visit the website www.miseagrantmich.edu/research/projects for more information about the project and upcoming meetings.

Here are a few articles about the Michigan Sea Grant:

Muskegon Chronicle

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/07/grand_valley_state_university_3.html

Grand Haven Tribune

http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/294918752980511.bsp

Grand Rapids Press (see sidebar)

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2009/07/grand_rapids_company_donates_w.html

Holland Sentinel

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/homepage/x931230896/Towering-turbines-give-neighbors-pause