Biology majors recently presented their Capstone projects in a week-long poster session that included a variety of topics. Students explored the relationship between climate change and frog populations, the effects of light cycles on the hatching rates of zebrafish, and the interaction of bacteria in the wastewater treatment system.

In another project, Michael Ellis ’06 searched for an ecologically safe way to remove arsenic from the soil. Arsenic from industrial plants, treated wood and naturally occurring rock beds increasingly contaminates ground and water supplies, according to previous research. Ellis studied phytoremediation, the process of using plants to naturally pull contaminants out of the soil.

He found a fern species native to China that removes arsenic from the ground and compared it to the Dallas fern, which is indigenous to the U.S.

“I wanted to find a plant that is a native fern, because an alien species can harm the ecosystem,” Ellis says.

After studying the plant’s uptake system, he found the Dallas fern did not pull arsenic from the soil the way the Chinese fern did.

“Even though his study didn’t find an indigenous species, he started the process of attempting to find one,” says Biology Professor Esther Iglich. “And that is significant.”

Ellis is looking forward to a teaching career after graduation.

Marci Ryan ’06, an Exercise Chemistry and Biology major, studied whether the birth control pill affects how women’s bodies use fat and carbohydrates when they exercise.

“It’s thought to be better for your body to burn more fat than calories,” Ryan says.

She tested the metabolism of 14 volunteers (seven of whom use birth control) while they were exercising at different times during their menstrual cycle. Ryan’s results showed that during exercise, the test subjects who took the pill used slightly more fat than those not on the pill.

“It’s an outstanding project,” says Biology Professor Bill Long. “It incorporates science and uses science the way it should be practiced at a high level. She identified a question, formulated a hypothesis, made predictions based on the hypothesis, tested them, analyzed data appropriately and drew conclusions. “

After she graduates, Ryan plans to pursue an advanced degree in physical therapy.

Kathleen Hickey ’06 studied how nicotine affects the brains of pre-term infants. Using rats, she mimicked the events that occur in a pre-term infant’s brain by injecting them with nicotine, saline, or muscimal (which induces cell death).

Hickey assessed cell loss in the hippocampus, the brain’s center for learning, by sending the rats through a water-maze test. Calling the results “statistically insignificant,” Hickey says the data doesn’t show if the nicotine had a significant effect on learning, although she says the research suggests a trend in one region of the hippocampus.

“Her project was done at another lab under difficult conditions,” says Biology Professor Michael Brown. “Working with what she had, she did a beautiful job. She presented complicated research in a clear and accessible manner.”

After graduation, Hickey is planning to teach middle or high school science.

List of Posters:


1. Rossyln A. Benn
Isolation and identification of phosphate-accumulating bacteria in activated sludge.


2. Britany Bowen
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in melanin concentrating hormone receptor-1 (MCHR-1) sequence in the panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis).


3. Modupeh Cleeve
The effect of gregarine infection on the thermal tolerance of Nauphoeta cinerea and Blaberus discoidalis (Blattaria: Blaberidae).


4. Matthew Copeland
Functional analysis of tentacle deletions in the L4 ribosomal protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.


5. Stephanie Dirla
Regulation of the chromatin remodeling enzyme hSNF2L in a T cell line.


6. Robert Douglas
Discovery of novel gene sequences in the panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) using primers designed for pigment gene amplification.


7. Michael Ellis
The removal of arsenic in soil through phytoremediation using Nephrolepis exalata and Pteris cretica cv. Mayii.


8. Jessica Enright
Identification and localization of a putative receptor tyrosine kinase in Dictyostelium discoideum.


9. Claire Ewing
Perkinsis marinus prevalence and mean body burden in three strains of Crassostrea virginica deployed in the Patuxent River.


10. Alicia J. Feuillet
The effect of stored platelet supernates and monocytes on inflammatory activities of endothelial cells and polymorphonuclear leukocytes.


11. Nicole Grimm
Effects of reactive oxidative species generators on motility, mitochondria membrane potential, and ATP concentration in boar sperm.


12. Kathleen Hickey
Investigating hippocampal injury in the rat when nicotine is coupled with a novel model for preterm infant hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.


13. Amy King
Virulence factors in food and clinical Enterococcus isolates.


14. Sarah Kraig
Effectiveness of various chemical repellents in deterring red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) from Sherman live animal traps.


15. Adam Mallonee
Detecting the human papillomavirus using general primers GP5+ and GP6+ by PCR.


16. Jonathan Misamore
A non-invasive method of polyclonal avian IgY antibody production.


17. Michelle Runaldue
Maryland Frog Phenology.


18. Marci Ryan
Effect of Menstrual Cycle Phase and Oral Contraceptive Use on Carbohydrate and Fat Oxication During Submaximal Exercise in College-Aged Females.


19. Shawn Samadnejad
 A new method for measuring focal length and aberration of crystalline lenses.


20. Brian Samartino
Light and dark cycles exposed to developing Danio rerio (zebrafish) embryos affect the hatching rate.


21. Lucia M. Simmons
Radiographic Parameters of Increased Carpal Tunnel Pressure With Progressive Wrist Distraction: A Cadaveric Study


22. Katie Smith
Computer-assisted development and modeling of novel gp41 inhibitors.


23. Lauren Soderstrom
Interferon-based treatment for hepatitis C patients with psychiatric disorders.


24. Caroline Speck
Screening for proteins that interact with core-binding factors in hematopoiesis.


25. Aaron Taylor
Isolation, identification, and growth of Lactobacillus curvatus to construct starter cultures for normal and low salt sauerkraut fermentations.


26. Melissa Wisner
Creation of an in vitro Tenebrio molitor cell culture system and its application to gregarine research.


December 2005 Posters (not on display)


27. Tamara Twardowski
Detection of Mixed Chimerism in Bone Marrow Transplant Patients.