Biological Sciences Blog

High school visit program a great success

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HS visit pictureIt’s the best turnout in recent history for our high school visit program. Biological Sciences is proud to announce seven schools—about 180 students and their teachers—came to our spring semester event to help connect students to Michigan Tech. This year two schools attended for the first time in our program’s 25-plus-year history: Copper Country Christian School and Nah Tah Wahsh PSA (Hannahville Indian School),  joining the returning Superior Central (Eben Junction), Dollar Bay, Hancock, and Ontonagon High Schools. Houghton High School was also here to participate in a cooperative joint program between Biological Sciences and Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology. Unfortunately, after several attempts to reschedule, Marquette High School was unable to make it due to winter weather.

In the morning, students were greeted by our chair, Dr. Shekhar Joshi. They heard the story of how Dr. Thomas Werner became a biologist and got career advice from Dr. Amy Marcarelli, Brigitte Morin and the advisor for Pre-health, Stacy Cotey. They also attended their first college-level lecture in anatomy and physiology.  At lunch break they were introduced to the wonderful selection of food at Wadsworth Hall’s cafeteria. In the afternoon, after a quick stop to pose by the Husky Statue, they reinforced that morning’s lecture using the human anatomy and physiology  laboratory equipment to measure various parameters of their respiratory, cardiac, muscle and urinary systems and then learned how to do blood typing in the Medical Laboratory Science lab.

We are excited to participate in Michigan Tech’s mission to attract motivated students, including high school-aged girls, into the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. In a broader sense the day of activities and pep talks by a diverse team of faculty, staff, and college students motivated high schoolers to think more deeply about attending college. And it hopefully encouraged a specific focus on degrees in biological sciences, medical laboratory sciences, or one of our many other life-science-related majors on campus.

 

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VanAcker awarded National Student Honor Award from ASCP

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VanAckerBrent VanAcker, a senior in the Medical Laboratory Science Program, was recently awarded an American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) National Student Honor Award (NSHA). This award is based on academic achievement, leadership ability, community activities, professional goals, and endorsements from faculty and community leaders. Brent will be graduating at the end of this semester and then will be going to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to complete a Clinical Practicum in Medical Laboratory Science. Our congratulations to Brent for earning this prestigious award!

 

Submitted by:
Karyn Fay  MS MT(ASCP)SH
Director: Medical Lab Science Program
Michigan Tech University

 

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Biology and KIP host Houghton High School

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Houghton VisitFriday 15 April,

The Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology hosted a joint visit for Houghton High School’s Anatomy and Physiology classes.  The teacher, Alex Geborkoff, accompanied 35 students who spent a day on the Michigan Tech campus learning about health careers from Pre-med advisor Stacy Cotey and faculty member Steven Elmer, attending a college lecture in Anatomy and Physiology, experiencing lunch at Wadsworth Hall Dormitory and taking part in many hands-on lab activities.  Some of the lab activities in KIP included learning about the influence of stress on blood pressure in Dr. Jason Carter’s lab and conducting an experiment comparing concentric versus eccentric muscle groups in Dr. Steven Elmer’s lab.  In Biological Sciences students learned how to measure aortic blood pressure in Dr. John Durocher’s lab and being led through a dissection by Travis Wakeham in the anatomy and physiology teaching lab.

News coverage of the visit included TV6 news.

 

 

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Rupsa Basu takes awards in 3 minute thesis competition

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BasuFrom Tech Today

by Graduate Student Government

The Graduate Student Government and the Grad School would like to congratulate the following winners of the 2016 Three Minute Thesis Competition held last Thursday:

Masters Divison:
First Place, $500- Ekramul Ehite (ME-EM)
Runner Up, $250- Abhilash Kantamneni (CS)
People’s Choice, $100- Abhilash Kantamneni (CS)

PhD Division:
First Place, $500- Rupsa Basu (Biology)
Runner Up, $250- Zichen Qian (Bio Med)
People’s Choice, $100- Rupsa Basu (Biology)

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Fay winner of distinguished teaching award

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FayOriginally published in Tech Today

Choi, Fay Receive Distinguished Teaching Awards

by Mark Wilcox

Chang Kyong Choi (ME-EM) and Karyn Fay (Bio Sci), have been named winners of the 2016 Distinguished Teaching Awards.

Choi, affectionately known as “CK”, won in the Associate Professor/Professor category, while Fay, a professor of practice, received the award in the Assistant Professor/Lecturer/Professor of Practice category.

Choi received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Chung-ang University in Seoul, Korea and earned a PhD from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

He emphasizes a personalized learning connection with each of his students, achieved through active individual meetings while valuing what he calls the “unique ideas, experiences, strengths and attitudes” each student brings to the classroom. Read Choi’s full story.

Fay, a native of Manistique, received a BS in Medical Technology from Lake Superior State College (now Lake Superior State University). She worked in medical labs throughout the country, returning to the Upper Peninsula to earn a Master’s in Biological Sciences.

After serving as hematology superior at a local hospital, she came to Michigan Tech initially as an adjunct faculty member in 2002, eventually turning to teaching full time. Read Fay’s full story.

Fay and Choi will each receive a $2,500 monetary award and a plaque at an awards dinner sponsored by University President Glenn Mroz in the fall.

 

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Students participate in simulated advanced suture lab exercise

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army suture labSergeant Marone and Sergeant Stewart with the US Army returned to campus last night to teach an Advanced Suture lab to ten pre-med/pre-vet students. Students learn suturing techniques using pig legs.  The class was a follow-up to the suture lab held in November with Sergeant Marone and Sergeant Cunningham. They also talked about Army career and scholarship opportunities for premed students.

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Alumnus Johnathon Aho awarded Outstanding Young Alumni Award

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Jonathon AhoFrom Tech Today:

Alumni Association Announces 2016 Awards

by Jenn Donovan

Michigan Tech’s Alumni Association has named its 2016 award winners. Each year, members of the Michigan Tech Alumni Association Board of Directors review dozens of nominations of outstanding alumni and friends to determine award recipients.

The 2016 recipients include:

Outstanding Young Alumni Awards — Benjamin Almquist ’04 Materials Science and Engineering, London and Johnathon Aho ’08 Mathematical Sciences/Biological Sciences, Rochester, Minnesota.

This award is presented to alumni under the age of 35 who have distinguished themselves in their careers. The award recognizes the achievement of a position or some distinction noteworthy for one so recently graduated.

 This award recognizes alumni who have made outstanding contributions both in their careers and to Michigan Tech over a number of years.

Previously Jonathon was awarded the President’s Award for Leadership in 2008

Other alumni award recipients were:

Humanitarian Award — James Tanis ’56, ’58 Geological Engineering/Geophysics and Janet Tanis, Sedona, Arizona.

This award is presented to those alumni and friends who, through their outstanding involvement and dedication, have made a significant contribution of volunteer leadership or service which has improved or enriched the lives of others and the welfare of humanity and whose accomplishments reflect admirably on or bring honor to their Alma Mater.

Mr. and Mrs. Tanis are founders of the Bwindi Community Program, helping the children of rural Uganda get an education.

Honorary Alumni Award — John Patton, former professor of Chemical Engineering, ’68-’77, El Paso, Texas.

This award honors individuals who have provided service and support of the university characteristic of dedicated alumni. The Association reserves this award to recognize the strongest non-alumni supporters of Michigan Tech.

Outstanding Service Award — Joshua ’03 and Jana Fogarty ’05 Materials Science and Engineering, Plymouth, Wisconsin.

This award is presented to alumni and friends making significant contributions to the success of the Association and/or the University.

Distinguished Alumni Award — William Bernard, Jr. ’69 Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Perrysburg, Ohio.

This award recognizes alumni who have made outstanding contributions both in their careers and to Michigan Tech over a number of years.

Many of these awards will be presented at the Alumni Reunion Awards Dinner on August 5. For additional information, contact Alumni Relations.

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Alumnus Jacob Jaszczak receives the Cell and Molecular Biology Outstanding Graduate Student Award

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Jacob-Jaszczak-150x150Alumnus  Jacob Jaszczak received the Cell and Molecular Biology Outstanding Graduate Student Award at the University of Virginia.  He will soon be taking a  postdoctoral position at UCSF in Yuh Nung Jan’s laboratory.  You can read the full details at the University of Virginia, School of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology blog. 

(picture courtesy  of University of Virgina)

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Biology graduate student merit winners in 12th ESC Student Research Forum

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Cameron Gobl VanGoethemFrom Tech Today

The Ecosystem Science Center congratulates all 36 students who submitted posters to the competition held last week. The posters will continue to be on display in the atrium of the Noblet building through April 8.

Of the eight undergraduate poster submissions, Graceanna Schilz (Advisor: Molly Cavaleri SFRES) won the grand prize with the poster entitled “Effects of Seedling Warming in Tropical Forests.” Gina Testa (Advisors: Jessie Knowlton and David Flaspohler, SFRES) won a merit award with the poster “Avian Community Responses to Stand Age in Northern Aspen Forests.”

For the 28 graduate poster entries, Kelsey Carter won the grand prize for the poster “Plant Physiological Thermal Thresholds of Saplings in a Puerto Rican Tropical Rainforest,” (Advisor: Molly Cavaleri, SFRES). Three merit winners were: Cameron Goble (Advisor: Nancy Auer, Bio. Sci.) with the poster “Fish-Habitat Associations in Tributaries to the Manistee River, Michigan: Implications for Arctic Grayling Restoration,” Colin Phifer (Advisors: David Flaspohler and Chris Webster, SFRES) for the poster “Bird Community Responses to Afforested Eucalyptus Plantations in Argentina,” and Ryan van Goethem (Advisor: Amy Marcarelli, Bio. Sci.) for the poster “Legacy Disturbance Effects in a Lake Littoral Zone: Effects of Stamp Sands on the Structure of Macrophyte Communities in the Keweenaw Waterway of Michigan.”

Congratulations to the winners and thank you again to the many judges involved.

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