January 20, 2016—
The Portage Health Foundation has awarded four scholarships to local area Michigan Technological University students who are interested in pursuing health-related careers. Recipients are Kelly Larson, Katie Schjoth, Braden Peterson and Dylan Turpeinen.
Read the rest at: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2016/january/four-michigan-tech-students-win-portage-health-foundation-scholarships.html
Congratulations to a publication by the recent graduate Stephanie Ogren and her advisor, Dr. Casey Huckins.
Ogren, S. A. and C. J. Huckins 2015 “Culvert replacements: improvement of stream biotic integrity?” Restoration Ecology 23(6): 821-828.
Dr. Stephen Techtmann is one of many new faculty welcomed to campus this year:
Stephen Techtmann, PhD
Stephen Techtmann joins the Department of Biological Sciences as an assistant professor. Prior to Michigan Tech, Techtmann was at the University of Tennessee. Techtmann earned a PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland.
His expertise and interests are microbial ecology of extreme environments with specialization in the collection of genomic and metagenomic data to elucidate the mechanisms of evolution and adaption. He has been published in Current Opinions in Biotechnology and Environmental Microbiology.
In addition to Dr. Techtmann faculty in other Departments can be found in the special edition of Tech Today.
Christina Lehman, Kinesiology and Physiology: Congratulations to Andrew Chapp for receiving a Predoctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association. Andrew is a Biological Sciences PhD student working in Dr. Qinghui Chen’s electrophisyiology lab. Andrew will continue to work in Dr. Chen’s lab focusing on a project titled, “Acetate as an Active Metabolite of Ethanol: Neural and Cardiovascular Implications.”
Andrew recently published a portion of his ethanol research in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology and has given several oral presentations pertaining to the effects of acetate on neuronal excitability. The project Andrew has proposed is expected to have a positive impact on providing insight into the neuronal mechanisms of an alcohol associated hypertension and stroke. Additionally, this proposed study will provide not only a known cellular mechanism for pharmacological intervention of alcohol induced hypertension, but also broader implications to future studies in the alcohol research community related to acetate on learning/memory, motor control, and addiction/depression.
More information on Dr. Chen’s research can be found on his lab page.
AUSTIN, Texas — Michigan Tech football players Ryan VanGoethem (West Branch, Mich.) and Brett Gervais (Lake Linden, Mich.) were both named 2015 Academic All-Americans by the College Sports Information Directors of America today. VanGoethem, a junior punter, was named to the First Team while Gervais, a senior defensive back, earned Second Team honors.
The pair were two of only 48 NCAA Division II players nationally to earn Academic All-America status. Criteria for the award requires nominees to be in their second year at their institution and maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average. Voting by CoSIDA members is based on both academic and athletic performance.
VanGoethem is a 3.96 student in biological sciences. He posted a 39.3 yards-per-punt average with a long of 67 yards and four punts inside the opponents’ 20. His punting average was the third best in school history. VanGoethem earned All-GLIAC Honorable Mention following the 2015 season.
Gervais owns a 3.79 GPA in exercise science. Three times in his career he earned All-GLIAC recognition including a spot on the First Team in 2015. Gervais posted 61 tackles, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery this past year. He finished his career with 203 career tackles and eight interceptions.
Michigan Tech has now had 20 Academic All-America First or Second Team honorees in its history. The most recent were Jacob Clark and Matt Curtin in 2012.
Full CoSIDA Division II Football Academic All-America Team Release
See the original press release at: http://www.michigantechhuskies.com/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/20151202m3680l
The October 15th edition of the Michigan Tech Lode features an interview with Dr. John Durocher. Dr. Durocher discusses some of his research, as well as the research of his graduate student Travis Wakeham, and gives advice to undergraduates who are interested in working in a faculty’s research lab.
Congrats to Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major Kyle Glasper who was chosen this year’s homecoming king.
You can view a short homecoming video and other event information on the Homecoming home page.
Four students from a variety of Biological Sciences majors are participating in this Saturday’s Rozsa performance of the 4th Keweenaw Honors String Festival (Violapalooza).
The four students are:
*Laura Deters, Bioinformatics playing the viola
*Erin McKenzie, Biological Sciences playing the cello
*Elise Cheney-Makens, Biochemistry playing the cello
*Megan Schluentz, Biological Sciences playing the cello
The show will be streamed live at the Visual and Performing Arts web site. Tickets and additional information about the performance are available on the Michigan Tech Events Calendar.
Dr. Thomas Werner and Dr. Xiaoqing Tang are featured in two separate articles in the last couple of week in the Michigan Tech Lode.
The article on Dr. Werner’s research titled “Inside Look: Fruit Flies, Color Patterns and Cancer” can be found in the 8 October 2015 issue.
The article on Dr. Tang’s research titled: “Solving the mystery: what connects microRNA and proteins to the pancreas” can be found in the 1 October 2016 issue.
The First Annual Research Forum sponsored by the Life Science and Technology Institute was held Sept. 24 and 25. Twenty-seven graduate and undergraduate students conducting research in life science, biotechnology, human health and related areas presented posters.
Thank you to participants, the judges and all who helped with the successful forum. A list of LSTI award winners is as follows:
Graduate Grand Prize
Sanaz Habibi (ChE) “Do Faradaic Reactions cause Hemolysis in Non-Uniform Alternating Current Electric Fields,” Advisor: Minerick
Graduate Merit Awards
Undergraduate Grand Prize
Jared Pecore (Biology)—”The Mechanisms Underlying α-Amanitin Resistance in Drosophila melanogaster: A Microarray Analysis,” Advisor: Werner
Undergraduate Merit Award
Dakota Anderson (KIP)—”Upper-Extremity Eccentric Exercise: Increases in Muscle Strength and Power at Moderate Training Intensities”
UPDATED: Here is a photo gallery of participants.
Taken from Tech Today