Biological Sciences Blog

Q&A with Medical Technologist Peyton Gast ’20, MLS

Published January 2, 2023

Medical Laboratory Science

Medical Technologist Peyton Gast graduated with a BS in Medical Lab Science from Michigan Tech. She works for Marshfield Clinic Health Systems in Transfusion Service. We caught up with Peyton recently.

Medical technologist Payton Gast holds blood sample — Preparing platelets for transfusion

MTU: What are you doing now?

Peyton: I work in the Transfusion Service department of the lab. This is a unique department because we are not only a testing service for patient samples, but we also provide the hospital with a variety of blood products – red blood cells, plasma, platelets, etc. When you donate blood, it comes to labs like ours, and we make sure the right units go to the right patients. Depending on the patient, finding compatible blood products can range from a very easy to a rather difficult process. This process is always a little easier when you have a large blood supply – which we do not have right now. That’s why it’s so important to get out there and donate!

How did you end up becoming a Medical Technologist?

Peyton: I knew that I wanted to work in the medical field, but I was wary of having a patient-facing career. When I came to MTU and discovered medical lab science, I loved that it was a behind-the-scenes role with a direct, significant impact on patient care. When I did my clinicals at the Marshfield Clinic, I learned that their Transfusion Service was the perfect department for me – it requires extreme attention to detail, and I get to do a lot of critical thinking and advanced manual techniques – which is the fun part! I also like that I get to take part in the stem cell processing program, and I can teach what I’ve learned to new MLS students every year.

Medical technologist Payton Gast — Reading agglutination reactions to ensure a safe transfusion

How did your degree and course of study at Michigan Tech prepare you for success as a Medical Technologist?

Peyton: Michigan Tech provides relevant and hands-on experience which made me feel very prepared for my clinicals. I had the opportunity to work with samples regularly seen in the lab, as well as examples of more complex disease states – especially in microbiology and hematology! I apply the techniques I learned at MTU to my job every day, and I have more confidence in my career knowing that I have a well-rounded education.

What did you enjoy the most about your Michigan Tech experience?

Peyton: The best part of my education experience at MTU was the opportunity to work so closely with instructors. They were always eager to meet and discuss classroom topics so that we can all better understand the material – no matter the class size.

Medical Lab Science student Payton Gast — Managing inventory in the blood bank

What advice do you have for Tech students today who wish to pursue a similar career?

Peyton: I would tell any new students interested in lab science that a degree in MLS can take you in many directions. This career can be as specific or as broad as you want it to be, so take advantage of electives and use it as an opportunity to find what you’re most interested in. I would encourage students to push this career as far as it can go – whether it’s getting a specialty in your department, going into management, teaching, or being the best generalist out there – MTU will prepare you to do it!

Amy Marcarelli Receives NSF Grant to Explore How Microbes Process Organic Matter in Streams

Published September 1, 2022

By Skylar LaPine

Funding
News

Professor Amy Marcarelli and a multi-disciplinary team have received a two-year, $300,000 NSF grant. The grant from the National Science Foundation is to study the relationships between organic matter and micro-organisms in streams.

Marcarelli and colleague in stream with five gallon bucket collecting a water sample — Marcarelli and colleague collecting water samples

An ecosystems ecologist, Marcarelli is leading a team of Michigan Tech ecosystem scientists, microbiologists, environmental chemists, and data scientists. The researchers are conducting detailed laboratory experiments to gather data on how microbial communities work together to process complex mixtures of dissolved organic matter in streams. Steve Techtmann, associate professor of Biological Sciences and an environmental microbiologist, is doing all the microbial work on the project in his lab at Michigan Tech.

Dissolved organic matter comprises many different kinds of molecules that come from terrestrial and aquatic plants and microbes. The researchers expect different microbes that live in streams to be specialized to break down these different molecules.

“We expect the relationships to be extremely complicated,” Marcarelli says.

They are looking at rates of respiration, carbon breakdown, and energy release. They hope to discover how the characteristics of dissolved organic matter and stream microbes can explain rates of carbon dioxide emission from streams.

The researchers will use the data to develop machine-learning models. “The relationships between the organic matter and micro-organisms might not be evident in simpler analysis methods,” Marcarelli explains.

The current work is the start of a much larger project. “We hope to build on the results of this project with a much bigger proposal for a large field project,” she says.

And why is this work important? “Although we, as a field, have studied carbon dioxide production and emission across many different streams, we can only predict a small amount of the variation we see based on environmental characteristics like temperature,” Marcarelli explains. “We think there is an important role of both microbes and organic matter structure that contributes to this variability, and understanding that is important for predicting these emissions in the future and response to global changes like climate and land use change.”

Marcarelli is the director of the Ecosystem Science Center at Michigan Tech.

This blog post initially appeared in the Fall 2022 Biological Sciences Newsletter. Read this article and others like it today.

Saving the Brook Trout by Restoring their Spawning Habitat

Published September 1, 2022

By Skylar LaPine

News

Professor Casey Huckins has been studying the ecology of coaster brook trout for nearly 20 years. He started out investigating these migratory fish’s population ecology and life history. His research now focuses on analyzing the movement patterns of coaster brook trout due to human impact on the watershed. He is also focusing on ways to restore them and the habitat they need to spawn. Recently, with funding from the Michigan Departments of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and the Department of Natural Resources, his lab has been actively restoring its critical habitat. “Human actions have turned these iconic heritage species of Lake Superior into a conservation concern by overharvesting them and disturbing their habitat,” Huckins explains.

Casey using a tool in a stream — Casey Huckins working in the field

His team is actively studying the two coaster brook trout populations still known to exist along the south-central shore of Lake Superior.

These migratory coaster brook trout live in Lake Superior. However, they return to their rivers of origin to breed in the same spots where they were spawned. Due to disturbances in the watersheds, like logging and road use, the spawning habitat of these creatures has been buried. This has altered the critical dynamic of erosion and sedimentation, leading to a buildup of fine sand. The sand present here is responsible for covering larger sediment particles like cobbles and pebbles. Cobbles are small rocks that have been rounded by water flow. These pebbles serve as the spawning habitat and also as the home for the brook trout’s food and aquatic insects.

With his recent state funding, Huckins says his goal is to restore the critical spawning habitat. He will do this by removing excess sand and studying the impacts on the habitat and the brook trout population. His team has installed in-stream sand collectors that passively collect sand as it flows over them. The researchers then routinely operate pumps to move the sand out of the floodplain.

Huckins’ team is now investigating whether the community of stream insects that are key food items for the brook trout also increases in abundance, diversity, and community structure. He hopes to see a site with natural, free-flowing cobble-based cold-water habitat. Huckins found this at the site when he started studying it with his graduate students nearly two decades ago.

His next goal is to acquire additional funding to automate the sand collectors to operate independently. Huckins’ goal is to eliminate the need for researchers to manually pump sand at the site, saving them time and fuel expenses. The team is currently expanding their efforts to implement this system in various streams and rivers. Their equipment is being utilized to rehabilitate other waterways that have suffered from erosion due to flooding, land use, or other factors that cause sand to flow downstream. As our climate changes, we expect to see more extreme events that will have outcomes we need to address to restore and maintain these critical aquatic ecosystems.

This blog post initially appeared in the Fall 2022 Biological Sciences Newsletter. Read this article and others like it today.

2022 Provost’s Award Winner Plans to Practice Rural Medicine

Published September 1, 2022

By Skylar LaPine

Christian Johnson won the 2022 Provost’s Award for Academics. He is pursuing a double major in Human Biology and English.

Johnson’s goal is to attend medical school and become a primary care physician in a rural area.

A native of Detroit, he chose Michigan Tech because the small size of the university and community appealed to him. He found the faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences so helpful. He visited Tech many times and participated in a Summer Youth Program. “I could see myself being part of the Michigan Tech community,” he says.

He worked with Greg Miodonski, a graduate student in Qinghui Chen’s lab. They studied the effect of exercise training on cardiovascular function in animals. Chen is a professor of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology and an affiliated professor of Biological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering.

The research investigated how exercise impacts the function of small conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) of rodents. It aimed to assess whether exercise could augment SK channel function in normotensive and hypertensive rats and, consequently, sympathetic nerve activity and blood pressure.

“Christian was an invaluable assistant, and his Cool Hand Luke demeanor will be missed,” said Miodonski. “Working with rodents is challenging and can be intimidating, but Christian took to the rodents immediately. Unlike exercising humans, exercising rodents poses several challenges. Mainly, rodents are poor listeners and don’t follow instructions too well. This means that exercising them requires diligence, focus, and lots of patience. Christian exhibited all of these qualities. Some undergraduate assistants require a lot of mentoring and instruction before gaining autonomy, but not Christian. A quick study, he handled obstacles exactly how I would have and impressed me at every turn. Christian also aided me with recording blood pressures in conscious rodents. This is challenging and requires constant attention for many hours. Here again, Christian exceeded expectations.”

In addition to research, Johnson immersed himself in many activities at Michigan Tech, including the Blue Key National Honor Society, Alpha Epsilon Delta—the National Health Pre-Professional Honor Society, the Pavlis Honors College, the Pre-Health Association, and Sexual Assault and Violence Education. He also worked as a writing coach in the Michigan Tech Writing Center, served as a resident assistant, and worked in various other mentoring roles. Christian found time to serve as an active volunteer for Dial Help. He also recently had a piece of his creative writing published.

This summer, he studied at the University of Stirling in Scotland, where he took courses to fulfill major requirements for his English degree.

“When I heard that I received the Provost’s Award, I was shocked,” Johnson says. “Hearing all of the work I have been putting in and my accomplishments being read aloud; picking up the plaque; and shaking Dean Kampe’s, Dean Southerland’s, and President Koubek’s hands is a moment I will never forget.”

Johnson is currently applying to medical schools. Being from Detroit and living in Houghton, he has had the opportunity to see medical care in both urban and rural settings. Working with Dial Help particularly opened his eyes to the struggles that rural area residents face in accessing resources and being able to see a physician. “That experience made me want to serve rural areas and help with the primary care physician shortages in those areas,” he says.

This blog post initially appeared in the Fall 2022 Biological Sciences Newsletter. Read this article and others like it today.

NIH Grant Helps Dr. M. Tang Explore Cancer Mechanisms and Novel Treatments

Published September 1, 2022

By Skylar LaPine

Funding
News

Xiaohu (Mark) Tang’s Laboratory of Cancer Metabolism and Functional Genomics is using a three-year $413,090 grant from the National Institutes of Health to find ways to optimize the efficacy of targeted cysteine therapy and broaden its application for the treatment of different subtypes of breast cancer. Tang is an assistant professor of Biological Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. at The Weizmann Institute of Science. Haiying Liu, Professor of Chemistry, is a co-investigator on this project.

“Targeted cancer therapy is an emerging trend in precision cancer medicine,” Tang explains. “It uses the specific genetic makeup of a patient’s tumor to select the safest and most effective personalized treatment, instead of the traditional symptom-driven practice of medicine. Identifying and targeting metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer is a promising therapeutic strategy.”

The NIH grant will also provide research-based training for undergraduates and graduate students in Biological Sciences and the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology programs. “The work will enable students to understand the complexity of cancer and motivate them to seek novel strategies to improve health issues,” says Tang.

Tang’s lab works to characterize the deregulation of cancer metabolism and the role of nutrients during cancer initiation and progression. He is working to understand the underlying mechanisms of cancer to pursue workable alternative treatments for patients. He also hopes that a better understanding of diet-cancer interactions could establish a strategy for long-term cancer prevention.

This blog post initially appeared in the Fall 2022 Biological Sciences Newsletter. Read this article and others like it today.

Erika Hersch-Green Receives NSF CAREER Award

Published September 1, 2022

By Skylar LaPine

Erika Hersch-Green, plant evolutionary ecologist and associate professor of Biological Sciences, received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. She will investigate how specific attributes of plants, such as their genome size, influence community biodiversity responses to increased nitrogen and phosphorus availability. Hersch-Green’s approach combines molecular, cytological, physiological, and phylogenetic techniques.

Hersch-Green is conducting her research on three fronts. First, she is currently gathering fresh data and merging it with information from experimental grassland sites around the world. These sites have plots with different nutrient treatments, allowing her to examine how response patterns vary depending on climate conditions. Second, she is conducting controlled greenhouse studies to better understand mechanisms that focus on two common grassland plants: fireweed and goldenrod, both of which she has studied before. Lastly, she developed a new research site at Churning Rapids, north of Hancock and south of McClain State Park. There she is extending her research to look at how disturbance patterns affect levels of biodiversity.

She is also exploring ways to improve students’ scientific literacy and engagement in research. To accomplish this, she is incorporating students in grades 6 through 12 and undergraduates in research, enhancing research involvement in the classroom, facilitating effective scientific communication skills of graduate students, and promoting collaboration among undergraduate students and faculty in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Humanities. These students will produce video content that will be used to enhance education and public understanding of biological science and ecology.

To summarize, Hersch-Green aims to provide a system-level understanding of how nutrient eutrophication—the increasingly dense growth of particular plants at the expense of other species—and landscape disturbances affect individual organisms and multi-species communities by looking at their interactions.

Although she is passionate about her research, Hersch-Green is also deeply committed to the educational component of her CAREER award. Her educational goals are to increase both scientific literacy and engagement of high school and university students on critical topics related to nutrient eutrophication, biodiversity, evolutionary adaptation, and awareness of related STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) career pathways.

This blog post initially appeared in the Fall 2022 Biological Sciences Newsletter. Read this article and others like it today.

Anatomage Table 8.0 is a True Game Changer for Students

Published September 1, 2022

By Skylar LaPine

Students standing beside an interactive table in a lab — Students using Anatomage Table in A & P

Thanks to the generous support from our alumni and friends, the department purchased a virtual human cadaver dissection table from Anatomage. The table cost about $72,000. Our Anatomy and Physiology (A & P) students have been excited to use this equipment since the Fall of 2021. The table will move to our new H-STEM building when that project is complete (and be joined by a second table). This 7.2-foot-long iPad-like table allows eight students to simultaneously learn and experience medical sciences in a way they have never done before! We would greatly appreciate it if you could contribute to Anatomage Michigan Tech Fund #3454. Funds will go to purchase a second Anatomage table. As a result, this increases instruction for up to 16 students at the same time. We are already halfway there.

The Anatomage Table 8.0 is one of the most technologically advanced virtual dissection platforms. The Table’s interactive, life-sized display is now available for our undergraduate students to utilize within the Anatomy & Physiology Teaching Laboratory! It expands our ability to provide ultra-high-quality visualization for students to view photorealistic anatomical structures. Students are amazed by the level of detail within each virtual human cadaver. They see value in comparing models and textbook images to actual medical images. The Table includes a robust library of histology scans, CT and MRI scans, clinical cases, and physiology simulations.

This blog post initially appeared in the Fall 2022 Biological Sciences Newsletter. Read this article and others like it today.

Paul Goetsch Receives NIH Grant to Study Cell Cycle Regulation

Published September 1, 2022

By Skylar LaPine

Funding
News

Dr. Goetsch assisting a graduate student in the lab

Assistant Professor Paul Goetsch received a $423,381 grant from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Goetsch will study how the DREAM transcriptional repressor complex regulates the cell cycle of cellular progression and cellular quiescence.

Cellular division is extremely important as an organism grows to maturity, but just as important are the mechanisms that stop cells from dividing. Dysfunction in cellular quiescence generally leads to the development of cancer cells, Goetsch explains.

Working in the model system Caenorhabditis elegans, a 1 mm-long transparent nematode, the Goetsch lab is using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing to disrupt how the DREAM complex forms and test how that affects its function. “By exploiting advances in genomic editing and genetic tools in a tractable model system, we will gain new insights into how the DREAM complex protects cellular and organismal health,” says Goetsch.

Another part of the grant supports bringing research directly into the classroom for Biological Sciences students in the second-year genetics lab. Goetsch and his colleagues are implementing Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). These are used to provide students a glimpse into research opportunities within the department.

In Spring 2021, Goetsch and his student Emily Washeleski developed a unique experiment combining C. elegans genetics with environmental microbiology. “We are continuing to expand upon our CURE approach to provide students equitable access to research experience as a cornerstone of their professional development within the department,” Goetsch says.

This blog post initially appeared in the Fall 2022 Biological Sciences Newsletter. Read this article and others like it today.

Alumni and Friends Inducted into the CSA Academy

Published September 1, 2022

By Skylar LaPine

News

Steve Yang

Dr. Steve Yang was inducted into the CSA Academy of Sciences and Arts on September 15, 2022. Dr. Yang is the Co-CEO of WuXi AppTec and a member of its board of directors. He is also WuXi AppTec’s Head of WuXi Biology and Head of WuXi Testing businesses. His responsibilities include the management of multiple business units and commercial operations. WuXi AppTec provides a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services. These enable companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device industries worldwide to advance discoveries and deliver groundbreaking treatments to patients.

Dr. Yang received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of California, San Francisco. He started his undergraduate study at Fudan University, China. Yang completed his B.S. degree (Summa Cum Laude) in biological sciences from Michigan Technological University. He co-founded the BayHelix Group and served as the board’s chairman for two terms. BayHelix Group is a non-profit global professional organization of Chinese life science business leaders. We are proud of all of Steve’s achievements and welcome him back to engage with our students and curriculum improvements.

James D. Spain

Professor James D. Spain, PhD. was inducted into the College of Sciences and Arts Academy on October 7, 2021. He is one of the founding members of the Department of Biological Sciences at Michigan Technological University. Dr. Spain started our department in 1962 and served as the first department head from 1962 to 1968. Dr. Spain played a major role in developing a strong curriculum in biological sciences at the B.S. level. He helped offer M.S. and Ph.D. programs in biological sciences in 1965 and 1970, respectively. He initiated interdisciplinary research in aquatic ecology. Dr. Spain was actively engaged in research in biochemistry with a special emphasis on chemical carcinogenesis. He was passionate about developing tools and offering courses in “Computer Applications in Biology”. He received Michigan Tech’s highly prestigious Faculty Research Award in 1965.

Dr. Spain took early retirement from Michigan Tech in 1984 and continued his career, first at Eastern Michigan University as their director of Instructional Computing. Later, at Clemson University in South Carolina, he directed the Chemistry Learning Center. Dr. Spain retired in 2010 and returned to the Copper Country. He recently published his autobiography, Perusing for Pioneer Pathways. We are grateful to Professor Spain for all that he has done for our department. The seed he planted in 1962 has now grown into this majestic tree that has witnessed the graduation of thousands of students since 1963.

This blog post initially appeared in the Fall 2022 Biological Sciences Newsletter. Read this article and others like it today.

2021 Provost Award Winner Says Research, Clinical Care Go Hand in Hand

Published September 1, 2022

By Skylar LaPine

Thomas Basala was the recipient of the 2021 Provost’s Award for Scholarship. He graduated in May with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology.

Basala is spending the summer as a lead intern at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation. He will stay there for the rest of this year as a research associate. He plans to attend medical school.

The Provost’s Award for Scholarship recognizes a student who embodies Michigan Tech’s scholarship value statement: We inspire world-class scholarship through academics, research, and continued learning. It is awarded annually to a rising senior who has demonstrated excellence not only in academics but also in research, levels of intellectual curiosity, creativity, and communication skills.

Each department is invited to nominate one undergraduate for the award. In 2021, Basala was the Department of Biological Sciences’ nominee.

“Thomas is one of the most conscientious, reliable, and appreciative students I have met,” says John Durocher, adjunct associate professor of biological sciences. Basala worked in Durocher’s lab.

Basala says winning the Provost’s Award caught him by surprise. “There are so many talented students at Michigan Tech,” he explains.

A student in the Pavlis Honors College, he worked in the Clinical and Applied Physiology Lab throughout his years at Michigan Tech. He received two research grants while he was an undergraduate: a Michigan Space Grant Consortium young investigator award to study how nocturnal blood pressure relates to indices of cardiovascular risks such as arterial stiffness; and a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) to investigate the efficacy of pre-sleep meditation on sleep in young adults. “They were both very enriching to me,” he says.

Basala presented his meditation research at the 2022 Experimental Biology conference in Philadelphia. Additionally, he presented work on the impact of decentering—the ability to dissociate from emotional feelings—on nocturnal blood pressure patterns at the 2021 Experimental Biology conference. Both abstracts were published in the FASEB (Federation of Societies for Experimental Biology) Journal.

He fell in love with research under Durocher’s mentorship. “He taught me the minute nuances of doing human research,” Basala says. ‘He helped me understand what it means to be a well-rounded researcher and active community member. “

Basala wants to become that kind of clinician/researcher. “I want research always to be part of the patient care I do,” he says. “Research and clinical care inform each other and, in many cases, should not be separated.”

Basala is from Stevens Point, Wisconsin. During his time at Tech, he served as president of the Triangle STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fraternity, a lieutenant with Michigan Tech EMS (Emergency Medical Services), and co-coordinator for the Global and Community Engagement Conference.

This blog post initially appeared in the Fall 2022 Biological Sciences Newsletter. Read this article and others like it today.