Biological Sciences Blog

Tag: Research

2024 Songer Research Award for Human Health Recipients

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Vaishali Sharma, a Biological Sciences Ph.D. student, and Xinqian Chen, a previous MTU Biological Sciences graduate and now Integrative Physiology Ph.D. student, have received this year’s Songer Research Award for Human Health.

Vaishali Sharma
Vaishali Sharma

Vaishali Sharma is currently working under Dr. Stephen Techtmann (BioSci) and Dr. Caryn Heldt (ChE/HRI) on a project titled “Antiviral efficacy of amino acid-based surfactants: A proposal for advancing human health by breaking the chain of viral infection.” Xinqian Chen graduated with a M.S. in Biological Sciences, and is now working under Dr. Zhiying Shan of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology on a project titled “Exploring the role of brain-derived extracellular vesicles in salt-sensitive hypertension.”

To read more about Sharma, Chen, and their research, visit the College of Sciences and Arts Newsblog.

Xinqian Chen
Xinqian Chen

About the Biological Sciences Department

Biological scientists at Michigan Technological University help students apply academic concepts to real-world issues: improving healthcare, conserving biodiversity, advancing agriculture, and unlocking the secrets of evolution and genetics. The Biological Sciences Department offers seven undergraduate degrees and three graduate degrees. Supercharge your biology skills to meet the demands of a technology-driven society at a flagship public research university powered by science, technology, engineering, and math. Graduate with the theoretical knowledge and practical experience needed to solve real-world problems and succeed in academia, research, and tomorrow’s high-tech business landscape.

Questions? Contact us at biology@mtu.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest happenings.

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New Funding – Jill Olin and Stony Brook University Shark Research

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Jill Olin (BioSci/GLRC) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received an $82,917 research and development contract from Stony Brook University.

The title of the project is “Defining foraging hotspots of finfish and sharks in the New York Bight: linking trophic dynamics with spatiotemporal trends in species distributions.”

James Junker (GLRC) is a co-PI on this potential two-year project.

Jill Olin
Jill Olin

Jill Olin is a community ecologist who studies the processes that affect the stability and structure of ecosystems. She studies these issues in freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems because of the diversity and economic importance of species inhabiting these environments; and, toward the fact that they are under threat from anthropogenic influences. Olin uses community assembly, food web, and fisheries theory to explore the following research areas; (1) the intra- and inter-species interactions and trophic structuring of communities within a hierarchical construct; (2) the distribution patterns of organisms and the mechanisms that drive these patterns and; (3) the relative influence of anthropogenic threats and climactic drivers on ecosystem dynamics and resilience. She combines dietary biomarkers techniques with ecological and modeling approaches to explore questions with the overriding aim of providing data for conservation across multiple levels of organization.

Currently Jill teaches courses in Marine Ecology, Ecology and Evolution, and Ecogeochemical Tracer Techniques.

About the Biological Sciences Department

Biological scientists at Michigan Technological University help students apply academic concepts to real-world issues: improving healthcare, conserving biodiversity, advancing agriculture, and unlocking the secrets of evolution and genetics. The Biological Sciences Department offers seven undergraduate degrees and three graduate degrees. Supercharge your biology skills to meet the demands of a technology-driven society at a flagship public research university powered by science, technology, engineering, and math. Graduate with the theoretical knowledge and practical experience needed to solve real-world problems and succeed in academia, research, and tomorrow’s high-tech business landscape.

Questions? Contact us at biology@mtu.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest happenings.

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In the News – Michigan Tech’s Tick Talk

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MTU’s Tick Talk project was included in a WKAR News story, considering the escalating tick populations in Michigan. Michigan Tech’s Tick Talk project utilizes the power of crowdsourcing tick collection to advance research on tick populations and tick-borne diseases in the Copper Country. 

man walking in woods with dog
Man walking in the woods with his dog in the Copper Country.

Faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students across Michigan Tech departments ranging from Computer Sciences to Biological Sciences are coming together to work on this project and make it successful. Members from our department who are contributing to this project include Dr. Stephen Techtmann (Biological Sciences Associate Professor, Great Lakes Research Center Associate Director), Dr. Aimee Marceau (Research Scientist, Genomic Surveillance Facility Lead), and Trisha Colling (Sequencing Laboratory Scientist).

Dr. Aimee Marceau was previously interviewed in a  WLUC TV6 story about the Tick Talk project, which was featured on our blog.

About the Biological Sciences Department

Biological scientists at Michigan Technological University help students apply academic concepts to real-world issues: improving healthcare, conserving biodiversity, advancing agriculture, and unlocking the secrets of evolution and genetics. The Biological Sciences Department offers seven undergraduate degrees and three graduate degrees. Supercharge your biology skills to meet the demands of a technology-driven society at a flagship public research university powered by science, technology, engineering, and math. Graduate with the theoretical knowledge and practical experience needed to solve real-world problems and succeed in academia, research, and tomorrow’s high-tech business landscape.

Questions? Contact us at biology@mtu.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest happenings.

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In the News – Aimee Marceau and Tick Disease Surveillance

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Aimee Marceau (BioSci) and Kristin Brzeski (CFRES) were featured in a  WLUC TV6 story about Michigan Tech’s Tick Talk project, a crowdsourced tick collection to aid research on tick-borne diseases and tick populations in the Copper Country.

Crowdsourcing Ticks for Disease Surveillance

Tick Talk, the crowdsourcing tick collection project that was conducted at Michigan Tech last year, has returned for a second year. Tick collection has already begun for 2024.

MTU’s Genomic Sequencing Lab wants ticks from you, your family and your pets. The goal of this project is to identify the prevalence of tick-borne illnesses in the Copper Country. Please bring any ticks you find to one of two collection boxes on the Michigan Tech campus:

  • Great Lakes Research Center — First Floor
  • U. J. Noblet Forestry Building — Main Entrance
man walking in woods with dog

Current Results

Results from the community tick submission so far are available on the Tick Talk Dashboard. If you have any questions, please contact lab lead Aimee Marceau at ahmarcea@mtu.edu.

  • 174 blacklegged ticks and four brown dog ticks have been collected.
  • 20% of the blacklegged ticks submitted tested positive for Lyme.

How to Remove and Preserve Ticks

  1. Use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
  2. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause its mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth parts with tweezers. If you cannot remove the mouth easily with tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
  3. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
  4. Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by:
    1. Placing it in a sealed plastic storage bag. Multiple ticks from the same location can be placed in the same bag.
    2. Once the tick is sealed inside the plastic storage bag, bring it to a drop-off point within eight hours or place the bag with the tick in a freezer until dropping it off at Michigan Tech.
  5. Follow the directions at the drop-off site to ensure the tick is properly preserved.

About the Biological Sciences Department

Biological scientists at Michigan Technological University help students apply academic concepts to real-world issues: improving healthcare, conserving biodiversity, advancing agriculture, and unlocking the secrets of evolution and genetics. The Biological Sciences Department offers seven undergraduate degrees and three graduate degrees. Supercharge your biology skills to meet the demands of a technology-driven society at a flagship public research university powered by science, technology, engineering, and math. Graduate with the theoretical knowledge and practical experience needed to solve real-world problems and succeed in academia, research, and tomorrow’s high-tech business landscape.

Questions? Contact us at biology@mtu.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest happenings.

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Grace Gonzalez – Journey through MTU’s Biological Sciences

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Grace Gonzalez graduated from Michigan Tech’s Medical Laboratory Science program in 2023, but her passions didn’t end with only MLS. During her time at Michigan Tech, Gonzalez delved into her interests in human medicine as well as animal care. She began doing aquatic research with Biological Sciences professors Dr. Casey Huckins and Dr. Jill Olin, started Michigan Tech’s Aquarium Society, and even volunteered at the local wildlife rehab, just to name a few. Now, she is beginning her journey into veterinary medicine at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Read more about Grace’s experiences at Michigan Tech, what inspired her to lead this journey, and those who supported her along the way—including MLS’s Claire Danielson, Sarah LewAllen, and Brigitte Morin—on our Pre-Health Professions blog post From Fish Tanks To White Coats: Grace’s Vet School Journey.

Grace Gonzalez
Grace Gonzalez

About the Biological Sciences Department

Biological scientists at Michigan Technological University help students apply academic concepts to real-world issues: improving healthcare, conserving biodiversity, advancing agriculture, and unlocking the secrets of evolution and genetics. The Biological Sciences Department offers seven undergraduate degrees and three graduate degrees. Supercharge your biology skills to meet the demands of a technology-driven society at a flagship public research university powered by science, technology, engineering, and math. Graduate with the theoretical knowledge and practical experience needed to solve real-world problems and succeed in academia, research, and tomorrow’s high-tech business landscape.

Questions? Contact us at biology@mtu.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest happenings.

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Call for Applications: 2023 Songer Research Award for Human Health

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Matthew Songer, (Biological Sciences ’79) and Laura Songer (Biological Sciences ’80) have generously donated funds to the College of Sciences and Arts (CSA) to support a research project competition, the Songer Research Award for Human Health, for undergraduate and graduate students. Remembering their own eagerness to engage in research during their undergraduate years, the Songers established these awards to stimulate and encourage opportunities for original research by current Michigan Tech students.

Students may propose an innovative medically-oriented research project in any area of human health. The best projects will demonstrate the potential to have a broad impact on improving human life. This research will be pursued in consultation with faculty members within the College of Sciences and Arts. The Songers’ gift and matching funds from the College will support two awards for undergraduate research ($4,000) and two for graduate research ($6,000), for research conducted over the Summer of 2023 and/or the following academic year.

Learn more about who is eligible to apply, how to apply, and how the funds may be used.

Submit applications as a single PDF file to the Office of the College of Sciences and Arts by 4:00 p.m. Monday, April 24, 2023. Applications may be emailed to djhemmer@mtu.edu. Any questions may be directed to David Hemmer (djhemmer@mtu.edu).

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