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Research Meet & Greet with the Biology Faculty

Each semester there is a meeting to discuss options.

All* students interested in Spring '21 research are required to attend:

Research Meet & Greet
Thursday, Oct 22, 4:00 - 5:00 pm

  •  Begin the meeting here, Zoom (see link details on the seminar page).
    • This room will be open for Bio Club students to meet with each other, ask current students any questions they have about research, etc. 
  • Students will then "roam" to the Faculty Zoom rooms. You will have the opportunity to meet the professors there.
    • Be sure to read their projects listed below PRIOR to the meeting so you know which labs you would be interested in working in.

*This is REQUIRED if you do not already have a firm commitment from a faculty member.

After you have met with faculty, submit the Request Research Form by November 5.

Registration procedures are the same for all (as listed on this page).

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Summer Scholars Research is TBD.  

cells under a fluorescent microscope
Ed Cluett: Cell Biology

Cholesterol—can’t live with it, can’t live without it.  Investigations in several aspects of cholesterol trafficking:

-- How and where cholesterol goes inside cells
-- How the cell regulates synthesized and internalized cholesterol
-- How changes in the distribution of cholesterol affect the function of certain proteins particularly in relation to certain cancers and Alzheimer’s disease

Ed's Faculty Page
a red-orange and black bird held by its feet
Nanda Cortes: Ornithology

-- Field of molecular ecology--I am particularly interested in the role that past or present geographic barriers play in the evolutionary history of species, emphasizing their phylogeography, genomics and conservation.

-- Song variation between populations of closely related bird species

Nanda's Faculty Page
cells under fluorescent microscope
Dave Gondek: Microbiology

-- Compare, via in silico identification, virulence factors which are unique to Chlamydia species and allow for host adaptation
-- Create Chlamydia virulence factors fusion with fluorescent proteins via in vitro moleculer cloning
-- Contrast spatial and temporal regulation of Chlamydia virulence factors via in vivo over expression during infection and "immunity".
-- Develop hybrid Chlamydia strains for in vivo screening of increased/decreased host specificity

Dave's Faculty Page
line traces of action potentials and a photo of a cell under fluorescent microscope
Jean Hardwick: Neurobiology, Animal Physiology

-- Electrophysiological characterization of individual neurons in the cardiac ganglion
-- Analysis of changes in neuronal gene expression using PCR and immunohistochemistry
-- Biochemical analysis of changes in protein levels using Western Blot analysis

Jean's Faculty Page
diagram of alternative gene splicing
Maki Inada: Molecular Biology

How are genes turned on and off?

--Identifying factors involved in splicing via high throughput screens

--Cloning a library of mutants via complementation 

--Examining the role of RNA polymerase C-terminal domain in regulation via mutagenesis

Maki's Faculty Page
four dwarf hamster pups in a huddle
Leann Kanda: Behavior, Ecology

Animal personality and environment shaping animal movements

-- Lab: personality of dwarf hamsters influencing social and foraging behaviors
-- Field: wildlife personality in urban vs rural landscapes
-- Field: habitat use and movement of mammals and amphibians 

Leann's Faculty Page
drawing of a clear worm and its internal organs
Te-Wen Lo: Genetics

-- Understanding protein signaling specificity and how developmental processes evolve.

Learn more about the Lo Lab.

Learn more about the Woods-Lo Lab tardigrade collaboration.

Te-Wen's Faculty Page
black and white leaf cells next to two false-color images of leaves
Peter Melcher: Whole Plant Physiology

Investigations on plant responses to the environment.

Current focus on:

-- Impacts of introduced species in Puerto Rico
-- Adaptations to seasonal freezing and drought

Peter's Faculty Page
four water fleas
Brooks Miner: Aquatic Evolutionary Ecology

-- Adaptation to UV radiation exposure in alpine ponds
-- Divergence in thermal tolerance between lake and pond populations
-- Molecular methods to measure DNA damage and identify species

Brooks' Faculty Page
a slug, slug glue in a tube, and a diagram of a slug glue protein
Andy Smith: Animal Physiology, Biomechanics

How animal glues work: guiding the development of bioinspired medical adhesives

-- Characterize the components of a biological secretion that forms an unusually tough glue 
-- Determine how different proteins and metal ions create toughness and adhesion in this glue

Andy's Faculty Page
a succulent plant with white flower
Susan Witherup: Plant Systematics and Evolution

Research on Puerto Rican Fan Flowers:

        - Pollination Biology
        - Genetic Diversity
        - Impacts of Invasive Species on Islands

Projects in Sustainability Science

Susan's Faculty Page
a red-dyed fish embryo on a black background
Ian Woods: Computational and Developmental Biology

-- Computational biology: learn and apply bioinformatics and programming skills to genome-scale analyses in humans and model organisms 
-- Developmental biology: analyze the roles of genes acting in sensory neuron development and tissue regeneration.

Also, Learn more about the Woods-Lo Lab on tardigrade collaboration.

Ian's Faculty Page