Maymester 2010: AFRICAN SAFARI!!!!
by miker
Maymester 2010 Click on the link below to get a great preview of the excitement that awaits you in May 2010!!!
Maymester 2009 Photos are here!!!!
by miker
Maymester 09 trip to Ecuador photo gallery is now available for your viewing pleasure!! The trip to Ecuador included days spent in the Amazon Jungle along the Rio Napo, Galapagos Islands, and the Andes Mountains. Dr. Nash and Dr. Rischbieter along with students Jenny Andrews, Jane Bednarz, Erica Deahl, Elizabeth Gault, Amber Giles, Plyler Hamilton, Michael Harris, Logan Herring, Maggie Horton, Carrie Moore, Robby O'Harold, Alice Parish, Michael Rice, and Caroline White were treated to such delicacies as guinea pig, freshly fried pork skins, and huge white grubs, along with incredible scenery and special time spent with students in a local school in the Amazon Jungle along with many other adventures!
Student invited to Capitol Hill
by miker
Carly Eargle ’09 has been invited to Capitol Hill, where she will present research as part of the Council on Undergraduate Research’s “Posters on the Hill” event on May 5. Approximately 60 undergraduates from across the country were invited to participate.
“It is such an honor,” Eargle said, “and I am humbled that my research would even be considered. I am really very proud and surprised.”
Eargle will present her research at the Rayburn Office Building, a congressional office building for the U.S. House of Representatives. While in Washington, DC, she will also tour the city and will have a chance to meet with her Congressional Representative and Senator.
Eargle worked on most of the research, which is her Biology Honors project, as a junior, a year earlier than most students begin their projects. Heather Hawkins ’08, who also worked on the project will not present in Washington because she now attends graduate school.
For her research, “Pollen Profiles in Pond Deposition Basins and Associated Plant Community Structure in Young’s Pond, Clinton, SC,” Eargle took sediment samples to see if the pond’s pollen samples in the sediments were a true reflection of the plant communities.
According to Eargle’s research mentor, biology professor Dr. Michael Rischbieter, scientists sometimes assume that ancient pollen samples taken from the bottom of lakes and ponds can help determine how global warming, glacial episodes, and other climatic fluctuations have affected the earth.
“What we came up with,” said Rischbieter, “was the idea of testing this assumption with a fairly small environment to see if this assumption was valid.”
After taking the samples, Eargle made slides of the pollen that was extracted from various sediment levels, determined what kinds of plants the pollen was from, and then compared this with the plants from the surrounding area to determine if there was a statistical match.
“We found that the pollen distribution did not match the true distribution,” Eargle said, “thus raising questions about previous assumptions that paleoenvironments could be reconstructed on the basis of pollen analysis.”
The biology major and English and chemistry minor first presented her findings as part of PC’s Honors Research program last semester. She is continuing with the research, updating information as she receives it. The project should be complete by the end of this semester.
In addition to presenting on Capitol Hill, Eargle will present at the Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium on March 27-28.
Biology Department News
by miker
The Biology Department is going national!!!
Carly Eargle is going to the Hill!! Carly's abstract entitled "An Analysis of the Pollen Profiles in Pond Deposition Basins and Associated Plant Community Structure in Young's Pond, Clinton, SC" has been accepted to the 2009 Posters on the Hill.
Caitlin Rinz and Jacalyn Shealy will present their research at the 23rd annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research on April 16-18. This year’s event is held at the University of Wisconsin- LaCrosse.
Biology Department Honor's Research 2008-09
by miker
Another great year of research in the Biology Department!
Sammy Allen: "Salamander habitat preferences in disturbed and undisturbed areas."
Bradley Buckallew: "The Effects of
Urbanization on Flying Squirrel Box Activity, Including
Nesting.
Caitlin Rinz: "Screening adults in
South Carolina for a genetic mutation that causes Medium
Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency."
Nicholas Blake: "An ecological study of the relative density and relative dominance of the trees and understory plants contributing to the pollen rains in the pond sedimentary basins in and around Clinton SC."
Carly Eargle: "An analysis of the pollen and spores contributing to the pond sediments in and around Clinton SC: light micrscopy."
Heather Hawkins: "An analysis of the pollen and spores contributing to the pond sediments in and around Clinton SC: electron microscopy."
Allison Serdah: "The use of a modified air abrasion technique to analyze the structures used in the cladistic analysis of two Oligocene oreodonts."
Biology Department Honor's Research 2006-2007
by miker
Look at all of the research being done by Biology students this semester!
Sarah Cash: "A microfaunal analysis of the Pliocene Walrus Ditch Locality".
Danielle Gill: "A survey and environmental assessment of the dinoflagellates of the middle Pleistocene Camelot Locality."
Jared Dickerson: "Developmental Stages of the Brown Trout,
Salmo trutta".
Claire Hann: "Developing a series of Carnegie Stages for human embryos after week 12 of development".
Thomas Knackstedt: "The Genetic Mutations of Cohen's Syndrome".
Ashley Ragan: "Particle Capture Ability of Freshwater Bivalves".
Benjamin von Schweinitz: "Effectiveness of Expired Antibiotics".
Biology students research at the State Museum featured story.
by miker
Anyone who has spent time in the Presbyterian College biology department knows that biology majors do a great deal of tedious work for labs. However, something that is less well known is that some students are doing real paleontological research on campus for the State Museum in Columbia.
Maymester 2006: Galapagos Islands Pictures are finally on the web!!
Thu, Sep 28, 2006 by miker
Magnificent scenes of the Galapagos flora, fauna and PC students intereacting with them can be found at the Biology Department's Web site Photo Galleries!!
PC Biology Student Publishes Research
Wed, Aug 30, 2006 by miker
Courtney Sloan, a senior biology major from Simpsonville, SC, recently had her summer research findings published in the scientific journal Vascular Pharmacology. In 2005, Courtney participated in the STAR summer research program at the Medical College of Georgia where she worked in the laboratory of Dr. Joseph Cannon, Associate Dean of Research and Kellett Chair of Allied Health Sciences. Their research focused on the cell adhesion molecule P-selectin and how its presence affects the types of cytokines secreted by human mononuclear cells.
Fleximester 2005: Natural History of the Florida Coastline
Mon, Jun 06, 2005 by miker
Fleximester 2005 pics are in! Check them out in the gallery section.
PC Biology Professor Dr. Jim Wetzel receives grant
Tue, May 24, 2005 by miker
Dr. Jim Wetzel recently received notice from the M.K. Pentecost Ecology Fund Committee of Savannah Presbytery that he has been awarded a matching grant to conduct research on pipefishes along the SC coastline. Along with this research Dr. Wetzel, the Pulaski L. Bealy Smith Professor of Biology will be traveling to Australia this summer, and to China in the Fall as a part of his upcoming sabbatical leave.
Rising senior biology major Christina Randall accepted to the Summer 2005 STAR Program at MCG
Mon, Mar 14, 2005 by miker
The Summer STAR (Student Training And Research) program is designed to provide biomedical research experience for undergraduate students with a desire to pursue a graduate education in biomedical sciences. This program provides opportunities for highly motivated and talented undergraduate students to develop skills as young scientists and to explore further their interest in biomedical research. During the course of the ten-week program, students actively participate in a biomedical research project under the guidance of a MCG faculty member. In addition, students attend workshops, discussion groups and laboratory demonstrations that expose them to a broad range of biomedical research techniques, approaches and laboratory experiences available at the Medical College of Georgia. The Summer STAR program provides excellent preparation for students planning to pursue a PhD or MD/PhD in the biomedical sciences. Students are awarded a stipend for their participation in the program.
Our goal is for participants to leave the program with an understanding of their personal contribution to a particular laboratory project as well as with a comprehensive understanding of the broader scientific research area. Towards this aim, STAR participants, with the guidance of their faculty STAR mentor, are required to prepare a written report of their project in the form of a scientific paper and present their work in a short oral presentation at the end of the session. In addition, students are invited to return to MCG for MCG's Annual Graduate Research Day and showcase their research in a poster presentation.