News » Bioscience

MSUM Alum Margaret Zimmerman wins American Society of Physiology Predoctoral Research Award

weatheco — Thu, 09 May 2013 03:10:06 +0000

Margaret Zimmerman received the prestigious American Physiology Society: Water and Electrolyte Homeostasis Predoctoral Research Recognition Award at the 2013 Experimental Biology Meeting. Zimmerman’s abstract entitled “Ang (1-7) has a Greater Contribution to the Blood Pressure Lowering Effects of AT1 Receptor Blockade in Female Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) Compared to Males” was one of three finalists chosen to compete for the award.

Finalists are then judged on a presentation of their work at during a session sponsored by the Water and Electrolyte section at the national meeting. This is the second time Zimmerman has been a finalist for the award. Zimmerman graduated from MSUM in 2010 with a major in Biochemistry and Biotechnology.

Biochemistry and Biotechnology students and faculty present at the National Experimental Biology Meeting

weatheco — Thu, 09 May 2013 03:09:53 +0000

MSUM Biochemistry and Biotechnology majors Nick Berthelsen, Alex Novak, and Harrison Pantera attended the National Experimental Biology Meeting in Boston. MSUM faculty members Mark Wallert, Biosciences, and Joseph Provost, Chemistry, also attended the meeting. All three students participated in the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Undergraduate Poster Competition along with presenting their work in the regular poster sessions at the meeting. Wallert gave an oral and poster presentation on the MSUM Biochemistry and Biotechnology Industry Certificate program as part of the ASBMB Education and Professional Development Program.

Tri-Beta officers elected

weatheco — Thu, 02 May 2013 03:03:12 +0000

Congratulations to the 2013-14 Tri-Beta Honor Society Officers elected Monday, April 29.

Donovan Donarski‎ – President
Courtney Constantini‎ – Vice President
Clarice Wallert‎ – Secretary
Erin Trisko‎ and Brittany Stuart‎ – Historians
Nancy Stenger – Treasurer

Great leadership for a great year of events and meetings!

Spring Plant Sale

weatheco — Wed, 01 May 2013 03:05:15 +0000

Tri-Beta will be holding a Spring Plant Sale Thursday, May 2 and Friday, May 3 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the Science Lab Building. Come check out all the new plants!

Wisenden and students publish paper

weatheco — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 03:11:48 +0000

For the second time in the same week, Brian Wisenden, Biosciences Department, has published another research paper. Biosciences undergraduates Randy Sutrisno and Phillip Schotte conducted a test of phylogenetic differences in predators’ ability to mask or biochemically degrade the chemical alarm cues of their prey that eke out of the predator’s digestive system. The full citation for the paper is:
Sutrisno R, Schotte PM, Wisenden BD (2013) Chemical arms race between predator and prey: a test of predator digestive counter-measures against chemical labeling by dietary cues of prey. Journal of Freshwater Ecology.

Biosciences professors and student have paper accepted for publication

weatheco — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 03:09:00 +0000

Shireen Alemadi, Brian Wisenden and undergraduate student Andrew Nelson (all Biosciences Department) have had a paper accepted for publication in the international peer-reviewed journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. The title of the paper is “Learned recognition of novel predator odour by convict cichlid embryos.” In this study, eggs of the cichlid fish were simultaneously exposed to the odor of a novel fish species and odor of chemical alarm cues of cichlid larvae. Later, after the eggs had hatched and grown for about a week as larvae, they showed antipredator behavioral responses to the novel odor while control larvae that did not experience the conditioning stimuli showed no response to novel odor.

This is the first demonstration of embryonic learning in a fish. Nelson is currently pursuing graduate studies in the Environmental and Conservation Sciences program at NDSU.

Summer Session class Exploring Biology fulfills Goal Area 10

weatheco — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 03:07:22 +0000

Looking for a Goal Area 10 to take this summer? Look no further – BIOL 370 (Exploring Biology) is the class for you. It is full of hands on activities and experiments and is only three weeks long. Register today!

Relay for Life luminary sale

weatheco — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 03:01:31 +0000

The MSUM Biosciences team will have luminaries to decorate in the CMU Tuesday, April 9 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (or until the luminaries run out). Any donations to help fundraising for Relay for Life will be accepted and appreciated.

Come show your support for those you know battling cancer and who have survived cancer. Or come out to remember loved ones who have lost their battle.

Brian Wisenden presented seminar at Lehigh University, Bethlehem

weatheco — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 03:05:05 +0000

Brian Wisenden, Biosciences Department, gave an invited departmental seminar to the Department of Biological Sciences at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., on March 27. The title of his talk was “Larval morphology, performance and fitness and the evolution of parental care in convict cichlids.” This talk relied upon data collected by MSUM Biosciences undergraduates Anthony Stumbo, Patrick Self, Justin Sheierl, Kurtis McIntire, Tom Dye, Carissa Storseth, Noah Berglund, Emily Mammenga, graduate students Jennifer Snekser (Lehigh U) and Jessica Nymark (NDSU/MSUM) and faculty collaborators Dan McEwen, Ellen Brisch (MSUM Biosciences) and Murray Itzkowitz (Lehigh U).

College of Social and Natural Sciences lecture tonight

weatheco — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 03:04:19 +0000

Professor Daniel McEwen, Biosciences, will give a lecture Tuesday, April 2 at 7 p.m. in Science Lab 118. The title of the lecture is “Food Webs, Science, and the Global Climate Change Controversy: Perspectives from an Arctic Biologist.”

The lecture is part of the College of Social and Natural Sciences lecture series. The lectures focus on current issues in the sciences. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Writing about socio-scientific issues

weatheco — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 03:06:12 +0000

Meena Balgopal (formerly Biosciences Dept. and currently at Colorado State University) and Alison Wallace, Biosciences, have published a featured article “Writing about socio-scientific issues: a “write” way to improve decision-making skills” in the March issue of “The American Biology Teacher” journal of the National Association of Biology Teachers.

Brian Wisenden and his students’ research make significant impact on field of behavioral ecology

weatheco — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 03:09:03 +0000

Brian Wisenden, Biosciences, has surpassed 2,000 lifetime citations to his scholarly works. His h-index is 29 (i.e., 29 papers have been cited at least 29 times) and his overall i10-index (number of papers that have been cited at least 10 times) is 46. Since 2008 his work has been cited 963 times, with h and i10 indices of 16 and 31, respectively. Taken together, these data indicate that the research conducted and co-authored by Biosciences students at MSUM reaches an international audience and has significant impact on the field of behavioral ecology. View details of citation rates of specific papers.

Taking care of Curie

weatheco — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 03:06:00 +0000

Harrison Pantera, a junior at MSU Moorhead, has a real dedication to school, and it doesn’t just pertain to his studies.

Everyday Pantera sets time aside to take care of Curie, an eight-year-old iguana that lives in the Science Lab on campus.

For a year and a half Pantera hasn’t had a day off from his duties of feeding, changing the water and cleaning Curie’s enclosure.

“I even came in on the snow day this year,” Pantera said.

Although it can be a bit of a burden, Pantera enjoys his time with Curie.

“It’s a really good stress reliever,” he said. “Once you spend a lot of time with him, you get to know his personality, which isn’t something you’d expect from a reptile.”

Learn about medical school options and the AUC program

weatheco — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 03:03:29 +0000

Are you interested in Medical school? Speaker Julie Mondy is an Associate Director of Admissions for the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) School of Medicine. She will be giving a presentation about their program for any students interested to know more about Medical School options and the benefits of the AUC program. The presentation will be in Science Lab Room 118 on Monday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m.

Medical Laboratory Science major receives ASCP Scholarship

weatheco — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 03:05:04 +0000

Sonam Deyki, a senior Medical Laboratory Science major, was recently awarded a $1,000 Siemens-ASCP Scholarship. ASCP partners with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics annually to award scholarships to medical laboratory students who have achieved a level of success that merits recognition. The purpose of these scholarships is to help defray education costs, promote medical laboratory science as a rewarding career, and to help address the workforce shortage of qualified professionals.

Donna Stockrahm, students attend The Wildlife Society annual meeting

weatheco — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 03:04:51 +0000

Donna M. Bruns Stockrahm, Biosciences Department, and eight of her research students attended the annual meeting of the Minnesota Chapter of The Wildlife Society at Walker, Minn., Feb. 5-7. The students attending and presenting the following posters were: Kara K. Nygaard, Angela M. Kooren, Amie R. Nowacki, Kris M. Wittman, Ashlyn A. Kuklock, Jaclyn J. Kuklock , Chelsea M. Schmaltz, and Jaime L. Kallstrom.

Population Control of Urban Canada Geese in Moorhead, Minnesota
Do Painted Turtles Utilize “Nursery” Sloughs?
The Efficacy of PIT Tag Use in Painted Turtles
Urban Turkeys: Survey of Wild Turkey Distribution and Numbers, Human-Turkey Interactions, and Public Opinion in the Red River Valley in Cass (North Dakota) and Clay (Minnesota) Counties (2003-2012)

Additional MSUM student (or former student) co-authors on the posters were Scott J. Kleindl, AmandaLeigh K. Peterson, Olivia K. Hansen, Calvin E. Flander, Emily A. Jorgenson, Ryan D. Schmit, and Jordana K. Anderson.

Biosciences students teach middle school students how to extract DNA from strawberries

weatheco — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 03:04:25 +0000

Horizon Middle School held its annual Science Fun Night Feb. 24. Faculty member Shireen Alemadi along with students: Amy Moorhouse, Brittany Beers, Donny Donarski, Molly Gareis, Amanda Walters, Anthony Quinn, Jenna Balzum, Ali Dhanani, Ariel Gray and Bjorn Halvorson were on hand to help students with DNA extractions.

This event was organized by Nandini Katti, a Horizon Middle School Science teacher. There were nine different workshops covering topics in Biology, Physics and Chemistry. MSUM or NDSU faculty and students ran each workshop.

Brian Wisenden selected recipient of 2013-14 Dille Outstanding Faculty Lecturer Award

weatheco — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 03:06:13 +0000

Dr. Brian Wisenden is the recipient of the 2013-14 Dille Outstanding Faculty Lecturer Award. To read Provost Blackhurst’s message, click below.

Winter Clothing Drive a success

weatheco — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 03:03:35 +0000

The Pre-Health Professionals Club wants to send out a big THANK YOU to everyone who helped with the Winter Clothing Drive. They donated more than 100 pieces to the Dorothy Day House, which included coats, mittens, hats, sweatshirts and other winter gear.

Dorothy Day was extremely happy and thanks everyone for the support. They were amazed at the amount of clothes we had to donate. Way to go!

Congratulations to Student Research Grant award winners in Biosciences and Chemistry

weatheco — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 03:04:46 +0000

Students in the Departments of Biosciences and Chemistry submitted proposals for the Fall 2012 Student Research Grants offered by MSUM. Students who received grants were announced in mid-November. Congratulations to Biochem/Biotech students: Harrison Pantera, Rachel Walsh, Nicholas Berthelsen, Alex Novak, and Clarice Wallert. Also, congratulations to Biosciences students: Calvin Flander, Olivia Hansen, Julie Piche, Brittney Rother, Evangeline Holley, Kari Mrosla and Kaitlyn Ludwig.