|
| Volume 5, Issue 10 Summer, 2006 |
update! RESEARCH NEWSLETTER |
| Featuring OSU research and scholarship in all disciplines |
|
 |
|
Among the students supported by the Research Office's Undergraduate Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Creativity [URISC] program each year, several are in the Honors College. Update offers these snapshots of those who graduated in Spring '06. We asked how the funds enhanced the pursuit of their interests and helped them create their senior thesis.
Staying Community-Minded
She says that her Honors College senior thesis, titled Determination of Flavin-containing Monooxygenase Message Levels and Distribution in Mouse Lung and Liver, is related to that long-term goal. “It concerns racial and ethnic minorities and health disparities.” She adds, “It involved a wide array of techniques. And it was fun.” Lo’s project was supported by a URISC grant in the winter of 2005, when she was a junior. “The funding purchased the mice I needed, and some of the chemicals. And the grant application process gave me insights and experience with applying. Also, like in real-life research, I was expected to give progress reports. URISC helped me quite a bit.” Her faculty mentors were David E. Williams and Sharon K. Krueger. |
Leading to Something Bigger
The result was her senior thesis, “Impacts of Mangrove Conditions on Zooplankton Communities.” As a senior, she presented the thesis at the Western Society of Naturalists Meeting, and it is the basis of a paper she is coauthoring with an OSU graduate student. “As a freshman, I didn’t know Marine Biology was my thing. I responded to an ad to help a grad student in Marine Biology, and that took me on a trajectory. I moved from grad student to grad student doing research.” As a senior, Frasier dived in even more through a resident course at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, studying sea urchins. Will she return to zooplankton? “I’ve had it with microscopes!," Frasier says. "I would like to work with something bigger.” Having completed her biology major with an international degree, she hopes to travel to the Himalayas, and the next "something bigger" may include making contributions in “ecology, NGOs [ non-governmental organizations], and policy change.” |
Thesis: ThermoSolver: An Integrated Educational Thermodynamics Software program, which is included with a textbook and has been used in classes at Oregon State University.
Thesis: North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA]: Effects on Information Technology in Mexico.She started this project as a sophomore, first looking at changes in R&D in Mexico as a response to NAFTA.
Thesis: Membrane-Initiated Estrogen Signaling in the Ovine Endometrium. The experiment demonstrates a newly discovered function about steroid mode of action, in an in vivo model. An understanding of member-initiated responses to steroids in normal cells helps us understand how steroids work in cancer cells.
Thesis: Validation of Early Predictors of Outcome in the Dallas Newborn Cohort.
Thesis: Pathogenic Mechanisms of Cancer Causing hMLH1 Mutations. This project led to the development of a novel screening assay that is capable of determining the pathogenicity and specific pathogenic mechanisms of mutations in /MLH1/, a tumor suppressor gene in the DNA mismatch repair system that has been implicated in a number of hereditary and sporadic cancers, and should further the understanding of how such cancers arise.
Thesis: Effects of Phenytoin and Carbamazepine on Calcium Transport in Caco-2 Cells.
|
As children, we were intrigued by their fuzz, we related to their slow pace, or maybe we just liked that they might not bite*. Now we can refresh that fascination with caterpillars through the art of Jeffrey Miller, insect ecologist in OSU's Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management
|
His stunning portraits, of stunning caterpillars, crawl across the pages of the book just published by Harvard University Press,"100 Caterpillars: Portraits from the Tropical Forests of Costa Rica." |
|
Detail of Miller's portrait of the Costa Rican Automeris postalbida: its "OSU-colors" section. |
Miller recently returned from several weeks with caterpillars in Taiwan and Korea. Yet despite his studies of the exotic, he wanted to make sure Update included local critters in this highlight. "To give a homegrown feeling," he said, offering species with OSU colors. "After all, my work started in Oregon, with non-target studies, following pesticide sprays and conducting biodiversity studies at the HJ Andrews LTER Experimental Forest." He has made three field guides for the Pacific Northwest.
|
 The caterpillar of Lophocampa maculata, a very common species of tiger moth in the Willamette Valley. It feeds on leaves of many trees, notably oak and alder. |
|
And there's more after the cocoon: Miller's photos of Costa Rican butterflies and moths will spread their wings in an upcoming book. |
 The adult of Morpho theseus, an image in the upcoming book. |
Of course, the OSU research enterprise is studded with stars, who attract headlines and funds because of their discoveries and innovations. Yet we all know people behind-the-scenes who help make such achievements possible.
Administrative assistants, equipment maintainers, office managers, technology consultants, book-balancers, facilities experts, editors, lab workers . . . Let's appreciate them.
In addition to their defined duties, they may enhance an investigator's work as cheerleaders, questioners, lunch providers, proofreaders, devil's advocates, inspirations, mirrors . . .
We are asking PIs, news makers, deans, directors, and others: What university employees help you contribute to OSU's "very high research activity" ? Now we can spread a bit of the spotlight on them.
Jennifer Menkel |
"I admire Leah Feinberg (Senior Faculty Research Assistant), Tracy Shaw, and Jennifer Menkel (Faculty Research Assistants) here at Hatfield Marine Science Center - without them much of my research would be impossible to complete. |
|
To collect data on how climate variability and change will affect living resources in the ocean, we conduct cruises every two weeks. This can be tedious; to keep excited we process the data after each cruise and can talk about the ocean on a near real-time basis. |
 Tracy Shaw |
We compare observations to those made last month or year, and anticipate the next cruise. Lately, I get many calls from journalists who want to know what is happening in the ocean “now” - a call to Leah, Tracy, or Jennifer gets me up-to-date; because of their work we can share results with the public. |
These three young ladies are also loved for their involvement in the community, helping with the annual fundraiser for Foodshare, SeaFest and other public outreach programs, blood drives, and baking for our weekly Hatfield-wide social."
- Bill Peterson |
 Leah Feinberg |
|
|
"I was on a research-track appointment in Chemistry, and I seriously thought about leaving OSU. Professors Balz Frei, Director the Linus Pauling Institute, and Joe Beckman, Director of the Environmental Health Sciences Center, convinced me to stay and worked very hard behind the scenes to get me on a tenure-track appointment in Pharmacy. They also helped me to get an independent research line going and were there for me when I needed help and advice with writing grant proposals. Thanks to these two remarkable individuals, I was successful in obtaining federal grants in excess of $2 million." - Fred Stevens |
|
"Wendy Madar is the Associate Director of OSU's Center for the Humanities. A talented writer and researcher in her own right, Wendy is the person who, with Director David Robinson, makes the Center tick. Gracious and generous , she works hard to create an inviting and comfortable place. I certainly appreciate this. But Wendy's greatest gift to Center fellows is her intellect and curiosity.
|
 |
"In our Terra Cognita Lab (Wilkinson 204), there are 3 large chalk boards. Written in huge letters on 2 of them are the words, 'Mark is my hero!' This is a perfect summation of Mark Meyers, our Senior Faculty Research Assistant in Geography who manages our Digital Earth computer classroom, the Terra Cognita facility and many of our high end computers machines throughout the department. Mark has certainly been important to my success as a researcher in geographic information science here at OSU. - Dawn Wright |
Who do YOU think should be appreciated in this series? Send submissions to Update. |
Leonardo is OSU's most famous alumni.
|
 |
 |
Practically every nook and cranny of the festival was enhanced by the know-how and can-do of OSU faculty and staff. Missed an exhibit or two? Try experiencing it via the da Vinci Days website. |
Oregon State University Research Office
312 Kerr Administration Building, Corvallis, OR 97331
Phone 541-737-3437 Fax 541-737-3093
researchsupport@oregonstate.edu
Copyright © 2005
Oregon State University
Contact Us | Site Map | OSU Home Page | OSU Disclaimer
