Life Sciences Commons^™

Exploring Evolution As A Unifying Theme In The General Biology For Majors Course Sequence, While Iteratively Examining Attitudes And Decisions About Learning: An Application Of Lonergan’S Transcendental Method, Christine E. Gray

San Jose - Lonergan Chair in Catholic Philosophy

As I reflect upon my journey as an educator, I recognize it has been shaped, in large part, by my own foundational roots in the Catholic Liberal Arts tradition. As I prepare for another academic year, I find myself, once again, considering how my pedagogical practice can better meet my students “where they are” in my General Biology for Majors I and II courses. Since that “place” is shaped by a student’s prior experiences, both in and out of the classroom, I also recognize that “place” is unique for each student. This is precisely why each term pushes me to …

Effect Of Partial Ablation Of Skeletal Dynamin Related Protein 1 On Mitochondrial Health, Inflammation, And Fibrosis In A Mouse Model Of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Tessa L. Duzz

Graduate Masters Theses

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive neuromuscular disorder characterized by muscle weakness, degeneration, fibrosis, and impaired muscle regeneration. Mitochondrial dysfunction is an early pathological feature of DMD and has been linked to excessive mitochondrial fission. Dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) is a central regulator of mitochondrial fission, a key process in regulating mitochondrial quality and function. Inhibition of Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission has shown promise as a potential therapeutic target for alleviating pathology and dysfunction in dystrophic muscle. The objective of this study was to determine whether partial skeletal muscle-specific ablation of Drp1 could improve muscle pathology and mitochondrial health in …

Bat Species Acoustic Detections And Mist Net Captures 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025., Laroy Brandt

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Publications

No abstract provided.

Bio 340 Final Project: Effects Of Zoning On Fish Density Along The Great Barrier Reef, Mary Lamoriello

Biology Student Scholarship

Mary Lamoriello - Environmental Biology '27

Over the years, there have been many marine parks and restricted fishing zones established along the Great Barrier Reef to maintain biodiversity and coral health. The goal of these zones is to create an ”undisturbed” area, where species can flourish. Many different species reside in this reef and play important ecological roles. Parrotfish help maintain coral health by grazing on algae, and the presence of carnivores often indicate a diverse and healthy ecosystem. This project aims to examine the differences in species distribution between zones along the Magnetic Island, by looking at carnivorous and …

Bio 340 Final Project: Rural Population Structure And Food Production Interact To Shape Global Undernourishment, Ava Ripanti

Biology Student Scholarship

Ava Ripanti - Environmental Biology '27

Undernourishment remains a major global public health challenge, reflecting the proportion of a population lacking sufficient dietary energy intake. While food availability is central to food security, undernourishment is also shaped by structural and socioeconomic factors such as population distribution and access to resources. Although rural populations are closely tied to agriculture, they often experience higher food insecurity due to limited infrastructure, market access, and healthcare. Prior research emphasizes that broader determinants, particularly inequality and development, are stronger predictors of undernourishment than agricultural output alone, that food insecurity exists in both rural and urban …

Bio 340 Final Project: Effects Of Light Pollution On Bat Activity, Cael Schneider

Biology Student Scholarship

Cael Schneider - Environmental Biology ‘28

Artificial light at night (light pollution) is an increasing consequence of urbanization and can disrupt nocturnal wildlife. Bats are especially susceptible, as they rely on dark skies for navigation, predator avoidance, and foraging. The effects of artificial light may vary among species due to differences in foraging strategies, habitat use, and light tolerance.  Previous research has documented negative effects of artificial light on bat foraging, roosting, breeding, and hibernation. However, some species, such as red bats, may forage near artificial lights where insects are abundant. Species including the big brown bat, hoary bat, and …

Bio 340 Final Project: A Comparative Analysis Of German And French Energy Policy, Adam Garies

Biology Student Scholarship

Adam Garies - Environmental Biology ‘28

European energy systems have undergone rapid transformation over the past two decades, with countries adopting different strategies to reduce carbon emissions. This divergence is particularly evident between Germany and France. Following the Fukushima disaster in 2011, Germany accelerated its nuclear phase-out, while France has declared its commitment to nuclear energy. Nuclear energy however, is an important step towards reducing carbon emissions. Excluding nuclear energy from energy plans will lead to a rise in reliance on potent fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, resulting in greater carbon emissions, even with an emphasis on expanding …

Life Histories Of Two Sgcn Procambarus Species In East Texas, Mckenzie A. Adkins

Biology Theses

Within freshwater systems, crayfish play notable roles by shaping habitats and linking food web levels. Yet even with such influence, knowledge about numerous species is incomplete, which hinders protection strategies. Found only in the Neches River basin in eastern Texas, Procambarus nechesae and Procambarus nigrocinctus have different conservation statuses, mainly because data on their life history remains sparse. These two species are not closely related and are analyzed independently in this study. Research into traits tied to survival and environmental preferences was carried out so that informed decisions on conservation efforts can be made for these species. The goal of …

Bio 340 Final Project: Artificial Reef Effects On Fishing Productivity, Griffin Gouck

Biology Student Scholarship

Griffin Gouck - Environmental Biology '26

A slew of artificial reefs can be seen dotting the Gulf of America. Some result from catastrophic shipwrecks and others from construction dumping; however, all provide an opportunity for the development of marine ecosystems. The question of how artificial reefs effect local fish populations is an expansive concept extremely hard to simplify down to a basic relationship. The development of reefs is a delicate process taking place over many years of growth. Previous studies utilized a combination of resources like theoretical models, field data and comparisons to natural reefs to study how these artificial …

Enrichment Of The Thermophilic Archaea Gearchaeales And Calditenuis In Lab Culture, Walter Saldivar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Numerous microbes on Earth have yet to be grown in pure cultures and studied in the laboratory. Cultivation-independent genomic methods, such as metagenomics, can help us predict their metabolic capabilities, but cultivation remains valuable for testing these predictions. These uncultivated microbes are very diverse, especially within hot springs. Examples of these uncultivated microbes include the genus Calditenuis (formerly Aigarchaeota Group 1) and the order Gearchaeales; they are often abundant in terrestrial hot springs such as Great Boiling Springs (GBS) in Nevada. Previous work allowed for the establishment of laboratory enrichment cultures inoculated from sediments of GBS containing Calditenuis and …

Bio 23 Human Anatomy & Physiology I Syllabus, Rujin Tian

Open Educational Resources

The syllabus for BIO 23 contains a course description, course objectives, course readings divided by week and a link to an OER textbook.

Vitaltitration Predicts Fermentation Performance Of Phylogenetically Distinct Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Yeast Strains, Samantha White Ms

All Student Scholarship

Accurate assessment of yeast physiological health is essential for achieving consistent, efficient, and predictable beer fermentations. Although yeast vitality is more predictive of fermentation performance than viability alone, no universally adopted vitality assay currently exists in the brewing industry. This thesis investigates vitaltitration (VT) as a rapid, robust, and brewery-feasible method for quantifying yeast vitality and predicting fermentation performance. We hypothesize that VT provides a reliable measure of metabolic competence that correlates with fermentation kinetics across brewery-relevant yeast strains. To test this hypothesis, VT was evaluated alongside Acidification Power (AP) in structured serial-fermentation experiments in two phylogenetically distinct brewing yeasts: …

Cultivating Curiosity Across Academic Audiences: Biology And Evidence-Based Science Communication, Nathan D. Forbes

Whittier Scholars Program

Effective Science Communicators must speak to a variety of audiences, with varying quantities of prior interest and qualities of background knowledge. The purpose of this paper was to engage differing audiences in scientific learning. This was done through a hypothetical newsletter made up for four different segments exploring a variety of topics in biology. Each segment intends to speak to a different audience with a different level of interest and/or educational level. Simplifying or analogizing without sacrificing the statistical basis of this project was of paramount importance. In the two segments targeted towards younger audiences, the primary focus was on …

Tree Resin Effects On Environmental Microbial Growth In Tetramorium Ant Colonies, Abigail Peralta, Emma Crisman

Biology Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Trial Of Vaginal Microbiome Transplant To Prevent Recurrent Bacterial Vaginosis, Grace Pierson

Biology Student Scholarship

Comparative Inhibition Testing for Personalized Microbiota Selection

This case report evaluates a strategy for selecting optimal donor material for Cervicovaginal Secretion (CVS) transplantation. To identify a suitable match, CVS from four healthy, Lactobacillus-dominated donors was tested against a patient’s sample to observe microbial inhibition. Theoretically, effective donor material should produce a visible inhibition zone (halo), indicating suppressed growth of pathogenic bacteria. However, initial testing yielded unreadable results with no conclusive evidence of inhibition. Consequently, my study pivoted to analyze the direct effects of donor samples on the growth of specific pathogens, Gardnerella vaginalis and Prevotella bivia.

Altered Clock Genes Affect Fly Circadian Rhythms And Rhythms Of Cell Respiration In The Brain, Connor Enestvedt, Campbell Bridges, Anna Costello, Brenda Rodrigues, Jake Antosca

Biology Student Scholarship

Drosophila have circadian rhythms which are daily biological rhythms synchronized by an internal clock. These rhythms regulate behavioral and physiological systems within their bodies. The endogenous fly clock—made of an oscillating gene-protein feedback loop found in central pacemaker cells in the brain— sets endocrine, locomotor, and metabolic rhythms to the 24-hour Earth day The central clock signals to peripheral clocks, setting measurable rhythms. Mutations to these clock genes disrupts the oscillator, resulting in rhythm changes. In this project, we will study how flies’ circadian rhythms and cell respiration in the brain changes with mutations to clock genes. By measuring oxygen …

Wheel-Running As A Window Into The Pten-Ko Neurological Clock, Jake Antosca, Campbell Bridges, Elizabeth Burke, Chris Sama

Biology Student Scholarship

The phosphatase and tensin homolog protein (PTEN) is a critical regulator of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, which governs cellular growth and metabolic balance. Mutations in the PTEN gene are strongly linked to macrocephaly and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in humans. While PTEN deficiency is known to cause neuronal hypertrophy and metabolic stress, its impact on the< endogenous circadian clock, the internal timing system that regulates daily physiological cycles, remains poorly understood. Proper circadian function is vital for metabolic homeostasis, which may be dysregulated in PTEN-deficient models.

In this poster, we compare PTEN conditional knockout mice with CRE controls to test whether PTEN-related cerebellar dysfunction alters entrainment to a light-dark cycle, free-running period in constant conditions, and food-anticipatory activity in age-matched animals between approximately 130 and …

Characterizing The Functional Diversity Of Rocky Intertidal Environments Of Southern New England, Hailey Arman

Biology Student Scholarship

Tidal pools are a diverse ecosystem that are home to a wide range of important species that support our environment and marine habitats. Tidal pools along the New England coastline have been greatly affected by human activity, through direct contact with humans, as well as the increasing effects of climate change. Adapting the protocols from UC Santa Cruz Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network (MARINe) and the National Park Service Northeast Temperate Network’s (NETN), we set up multi-year plots to track abundances intertidal species throughout Rhode Island. Ultimately, by gaining a better understanding of how these systems change over time, we can …

Advancing Early Detection Of Diabetic Retinopathy At Clínica Esperanza/Hope Clinic, Rachel Burke

Biology Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Clec7a Deficiency Affects Cerebellar Microglia Development And Purkinje Cell Axon Myelination, Olivia Barbarini, Grace Belt, Lauren Bedford, Julia Carson, Kayla Fordyce, Michael Martinez, Lindsay Walsh

Neuroscience Program Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Exploring How Light Source Influences Bluegill Positioning And Behavior, Anthony Aldana Mendez

Biology Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Image Analysis Of Pupal Sex Ratio In Honey Bee Hives, Anna R. Tattelman, Grace E. O’Brien

Biology Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Wild Bee Foraging And Movement Behavior In Urban Gardens, Claire Crowther, Maggie Ritchie

Biology Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Genetics Of Sex, Fortis Brown

The Agora

Sex is a complex biological process that begins in the womb and lasts into puberty and beyond. It is often presented to society as a binary, chromosome-based system where XX means female and XY means male. In reality, chromosomes are just the beginning of a lifelong process involving hormones that influence biological changes. This process becomes apparent with its errors, known as Differences in Sexual Development (DSDs). DSDs can be caused in two main ways: through changes in either meiosis or in gene expression. While many consider these changes as ‘errors’, the processes that cause them to have been intentionally …

Maintaining And Axenizing Live Cyanobacterial Cultures For Bacterial Genome Sequencing, Yufei Wang, Louisa Acquah

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms are an

increasing concern in western Kansas, yet the

bloom-forming species in this region remain

poorly characterized. In this study, we

established and maintained axenic

cyanobacterial cultures to support future

genomic and ecological investigations. By

ensuring low contamination levels and stable

growth conditions, this work provides a

foundation for downstream analyses of bloom-

forming cyanobacteria. It contributes to a better

understanding of freshwater ecosystem health

in western Kansas.

Life Line Spring 2026, Jonathan Atwood

Life Line - The Biology Department Newsletter

In This Issue:

Greetings and Farewell: Part Deux; Signs for Trees; Passing of Dr. Mary Gahbauer: a Beloved Friend and Colleague; Dr. Lisa Marr Retires; The Department Welcomes Dr. Ann Feke; Dr. Kevin Svitana Retires; Ms. Donna Rhodeback Retires; Tucker Adds Swan Specimen to Otterbein's Collection; An UnbeLEAFable Year for the Otterbein Chapter of Botanical Society of America; Field Geology Course Visits Death Valley and Beyond; Agar Art: An Unexpected Canvas; Dr. Kevin Svitana Wins the Anderson Award for Outstanding Contribution to Groundwater Research; Introducing Opi: A New Face for Zoo and Conservation Ambassador Work; Michael Hoggarth, Professor Emeritus, Wins …

Final Project: Nutrition And Human Disease, Sam Newberry Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This assignment is made up of a series of smaller assignments that were developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Sam Newberry during the spring 2026 semester.

Learning Objectives

• Identify and demonstrate understanding of audience needs
• Identify nutritional issues associated with human disease
• Clear communication of information via an Infographic
• Proper utilization of scholarly sources of information

Biol 210: Nutrition (Syllabus), Sam Newberry Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This syllabus was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Sam Newberry during the spring 2026 semester.

Course Learning Objectives:

Students who are active participants and complete course requirements will be able to: 

1. Demonstrate familiarity with nutrients, their food sources, their functions, and signs and symptoms of deficiency or excess.
2. Demonstrate familiarity with biological, psychological, social and cultural factors that influence human diet and nutrition.
3. Describe and explain in class discussion and on exams the relationship between diet and health, particularly for selected public health issues.
4. Demonstrate familiarity with nutritional guidelines used in the United States, and the challenges of establishing such …

Career Readiness In Developmental Biology Module, Travis Bailey Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This set of activities were developed and modified by SUNY Geneseo Professor Travis Bailey in the spring 2026 semester.

Biol 454: Developmental Biology (Syllabus), Travis Bailey Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This syllabus was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Travis Bailey in the spring 2026 semester.

Learning Outcomes-Students will:

• Understand the methods scientist use to explore the genetic, cellular, and tissue control of development.
• Compare and contrast developmental strategies of model organisms.
• Read primary literature critically and explain strengths and weaknesses.
• Test hypotheses with self-designed experimentation, measurement and data collection, evaluation of evidence, and employment of mathematical analysis.
• Relate discoveries from model animals to human conditions.
• Communicate findings orally and in writing.
• Integrate multiple bodies of knowledge with their personal experience by asking meaningful questions about real-world problems
• Apply skills, theories, …