From Boas to Bacteria

Biology Symposium highlights student research

March 3, 2009

Alison Maksimak '10 holds Asparagus the boa constrictor while explaining her project.

From mapping the genetic sequences of microbes in our soil to measuring the amount of pressure a boa constrictor exerts on its prey, the Ninth Annual Biology Student Research Symposium on Feb. 20 showcased some of the top student research at Dickinson. Students presented their work in biology, biochemistry & molecular biology and neuroscience.

During the poster session in the Dana Hall library, Yoonjoung "Jamie" Hur '11 explained the research she conducted as an intern last summer at the Georgetown University Medical Center, where she examined the tendency of mice with chronic renal failure to develop hypertension.

Hur's research is part of a larger project funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she plans to intern again this summer. Her work will help inform future studies at the NIH on genetically modified mice.

Aline Scop Plavnik '09 and Linda Panicker '09 described the painstaking preparations they made for their collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) isolating the 16S rRNA gene in bacteria. According to John Henson, Charles A. Dana Professor of Biology and the Dickinson faculty supervisor of the project, "the research involves teams of students at UCLA and Dickinson working on sequencing-based analysis of microbial diversity."

Using a software program called BLAST, they've been sequencing the DNA of bacteria found in soil samples from the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden at UCLA with the aim of identifying previously unknown microbes.

"This last summer we sent a Dickinson student to do research at UCLA," Henson explained, "and we have had their faculty visit Dickinson, so it truly is a highly interactive collaboration."

The final results from the project will be added to the genome database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Alison Maksimak '10 brought a live sample of her work to the symposium, leading to an impromptu lecture on boa constrictor traits and behavior by Charles Zwemer, associate professor of biology, as Asparagus the boa constrictor curled around visitors' hands.

Maksimak, who plans to attend veterinary school after Dickinson, presented "Is Arboreal Preference of Island Boas Determined by Genetics?" Although her results were inconclusive due to the small sample size, it appeared that genetics played a greater role than environment. She noted that island boas tended to prefer trees more often than those from the mainland. Another boa-related project featured "Getting a Grip on Death by Constriction" by Keith Kleinman '09 and Paul Patek '09.

During oral presentations, Emily LaSota '09 reported on the efficacy of the drug cetuximab in treating cancer, and Lauren Saunders '10 discussed a rare, inherited form of anemia among the Old Order Amish in Big Valley, Pa.