The biology department was well represented at the College’s 2016 Final Convocation ceremony, held each April to honor the achievements of members of the Hampden-Sydney community over the past year.  The Biology Department gives two awards at this event.  The first, the R.T. Hewitt Biology Award, is given to the graduating senior who has distinguished himself in his work in the classroom and the laboratory over his 4 years at the College.  This year’s recipient, Christopher Hawk ’16, has worked extensively with Professors Ed Lowry and Mike Wolyniak over the past two years on ecological and molecular biological research studying the microbiome of hops.  His work was instrumental in the development in a new research-based introductory laboratory course at Hampden-Sydney.  Chris plans to begin work next year in the field of environmental consulting.

Biology Department Chair Dr. Alex Werth presents the Hewitt Award to Christopher Hawk ’16

Next, the department presented the Overcash Award, a prize awarded to the top junior in the department who is planning a career in the health sciences.  This year’s recipient, James Lau ’17, was recently named the third Goldwater Scholar in Hampden-Sydney history and will undertake research this summer with Professor Kristian Hargadon ’01 (the College’s first Goldwater Scholar) and will begin study at Eastern Virginia Medical School in the fall of 2017 as part of the early admission articulation agreement between the two institutions.

Dr. Werth presents the Overcast Prize to James Lau ’17

Finally, Professor Kristian Hargadon received the John Peter Mettauer Award for Research Excellence in recognition of his extensive and productive research program on the study of melanoma in a mouse model.

Dr. Kristian Hargadon receives the 2016 Mettauer Award from Dean of the Faculty Mike McDermott

Faculty from the Biology Department have won the Mettauer Award 3 of the last 4 years and 4 times in the past 7 years (Dr. Alex Werth-2010, Dr. Mike Wolyniak-2013, Dr. Bill Shear-2015, Dr. Kristian Hargadon-2016).

One of the benefits of getting involved in independent research at Hampden-Sydney is the chance to present the finished product at a national scientific conference.  In the course of a week in early April 2016, six H-SC biology students presented their research on both coasts of the United States!  First, four students made their way to San Diego, California, to attend the 2016 Experimental Biology Meeting.  Travis Goodloe ’16 and Jefferson Thompson ’16 presented work done last summer under the guidance of Dr. Kristian Hargadon while Charlie Kyle ’16 and Jake Rockenbach ’16 showed a poster based on their joint Departmental Honors project advised by chemist Dr. Bill Anderson and biologist Dr. Mike Wolyniak.

Jefferson Thompson ’16, Jake Rockenbach ’16, Charlie Kyle ’16, and Travis Goodloe ’16

Jefferson’s work explored the use of CRISPR-Cas9, an exciting new molecular biology technology, to edit a cancer factor in a mouse cell line model.  Charlie and Jake focused on work originally begun by Chris Ferrante ’15 and Jay Brandt ’15 (both of whom are currently in medical school) that attempted to develop novel antibiotics for use on a series of pathogenic bacteria.  Travis’ project looked at ways to use quantitative PCR to identify the presence of cancer progression in melanoma cells.  The Experimental Biology conference brings together thousands of scientists ranging from students to established leaders in fields representing six different professional  societies covering biochemistry and molecular biology, anatomy, physiology, pathology, nutrition, and pharmacology.  The students, accompanied by Dr. Wolyniak, were also able to take in some of the sites of San Diego, including attending part of the San Diego Padres season opening series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jefferson Thompson ’16 explains his project

Travis Goodloe ’16 and his poster

Charlie Kyle ’16 and Jake Rockenbach ’16

As the San Diego crew was preparing to come home, another group of H-SC biologists set off from campus to present their work at another national meeting.  This time the venue was the University of North Carolina-Asheville, site of the 30th Annual National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR).  The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) was established in 1987 and is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research in all fields of study by sponsoring an annual conference for students. NCUR welcomes presenters from all institutions of higher learning and from all corners of the academic curriculum. The conference provides a unique experience for all undergraduate students because it supports student achievement in all areas of study through poster, oral, visual, and musical presentations.

H-SC Biology was represented by two students at NCUR 2016.  First, Mason Luck ’16 presented his work on invasive species conducted under the guidance of Dr. Ed Lowry.

Mason Luck ’16 presents his project

Also presenting was Christopher Hawk ’16 and his Departmental Honors work advised by Drs. Lowry and Wolyniak and identifying molecular markers for the rapid detection of fungal infection on hops plants.

Chris Hawk ’16 and his poster

The Biology Department is proud of both its California and North Carolina representatives to these prestigious national conferences!

On March 30, ten Hampden-Sydney College students were inducted into Sigma Xi, the international honorary scientific research society.  Founded in 1886 to honor excellence in scientific investigation and to encourage collaboration among researchers in all fields of science and engineering, the Society now consists of over 500 chapters at academic, industrial, and government research institutions and has nearly 60,000 members in more than 100 countries around the world.  The Longwood University/Hampden-Sydney College chapter of Sigma Xi was reactivated in 2013, and the two institutions now alternate hosting an annual Sigma Xi Research Symposium that features a keynote speaker and student poster presentations highlighting recent research activities on both campuses.  Congratulations to the H-SC students inducted in 2016:  Branch Vincent, Christopher Hawk, J.D. Chaudhry, Jefferson Thompson, Linh Nguyen, Mitchell Thomas, Shaquann Seadrow, Will Echols, Will Fitzgerald, and Zachary Martin.