On September 24, 2015 Hampden-Sydney College hosted the 3^rd Annual Longwood University/Hampden-Sydney College Sigma Xi Research Symposium.  The event kicked off with a keynote address by Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer and Professor/Distinguished University Scholar in the Department of Biology at The University of Louisville, Dr. Lee Dugatkin, an internationally recognized expert in the field of evolutionary biology.  Dr Dugatkin’s address, entitled “Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose,” highlighted the captivating and comical tale of Thomas Jefferson’s efforts to disprove the idea of degeneracy in the New World.  The keynote address was followed by a poster session in which Hampden-Sydney College and Longwood University students presented research conducted through Honors/Independent Study Projects and Summer Research Programs.  The work of 39 students ranging from freshmen to seniors was showcased at the event and represented work conducted in various fields of science, including biology, chemistry, and physics.

Sigma Xi, the international multidisciplinary scientific research society, was founded in 1886 to honor excellence in scientific investigation and encourage collaboration among researchers in all fields of science and engineering. The Society 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 Society endeavors to encourage support of original work across the spectrum of science and technology and to promote an appreciation within society at large for the role research has played in human progress.

Keynote Speaker Dr. Lee Dugatkin

Mitchell Thomas ’17 presenting his research on fungal infection of hops.

James Lau ’17 presenting research conducted in the Chemistry Department on novel Schiff-base ligands.

Travis Goodloe ’16 presenting his research on melanoma metastasis.

Lots of great science!!!

Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Kristian M. Hargadon ’01 was recently selected the recipient of the 2015 Virginia Association of Science Teachers (VAST) Recognition in Science Education (RISE) Award for the University/College Faculty category.  The award is presented annually to a single university/college science faculty member in the state of Virginia.  Dr. Hargadon’s award resulted from his nomination by former student and research collaborator Osric Forrest ’12, who is now a Ph.D. candidate in the Immunology Graduate Program at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.  The Virginia Association of Science Teachers was formed in 1952 with the mission of promoting excellence in science teaching and learning in Virginia.  The organization continues to thrive today with over 1100 members across the state.

Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Kristian M. Hargadon ’01 recently published research from his laboratory that reveals significant insights into factors regulating tumor growth and progression.  The article, entitled “Whole genome expression microarray analysis of highly versus poorly tumorigenic murine melanoma cell lines provides insights into factors that regulate tumor growth, metastasis, and immunogenicity,” was published in Frontiers in Immunology, the official journal of the International Union of Immunological Societies.  Dr. Hargadon’s study compared the expression of more than 39,000 genes in highly aggressive versus slow-growing melanomas and identified 1,462 genes that are overexpressed and 1,935 genes that are underexpressed in the aggressive form of this cancer.  These findings highlight several critical genes and pathways controlling the behavior of tumor cells that will increase our understanding of tumor progression and potentially identify novel targets for cancer therapy.  Indeed, results from this study are driving current work by Dr. Hargadon and his collaborating H-SC students that focuses on one of the genes (known as Foxc2) found to be overexpressed in aggressive melanoma.    

The Frontiers in Immunology article is available for download at: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fimmu.2015.00452/full

Dr. Michael Wolyniak, Associate Professor of Biology, is one of five principal investigators on a $50,000 grant just awarded by the National Science Foundation to develop a national mentoring program for promoting active learning practices among undergraduate faculty in the life sciences.  Dr. Wolyniak’s involvement stems from his work with the Education Committee of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB).  The ASCB will administer the grant along with the Genetics Society of America (GSA) and the American Society for Plant Biology (ASPB).  The principal investigators on the one-year grant will be representatives of the three societies as well as faculty from Hampden-Sydney, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

The initiative, Promoting Active Learning and Mentoring (PALM), seeks to promote best teaching practices as recommended by Vision and Change, a 2011 report of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).  PALM will allow faculty and postdoctoral fellows to gain hands-on experience and long-term mentorship (at least one semester) in bringing evidence-based, effective active learning strategies into their own classrooms. PALM Fellows will pair with mentors who have already reformed their classrooms, visit their mentors to observe and participate in redesigned classes, and develop an active learning based model for one of their classes with guidance from their mentors. As a pilot to the PALM network, Dr. Wolyniak hosted Dr. Sricharan Murugesan from the National Institutes of Health in his Fall 2014 Molecular and Cellular Biology class where he engaged Hampden-Sydney students in laboratory work related to his own NIH research on actin cable dynamics in mammalian cells. Dr. Murugesan will return to Hampden-Sydney in Fall 2015 to continue this work with Dr. Wolyniak’s Genetics and Cell Biology class.

by Andrew Martinez ’16

I attended a dental internship at Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry, where I experienced actual dental techniques, and courses and taught to first year dental students. The program was called Summer Pre-Enrichment Program Collegiate II (SPEPII). SPEP was centered around the Dental Admissions Test (DAT), the instructors wanted students to perform well on the difficult exam. Courses taught were Head and Neck Anatomy, Respiratory Anatomy, Cardiology, and Oral Histology. The course load was huge, on top of studying for the DAT.

Andrew (fourth from the right) with the intern class at the Texas A&M/Baylor College of Dentistry

BUT! I had fun along the way. I made 29 new friends interested my end goal—dentistry. The intern class of 30 tugged along for six long weeks and completed the program grateful and ready to tackle the DAT. During the program we had the opportunity to prep and fill a tooth model (typodont) with amalgam and composite fillings. We also got the chance to construct a gold grown from scratch, starting with gold pieces of metal and melting them down to fill a model, which each intern made. Overall the experience was amazing, and I had a blast studying/torturing myself for 6 weeks. We kept ourselves going and motivated by telling ourselves. “Don’t Worry I’m Almost a Dentist!”

Like I said…..Don’t worry!!

by Taylor Meinhardt ’16

Setting up a sample for microscopy

Using fluorescent markers to observe actin cables in cells

by Chris Hawk ’16

During the summer of 2015, I have been studying strategies to detect fungal pathogens of Humulus lupulus, commonly referred to as hops. The hops crops of Virginia have been threatened in recent years by a number of microbial pests, making studies of the ways in which hops and microbes interact both scientifically and commercially interesting. In order to do so, I have been growing live tissue in our greenhouse, by means of steam propagation and the transplanting of rhizomes from live tissue. Currently, I have a few varieties and species of Hops in the greenhouse, including Cascade, Mt. Hood, Willamette, an unknown variety found locally, and Humulus japonicas—an invasive hop.

Setting up the hops lines in the greenhouse at the start of the summer

Using the greenhouse to grow these plants has, for the most part, kept the fungal pathogens Pseudoperonospora humuli (downy mildew) and Podosphaera macularis (powdery mildew) from infecting the plants. However, I have been purposefully infecting the hops with the two fungal pathogens to determine how quickly the plants become infected before they show phenotypic signs of infection.  Understanding how these fungal pathogens best develop and spread on hops will allow me to better understand how they can be effectively controlled.

Working with mature hops at the end of the summer

This work will be a central part of Hampden-Sydney’s introductory biology lab course in the Fall of 2015.  Here, several students will build on the results I find to try and better understand how hops can be most effectively grown and managed in Virginia.

by Mason Luck ’16

Ecosystems are complex. Between thousands of years of symbiotic relationships a given system becomes stable. That is not to say that each facet is perfect, but it works. When one piece of the system is thrown off the whole system will inevitably feel the effects and could collapse as a result. Invasive species throw off the natural balance. Centaurea stoebe, otherwise known as the spotted knapweed, is an invasive species of flora close to home. It affects natural systems by outcompeting natives, causing all sorts of problems. Fields of wild grass can be taken over completely by Centaurea in effect disrupting livestock feeding grounds. In the more natural sense it may completely replace the native species, taking out the first level of a stable trophic chain. If you knock out the base of a building it is bound to collapse, much like the base of the food chain.

The goal of my research is to discover particulars about how Centaurea survives-especially as it pertains to substrates and watering schemes. Thus far I am working with roughly 715 Centaurea seedlings. The substrates I am using are sand and soil. I plan to analyze how fast/how well plants grow in each substrate, giving me a glimpse into their competitive abilities in a nutrient poor and nutrient rich environment. If they can grow in sand they may have an advantage in utilizing a substrate that is hard to be used by others. If they grow in soil, they still show that they can compete in an environment fit for other flora. The plants will receive three different watering treatments: low, medium, and high. Depending on survival and growth we can see if Centaurea has the competitive advantage of being able to withstand harsh conditions, as well as normal and high watering conditions. Once the plants are reproductively active the amount of seeds they produce will show us how well they are able to adjust to each treatment. If they produce many seeds they did very well, as they were able to devote energy to making seeds instead of growing more roots or leaves to counterbalance our treatements.

Mason with a sample of Centaurea stoebe collected locally from the High Bridge Trail.