The Hampden-Sydney Biology Department was well represented at the College’s Final Convocation, an award ceremony recognizing outstanding academic achievement during the 2016-17 year.

The James R.T. Hewett Biology in recognition of outstanding achievement in the Biology Department was given to James Lau ’17.  James graduated as the Valedictorian of the Class of 2017 and will be attending Eastern Virginia Medical School in the fall.

James Lau ’17 receives the Hewett Biology award from Chair of Biology Alex Werth

The H.B. Overcash Prize for outstanding achievement among pre-health junior students was awarded to Nicholas Chase ’18.

Dr. Werth enthusiastically awards the Overcash Prize to Nicholas Chase

The two Sophomore Academic Excellence Awards for highest GPA in the sophomore class were both given to biologists.  First awarded was Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major Blake Martin ’19.

Director of the Office of Academic Success Lisa Burns presents Blake Martin ’19 with his award.

Next awarded was Biology major Coleman Johnson ’19.

Coleman Johnson ’19 with Director Burns

Finally, to show that Biology majors appreciate the full gamut of the liberal arts, Biology major David Bushhouse ’19 received the Sallie Wright Harrison award from the Department of English for his poem which considered the origins of his last name.

Dr. Steele Nowlin, Chair of the Department of English, and David Bushhouse ’19

This year, Hampden-Sydney sent two of its students, Brant Boucher ’17 and Jason Halmo ’17, accompanied Associate Professor of Biology Mike Wolyniak to the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology  (ASBMB) in Chicago.  Part of the Experimental Biology federation of 6 biology professional societies, ASBMB is an international gathering of scientists and one of the premiere opportunities to explore the frontiers of biochemistry and molecular biology.

Jason Halmo and Brant Boucher at the meeting

Both Jason and Brant presented work done as part of their work done jointly between the Biology and Chemistry departments.  The work was presented both at an undergraduate-only session as well as the general session for the entire meeting.  Jason presented his work on the characterization of chemical and genetic differences in hopped meads done between Dr. Wolyniak and Associate Professor of Chemistry Paul Mueller.

Halmo presents his work to fellow undergraduates.

Halmo also coordinated an outreach initiative, the Prince Edward County Environmental Molecular Biology Institute (PECEMBI) with Dr. Wolyniak.  Funded in part by a grant from the ASBMB, PECEMBI brought a long-term research project to the students of Prince Edward County High School with outreach support from Hampden-Sydney students and faculty.  Both Halmo and Wolyniak presented a poster on PECEMBI at the meeting.

Presenting at the Public Outreach Poster Session

Boucher’s work was jointly done by Dr. Wolyniak, Associate Professor of Biology Kristian Hargadon, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Rupak Due and focused on the development of bacterial biofilms on titanium bone replacement implants.

Brant Boucher presents his work

ASBMB is one of several national and international meetings that are regularly attended by Hampden-Sydney undergraduates as a culmination of their research work at the College.

Two Hampden-Sydney students, Brant Boucher ’17 and Jason Halmo ’17, recently presented their ongoing research work at the Virginia House of Delegates in conjunction with the Student Research Showcase at the Capitol event put on each January by the Virginia Academy of Science.  The event is designed to highlight undergraduate student research in the STEM fields to the state legislature and allow legislators to interact with students from across the Commonwealth who are actively working on projects.  Brant and Jason represented 2 of 19 total projects that were presented at the event.  The projects represented all varieties of undergraduate institutions in Virginia, including public and private schools as well as 2-year and 4-year institutions.

Brant presented his work done with Dr. Hargadon on the characterization of methods to combat melanoma.

Brant presenting his research poster

Jason’s presentation focused on work being done in conjunction between the Biology and Chemistry departments on the characterization of yeasts used in the production of different types of meads.

Jason listening to questions on his project

Jason and Brant accompanied Biology professor Dr. Mike Wolyniak to the event.  Dr. Wolyniak is the Science Education chair for the Academy and helped to coordinate the event.

Group picture of all student participants

Brant and Jason valiantly transport the easels and poster backings to Dr. Wolyniak’s car in a driving rainstorm

On December 5, the H-SC Biology Department had a special visitor lurking the halls, The Grinch!  During this time, one Professor Hargadon was nowhere to be found, and upon the Grinch’s visit to a Microbiology class, students feared that their Christmas dreams of good grades would be stolen away.  However, they soon realized that, as the story goes, the Grinch’s heart grew 3 sizes at Christmas, and many students were even given the gift of a final exam exemption!

The Grinch with his trusty companion, Max (aka Trickie)!

Conspicuous by his absence, Dr. Hargadon could not even be found in his usual spot (the laminar flow hood) during the Grinch’s visit.  Rest assured, though, the Grinch saved the day and continued his work.  Melanoma doesn’t stand a chance!

The Grinch hard at work in Gilmer Hall!

The first two weeks of November saw an unprecedented period of travel activity for the faculty and students of the Hampden-Sydney Biology Department.  Over this period, H-SC biologists attended six regional and national scientific conferences all across the United States and presented the research work they have been doing over the summer as well as the academic year:

–American Society for Microbiology Virginia Branch Meeting, Roanoke, VA

At this meeting, Brant Boucher ’17 and James Lau ’17 presented the work they have been doing with Dr. Kristian Hargadon.

Brant Boucher’ 17 with his research poster

James has been investigating how the FOXC2 transcription factor regulates the progression of melanoma by comparing gene and protein expression profiles of a wild-type murine melanoma and an engineered variant of this melanoma in which the FOXC2 gene has been rendered dysfunctional by CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing.  Based on the Hargadon lab’s evidence that FOXC2 is critical for promoting melanoma progression, Brant worked with Dr. Hargadon over the summer to develop a tissue-specific gene silencing approach to knock down FOXC2 gene expression specifically in melanoma cells.

James Lau ’17 presents his research poster

At this same meeting, Dr. Michael Wolyniak presented the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning keynote address on the development of teaching mentorship networks across the Commonwealth.

American Association of Colleges and Universities STEM Conference, Boston, MA

Dr. Wolyniak presented the same project from the Roanoke meeting at this national gathering of STEM educators in Boston and also participated in a panel discussion about the Project Kaleidoscope Summer Leadership Institute for STEM Faculty, a program in which he participated in the summer of 2013 at the Baca Campus of Colorado College.  Dr. Nicholas Deifel of the Department of Chemistry also attended this meeting.

Southeastern Medical Scientist Symposium, Birmingham, AL

This meeting was a regional gathering of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows from the Southeast to share research projects and learn about career opportunities in the biomedical sciences.  William Echols ’17, Thomas Vinyard ’17, and Tyler Reekes ’17 presented their work done with Dr. Erin Clabough’s Neuroscience class that has led to a published paper on fetal alcohol syndrome.

Thomas Vinyard ’17, Tyler Reekes ’17, and William Echols ’17 with their research poster

Luke Bloodworth ’18 also presented his research based on a Hampden-Sydney- supported summer experience at the University of Alabama-Birmingham based on the development of an effective strategy for CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in zebrafish.

Luke Bloodworth ’18 (right) with Drew Bonner, a student at Auburn University, and Dr. Anil Challa of the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Medicine

Sigma Xi Student Research Conference, Atlanta, GA

Dakota Reinartz ’18, Traylor Nichols ’17, Joey Tyler, ’17, and David Bushhouse ’19 were accompanied by Dr. Rachel Goodman to the annual national gathering of the Sigma Xi society for scientific research.  This meeting brings together undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows from across the sciences in a celebration of the scientific research enterprise.  Traylor won the Best Poster award for the Environmental Science section of the meeting for his work on developing optimal hops growing practices.

Traylor Nichols ’17

Dakota presented research on the development of growth techniques for ramps, a type of wild onion native to Virginia, while Joey presented work preformed with Dr. Goodman on the spread of ranavirus among central Virginia reptiles and David presented his work on the isolation and characterization of a novel bacteriophage, named Thespis, found on the H-SC campus.

Dakota Reinartz ’18

Joey Tyler ’17

David Bushhouse ’19

Society for Neuroscience Meeting, San Diego, CA

Tyler Reekes ’17 and Jamie Ingersoll ’18 presented research posters at the 2016 Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego along with Dr. Erin Clabough. Both students gave poster presentations during the undergraduate session (sponsored by Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience) and also presented their work in the general poster symposium session alongside experts in their field.

Jamie Ingersoll ’18, Dr. Erin Clabough, and Tyler Reekes ’17 with their research posters in San Diego

Jamie’s research exploring the way that developmental exposure to ethanol can alter neuroarchitecture in the striatum was presented in the Dendritic Branching poster session, while Tyler presented experimental results from the Spring 2016 H-SC upper level Vertebrate Physiology class showing the long-term effect of fetal alcohol on adult behavior in mice. Dr. Clabough also presented a poster that included Myshake Abdi 16′ as a co-author. Society for Neuroscience Meeting is attended by over 30,000 scientists annually.

A lighter moment at the meeting…..

Sitka Whalefest, Sitka, AK

Dr. Alex Werth was a featured speaker at the 20^th anniversary Sitka Whale Fest in Alaska, which brings whale researchers and fans from all over the world to learn the latest science and observe whales in their native habitat.

Whale sightings off the Alaska coast

The NSF-funded program emphasizes communication with non-scientists. In addition to giving a formal talk, Werth served as a naturalist onboard whale watching cruises and spoke with several groups of college and secondary students plus teachers and the general public. Many groups of feeding whales were seen, along with seals, sea lions, sea otters, and other marine life.

The Hampden-Sydney Biology Department prides itself with providing opportunities for students to work closely with their professors on original research activity.  These meetings provide the opportunity for students to share their work on a regional or national stage and gain valuable scientific communication experience as they hone their career interests.

Over the past couple of years, several students in the Hampden-Sydney biology classroom and laboratory have explored the microbes that coexist on hops plants and how those microbes may help or harm commercial hops yields.  The project has been integrated as an authentic research experience in the Biology Department’s Introductory Biology course and has served as the inspiration for several independent student projects that have taken place both during the academic year and over the summer.  One of the most dedicated students to this project has been Michael Willis ’17, who is looking towards a career in the brewing industry after graduation.  Michael recently took a selection of research posters detailing the work done by Hampden-Sydney students on plant/microbe interactions involving hops and presented them at the Hops and Harvest Festival at Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield, VA.

H-SC student research in display at the Hops and Harvest Festival

The Hops and Harvest Festival is the premier craft beer festival in central Virginia, and dozens of visitors took the time to look over the variety of posters detailing how common plant pathogens may be affecting the ability to grow a strong commercial hops crop in Virginia.  This presentation is an outstanding example of how student research at Hampden-Sydney can have real world applications that can benefit the general public.

Dr. Goodman’s BIOL 385 Wildlife Biology class took a weekend field trip in October to the Eastern Shore Birding & Wildlife Festival.  We camped for 2 nights in Kiptopeke State Park and went to workshops in bird identification and bird watching for  the ornithology portion of the course.

The Delmarva peninsula is an amazing location for watching birds in the migration season, because birds flying south and funneled to the tip as they attempt to stay over land for as long as possible before crossing water.  The park we stayed in has a “Hawk Watch” there people sight and count birds of prey as they fly unidirectionally overhead- typically they see over 1,000 hawks daily!

In total, we saw and heard 40 species of birds (and some bottle-nosed dolphins). We also hear a fascinating keynote lecture by a scientist with the American Bird Conservancy about the status of birds and their habitats, and the history and progress of bird conservation since the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

Senior Biology major James Lau ’17 recently received the Best Poster Award for a poster presentation of his research at the 4^th Annual Longwood University/Hampden-Sydney College Sigma Xi Research Symposium.  The symposium featured a talk by keynote speaker Dr. Steve Cresawn of James Madison University and was highlighted by a student poster presentation featuring 22 undergraduate researchers from both Longwood University and Hampden-Sydney College.  James, who was recently named only the 3^rd Goldwater Scholar in the history of H-SC, presented research he has been conducting in collaboration with Elliott Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Kristian M. Hargadon ’01.  James began working in Dr. Hargadon’s laboratory in the summer of 2016 on a project designed to investigate the role of the Foxc2 gene in regulating the progression of melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer.  James is continuing his research with Dr. Hargadon throughout his senior year for his Departmental Honors project, which is focused on assessing how expression of the FOXC2 transcription factor regulates tumor migration and invasion within tissues, key processes that ultimately contribute to tumor metastasis.  Following his graduation, James will be attending medical school at Eastern Virginia Medical School, where he was accepted as a sophomore through the College’s Early Admission Program with EVMS!

Elliott Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Kristian M. Hargadon ’01 recently published a major review article on the role of TGFb1 in compromising the quality of anti-tumor immune responses. Following a recent publication by Dr. Hargadon and collaborating Hampden-Sydney College students in the journal Immunology and Cell Biology, which described TGFb1’s alteration of dendritic cell function in melanoma, Dr. Hargadon was invited by editors of the Journal of Clinical Medicine to submit a comprehensive review article on TGFbeta1’s influence on the anti-tumor immune responses. Dr. Hargadon’s article, entitled “Dysregulation of TGF1 Activity in Cancer and Its Influence on the Quality of Anti-Tumor Immunity” appears in the Journal of Clinical Medicine’s Special Issue dedicated to the topic “Biological and Clinical Aspects of TGF-beta in Carcinogenesis.” Dr. Hargadon’s article highlights current understanding in the field of tumor-associated TGFb1’s ability to compromise the function of several immune cell populations, including dendritic cells, T cells, macrophages, and neutrophils, and it highlights how our knowledge of TGFb1’s immunosuppressive mechanisms is being translated into novel immune therapies in the clinical setting. This article can be found at the following link: http://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/5/9/76

Ongoing research in Dr. Hargadon’s laboratory at Hampden-Sydney College is focused on understanding immune suppression by melanoma and elucidating the function of genes that promote melanoma progression. Since returning to his alma mater in 2009, Dr. Hargadon has involved 12 Hampden-Sydney College students in independent research projects related to this work, and he has incorporated aspects of his research into his Biology 201 Genetics and Cell Biology course, where 15-20 students are involved in melanoma research each year that he offers the course.

Dr. Kristin M. Fischer is very excited to return to her home state of Virginia and be the newest member of the H-SC Biology department. She earned her B.S in Biology at Virginia Tech and her interest in the medical field led her to pursue her graduate degrees from the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences. Dr. Fischer focused on tissue engineering with the goal to replace or repair damaged tissue in the body by creating a scaffold structure for cells to grow on, culturing cells on the scaffold, and implanting a functional, new tissue into a patient.

Her graduate work at Virginia Tech and post-doctoral work at Rutgers University focused on creating a scaffold for skeletal muscle cells to grow on and culturing the skeletal muscle cells on it. The image below shows a scanning electron image of the polymeric scaffold on top and skeletal muscle cells fluorescently stained grown on it below. She completed a second postdoctoral position focusing on cardiac muscle tissue engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition to her research, Dr. Fischer has previously taught a variety of courses including physiology, tissue engineering, anatomy & physiology, and introductory biology. She is looking forward to teaching in the upcoming school year.

Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 2011. 99A(3): p. 493-499.