News & Events
Summer Research 2023
Kaia Doan and Olivia Brech are working with Professor Carrie Woods, as part of their summer research program, and are testing the heterogeneity hypothesis in the intertidal zone at Tongue Point in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They are examining habitat associations of intertidal species to particular substrate types and whether rugosity is an adequate measure of habitat heterogeneity. Their research is an extension of an Independent Project in Ecology in fall 2022. Brech and Doan are so committed to their research! They camped for 2.5 weeks straight to collect their data, and are among the nearly 100 students participating in Puget Sound's long running summer research program.
Graduation 2023
The Department of Biology wishes to acknowledge a heartfelt congratulations to the graduating class of 2023! You have completed one of the stepping stones on your life journey. Now, on to the next stone.
Watch and listen to this marvelous biological environment that surrounds you, that is you, and continue to learn from it. Now is the time to use your education and the skills you've learned here at the University of Puget Sound to push the boundaries of the known, explore the unknown, and make the discoveries that will help our planet become a better place.
We have been a family and a community these last four years. And although our bittersweet parting will be replaced with cherished memories, we are excited to share all that you will accomplish in the future. So please stay in contact with us.
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Graduating Biology Class of 2023
To the graduating class of 2023, the faculty and staff of the Department of Biology would like to send a very heartfelt congratulations! You made it! Thank you for all of your hard work and contributions that have made our biology family and community such a success. You will be missed, we assure you. Graduation is an important moment. But, as all endings do, it signifies a new beginning. Graduation is not the end goal in itself, but it is instead a stepping stone along the larger journey on the road of your life. We hope that all of your future aspirations and dreams in life are reached.
Please stay in touch and send us updates as you travel down that road. We love hearing from our alumni!
Biology Department Awards Reception 2023
Gordon D. Alcorn Award
This award is given to the student considered to be the outstanding senior in biology based on a combination of scholarship, research, and service to the department & community.
Winners:
- Megan Mooney - "Our first awardee is an exceptional scholar and proficient researcher who enthusiastically contributed to the university community. We look forward to hearing about Megan Mooney's future accomplishments as an environmental lawyer."
- Natalie Yates (not pictured) - "Our second awardee was described as a natural leader, role model, & driver of community in the sciences, both in the classroom and in the lab. Natalie Yates is an exceptional student and talented researcher who wrestles with scientific problems at a level well beyond her years."
Beverly Pierson Research Engagement Award
This award is given to the graduating student who has demonstrated exceptional research dedication and engagement.
Winners:
- Alexi Ebersole - "Alexi has worked in his mentor's lab since his first summer at Puget Sound--that covid-filled summer of 2020. They helped their research mentor establish an entirely new study system here in Washington State. Alexi Ebersole used this new system to conduct research on the ecomorphology and diet of lizards across multiple study sites and was a collaborative team member on many other projects--always with a smile and a desire to support the entire research team. He is graduating with more data than can fit in 2 thesis chapters, a submitted manuscript, multiple professional conference presentations, and a number of awards (Wallerich Scholar, Murdock best poster, and a national student travel award from AEHS), now including the Pierson Award."
- Olivia Fross - "Olivia contacted her mentor about research opportunities prior to even arriving on campus and has also been an active research student since her first year. She has conducted university-supported research all three summers, with a particular focus on the conservation status and population dynamics of the Endangered Tufted Puffin in Washington State. Olivia Fross has been a highly collaborative member of the Hodum research group, contributing to their long-term ecological studies of other seabirds, including Rhinoceros Auklets and Marbled Murrelets. Her enthusiasm for and curiosity about the natural world are both inspiring and infectious."
DeMarais Outstanding Service Award
This award is given to the graduate who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to service to the Biology Department and the broader community during their time at the University of Puget Sound.
Winner:
- Joshiery Torres - "Josheiry has served the department and broader campus community in multiple leadership positions. She has been an active member of the Phi Sigma Biological Sciences Honor Society since her sophomore year, serving as Secretary durning her Junior year and Vice President during her Senior year. In addition, Josheiry Torres has been Vice President of the Latinx Student Union, which has included leading fundraising activities and the recent Latinx Festival, the proceeds of which go to the Latin American Heritage Scholarship. Josheiry has served in the spirit of Professor DeMarais, with kindness, thoughtfulness and generosity."
Outstanding Symposium Presentation
This award is given in recognition of an outstanding oral presentation describing excellent biological research at the Phi Sigma Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Winner:
- Kelci Hooker - "Kelci's thesis work has examined the interrelationships between gut microbiota and the immune system in striped plateau lizards. In her talk, Kelci clearly walked us through her study questions and their motivation, and some complicated analyses of microbial diversity. Not only does Kelci receive this award, but she also won a Best Oral Presentation award at the West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference in Los Angeles in April. Congratulations Kelci."
- Honorable Mentions are given to: Johnsy Cabrera and Henry Norton
Outstanding IA Award
Given to the students who have demonstrated outstanding dedication and talent for helping other students to learn and appreciate the science of biology during their service as an Instructor Assistant.
Winners:
- Stella Dahms-May – “Stella is very generous with her time and knowledge. Her teaching philosophy--that 'learning should be fun'--is evident in how she supports and challenges students to have a good time while putting in the hard work to learn the lab material, not just get through enough of it to leave. She is described as being a brilliant scientist and pedagogue, and great at helping students make connections and modeling interdisciplinary learning. This all makes Stella Dahms-May a joy to work with.”
- Maël Bradley – Maël is the kind of IA that all faculty hope to have - always prepared, extremely proactive, and very good at anticipating needs. He seems naturally gifted at guiding and motivating students in the lab, and he's also generous with his time. Maël Bradley shows students why it's cool to be excited about science."
University Academic Honors-Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude
Awarded by the university to degree candidates who have exhibited academic excellence and breadth of scholarly achievement and who have a GPA of 3.7 or higher.
Winners:
- Seth Ack
- Lane Andolsek
- McKenna Boulet
- Beatrice Bugos
- Dillon Conner
- Anna Dupont
- Alexi Ebersole
- Ben Fox
- Olivia Fross
- Fay Fujimoto
- Sasha Greeneschmitz
- Maddie Hider
- Brayden Hinrichs
- Kelci Hooker
- Capriana Jiang
- Dani Kaes
- Sophia Kasper
- Giselle Kawahara
- Maura Lake
- Emily LaRiviere
- Keira Malone
- Nicole Mannix
- Helen McDonald
- Megan Mooney
- Eme Morgan
- Christina Nguyen
- Henry Norton
- Marion Rogers
- Adam Schmidt
- Sammy Schwindt
- Colby Smith
- Natalie Yates
Honors in Biology
These graduates are selected by the biology department based on their research, GPA, and contribution to the University. Only 10% of the graduating seniors can receive departmental honors. The award is noted on their transcripts and in the commencement program.
Winners:
- Maël Bradley
- Stella Dahms-May
- Sarah Dormer
- Luka Kitamura
- Max Merrill
- Misha Tasaka
- Elizabeth White
BIRDS ON THE BRAIN
A self-professed "outdoor bum," Peter Hodum, professor of biology and environmental policy and decision making, spends his non-teaching days by the sea studying birds. Seabirds were a passion he discovered as a first-year student doing summer research at Bowdoin College. That opportunity was "revelatory and transformative," he says. Now, his research centers on seabird conservation, specifically community-based conservation – an approach that centers local communities in the work.
Welcome Dr. Katherine Crocker
The Department of Biology is thrilled to announce that Dr. Katherine Crocker will be joining us as a tenure-line Assistant Professor this fall. Katherine is an interdisciplinary biologist studying how the environmental conditions experienced by an individual affect the health and phenotype of their *descendants*. These transgenerational effects of environmental stress are fascinating, and we can't wait to learn more about them from Katherine and their future.
The Tiktok Doctor
Rose Marie Leslie '12 has a real passion for providing care and health education to patients of all ages, and she is making a difference by helping slow the spread of health misinformation by using TikTok. After graduating from the University of Puget Sound with a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a minor in Spanish, Leslie attended medical school at the University of Minnesota and started posting a "Daily Doctor Fact" on TikTok. In late 2019 she posted about vaping which got a big enough response that Rolling Stone magazine, Good Morning America, and others did stores about her! Leslie is now a primary care doctor at Allina Health in Faribault, MN and continues to be active on TikTok.
Where is the methane in the ocean coming from?
Scientists are puzzled by the amount of methane in the ocean, so Clarissa Troutman '22, who has a molecular and cellular biology major, is looking for answers. Troutman was digging into the so-called "marine methane paradox" during the summer of 2021 alongside her faculty advisor, Professor Oscar Sosa. She collected samples of seawater and plankton from Commencement Bay, enriched them in the lab, and then measured their methane concentration. Her research is helping scientists understand the role of plankton in the global carbon cycle.
Tomato harvest in the Madlung lab
The fruit in the field and greenhouse are now ripening quickly all at once. We have dozens of different genotypes of new light receptor gene combinations that we have bred using Mendelian genetics and are isolating using molecular genotyping. After a 2-hour treatment with dilute hydrochloric acid to mimic passage through the stomach of a seed disperser the seeds are dried (photo on the right) before they are used for phenotypic experiments or for growing, crossing, and segregation in the next generation
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Sue Hannaford’s student, Adam Schmidt, dives into the mysteries of Parkinson’s disease with the help of bees
On the rooftop of Thompson Hall, a figure emerges in a full beekeeper suit, a head-to-toe covering including a white jumpsuit, a wide-brimmed hat with a mesh face veil, and thick protective gloves. Carefully, he approaches the hive, a five-foot-tall stack of wooden boxes located behind a greenhouse near the edge of the roof. Adam Schmidt ’23, the molecular and cellular biology major inside the suit, isn’t interested in the colony of several thousand bees for their honey—he wants to study their brains in an attempt to understand the progression of neurodegenerative diseases in humans.
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Photos by Sy Bean
NSF awarded a Research Experience for Post-Bac Students (REPS) supplement to Sam Barnwell and the Madlung lab
| NSF awarded a Research Experience for Post-Bac Students (REPS) supplement to Sam Barnwell and the Madlung lab! This supplement is specifically for recently graduated students who missed out on a research experience due to COVID-19 during their time in college. The supplement pays 12 months of salary for the post-bac for doing full-time research in an NSF-supported lab. Sam started with us last week and already got her first batch of DNA sequencing results back last Friday. Congratulations on the NSF award and welcome to the lab, Sam, we are glad you are here! |
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Summer Quest Symposium
This September, summer research students from all across campus gathered together for the Summer Quest Symposium where they presented their research to the campus community. It was inspiring to see so much incredible, student-driven research. Biology had 23 students presenting at the conference and they all did great
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Faculty Awards & Recognition
Portrait of Peter Wimberger wearing a rain jacket and a ball cap standing outside
Peter was awarded the Walter Lowrie Sustained Service Award for his incredible service to the Puget Sound community. A stalwart champion of interdisciplinary thinking and experiential learning, Peter has helped build institutional programs that make a Puget Sound education distinctive. From expanding the community engagement focus on the Slater Museum of Natural History, to developing what has become the Environmental Policy & Decision-Making Program, to his innovative inter-institutional and international teaching, Peter’s work is felt across campus, across the community, and beyond borders. Thank you, Peter! We are so pleased you have received this awesome recognition of your work.
Andreas Madlung
We are delighted to congratulate Puget Sound Biology faculty member Andreas Madlung, who has been named as a Distinguished Professor! Distinguished Professors are selected as the very top few Full Professor files read by the Faculty Advancement Committee each year. This award celebrates his exceptional teaching, research, and service to the university.
Peter Hodum
Congratulations to Peter Hodum who, not only has just received a promotion to Full Professor, but has also won the Bartanen Faculty Research. Peter has an active research lab with multiple lines of research centered around conservation biology of birds and island ecosystems, and with direct applications to boots-on-the-ground conservation work and public policy. He is a fantastic mentor to our students and a valued collaborator to local and international scientists. Just since 2019, he has contributed to 9 peer-reviewed publications, 1 book chapter, 1 state recovery plan, 1 oral conference presentation, and 1 poster conference presentation; he also has obtained $750,000+ in grant funds and written two popular articles.
Dr. Bryan Thines
Dr. Bryan Thines who was awarded tenure in May 2021! We are thrilled! Bryan is a true teacher-scholar, an excellent molecular biologist, a fearless innovator, and a fantastic mentor to our research students.