Department of Biology Masters Distance Learning Program

MASTERS DISTANCE MONITOR

May 2018 Issue 30

WELCOME

New Online Masters Students for Summer 2018: Allison Anderson, NE; Madlain Arabo, CA; Joseph Ashcraft, IN; Arthur Campbell, MI; Denise Chiles, Alberta; Zelenia Contreras, CA; Dylan Dachtler, ND; Patricia Echeverria, HI; Krista Glosson, IL; Bjorn Halvorson, MN; Lauren Hatton, TX; Laura Hopkins, TX; Scott King, NE; Troy Lawson, MT; Cody Lere, SD; Sarah Levesque, CA; Karen Lizarraga, MD; Joshua Lucas, OK; Monica Macoubrie, NE; Hannah Marfia, NC; Nicole Massa, KS; Brice Meuris, IN; Sarah Morrison, NE; Holly Mosel, NE; Tanya Murtha, IA; Olivia Myers, NE; Brandi Norden, MA; Brandon Novatko, FL; Michelle Ostrem, IA; Solveig Perrett, NE; Zane Peters, IA; Daniel Quiring, KS; Stephanie Sandy, PA; Susan Saracini-Cram, MO; Joy Sasere, CA; Mark Skiles, NE; Bernadette Smith, CA; Megan Stevenson, PA; Jordan Valla, NE; Kiley VanHorn, KS; Rebecca Vossler, NE; Samantha Ward, NE; David Whitaker, OH

CONGRATULATIONS

May 2018 Graduates: Marisa Abrahamson, Douglas Ayega, Konstantin Brakefield, Catherine Clark, Richard Davis, Brooke Dillon, Amanda Jashek, Gabrielle Jones, Valerie Kershner, Rachelle Kruml, Leslie Kuiper, Laurie Lawson, Melissa Love, Jennifer Major, Melissa Marr, Jacqueline Martinez, Muhammad Mushref, Janine Rinker, Christine Ritta, Heather Rogers, Casey Snead, Ashley Thompkins, Amanda Thompson, Jennifer Thornsberry, Danyelle Walker, Kathern Wendt Three graduates were able to make the journey to Kearney for the UNK Spring Commencement ceremony on May 4th held in the Health and Sports Center. Over 15 guests including graduates, their families, and Biology faculty, attended the Department breakfast before the ceremony to honor our graduates.

(pictured from left to right: Douglas Ayega, Amanda Jashek, Rachelle Kruml, and Dr. Janet Steele, Professor & Associate Dean, College of Graduate Studies and Research)

Publications, Meetings, Grants

Meetings

Duncan, L. and S. Carroll. March 2018. Getting Serious: Outcomes of a Purposeful Intrusion Strategy for Pre-

Nursing Students in the First Semester of Anatomy and Physiology. Annual Gateway Course

Experience Conference. Houston, TX. Oral Presentation.

Publications Buck, M.J., Peterson, B.C., and Geluso, K. 2018. Geographic distribution: Plestiodon

septentrionals (Prairie skink). Herpetological Review. 49:74. Cain, J.L., Jarisch, K., Macaluso, K.R. and Luedtke, B.E. 2018. Correlation between fecal egg count,

presence of Strongylus vulgaris, and body score of feral horses on Fort Polk, Louisiana. Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports. 13: 14-17.

Rose, J., Kleist, T., Schönenberger, J., Drew, B.T., Sytsma, K.J., & Löfstrand, S. 2018. Phylogeny, historical biogeography, and diversification of angiosperm order Ericales suggest ancient Neotropical and East Asian connections. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 122: 59-79.

Lopez, W.A., Page, A.M., Ericson, B.L., Carlson, D.J., and Carlson, K.A. 2018. Chapter 12 – Antiviral immunity in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Drosophila melanogaster – Model for Recent Advances in Genetics and Therapeutics, Intech. Doi: 10.5772/intechopen.69293.

Lopez, W.A., Page, A.M., Carlson, D.J., Ericson, B.L., Cserhati, M.F., Guda, C., and Carlson, K.A. 2018. Analysis of immune-related genes during nora virus infection of Drosophila melanogaster using next generation sequencing. AIMS Microbiology. 4(1): 123-139.

Miller, B.T., Peterson, B.C., Koupal, K.D., and Schoenebeck C.W. 2018. Long-term changes in biotic and abiotic factors influence larval gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) annual peak density. Journal of Freshwater Ecology. 33:1, 173-181.

Steele, J.E. 2018. Regional approach to musculoskeletal system may enhance student performance. Human Anatomy and Physiology Society Educator. 79-83.

Continue to send us updates on any meetings, publications, grants, or awards that you have been involved with. Please email details to msbiology@unk.edu.

Director’s Desk from

Dr. Letty Reichart

Greetings from the director’s desk! Spring has finally arrived in south-central Nebraska and we are winding down from the Spring 2018 semester and gearing up for a great summer line-up of course offerings at UNK! First, I would like to congratulate our online MS Biology graduates successfully completing their degrees in May 2018. I had the opportunity to visit with some of our graduates and their families who came to campus for graduation. Chatting with our students and their families over breakfast, just prior to the graduation ceremony, is one of my favorite events at the end of each semester. I enjoy celebrating with the students and look forward to learning about each graduate’s adventures post-graduation, so keep us in the loop! We love to know about your successes and accomplishments! Second, summer online class sessions have begun, but there is still an opportunity to add some diverse knowledge to your biological tool belt. There are two more sessions that you could get in on, session two begins May 21st, and session three begins June 4th. We are excited to have multiple new summer course offerings from both new and visiting faculty. One new course option this summer is Dr. Dustin Ranglack’s course titled “Marketing for Scientists,” which will help students learn how to sell science! As scientists we often forget that business skills are necessary components for discovery science. We need to sell our ideas to funding agencies and to the general public. Components of this course will be focused on learning skills needed to successfully obtain funding and to gain support for your scientific ideas. We are also lucky enough to have Dr. Suzanne Rose, a visiting virologist, offering Principles of Epidemiology. Be prepared for a fun in-depth course, learning the tools used by the experts at Centers for Disease Control, to “Solve an Outbreak.” These are just two of the possible course offerings that might be of interest to you. For any of our course offerings each semester, I encourage you to visit the following webpage, where you can view course syllabi for all of our online course offerings, it’s just a click away, www.unk.edu/academics/msbio/Course_Descriptions.php

In closing, I look forward to a fun summer of interesting and exciting courses. In addition, if you have the opportunity to stop by campus, let us know! Maybe you could even come out to trap some birds with me this summer. In addition to teaching, I anxiously await the return of the Baltimore Orioles. Although I’m sure the orioles are not as excited to see me, as I am to see them! Have an excellent summer and please let me know if you have any concerns or questions, I am happy to discuss these with you. You can contact me by email at reichartlm@unk.edu or call me at 308-865-8568. I look forward to hearing from you and best wishes for Summer 2018! --- Dr. Letty Reichart

Student News

Maire Rose Bieck (December 2017 graduate) recently started a position as a Research Assistant in the Laboratory for Integrative Vascular and Exercise Physiology at Augusta University in Augusta, Georgia.

Caleb Bomske (July 2017 graduate) was accepted to a PhD position at Kansas State University. He is using occupancy surveys and mark-recapture techniques to understand how upland landscapes can influence habitat occupancy and abundance dynamics of muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) in the Kansas Flint Hills ecosystem. Lisa Duncan (December 2017 graduate) is working as an Assistant Professor of Biology at Frank Phillips College in Borger, Texas. She teaches 2 sections of dual-credit biology, anatomy and physiology 1 and 2, microbiology, and nutrition. Daniel Hissong (current distance student) started a new position teaching Chemistry/Biology at Free State High School in Lawrence, Kansas and was nominated one of The Best of Lawrence Teachers in his first year. He and his wife, Rachael, also welcomed their third child, Sylvia Rose, in January. She was 8 lbs 12 oz and 21 inches long. Big sister was ecstatic to have a new baby sister but brother was only a little excited at the new addition to the family. (pictured left)

Mark McKay (May 2011 graduate) is pursuing his PhD in Coastal and Marine System Science at Texas A&M Corpus Christi and will be graduating this Fall. He received a grant from Texas SeaGrant and the Texas Academy of Science in order to pursue isotopic analysis of Foraminifera in Estuaries to uncover past climate events (temperature, precipitation) and also to look at the biological productivity. Please let us know what is going on in your lives; email us your news at msbiology@unk.edu.

Office Space

Still looking to register for a class this summer? The following courses are being offered during the 2nd & 3rd summer session: May 21-July 13 session: BIOL 801 – Principles of Immunology (3 hrs) BIOL 820-02 – Intro to Graduate Study (3 hrs) BIOL 829 – Ecological Anthropology (2 hrs) BIOL 830P-02 – Marketing for Scientists (3 hrs) June 4-July 27 session: BIOL 830P-04 – Rdgs in Emerging Infectious Diseases (1 hr) BIOL 830P-05 – Wildlife and Fisheries Laws & Policies (3 hrs) BIOL 830P-06 – Climate Change (3 hrs) BIOL 830P-07 – Avian Life History (3 hrs) BIOL 830P-08 – Principles of Epidemiology (3 hrs) Students can register for open classes through MyBlue up until the first day of the class. PLEASE NOTE: Beginning May 7th, students dropping a summer course receive a “W” on their transcript. The “W” does not calculate into GPA; it just indicates the course was dropped. Even if the class doesn’t begin until the 2nd or 3rd summer session, the student receives a “W” since the summer term has begun.

Reminder: If you haven’t registered yet for Fall 2018 classes, we encourage you to do so ASAP. Classes fill-up quickly so if there is a course you really want/need to take, you should register now. Fall 2018 classes begin August 20th. We’ve added a new course offering to the fall schedule:

BIOL 846-Cancer Biology (3 credits) This course is designed as a survey of the current state of knowledge in the cellular and molecular biology of cancer processes. The students will also review current literature in cancer biology by analyzing and critiquing current articles.

Remember, if a class you are interested in taking is full, contact Brian or Robyn at msbiology@unk.edu to be put on a waitlist. Should a spot become available you would then be contacted via your lopers email account to register. Students planning to graduate this July 2018 must apply for graduation on MyBlue. Even if you do not plan to attend ceremony you must apply in order to receive your degree. The deadline to apply for July graduation is June 15th. There is a $25 application fee which can be paid on-line during the application process. Commencement ceremony will take place at 10:00 am on July 27th in the Health and Sports Center. Please consider making the trip to Kearney to walk in graduation and if you do, please let the Biology Department know so we can plan some special events for you.

Brian Peterson and Holly Peterson, Coordinator of the Master of Science in Education: Science/Math degree program, hosted a booth at the National Science Teachers Association national conference held in Atlanta this past March. They were pleased to run into two MS in Biology graduates, Michelle Douglass (August 2008 graduate) and Jennifer Mestres (December 2011 graduate). Jennifer Mestres was so excited they were at the conference, she brought her diploma to get her picture taken at the booth since she was not able to attend ceremony at the time she received her degree. Below are some pictures from the event.

pictured left is Holly Peterson at the MS in Biology and MSE Science/Math booth at the National Science Teachers Association national conference.

Pictured right is Michelle Douglass, August 2008 graduate, and Brian

Peterson, Coordinator-MS Biology Online Program

pictured above from left to right: Holly Peterson, Coordinator-MSE Science/Math program; Jennifer Mestres, December 2011 graduate; and Brian Peterson, Coordinator-MS Biology Online program.