DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 3RD
Sound like fun? Apply today!
- APPLY – Send a cover letter containing:
- Preferred research project(s)
- CV
- Contact information for three references
- Unofficial transcripts to TOPPER-SURE@westliberty.edu
- QUESTIONS – Send your question to TOPPER-SURE@westliberty.edu
Areas of Research | Making Connections | Apply Today
Projects under the guidance of Dr. D. Schmitt
Mechanisms of Novel Antibiotics
– Dr. Deanna Schmitt
Antibiotic resistance is a global health threat that is limiting treatment options for many infectious diseases. Each year, there are significant increases in the number of deaths due to antibiotic-resistant infections and health care expenses associated with these diagnoses. This information illustrates the need for new drugs that can combat the ever-increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant pathogenic bacteria.
The Schmitt laboratory studies resazomycins, a novel family of antibiotics that exhibits bactericidal activity against select Gram-negative bacteria including Francisella tularensis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. While the mechanism of action of these antibiotics is not known, previous research suggests the lipoprotein sorting system LolDF may be the target. TOPPER-SURE students would be involved in conducting various microbiological and biochemical assays to confirm whether LolDF is the target of resazomycins and elucidating how these antibiotics are taken up by bacterial cells.
Projects under the guidance of Dr. Z. Loughman
Crayfish Biodiversity
– Dr. Zachary Loughman
Introduced crayfishes are recognized as one of the major sources of imperilment for crayfishes globally; understanding their biology in their native range, and comparing that to biological attributes in streams they are introduced to is one strategy for developing control strategies for their eradication.
In the fall of 2011, Dr. Loughman discovered an introduced population of Orconectes punctimanus (Spot Handed crayfish) in the headwaters of the James River in Virginia. Since its discovery, Dr. Loughman and WLU students have completed a survey of the Upper James and determined the invaders range within the system. At each site where O. punctimanus was encountered, a field data sheet composed of 31 ecological variables was completed in order to complete a niche modeling project to compare O. pucnitmanus ecological requirements to native Va crayfishes. The VA Boat and Fish Commission now is pursuing Dr. Loughman’s lab to sample O. punctimanus in Missouri and Arkansas’s Ozarks, gather the same data, and compare niche requirements for O. punctimanus in its native and introduced range. This project is on the forefront of crayfish conservation biology and could lead to important insights of biological control for invasive crayfish species.
Finally, beginning in 2009, the Loughman laboratory has attempted to sample C. robustus across its extremely broad range, which encompasses the northeast, mid-Atlantic, and central and southern Appalachians. Several unique morphologic and genetic populations have been discovered that warrant formal description. To date Dr. Loughman and his students have published two species descriptions (Cambarus smilax and Cambarus theepiensis), working towards a revision of the species taxonomy. Two undescribed members of the complex were discovered in 2012, one in central Kentucky and another in western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. Funds have been acquired to describe both species pending fieldwork in the region.
Through working on all of the above projects, the TOPPER-SURE student will experience firsthand fieldwork, conservation biology, and taxonomy, and witness the synergy of these three fields. All of the above projects currently are either funded (Projects 1 & 4), or have proposals submitted currently that are likely to be funded (Projects 2&3). Loughman TOPPER-SURE lab members will participate in all of the above projects, but ultimately choose a specific aspect of one project for their personal research project of the summer. This model has proven quite successful for Dr. Loughman over the past 7 years and ultimately results in students receiving broad training in conservation and taxonomic disciplines, as well as specific, detailed instruction in an area they personally are interested in. Resultant of this strategy, 6 of Dr. Loughmans former students currently are enrolled in graduate programs pursuing either masters or doctorates in organismal biology, and in 2013 Dr. Loughman published four journal articles with six of his former students as coauthors.
Projects under the guidance of Dr. H. Racine
Thyroid Related Mechanisms in Craniosynostosis
– Dr. Holly Racine
Craniosynostosis is the premature fusion of one or more cranial sutures. Craniosynostosis occurs in every 1 in 2100-2500 births. 90% of these causes are considered non-syndromic (NCS), meaning not caused by genetic mutations and not associated with dysmorphisms of the face, trunk, or extremities.
Complications with craniosynostosis include increased intracranial pressure which may cause developmental delays, sensory dysfunctions, respiratory dysfunction, and neurological dysfunction. Maternal hyperthyroidism is a factor contributing to the development of NCS, but the mechanism for circulating thyroid hormone (TH) augmenting cranial suture closure is not well understood.
The Racine laboratory studies the effects of increased circulating TH on development in an avian model. TOPPER-SURE students would be involved in conducting live animal experiments using a novel model for maternal hyperthyroidism in chicken embryos. This model will aid in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which increased TH stimulates cranial bone development in utero.
Projects under the guidance of Dr. D. Barber
Bat Biodiversity and Behavior
– Dr. Diana Barber
North America’s insectivorous bat communities provide essential ecosystem services whose agricultural value is estimated to be in excess of 22 billion dollars per year and yet several species are at risk of extinction from land-use activities (principally forest clearing) and white-nose syndrome (an invasive fungal infection that impacts hibernating bats). The bats of the northern panhandle in West Virginia have not been comprehensively surveyed in decades.
The Barber lab will help address significant gaps in our understanding of our local bat communities in part by evaluating the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on insectivorous bat communities. Chiropteran communities have been understudied in the northern panhandle but are potentially at increased risk due to increases in energy production in the region. The impact of anthropogenic disturbance will be evaluated by comparing species richness along a continuum of disturbance. Species richness will be determined through passive recording of echolocation calls and walking transects with a recorder. Species will be identified with the assistance of acoustic analysis software (Kaleidoscope Pro). Chiropteran communities differ in their susceptibility to anthropogenic disturbance and differences in foraging behavior may predict how a species is impacted by disturbance. Data collected as part of this project will also contribute to a long-term acoustic transect study being done by the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources to track the population status and distribution of bats in West Virginia.
Projects under the guidance of Mr. J. Dann
Earthworms and Soil Quality
– Mr. Jeremiah Dann
Projects under the direction of Jeremiah Dann: Earthworms are important components of the soil system due to their favorable effects on soil structure and function. In particular, earthworms help to increase soil fertility by the formation of an organic matter layer in topsoil.
The occurrence of earthworms and the effects of earthworms are generally associated with good soil quality. Soil of good quality mediates water flow through the environment, buffers and mineralizes organic wastes, is topologically safe, and sustains biodiversity.
Assessing soil quality is important for several reasons including:
- Raising public awareness for soils as an important resource,
- Indicating soil functionality (as living space, biodiversity resource, biomass production, water uptake, distribution, storage, decomposition, and degradation), and
- Monitoring global trends of change in ecosystems and in the soil in particular.
Earthworms are often suggested as bioindicators of soil quality because they are frequent, easy to collect, and relatively easy to identify. Earthworms can indicate soil quality in several ways.
This includes:
- The abundance and species composition of earthworm fauna at a particular site,
- The behavior of individual earthworms in contact with a soil substrate (preference/avoidance/activity),
- The accumulation of chemicals from the soil into the body, and
- The biochemical/cytological stress-biomarkers in the earthworm.
TOPPER-SURE students under the guidance of Mr. Dann will work to begin monitoring earthworms in the field in the soils in and around West Liberty University, with a goal of expanding out in the surrounding county. Students in this project will be sampling earthworms at several monitoring sites throughout the campus community and the surrounding county. Monitoring sites will be chosen to reflect a wide range of habitats including forested lands, grasslands, and arable lands.
The goal of these surveys will be to collect data on a variety of soil zoological parameters throughout the summer. These parameters will include earthworm abundance, biomass, community structure, and species biomass dominance. Additionally, habitat data will be collected for a variety of soil parameters including pH, moisture, and texture, so that students will be able to inventory earthworms in relation to soil properties and site characteristics. In this way, students will be able to determine the habitat preferences and requirements for local earthworm assemblages. Soil quality is not the only parameter that determines the abundance of an earthworm population. Other factors such as food availability and climate also play a role. Weather, droughts, and freezing events, in particular, plays a role in decimating populations and initiating phases of recovery. Soil moisture seems to be a key limiting factor for earthworm populations. By monitoring earthworm populations, rather than just focusing on single samples, we can hopefully observe the effects of these events on the population so as to better understand whether populations may be in a phase of recovery and not be typical for the soil parameters of its environment.
Sound like fun? Apply today!
TO APPLY – Send a cover letter containing:
- Preferred research project(s)
- CV
- Contact information for three references
- Unofficial transcripts to TOPPER-SURE@westliberty.edu
QUESTIONS? Email TOPPER-SURE@westliberty.edu