News and Events in Biology at Wheaton

News from the Biology Department Working as Wheaton Research Partners, Professor Scott Shumway and Dan Foxman (class of 2002) have created The Virtual Tree Walk, a tour of notable trees of the Wheaton College campus. The Genomics Research Team had two students as Mars Fellows last summer. Trevor Agnitti '02 and Melissa Kimball '02 prototyped a lexicon of DNA motifs under the direction of Professors Dyer (Biology) and LeBlanc (Computer Science). Two students on the Urchinology Research Team worked as Mars Fellows last summer under the direction of Professor Bob Morris. Julia Lou '01 and Amy Manning '01 did research collaboratively at Woods Hole, MA, to study motor proteins in dividing cells. Julia and Professor Morris presented these data at a conference in Woods Hole in September. Professor Barbara Brennessel recently offered Nutrition (Biology 205) as one of Wheaton's first distance learning courses. Thirty-one alumnae/i, parents and Wheaton friends registered for Nutrition and participated in electronic discussions with Wheaton students who were enrolled in the "in-classroom" version of the course. In April, Professors Brennessel, Morgan, and Shumway and six students from the Wheaton College Vernal Pool Research Team attended a conference on Vernal Pools at the University of Rhode Island. Three students exhibited posters and professor Shumway presented a talk on the activities of the research team. In April, Professor Tong and members of the Angiogenesis Team traveled to Washington, D.C. to present the results of their research on blood vessel formation to members of Congress. New Requirements for the Biology major will take effect with the class of 2004! See new Requirements list. Special Events and Lectures Biology Colloquium Twice a year scientists from other institutions come to Wheaton to share their research experiences with the Wheaton Community. Puzzles in Science Wheaton science faculty and students present their research results to the Wheaton Community. Puzzle questions presented to students beforehand are answered during the lecture. Marine Conservation Biology Lecture Series Funded by NOAA's Sea Grant this lecture series will bring a total of six marine scientists to campus during the spring semesters of 2000 and 2001 to speak about their research on conservation biology. Ladonne Heaton Shulman Lecture Series Endowed in honor of a Wheaton alumna and scientist, this series brings a Wheaton alumna back to campus to talk about her scientific research. Upcoming Lectures in the Biological Sciences Past Lectures in the Biological Sciences Dr. Richard Lutz (Rutgers U.) Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vents: New and Exciting Discoveries. Dr. Jon Moore (National Marine Fisheries Service) Deep Sea Fisheries Management. Dr. Mark Plotkin (Conservation International). Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice: Ethnobotanical Expolorations in the Amazon. Katherine Fuller (President, World Wildlife Fund). World Conservation Efforts. Dr. Donald Griffin (Professor Emeritus, Rockefeller University). Animal Consciousness. Dr. Ted Goslow (Brown U). Evolution and Biomechanics of Bird Flight. Dr. Michael Eck (Harvard Medical School). Protein Stucture Determination and Designing New Drugs. Dr. Norman Ellstrand (U. California at Riverside). Preventing the Escape of Transgenes from Genetically Engineered Crop Plants. Dr. Mary Ellen Avery '48 (Harvard Medical School). Discovering a Cure for Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Premature Babies. Dr. Jim Carlton (Williams-Mystic Marime Studies Program). Alien Invasions in the Sea.

Content by Scott Shumway (mailto:sshumway@wheatonma.edu)
and Bob Morris (mailto:rmorris@wheatonma.edu)
Design assistance by Dave Dudek '01, Academic Computing
Last update: 12/2001