Reflections on research & Fulbright

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Sally Feng

Hello again, my name is Sally Feng. I graduated with a B.S. in Integrative Biology in May 2014. I am doing work on coral reef restoration in the Philippines under a Fulbright research grant.

My research experience
Three years ago, research was a foreign concept to me. During my sophomore year, I contacted a few professors and let them know that I was interested in their research. The following summer, I began assisting with a project with Dr. Katie McGhee in Dr. Alison Bell’s lab. I started taking field courses in the States (IB 447 and NRES 285)
and abroad in South Africa (ANSC 398) and in Costa Rica (ANTH 445). I was also in Dr. Becky Fuller’s lab to see what it was like to work in another lab. The next thing you know, I was completing my own independent projects. I presented at the iBio Research Symposium and at the Undergraduate Research Symposium at U of I. I received funding from NSF REU, Office of Undergraduate Research and Bell lab to present at the Animal Behavior Conference at the University of Colorado Boulder and at Princeton University. After two semesters of IB 390, I enrolled in IB 490 to graduate with distinction. My senior thesis on color-reward association in stickleback fish has been accepted for publication in Animal Behaviour.

My Fulbright experience
I am part of the corals lab under Dr. Ronald Villanueva at the University of Philippines Bolinao Marine Laboratory. My study organism is Drupella cornus, a corallivorous marine gastropod. I am interested in seeing whether the gastropod chooses to feed upon a coral colony over another and whether the removal of the gastropod will have an effect in coral cover.

Even though I had a project in mind, it requires a lot of patience to get an experiment started. This was my first field-based project. I had to figure out how to set up my study area underwater and what sites to use. I just became open water certified so I needed time to get comfortable in diving. I was set back a few weeks because of a storm and gale warnings. Soon it was Christmas and everyone was gone for the holidays. Finally, after two months since my arrival and with the help from the lab aids, I was able to set up my experiment. Since then my experiment has been running smoothly.

While research is my priority, I was able to pursue another interest of mine, environmental education. I attended SEA (Sea and Earth Advocates) Camp, a project of the Save Philippines Seas and U.S. Embassy Manila. SEA Camp’s goal is to empower young seatizens as leaders in conservation. There were 30 participants, ages 18-23, from a diverse background ranging from university students to government workers. I was invited to give a talk on coral restoration and was a mentor to the participants with their project proposals on marine conservation. The camp was very well organized with resource speakers, workshops and other activities. I enjoyed seeing how excited the participants became when they had the opportunity to snorkel and scuba dive. It was amazing to see how motivated everyone was in saving the Philippines Seas.

I have been abroad for six months and only have three months left of my grant. I am extremely happy with my stay in the Philippines and am excited to see where I will be next. If you would like to contact me, feel free to send an email to feng.sally26@gmail.com.

– Sally.

Amazing IB undergrads!

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Allison

This week is Undergraduate Research Week, a celebration of student excellence in research across campus. The signature event is the eighth annual campus-wide Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS), held on Thursday, April 23rd.

We are pleased to highlight some of the great research our undergraduates are doing in IB! The following IB students are presenting at this year’s Symposium:

Behavioral Freeze Avoidance Strategy in an Antarctic Fish
Mateusz Grobelny, Senior

Efficacy of Common Disinfectants Against Ophidiomyces Ophiodiicola, the Causative Agent of Snake Fungal Disease
Marta Rzadkowska, Senior

RNAi Knockdown: The Role of unc-25 in Mediating Nicotine Resistance in Caenorhabditis elegans
Andrew Tran, Sophomore
Emily Yaniz, Sophomore
Stephanie Martynenko, Sophomore

Community Inference
Zachary Cohen, Sophomore

Modeling Threat Assessment in Prey
Nicholas Sutton, Senior

Molecular Evolution for the Chemoreceptor Gene Families in the Common Eastern Bumblebee, Bombus impatiens
Yihui Zhu, Senior

DNA Fragment Length Heterozygosity PCR: Lab-on-a-Chip Method for Testing Bias in Prairie Root Metagenomics
Taylor Pederson, Senior

Electrophysiological and Mass-Spectrometric Investigation of Aplysia L1-L7 Neurons
Feng Zhu, Senior

Elucidation of Dopamine’s Influence in Peripheral Sensing in Pleurobranchaea.
Megan Flanagan, Junior
Andrew Tran, Sophomore

Genetic Analysis of Cellobiohydrolase I (cbhI) Gene Sequences and Production of Other Wood Degradation Enzymes in Tropical Aquatic Fungal Communities
Matthew Boyce, Senior

Improving the Accuracy of Photosynthetic Compensation Point Measurements
Jessica Ayers, Junior

Hox Gene Expression in Mammalian Limb Development
Paige Oboikovitz, Senior

Applying for a Fulbright Research Grant

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Sally Feng

My name is Sally Feng. I graduated with a B.S. in Integrative Biology in May 2014. I am currently doing work on coral restoration in the Philippines under a Fulbright research grant. If you are interested in applying for a Fulbright, here is my experience.

My Fulbright Timeline

May 2, 2013 – Attend Fulbright info session
July 1, 2013 – Priority deadline submission
September 3, 2013 – Top Scholars deadline submission
September 25, 2013 – Fulbright campus interview
October 2, 2013 – Fulbright final deadline submission
January 31, 2014 – Institute of International Education sends application abroad for final review
April 9, 2014 – Selected for Fulbright U.S. Student Award to the Philippines

General Advice

Before starting the application, you need to decide whether you are willing to commit to the process. You have to be determined, self-motivated and patient. This applies even more so once the scholarship has been awarded. It is not a study abroad program where you take a class with fellow students. You will spend up to a year on your own in a foreign country. Don’t let that scare you; it is well worth the opportunity and a very rewarding experience.

Since it is quite a long journey, it is important to become familiar with the application process and deadlines. All U of I students will apply for the scholarship via the Top Scholars/National International Scholarships Program. The process involves submitting an online application, college transcripts, 1-page personal statement, 2-page grant purpose, 3 letters of recommendation and an affiliation letter. Keep in mind the letters of recommendation have different deadlines and specific submission instructions.

To begin, determine a starting point. What interests you? Where do you want to go? This is your opportunity to be creative. If you need help, there are many resources available. Visit the Top Scholars office and read past submissions. Ask professors if they have contacts abroad that may be willing to accept you in their lab. Have others proofread your essays. I highly recommend submitting a draft for the priority deadline. Be very detailed in your essay to let the reviewers know you have done your research. Plan out the months of what you will be doing during your stay there. Talk about the preparations you will take to become a stronger candidate. Let them know you are interested in the culture and what you hope to gain out of it. Most importantly, convince them why they should fund you to go to this specific country.

My Application Process

My starting point was the location. I wanted to work in water so I narrowed my search to islands. Next I looked into statistics. Based off of the 2013-2014 statistics for Philippines, of the 18 applicants, 8 were awarded. I began looking into universities that specialized in marine sciences. I looked into the research topics of faculty members to see if any were of interest. I found the topic of coral restoration very appealing so I emailed a professor telling him I was applying for a Fulbright and would love to work in his lab. He was willing to accommodate me at his lab considering that I would be fully funded throughout my stay.

That may have sounded easy but couldn’t have been done without help. My initial draft needed a lot of work and I might have given up if it wasn’t for the support provided by my professors and from the Top Scholars office. I was told I had very strong letters of recommendation and my professors were rooting for me. That was encouraging to hear and I did not want to disappoint them. I continued to read research articles to get ideas. I emailed my prospective professor for advice on my grant purpose. I worked on new drafts until I was satisfied with my project. It is extremely important to come up with a project that you are interested in because this could potentially be the next year of your life.

The application process is a rewarding experience by itself. Not only did I learn how to write a grant purpose, I was accepted into a lab at an international university. I have letters of recommendation ready for future references. I learned how to present myself on paper and in person. I gained confidence in the work I accomplished and the effort paid off.

In the coming weeks, I hope to share more about my past and current research experience. If you have questions, feel free to contact me at feng.sally26@gmail.com. Best of luck!

– Sally.

Bug Buffet!

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Allison

Our very own Professor May Berenbaum and PhD student Michelle Duennes were featured in a recent Daily Illini article regarding IB 109: Insects and People, where as part of the class, the students enjoy a “bug buffet.”

Eat bugs

From the article…

“While many cringe at the idea of eating bugs, which is called “entomophagy,” this practice is widely accepted in many countries around the world. For students enrolled in Professor May Berenbaum’s Integrative Biology 109 course, “Insects and People,” eating insects during the course’s bug buffet lab is anything but accidental.”

Read on here.

Photo courtesy Anna Hecht via The Daily Illini

Alumni Profile: Muhammed Fazeel

Posted on January 13, 2014 by admin

Graduated: May 2012

Favorite IB class and why: Ecology and Human Health (IB 361). Professor Allan held a fantastic class related to health. I especially liked it since he made a conscious effort of making relevant lectures based on current/recent epidemics.

Favorite extra curricular activities (undergraduate research, clubs, etc) and why: Being part of the Illinois Launch program at the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

Why you chose IB: Integrative Biology took a broader approach at understanding the world from a biology perspective which I found very stimulating.

How you feel IB helped prepare you for your career: My time at U of I has given me the basic skills needed to better understand and address problems.

What you’re up to now: Soon after I graduated, I started a biomedical startup in Chicago. We have set up partnerships with a few clinics and our work is set to help several heart patients across America.

Alumni Profile: Colleen Stoyas

Posted on October 16, 2013 by admin

Graduated: May 2011

Favorite IB class and why: I loved my Ecology and Evolution class and the field work it entailed, my Organismal Biology class because of its labs, Coral Reef Ecology and its mandatory lab in Belize, Genes and Behavior, and so many others. I think the class I find myself continually applying to my every day “life” choices is Ecology and Human Health, taught by Dr. Brian Allan. This course investigates human health issues from an ecological perspective and regularly influences my perception of infectious disease outbreaks, grocery purchases, choice of where within a city or area to live (did you know lyme disease most commonly occurs in communities of moderate population size and not in rural areas?), and more.

Favorite extra curricular activities (undergraduate research, clubs, etc) and why: My favorite activity was definitely my undergraduate research on yeast genetics in the Freeman Lab (dept of MCB), and I submitted a distinction project prior to graduation. Outside of the lab I was in a co-ed Honor Fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi, that allowed me to make a great group of friends outside of my science courses and participate in service projects in the Champaign-Urbana community.

Why you chose IB: I chose IB over other Life Sciences majors because of the emphasis on analytical thinking and problem solving. In IB courses you are required to memorize less facts and instead given a set of information and asked to apply the principles you learned to answer questions on that information. This type of learning is extremely engaging and affected not only my studies, but how I approach any information given to me in life. I entered Illinois generally interested in science and was told growing up that I would make a good physician. While taking IB150, I realized that my interest in medicine had been in the discovery portion all along, and not in actually treating patients.

How you feel IB helped prepare you for your career: As I mentioned above, IB focuses on teaching analytical thinking and problem solving skills. I once had a project where I was asked to pick a plant on campus, and I had to email my professor a paragraph on that plant every week. Sometimes it seems hard to find a difference in a dormant magnolia tree from week-to-week in January and February, but “no change” was unacceptable. By the end of that semester I was at that tree every single day noticing so many differing events in its immobile life. IB taught me to be observant, patient, and responsive to my environment in addition to the value the knowledge the coursework provided me. These skills have been invaluable in my current career as a PhD student in Biomedical Sciences.

What you’re up to now and what you like about it: I am currently starting my third year as a PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences program at the University of California, San Diego. I am a member of the La Spada Laboratory, a large and diverse environment that studies the genetics of inherited neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease. My favorite part of my schooling/job is engaging with leaders in the neurodegeneration field and working at the cutting-edge of scientific discovery.

Gap years: trying things out

Posted on June 7, 2013 by admin

Hi all,

In the sciences it’s easy to get in the mindset of “go to college, go to grad school, get a post doc, be a professor” for your career. While this path works, I want to talk about the crazy idea of breaking from the path for a year or two before you throw yourself into a PhD program. (Note: this applies to people applying to professional schools like medicine or law, as well.)

To preface, going into grad school straight out of college does work. There’s a lot of people who do it and do it well. If you want to make a career as a researcher, starting grad school early lets you throw yourself at the rigors of a PhD while you’re young and energetic. But grad school is a huge commitment. Do you like fieldwork enough to get up at 7am on a Sunday if you have to? How do you react to the concept of motivating yourself to read a textbook, as opposed to it being assigned reading, for (probably) the first time? Are you ok with cutting your free time to the point that it’ll be a challenge to be simultaneously in that weekly journal club and working on that novel you’ve always thought about?

If you like your subject and are motivated, none of these questions should be that intimidating. But there’s nothing forcing you to throw yourself into all that straight out of college. Dr. John Cheeseman, the former head of IB Honors, continually tried drilling into my head the idea that I don’t have to go to grad school right away, that there are literally dozens of other cool options to consider. Your post-college path can veer wildly away from research, taking you across the world and letting you try things you’ve never had the chance to do before.

Yeah, I didn’t believe him. If you’re anything like I was as an undergrad, all of that will sound like a nice what-if, the cool life of someone who’s not in your shoes. Applying to a PhD program as a senior in college meant having knowledge and stability on what would happen in the half decade (at least) after college. With unemployment as high as it is right now, let’s just take what we can get, right? And with literally the whole world open for the first time, I found myself surprisingly drawn to the idea of “settling down” into a PhD program, where I know what I’m doing in a month, this summer, next year.

The point of this post is to pull a Cheeseman and encourage you to think outside the box. The following alternatives to immediately starting grad school are applicable to new graduates looking for something to fill a few months before more permanent plans, new seniors looking for stuff to do after graduation, and sophomores and juniors looking for summer plans.

1. Teach English or do research in another country on a Fulbright grant
Starting with the option that deviates the least from the research path, the Fulbright is something I highly recommend students interested in research consider. The Fulbright is funding for one year to teach English or do research with a local organization in another country (i.e. you can’t work with an American researcher stationed in Panama). If you want to do research someday, this is a fantastic opportunity to try independent research out, not have it go as you expected, and then learn how to better conduct research. When you enter grad school for real, you’ll have the knowledge of your Fulbright year as a head start on learning to do quality work. Also, the experience of living in another country for a year, especially fresh out of college, teaches you a lot about yourself. (If you’re interested, visit topscholars.illinois.edu or e-mail topscholars@illinois.edu for more information. The priority deadline is July 1.)

2. Work as a field assistant / do a lab internship
Part-time work in the area of research that interests you, especially if you can find something that pays or at least breaks even (e.g. housing is paid for), is awesome. For biology fieldwork, job boards like those of University of Texas A&M, the Ornithological Societies of North America, and Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation constantly have researchers looking for people to help with fieldwork.

If you can make it to Australia, Tasmanian devils need research love, too

You could study lizards in the Tucson desert, search for crabs on beaches in Washington state, or even end up in Australia watching fairy wrens through binoculars. The options are out there! A Fulbright alumna I know did the ‘fieldwork rock star’ lifestyle for a year, where she hopped from field project to field project. She barely broke even financially, but she got to spend a year traveling the world while simultaneously advancing her career. This is a great way to get exposed to a lot of types of research, too, and see what you like the best.

3. Ditch research for a bit
As much as you might like biology, it’s only one side of you. Ever wanted to tutor kids in creative writing? Find an apartment in San Francisco and intern at 826 National. Does doing manual labor on a farm in exchange for food and a place to sleep sound awesome? Check out work exchange programs like WorkAway. When I interviewed at Cambridge (conflicted, I applied to do a PhD in Cambridge the same year I applied for the Fulbright. I didn’t get in) and was discussing the potential for gap year(s) before grad school, my proposed adviser there said about 4-5 years without science research should be the upper limit between finishing college and starting grad school. That’s a whole lot of time to pick cocoa fruit and build hiking trails in Costa Rica.

Conclusions
Graduating college is intimidating. Not knowing what happens next is scary. But it can also be exciting. I strongly believe (finally) in the benefit of taking time off, whether it be getting experience with research or trying something totally different. If you like the crazy different path you took, awesome! If it wasn’t what you thought and you miss research, grad schools are accepting applications every year. As I mentioned in the previous blog post, grad schools will care more about your experiences with research than whatever grade you got in physics.This is one of the best times of your life to try something new. Don’t be afraid of trying something different just because you don’t know how it’ll turn out.

-Matt

For more information about academic advice, summaries of scientific articles, and discourses on metal music, check out my blog (www.mattgrobis.blogspot.com) or e-mail me at matt.grobis[at]gmail[dot]com.

Advice for new SIB grads

Posted on May 10, 2013 by admin

Hi all!

My name is Matt Grobis. I graduated in May 2012 from the Integrative Biology Honors major and am currently pursuing a Fulbright grant at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology. With commencement coming up this weekend (congrats to all IB graduates!), I thought I’d share the three biggest lessons I’ve learned since leaving the college bubble.

1. You’ll make mistakes… and that’s ok!
When I began my Fulbright, I was anxious to make the most of it. I had been on the waitlist for ten weeks, so I felt incredibly lucky to have this opportunity at all. I became involved in three separate research projects: formulating and carrying out an independent project on social foraging in wild great tits, helping a graduate student in a project on sleep and predation risk in wild great tits, and recording and analyzing mate-pair vocalizations in captive ravens. I became essentially buried in work, and the grad school applications, bio GRE, NSF-GRFP funding application, and furniture shopping for a new apartment added layer after layer of stress to my life. I made two crucial mistakes: underestimating how much time fieldwork takes to prepare for and carry out, and overestimating how much I can get done in one day. November was pretty miserable, and it was made so much harder because I wasn’t used to things not going well.

Great tits (Parus major) don’t always cooperate with your planned methodology

What the experience taught me, though, is that it’s totally fine to make mistakes. They’re the best way you learn. In undergrad, academic success has a pretty straightforward formula: pay attention in class, study before the exam, profit. It’s a lot different outside of college, where the path from Point A to Point B isn’t so obvious. You will make mistakes as you try to figure this out, but that’s how you grow. While working at the Institute has been a bit of a “tough love” learning experience, I feel I’ve grown so much as a researcher because there was no one to pull me out when I dug myself into that hole. As much as my research group liked me and wanted to help with my work, ultimately the responsibility was on me to fulfill the promises I made to my adviser and group members. As tough as it was, it’s one of the best things that could have happened to me during my year here.

2. Grades matter(ed), but experiences matter more
While your undergrad grades are important, they rarely come up in conversations in grad school, and probably even less so in the real world. Much more important to your future self (and future employers) are your experiences with what interests you. Interested in science journalism? Start a weekly science blog and see how you like it. Interested in field research? E-mail a university professor and ask to volunteer with the field season. I was amazed to learn that my adviser at the Institute is almost always looking for volunteers to help grad students with their fieldwork. Sometimes the professor can pay for your accommodation, too. In exchange for your help, you learn how to do good research by observing trial and error, master a ton of field techniques, and see whether this is something you want to continue with or not.

3. Got a question? Send an e-mail
Success is never completely independent. Everyone you look up to has had help along the way, and you’d be surprised at how willing people are to pay it back (especially if you’re thankful and nice to them). Go on LinkedIn and find U of I alumni doing what you want to do and invite them to coffee. E-mail grad students doing the research that sounds cool and hear their story. It’s ok not to get responses; don’t hassle them. But if you’re humble and genuinely interested, people will always be willing to help.

– Matt

For more information about academic advice, summaries of scientific articles, and discourses on metal music, check out my blog (www.mattgrobis.blogspot.com) or e-mail me at matt.grobis@gmail.com.

Congratulations to the IB NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Recipients

Posted on May 3, 2013 by admin

As featured in Inside Illinois, Illinois graduate students won a record number of NSF Graduate Research Fellowships this year. Several students in Integrative Biology are among the awardees. Let’s congratulate them for their hard work!

This year’s awardees from IB are:

▪Lorena Rios Acosta
▪Matias Cristobal Fernandez
▪Matthew Grobis
▪Daniel Joseph Urban
▪Kevin James Wolz

IB students accorded Honorable Mention are:

▪Cassie Wesseln
▪Kristen Bishop
▪Christopher Holmes-Singh
▪Allen Victor Lawrance
▪John Michael Maddux
▪Selina Ariel Ruzi

These lists come from the NSF-GRF Fastlane database. For additional information on this year’s competition, see the NSF-GRF main page.

Congratulations to the 2013 Biomathematics Research Fellows!

Posted on April 23, 2013 by admin

The Illinois Biomathematics Research Experience Program is a year-long research experience in mathematical biology. Despite the strong demand for students that are trained in biomathematics, undergraduate mathematics and biology majors still proceed largely along parallel isolated tracks, with many biology students acquiring very few mathematical skills and concepts, while many mathematics students remain relatively uninformed about biology. The Illinois Biomathematics Research Program brings mathematics and biology students together under joint mentorship by biologists and mathematicians. Our goal is to contribute a generation of scientists and mathematicians to meet the new challenges at the interface between these two disciplines. Additional information about the program can be found here: http://www.math.uiuc.edu/biomath/

The 2013 National Science Foundation funded fellows are working on the three projects under the guidance of faculty from the Departments of Mathematics and Animal Biology.

Gene Regulation and Limb Development
Kari Kosog (Integrative Biology), Rachel Poe (Mathematics), Dr. Zoi Rapti (Mathematics), Dr. Karen Sears (Animal Biology)

Hi! My name is Rachel Poe, and I’m a sophomore researching mammalian limb development with Dr. Zoi Rapti and Dr. Karen Sears. I’m a mathematics major and a computer science and biology enthusiast. Needless to say, I am really excited to be a part of the U of I BioMath team this year. Before I came to school, I was convinced that I had to choose just one subject to study, and was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to use multiple areas of interest for one purpose. But I quickly discovered that this was not the case — and now I get to use differential equations to model gene interactions in the process of limb growth! I can’t say that the project is without challenges, and I still have a lot to learn. One of the challenges for me has been connecting the more advanced biological concepts with the math models. Although I really enjoy biology, I don’t have as strong a background in it as I do math. But I’m excited by challenges and am always looking for something new to learn. That’s one of the reasons I’m excited to be working on this project — I’m learning so much along the way, and I know I’ll always have more to learn! I look forward to spending my summer in full-time research and exploring all the things I have yet to discover.

Hello there, my name is Kari Kosog, and I am currently a sophomore majoring in Integrative Biology and German. I took the Biomath class because it sounded interesting and like a fresh way to look at things. I really enjoyed it and decided to apply for the internship, and I am now working on a project under the supervision of Dr. Karen Sears and Dr. Zoi Rapti looking at the gene regulatory network in limb development. One of my favorite things about this project is that mapping gene networks mathematically is a relatively new field. I will be working in the lab with Dr. Sears to evaluate the gene networks. The math portion of the project is definitely new to me. I have a strong math background but have never tried to model anything. This is my first major project in a lab, and I am so excited to gain experience, learn from our advisors, and begin a life of scientific discovery!

We will specifically be looking at the feedback loops of the growth factors including sonic hedgehog, Gremlin 1, fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and Bone Morphogenic Protein 4 (BMP4). We will be comparing the differences between chicken, bats and opossums. The figure (Zellner 2009) shows an example of the network we will be working with. It is also an example of how the genes Sonic Hedgehog, Gremlin 1, BMP4, and FGF work together in regulatory loops. By creating a differential equation to map the feedback and regulatory loops, we can predict the effect of each gene on the system.

Figure from:
Zeller, R., Lopez-Rios, J., Zuniga, A. December 2009.Vertebrate limb bud development: moving towards integrative analysis of organogenesis. Nature Reviews, 10. 845-858.

Visual Ecology of the Two Cone Visual System of Largemouth Bass
Shannon Stanis (Integrative Biology), Nick Sutton (Integrative Biology), Zach Turner (Mathematics), Dr. Lee DeVille (Mathematics), Dr. Becky Fuller (Animal Biology)

Our group is working hard on developing both a theoretical and a functional mathematical model of the two cone visual system of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) to better understand the predatory behavior of these fish in varying water environments. Now, without further ado, let’s introduce the undergraduate researchers:

Hi everyone, my name is Zach Turner and I am a sophomore studying mathematics. Most of my work on this project thus far has been extracting equations from the paper we are studying and then converting that into a workable code that we can manipulate with various data inputs. To be honest, I actually have really enjoyed doing that! It’s frustrating working with computers when things aren’t going your way, but I love the satisfaction when it’s finally working. My biggest struggle is coping with my extreme lack of biological knowledge, but luckily my fellow group members Nick and Shannon are more than capable of explaining all the science to me. Currently our project is rather preliminary but I am very excited to see how far we can expand it in the future!

I’m Shannon Stanis, a senior double majoring in Integrative Biology and Psychology. I have been working in Becky Fuller’s lab for three years researching the visual system of killifish and now I am really excited to work with Zach and Nick to research their predator, the largemouth bass. Biomath is a perfect way to satisfy my scientific curiosity. We have been reading papers and sitting down together to talk through figuring out exactly what we want to know and how we are going to figure it out. I’m looking forward to lots of time with Zach, Nick, and, of course, the bass, to complete our behavioral assays this summer and integrate it into our model. We have a great team and I’m sure we will find some fascinating results!

Hello, my name is Nick Sutton. I’m a sophomore majoring in Integrative Biology and aiming for a minor in Spatial and Quantitative Methods in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. As one of the biologists of the group, I’m working a lot with Shannon and Becky to help ensure the functionality of our mathematical model in order to keep it as realistic as possible. Once the summer hits, I’ll be helping in the design and implementation of the many behavioral assays we will be performing in order to test our model. This project is very exciting for me since I’m getting to experience a lot of visual ecology and mathematical programming at a deeper level than I would have thought possible as an undergrad. Though exciting, the project is not without its challenges, and I’d say that, for me, the most difficult aspect of this project is integrating the math and the biology. While I have a firm grasp of each subject separately, things tend to get a bit more complicated when you combine the two. Regardless of these challenges, I’m looking forward to continuing the project and seeing how well the results of our behavioral assays match up with our models.

Ecology of Infectious Disease
Sarah Duple (Integrative Biology Honors), Glynn Davis (Mathematics),Ping Lee (Integrative Biology), Dr. Carla Cáceres (Animal Biology), Dr. Zoi Rapti (Mathematics)

The 2013 BioMath Daphnia Disease team consists of three members, Sarah Duple- junior in Integrative Biology Honors, Ping Lee- senior in Integrative Biology, and Glynn Davis- sophomore in Mathematics. When we first arrived at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as freshmen, we had no idea what we wanted to do for the next four years. Luckily, the U of I offers many courses that help students explore their interests in many different majors and fields. We all made a great decision and signed up for one of these courses, IB/Math 299 (Biomath), and it was the turning point of our college careers.

Throughout the course, we learned and explored the field of biomathematics and developed several research topics related to the ecology of infectious diseases. In 2012 (together with past team-member Adam Koss), we all worked together to study the dilution effect. The dilution effect is a concept in disease research by which biodiversity can potentially reduce disease prevalence. We specifically studied how disease dynamics change between a species of Daphnia, D. dentifera and its fungal pathogen Metschnikowia when a competitor species of D. dentifera, D. pulicaria is added to the system. We modeled the disease system using an ordinary differential equations system and also conducted biological experiments in the lab to obtain data to support our model predictions.

This year, the three of us are continuing to work with the Daphnia project but each focusing on different aspects of the system. Glynn is currently working on a three population mathematical model to determine how different parameters that are associated with negative fitness costs, such as feeding rate reduction, fecundity reduction, and per-spore infectivity affect virulence. Ping is also looking into the per-spore infectivity parameter, but specifically at how successful the spores are at transmitting the disease to different host genotypes, and how that affects the disease prevalence in the host population. Sarah is focusing on how different resource acquisition traits in the host and its competitors affect disease prevalence on different resource qualities.

In the coming months, we will all be working individually and collectively along with our advisors Dr. Carla Cáceres from Department of Animal Biology and Dr. Zoi Rapti from the Department of Mathematics. At the end of the summer we will be presenting our research at the 98th annual Ecological Society of America conference!

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