March 2007

GRANTS & AWARDS

Ralph Saporito (Major Advisor: Maureen Donnelly) was recently awarded a two-year NSF postdoctoral fellowship to work with Dr. Alan Savitzky (Old Dominion University) and his colleagues on a project dealing with sequestration of toxins. Congratulations Ralph!

Cassandra Quave (Major Advisor: Brad Bennett) received the 2007 Anne S. Chatham Fellowship in Medicinal Botany from the Garden Club of America. The grant is for $4,000 to fund research supplies and expenses for Cassandra’s project entitled “Anti-pathogenic activity of natural products from Italian medicinal plants against MRSA”. Cassandra also received a grant for $3000 from Botany in Action, a program of the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden is funding her field research in southern Italy in June/July 2007. She also received $500 to attend the 48th annual meeting of the Society for Economic Botany that will be held this June in Chicago. Congratulations Cassandra!

CLUB ACTIVITIES

The LTER student group is looking for 15-20 people to plant 600 tree seedlings (in 1 gallon pots) at the experimental tree island site (LILA) in Loxahatchee. We need volunteers on Friday, March 2. We will meet at UP early in the morning and return between 5 and 6 pm.

The LTER and the MCB Club hosted a frisbee event on 5 March 2007 on the grass area west to the HLS I building.

The MCB Club hosted Dr. Christopher Moore as the departmental seiminar speaker on 6 March 2007.

The BGSA sponsored a spring mixer on 16 March 2007 at the Wertheim Conservatory Greenhouse.

PRESENTATIONS

Several of our students gave presentations during the Biomedical and Comparative Immunology Symposium held at FIU on 1 March 2007:

Marcy Lowenstein (Major Advisor: Lidia Kos) presented a co-authored paper: M. Lowenstein, D. Diaz and L. Kos. Interactions among Endothelin receptor B and transcription factors, Sox10 and Pax3, in melanocyte development.

Christine Hunker and Adriana Galvis (Major Advisor: Alejandro Barbieri) presented a co-authored paper: H. Giambini, C. M. Hunker, J. V. Rodriguez, A. Galvis, and A. M. Barbieri. The role of RAP6, a rab-5 activating protein 6, in cell growth and proliferation.

Aura Espinal (Major Advisor: Fernando Noriega) presented a co-authored paper: A. Espinal and F. Noriega. Study of the Juvenile Hormone Biosynthetic Enzymes of Aedes aegypti: O-Methyl Transferase and Methyl Farnesoate Epoxidase

James Valdés (Major Advisor: Ophelia I. Weeks) presented a co-authored paper: J. J. Valdés and O. I. Weeks. An Odyssey to Better Understand Morphological and Molecular Processes Involved in Learning and Memory.

Matthew Graham (Major Advisor: Sylvia Smith) presented a co-authored paper: M. Graham, D-H. Shin and S. L. Smith. Characterization of Complement C5 from the Nurse Shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum.

Liza Merly (Major Advisor: Sylvia Smith) presented a co-authored paper: C. A.D. Semeniuk1, L. Merly, S. L. Smith, and K. D. Rothley. Physiological differences in Southern Stingrays in undisturbed and tourist-visited locations in Grand Cayman.

Longin Kaczmarsky (Major Advisor: Laurie L. Richardson) presented two co-authored papers:
R. Sekar, L.T. Kaczmarsky and L. L. Richardson. Variation in microbial communities associated with black band disease on corals in the wider Caribbean
L. Kaczmarsky, M. Gantar, D. K. Mills and L. L. Richardson. Are shifts in coral-associated microbial communities driving disease in Philippine corals?

Flavia Brito (Major Advisor: Lidia Kos) presented a co-authored paper: F. C. Brito and L. Kos. Collagen I and Versican B expressions in hypo and hyperpigmented cardiac valves.

Allison Adonizio (Major Advisor: Kalai Mathee) presented a co-authored paper: A. Adonizio, K-F. Kong, S. Leal, and K. Mathee. The Ability of the South Florida Medicinal Plants to Inhibit Bacterial Virulence through Interruption of Cell-Cell Communication.

Jamie Myers (Major Advisor: Laurie L. Richardson) presented a co-authored paper:
J. L. Myers, R. Sekar, and L. L. Richardson. Culture, Identification, and DGGE analysis of the Cyanobacteria Eitlerinema and Leptolyngbya in Black Band Disease of Corals

PUBLICATIONS

Jed Redwine (Major Advisor: Suzanne Koptur) recently published a co-authored paper: Redwine, J.R., R. Sawicki, J.J. Lorenz, and W. Hoffman. 2007. Ripe fruit availability in the fragmented hardwood forests of the northern Florida Keys. Natural Areas Journal 27: 8-15. Congratulations Jed!

Rudolf von May (Major Advisor: Maureen Donnelly) recently published a co-authored paper: Roberts, J.L., J.L. Brown, R. von May, W. Arizabal, A. Presar, R. Symula, R. Schulte, and K. Summers. 2006. Phylogenetic relationships among poison frogs of the genus Dendrobates (Dendrobatidae): A molecular perspective from increased taxon sampling. Herpetological Journal vol 16. Congratulations Rudolf!

FORMER STUDENTS

James Watling (Major Advisor: Maureen Donnelly) has accepted a position with Conservation International to serve as the coordinator for TEAM (Tropical Ecosystem Assessment and Monitoring) in Suriname for Conservation International. James will begin his CI assignment 1 July 2007. Congratulations James.

Jennifer Trusty (Major Advisor: Javier Francisco-Ortega) published a monograph that was part of her dissertation: Trusty, J.L., H.C. Kesler, and G.H. Delgado. 2006. Vascular Flora of Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences Fourth Series 57:247-335.

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