Ashland team challenges hypothesis for the success of wetland invader

The common reed, Phragmites australis, is a serious invasive weed in North American wetlands and one of the most serious invasive plants in the world.  According to a recent hypothesis, the roots of this plant release a toxic chemical, gallic acid, which is responsible for its success as an invader.  However, a team of Ashland faculty and students has found no evidence to support this hypothesis in a study that has just been published in the Journal of Chemical Ecology.  The paper, titled “Evidence does not support a role for gallic acid in Phragmites australis invasion success,” appears in a special issue of the journal on allelochemical interactions in croplands and natural settings. 

Mei Li, a 2013 Chemistry graduate, conducted research with Dr. Jeff Weidenhamer showing that contrary to other published reports, gallic acid breaks down very rapidly in Phragmites soils.  She was also unable to find evidence for gallic acid in Phragmites soil collected in North Carolina by Dr. Mason Posner and students in his Marine Biology class.  Mei, working with Dr. Weidenhamer and Dr. Robert Bergosh, then undertook an investigation of the chemistry of Phragmites plants from several populations in North Carolina and Ohio.  She successfully isolated one of the major components of extracts of the plant, and this compound was identified with the aid of the Chemistry Department’s new high field NMR spectrometer.  Further work established that Phragmites plants contain only trace amounts of gallic acid, in contrast to previous reports that the roots contain and release very high concentrations of this compound.  Junior biology major Joshua Allman (pictured above with Dr. Posner) worked to establish that all of the plant populations sampled were of the invasive genotype previously reported to contain high levels of gallic acid. 

Students in AU's Marine Biology course collecting some
of the samples used in this study.

 Dr. Jeff Weidenhamer, lead author of the study, began studying allelopathy – interactions among plants that are mediated by toxic chemicals – in graduate school.  Much of his research has been devoted to the development of new methods to improve the understanding of these chemical interactions.  One of the plants that he has previously studied from the Florida scrub community appears to produce chemicals that inhibit the germination and growth of grasses.  In that case, he implicated degradation products of gallic acid and another compound as the cause of these effects.  In this study, he notes that while the occurrence of high concentrations of gallic acid in some populations of P. australis can’t be ruled out, the trace concentrations found in this study show that the release of this compound cannot be a primary, general explanation for the success of this plant in wetlands.  He concludes, “As we tell our students, a key point of the scientific method is that research ought to be repeatable.  It was a great experience for them to participate in and help design experiments to test these recent findings.”  

More summer internship opportunities

We have received notices on a few more summer research internships.  It is not too late to put together applications and line up letters of recommendation from faculty, but you should start soon.  You can find other opportunities on this blog using the tag "Summer Research Internships".

• Two Ashland students have been part of the Chester Scholars research program at Metro Health hospital in Cleveland.  Applications for this fantastic program are due February 15th.
• The University of Cincinnati ROSE program is a unique summer internship program that also includes an early acceptance to UC's medical school.  It is open to sophomore and junior residents of Ohio.  Application due February 1st.
• The Upper Delaware National Park is looking for summer park ranger interns.  Applications are considered on a continual basis, but positions are typically filled by mid-March.
• The Amgen scholars program provides summer research opportunities across the country.  Applications are due February 1st.
• If you are looking to take a great summer field course, check out this marine biology program in the Gulf of Mexico.

Research internships at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History

The Kirtlandia Research Internship Program at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History provides undergraduate students the opportunity to work for eight weeks with a museum curator.  You can read about opportunities in many areas ranging from archaeology and botany to paleontology, invertebrate biology and wildlife resource management.

Projects last eight weeks, pay $7.70 per hour and typically involve both field and laboratory work.  The online application can be found here and is due in early March.

Six-month internship opportunity at Ohio Bird Sanctuary

a barn owl (Tyto alba) at OBS (photo: mbenfield.blogspot.com)

The Ohio Bird Sanctuary in Richland Co. has posted a 6-month paided-internship opportunity for a student pursuing a degree in environmental education, biology, or related discipline.  Work would be primarily on weekends.  The general purpose of the internship is "to provide a hands-on learning opportunity and field-related work experience...[including] interpretive programs...care to injured and displaced wildlife, and...an independent project."

A flyer with more details is posted on the 3rd-floor, Kettering.  Interested students may also contact Patty Saunders or Merrill Tawse for a copy of the flyer with additional details.  Contact the Ohio Bird Sanctuary for an application (419-884-HAWK or ohiobirdsanctuary@gmail.com).

Q&A with Melissa Beck, Associate Director of Neurosciences and Head of Juvenile Toxicology at WIL Research

Dr. Melissa Beck

Describe your experiences while a student of the science program here at Ashland University.

At Ashland, I had the opportunity to work on equipment and projects that many other undergraduate students at small private universities don’t get.  In fact, many undergraduate students at large universities don’t get these same opportunities either.  I worked on a study using live animals that was eventually published, and we did everything from caring for the rats, dosing them, testing them in a functional observational battery and collecting tissues for analysis.  In chemistry, I had the opportunity to work with a lot of equipment most of my colleagues only read about during their undergraduate experience.  I consider myself very fortunate for the opportunities afforded to me at Ashland.

What is your present occupation? What types of things do you do in your work? What interesting projects or significant achievements have you been part of?
Currently, I am the Associate Director of Neurosciences and Head of Juvenile Toxicology at  WIL Research in Ashland.  WIL Research is a Contract Research Organization that performs safety assessment studies for drugs and chemicals.  The studies we perform help to ensure the safety of these drugs before they are given to humans.  I don’t do a lot of bench work now, but I participate in the design of these studies and am involved in data interpretation and reporting the study results.  I find this very fulfilling as I see the drugs I have worked with reaching the market and being used by adults and children.  I have also been able to participate in the development of guidances used by regulatory agencies to establish the safety of drugs and chemicals, and I have been able to co-author 3 book chapters on safety assessment for pediatric drugs.

What role did your education at AU play in your seeking out your current occupation?
At Ashland, I studied Toxicology, a program that is only offered at a handful of undergraduate institutions.  While in this program, I had the opportunity to work with live animals on an independent research study.  I learned that I have a love for research, which prompted me to earn a PhD in Toxicology from the University of Michigan.  After that, I joined WIL Research, which gives me the opportunity to put my education in Toxicology to use daily.

What advice do you have for current AU science majors?

I think it is very easy for an undergraduate science major to believe that the only opportunities for them are to be a doctor or science teacher.  Both of these occupations are very worthy, but they are just a drop in the bucket as to what you can do with a science education.  When I started at Ashland, I was in the Biology program and assumed I would end up becoming a doctor.  A friend encouraged me to take a Toxicology elective with her and the rest is history.  So, I would encourage current AU science majors to take electives and look outside the box for potential careers. 

What career advice can you give to future graduates of the AU science program?
There are many different things one can do with a degree in science.  I would suggest that they speak with their advisors and ask them for advice.  Also, look through the list of graduates and contact them to see what they are doing.  Get involved in an internship or shadow someone in a field you might have interest in.  Look through the research interests of faculty at grad schools you may want to attend.  If you have an interest, there is likely a way to apply your degree to that interest and there is probably someone who can assist you in reaching your goal.

Ashland Toxicology and Environmental Science major receives national grant

Cassie Nix, a senior dual-majoring in Toxicology and Environmental Science, recently received a $350 research grant from the Tri-Beta National Biological Honors Society. Under the supervision of Dr. Andrew Trimble, Cassie is examining the toxicity of Jimsonweed (Datura stramonium), a highly poisonous invasive plant in Ohio that can become incorporated into hay and other livestock feed as well as compost piles. This plant contains very potent toxins that could potentially poison livestock, pets, or anyone handling contaminated compost.

“This species thrives in warm weather and is invading ditches, pastures and lawns,” Trimble said. “They are spreading more every year and, with that, there is increased potential for them to be harvested with hay or mixed with compost.” “Cassie is growing these plants in the greenhouse and developing new ways to extract and analyze the toxins they contain.”

 Trimble said this research will help determine how concerned farmers and homeowners should be with these invasive poisonous plants. “She is taking samples from dried and composted material and analyzing them to see how much of the toxin remains,” he said. Cassie has presented her current findings at an Ohio Valley Chapter meeting of the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry at Miami University in Oxford and was recently selected to receive a national scholarship from the American Chemistry Society.

Get paid to conduct research this summer

Whether it is Chapel Hill, Baltimore, Boston, Berkeley or here in Ashland, many of our science majors take part in internships to conduct research during the summers. These positions will pay you and provide room and board to conduct research at locations all around the country, offering important experiences for future job searching, or admission to graduate school and professional schools like medical and physical therapy school. Last summer five AU students conducted research and other science-based internships off-campus, with another ten working in Kettering Science Center labs.

Most summer research programs have application deadlines in February. That makes the holiday break a good time to complete and submit applications before the spring semester begins. You will typically need one or two letters of recommendation, so talk with professors to line those up before the holiday break. Check back with this blog for updates and check out the listing of National Science Foundation funded programs across the country.  Another place to search for opportunities is on the Ohio Means Internships webpage, or by using the "summer research internships" tag on this site.

And as always, talk to your faculty advisor if you need help or have questions.

Some recent opportunities we have heard about:

• National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network undergraduate research program
• Harvard Forest summer research program
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln summer research program
• University of Cincinatti summer surgery and neuroscience experiential programs
• Stone Laboratories on Lake Erie
• Collegiate Leaders in Environmental Health at the CDC
• Department of Energy scholars program
• Micky Leland Energy Fellowship
• US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) HS-STEM summer internships