Three Environmental Science majors awarded competitive scholarships by Ohio EPA

This month we learned that three seniors majoring in Environmental Science have been awarded $2,500 scholarships by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for the 2013-2014 academic year.  The three students are Cassie Nix (EVS/Biology/Toxicology, AU’14), Mitch Ramsey (EVS/Geology, AU’14), and Zack Weilnau (EVS/Biology, AU’14).

“The scholarship program is administered by the Ohio Academy of Science. It is designed to motivate students to enter environmental fields of science and engineering and reward outstanding undergraduate students based on merit.” (Aug. 8, 2013 News Release from OEPA)

Cassie Nix (AU'14) with Mt. Hood, OR, in background.  Cassie plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology.

Criteria for selection include GPA, recommendation letters, extra-curricular activities, and ability to communicate effectively.  Students present evidence of “original research, scholarship, employment, volunteering or other unique contributions they have accomplished in environmental science or environmental engineering.”

In 2012, two Environmental Science/Biology majors, Kelly Sullivan and Amanda Kriner, were awarded this same scholarship for their senior year (2012-2013).  Altogether, the awards to these five students represent an outstanding level of success for AU Environmental Science students in recent years:

“Within the past year [2012-2013] Ashland University students have received more Ohio environmental science and engineering scholarships of the $63,500 awarded from The Ohio Academy of Science and the Ohio Environmental Education Fund than students at any of the other 15 Ohio schools with students receiving scholarships.” 

 --Dr. Lynn Elfner, CEO, Ohio Academy of Science

Congratulations to all!

Zack Weilnau (AU'14) plans to work in a wildlife/zoo setting and/or be a Physician's Assistant.

Mitch Ramsey (AU'14) plans to go to graduate school in meteorology.

Environmental Science alumna working in bioassessment

Environmental Science alumna Rachel  Day ('11) reports back that she will be completing her MS degree at Miami of Ohio this December and has already started a job with the Midwest Biodiversity Institute, an environmental assessment organization.  Rachel writes that:

My position as chemical crew leader assists with the collection of data for a bioassessment of the Great Miami River. Some of my work will include deploying a datasonde at each sampling site to acquire a profile of the water chemistry. I'll also be obtaining sediment and surface water grab samples to send to a lab in Cincinnati for testing.

Rachel mentions that the environmental sampling and assessment experience she gained in the Limnology course here at AU was a big plus when applying for this position.

Do you have news about a new career move?  Please let us know so that we can mention you on this blog, our Facebook page or electronic newsletter.

Ashland Biology major entering dental school at Case Western Reserve University

Recent graduate Zack Haley (Biology '13) will be starting this Fall at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine.  Zack conducted research for three years with Dr. Mason Posner while at Ashland and had the opportunity to present his work at the 2012 annual meeting of the Ohio Academy of Sciences and at two undergraduate research symposia held at Ashland University.

Zack's research examined how a type of stress protein involved in preventing diseases as diverse as lens cataract, cancer and Alzheimer's disease are produced.  Zack used the model fish species the zebrafish to examine how regions of DNA that switch on the production of these stress proteins work.  The image below shows a 3-day old zebrafish that is glowing green wherever one of these DNA switches is active. This image was part of a poster presentation given by Dr. Posner at the 2013 meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology last month in Seattle, Washington.

Green fluorescent protein showing activation of a DNA
switch for a disease preventing stress protein

In addition to his research experience, Zack's coursework at Ashland University and his shadowing experiences with local dentists paved the way for his successul application to an excellent dental school.

Ashland Toxicology and Environmental Science major in summer internship with DHS

Senior Cassie Nix, a double major in Toxicology and Environmental Science, is spending her summer in Washington State as a paid research intern with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  Cassie is taking part in the Homeland Security related Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (HS-STEM) Summer Internship Program.  Her assignment is with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, working on a project entitled "Improving Emergency Preparedness for Incidents Involving Airborne Release of Hazardous Chemicals".

Cassie recently wrote us the following:

I started today (Washington is AWESOME). I will be researching several respiratory irritants and their effects to humans if released in mixtures. There are over 3000 chemicals in their database, and each is classified by its specific modes of action, PAC's and health code numbers. Using this data, a hazard index is generated for the mixture of chemicals. If over one, then action may need to be taken to address adverse human health effects.

Biochemistry Alum Receives Medical Degree

Congratulations to Dr. Rebecca Loi (Biochemistry, ’08), who graduated from SABA University School of Medicine this June and is now waiting to begin a residency to complete her medical training.  During her time at Ashland, Rebecca conducted research with Dr. Jeff Weidenhamer on the measurement of monoterpenes within plants using solid phase microextraction.  Rebecca, who is originally from Malaysia, is one of several international students who have graduated from Ashland in recent years with a degree in the sciences.

Ashland Toxicology major interning in chemical engineering at Veyance Technologies

Toxicology major Alison Biro will be spending the summer as a chemical engineering intern with Veyance Technologies, a global manufacturing company based in Fairlawn, Ohio that designs and produces industrial machinery and rubber products.  Alison will be working on research into rubber polymers.

During the past year Alison conducted research with Dr. Andy Trimble on the effects of winter road salts on the surrounding environment.  She is a member of the University Honors Program and a Choose Ohio First Scholarship recipient.

Biology Alumna Publishes Research

Alumna Sarah McCormick Herlihy (Biology/Toxicology ’08) continues work on her Ph.D. in Biology at Texas A&M University.  The focus of her research is to elucidate a branched signal transduction pathway of a protein secreted by the social ameoba Dictyostelium. The ligand for the pathway slows to proliferation of cells allowing them to develop into fruiting bodies (containing spores) and therefore increasing survival.  It also causes chemorepulsion of cells (they move away from high concentrations of the protein). A paper on her work has just been published in PLOS ONE.  In a second paper recently published in the Journal of Immunology,  she identified a human protein (with structural similarity to the Dictyostelium ligand) which repels human and mouse neutrophils.  Sarah’s work has potential therapeutic applications to the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS.  When neutrophils enter the lungs following smoke inhalation (one of the major causes of ARDS), lung damage can be increased.