Summer internships in toxicology

The Society of Toxicology's webpages list a number of internship opportunities in toxicology.  The SOT also lists a number of government research opportunities and opportunities listed by other organizations.  These pages are a great resource if you are looking for a summer research internship, an important experience for those of you planning to go on to graduate school or get a job in research science.

Lastly, check out this general information page on student internships.

Summer Park Service Trainee Position at Lorain County Metro Parks

Lorain County Metroparks is searching for a seasonal Natural Resource Technician.  Position involves activities such as wetlands maintenance, nest box upkeep and invasive plant control.  You need to have a knowledge of local flora and fauna and have a valid drivers license.  Pay is $7.85/hr.  Application deadline is April 1st, but earlier applications are preferred.

You can find more details and application information here.

Learn about global health and study abroad opportunities

Erin George, a nurse midwife who is working in Haiti as part of the Boston-based organization Partners In Health (PIH) program, will make a number of presentations at Ashland University on Feb. 6. 

George, who was awarded a prestigious Gruber Global Justice and Women’s Rights Fellowship from Yale University to work with the Partners in Health program, will be on the Ashland University campus to meet with students and faculty during the day and will give a public presentation at 7 p.m. in the Schar College of Education’s Ronk Lecture Hall.

From 9:30 - 10:30 am in Kettering 219 students will have an opportunity to talk with Ms. George about career opportunities in global healthcare and health policy.  Rebecca Parillo from AU's Global Education Office will also be there to discuss study abroad opportunities in the sciences and health fields.  Feel free to attend only a portion of this session if you have class during part of the time.

George’s visit to Ashland is co-sponsored by Ashland University’s departments of Biology/Toxicology and Social Work, the Dwight Schar College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and the Ashland University Global Education Office. During her visit, she will be discussing issues of interest to a variety of people, including:

• Students with a health care interest (nursing, pre-med and other pre-health related students), especially those with an interest in global health issues.
• Persons interested in community development issues, especially in the area of health care development. 
• Students interested in career options with NGOs and other international organizations

The 7 p.m. public presentation on Feb. 6 will be titled “Partners In Health: Strengthening Health Systems and Striving for Equity in Resource Poor Settings,” and will touch on the current state of global health; the health care disparities PIH has worked to address in the past and present, including HIV, tuberculosis, maternal mortality and cervical cancer; and PIH’s history and its health care model.

Jobs and internships in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park

The Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park has just announced a number of summer internship and employment opportunities at the Park.  These range from outdoor education and camp counselor positions to retail jobs in one of their stores.  EVS/Biology graduate Karie Charlton is currently working for the Conservancy and has written some blog posts about her experience in outdoor education.

Ashland Toxicology program featured in Columbus Dispatch

Dr. Andy Trimble as well as toxicology student Shane Daugherty and Ashland's toxicology program were featured in the Columbus Dispatch's Sunday Science Section on Sunday, January 13. The article, titled "Examining the cost of our high-sodium winter diet," focused on the Ashland University toxicology program and how a research team is studying the effect of road salt on wildlife in rivers and streams.

Dr. Trimble and his students are using the invertebrate Hyalella azteca as a "canary in the coalmine" to assess what effect road salt may have on local ecology.  Hyalella is near the bottom of the food chain for freshwater habitats, and effects on this species can have ramifications for many other organisms.  Shane Daugherty says that his research may show whether it is better to use a mix of salts or just one type for road de-icing.

Ashland University's undergraduate toxicology program is one of only ten in the country and the only one at a small liberal arts college.

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.