{"id":38831,"date":"2012-09-07T18:22:25","date_gmt":"2012-09-07T18:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cas.umw.edu\/biology\/?page_id=38831"},"modified":"2025-03-29T23:34:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T03:34:46","slug":"department-news","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cas.umw.edu\/biology\/department-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Department News"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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biological sciences<\/div>

Department News<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
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As part of our Tropical Ecology course<\/a>, students survey the earth\u2019s tropical ecosystems to understand the unique factors that make them tick. This year, students travelled to Costa Rica with Dr. Andrew Dolby<\/a>, where they had the opportunity to check out some sleeping sloths, inspect some of the flora, and do a bit of birding with our expert ornithologist. We’ve added a few photos from our trip this year.
(March 29, 2025)<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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Once again, our UMW research student showed up to the Fall Research Symposium of the Virginia Academy of Science. This year, four students brought home 3 of the $900 awards. These students are Delaney Baratka, Kayla Rodriguez, and Ashlyn Rauch (mentored by Dr. Ginny <\/em>Morriss), <\/i>and Abigail Glenn (mentored by Dr. Laura Sipe).
<\/i>Congratulations, and good luck with your projects!<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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UMW students dominated<\/strong> the undergraduate research grant competition at the Virginia Academy of Science<\/a>‘s 2022 Fall Meeting held in October. Nine UMW biology and biochemistry students brought home $750 each to support their research projects, nearly sweeping the competition, which included students from James Madison University, Christopher Newport University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and several other institutions. Congratulations to the winners (Abigail Algeier, Jay Boudreau, Grayson Collins, Dylan Crann, Abigail Delapena, Emily Landry, Shreya Murali, Tim Philbeck, and Emily Sizemore) and their advisors (Drs. Swati Agrawal, Randy Reif, and Parrish Waters)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dept. of Biological Sciences Welcomes New Faculty Member<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The department is thrilled to welcome Dr. Laura Sipe to the faculty! An interdisciplinary cancer biologist, Dr. Sipe completed her doctorate at the University of Virginia. As a post-doctoral scholar at University of Tennessee Health Science Center, she investigated how metabolism and diet impact breast cancer progression and the ability of cancer to evade destruction by the immune system. Dr. Sipe will bring her expertise in cancer, immunology, and metabolism to UMW to research a novel pathway linked to breast cancer aggressiveness. Students in her laboratory will investigate oxidative stress, genetic instability, and immune evasion in breast cancer. She will teach Cell Biology (BIOL340), Biology of Cancer (BIOL440), and Immunology (BIOL441). \u201cI am looking forward to engaging students in the classroom and in cancer research. My favorite part of science is translating that \u201cWhat would happen if\u201d or \u201cI wonder\u201d thoughts into well designed experiments\u201d. Additionally, Dr. Sipe is excited to hit Fredericksburg\u2019s many bike paths and explore the beautiful Rappahannock River by kayak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good News for 2022 Graduates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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April is an exciting time for graduating seniors! From job offers to graduate school admission, post-UMW opportunities are shaping up. Biology major Katie Warlick is headed to the University of Rhode Island for a Master’s degree program in College Student Personnel. Her long-term goal is to earn a Ph.D. in neurobiology and become a college professor. “The professors in the Biology Department have been such a monumental and influential part of my undergraduate experience and are the reason I’m pursing an advanced degree. I want to make an impact on undergraduates the way this department has positively impacted me and my education,” said Warlick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some other next-step successes:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Abigail Lasky<\/strong> (Biomedical Science) has received a job offer from Epic, a healthcare software company that handles 54% of U.S. health data. She will work as a project manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jane Sullivan<\/strong> (Biomedical Science) has received a job offer from Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren. She has been interning there since July 2021 and will begin her full-time position as a biologist this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trinity Chase<\/strong> (Biology) will begin a graduate program this fall in Biotechnology, with specialization in Biosecurity and Biodefense, at the University of Maryland. She will also begin a full-time work position in Pharmaceutical Product Development’s Contracts and Proposals Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kayla Mann<\/strong> (Biomedical Science) has accepted offer of admission to University of Virginia’s M.S. in Athletic Training program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bennet Varghese<\/strong> (Biomedical Science) has accepted offer of admission to George Washington University’s School of Medicine where he will pursue his M.D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hannah Mendiola<\/strong> (Biology) will enter the National Institutes of Health’s post-baccalaureate Research Training Program in the Biospecimen Processing Core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biology Alum Publishes Paper in Major Scientific Journal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Miguel Marx, UMW Class of 2017, recently published his master\u2019s degree research in the prestigious scientific journal PLOS ONE<\/a>. The subject of his work is a new Cardiocorax mukulu<\/em> specimen discovered in Angola. C. mukulu<\/em> was a plesiosaur, which were reptiles that inhabited the oceans during the Cretaceous Era approximately 120-65 million years ago. This specimen was the oldest yet discovered in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Marx\u2019s CT scan analysis of its near-complete skull yielded new insights on plesiosaur evolution. The paper\u2019s discoveries were also covered by ScienceDaily<\/a> in August. Miguel earned his bachelor of science degree from UMW with majors in biology and geology, then earned his master\u2019s degree from the New University of Lisbon in Portugal (Universidade Nova de Lisboa). After defending his master’s thesis, he worked for a year as a researcher at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. He is now a Ph.D. student in paleobiology at Lund University in Sweden. Congratulations, Miguel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biology Major Lauren Closs Named a Fulbright Scholar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Biology major Lauren Closs has been named a Fulbright Scholar, a truly high distinction! Upon completion of her UMW degree in May, she\u2019ll be off to Norway to study the effects of the reproductive hormones LH and FSH on the reproductive behavior of fish. Closs is no stranger to Norway. As part of her participation in UMW\u2019s Summer Science Institute<\/a>, she spent seven weeks last summer studying the role of these hormones in mate guarding behavior and reproductive success of the medaka, a common laboratory model fish. Closs continued her project back on campus at UMW over the last academic year under the direction of Dr. Dianne Baker. For her Fulbright, she will rejoin collaborators in the Weltzien Lab<\/a> at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in Oslo to make further progress. Her work promises to advance knowledge about the physiology underpinning vertebrate reproduction and to facilitate success of economically important fish breeding programs. The prestigious Fulbright Scholar program<\/a> was established to foster international academic and cultural exchange and cooperation. In addition to her Fulbright, Closs has presented her research at scientific conferences, such as the Society for Comparative and Integrative Biology Annual Meeting, and is a candidate for Honors in Biology. Congratulations, Lauren!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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