UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Biology Department

What can we learn from “hangry” worms? (Feb. 29)

Have you ever been hangry? You know, a little hungry and therefore a little angry. Maybe when you’re hangry, you are more likely to lash out at a friend, eat copious amounts of junk food, continue to not eat, or make other poor decisions.

Join UP Biology Professor Molly Matty as she discusses her research with the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans and shares the awesome work being done by undergraduate students at the University of Portland to uncover and define the specific bacterial species that modulate decision-making in populations of C. elegans. Come hungry to learn!

Thursday, Feb 29, 7:00 p.m. – Brian Doyle Auditorium, Dundon-Berchtold Hall

The lecture is an invited presentation for the Sigma Xi Scientific honors society and is free and open to the public.

For those unable to attend, the lecture will also be remotely accessible via Zoom.

Virtual Lecture Zoom Link

Love and Biology (Feb. 10)

Grab your loved ones and join us for a humorous presentation about love from University of Portland Biology professors. Learn about the microbiology of attraction, the secret of human heart-shaped bums, the craziest courtship displays in the animal kingdom, and more!

Saturday, February 10, from 5-6 p.m. Doors will open at 4:30. Brian Doyle Auditorium, Dundon-Berchtold Hall.

Space is limited, Kindly RSVP HERE:

RSVP: Love & Biology

Guests will be offered a choice of two complimentary mocktails. All donations go to support educational experiences for students.

SACNAS National Diversity in STEM Conference comes to Portland (Oct 26-28)

The NDiSTEM Conference is a broadly inclusive space where you are encouraged and empowered to bring your whole self to STEM. It is the largest multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM diversity event in the country. It serves to equip, empower, and energize participants for their academic and professional paths in STEM. Over the course of the event, attendees are immersed in cutting-edge STEM research, professional development sessions, motivational keynote speakers, as well as multicultural celebrations and traditions, and an inclusive and welcoming community of peers, mentors, and role models. Consider attending to share your STEM story, serving as a mentor-judge, or sending your STEM research students.

Register before September 30. For more information about how to get involved with SACNAS as a member of our UP community, email Molly Matty (matty@up.edu). 
 

General Conference Information here: https://www.sacnas.org/conference and ways to volunteer here: https://www.sacnas.org/conference/volunteer  

UP Students to Study Immune Responses to Prostate Cancer

University of Portland students, under the guidance of UP Biology Professor Susan Murray, PhD, will research the role of sex hormones in immune responses to prostate cancer through a $404,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  

UP’s first NIH grant award is in collaboration with Oregon Health & Science University. In a three-year study, Murray and UP students will examine how male sex hormones impact immune responses in healthy subjects, as well as the effects of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) on immune responses in prostate cancer patients. ADT is a standard treatment for metastatic prostate cancer, but this therapy’s impact on the immune system is currently unknown, Murray says. The proposed studies will provide valuable insight regarding how to best combine ADT with immunotherapy to improve patient outcomes for a disease that kills 30,000 Americans every year.  

Biology students from UP’s College of Arts & Sciences will participate in all aspects of the biomedical research—from experimental design and execution to publication of the findings. Select students from the University’s Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering will be recruited to participate in bioinformatics analysis.  

“This NIH grant will propel our research program to the next level, and it will foster collaborations between UP, OHSU and across our campus,” Murray says. “Most importantly, it will provide an exceptional opportunity for undergraduate students to participate in interdisciplinary biomedical science—with implications for cancer, infectious disease, and autoimmunity.”  

During the study, UP students will participate in lab meetings with Amy Moran, PhD, associate professor of cell, developmental, and cancer biology at OHSU’s School of Medicine. These collaborations,  Murray says, will show students their research has clinical relevance in creating a “long-lasting, positive impact” in the field of prostate cancer treatment.  

Research reported is supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R15CA267840. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. 

Student Research Stresses Real Discovery, Knowledge

staff & faculty portraits

Students in all sections of Ami Ahern-Rindell’s Genetics Lab course presented a Research Poster Symposium on Tuesday, December 8. Posters were presented to fellow students guests including University president Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C.; Tom Greene, provost; CAS dean Michael Andrews, acting assistant provost Lauretta Frederking, and Dan McGinty, director of the Dundon-Berchtold Institute.

The lab course was designed for students to conduct hypothesis-driven research that serves as part of Ahern-Rindell’s scholarly work on an animal model of GM1-Gangliosidosis, a fatal genetic disorder. Students are engaged in creating new knowledge and learning science by doing science, rather than conducting experiments for which the outcome is already known. The benefits of undergraduate research are made available to more students by incorporating it into the classroom curriculum.

Ahern-Rindell received funding for this approach in 1998 from the National Science Foundation and recently contributed a chapter on the design of her Genetics Lab course in a book titled Inquiry-Based Learning for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Programs: A Conceptual and Practical Resource for Educators.

For more information contact Ahern-Rindell at 7137 or ahernrin@up.edu.

A Big Thank You To All

biologyThe Department of Biology would like to thank everyone who took time out of their schedules this summer to write letters of recommendation for students applying for graduate programs in medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant programs, pharmacy, and more. The biology program had a record application year with over 50 applications to schools throughout the country, according to Jacquie VanHoomissen, biology. The application cycle opened on June 1 and files are continually being updated and processed through the science office in Swindells Hall. If you or your students have questions about careers in medicine or other health professions, please contact the new health professions advisor, Kyle Flann, at healthprofesions@up.edu.

David Alexander, 1957-2013

5485_faculty-00314Biology professor David Alexander passed away on the evening of May 23, after a long battle with cancer. He had served the University community since 1995 by teaching classes and working on a number of campus committees. He was well known as the advisor to many University of Portland students who went on to medical or dental school, and his work in that capacity was recently acknowledged with the awarding of the Becky Houck Advising Award. He will be missed. Please remember David and his family in your prayers.