Department News
June 16 2011
During the summer, Monday Messages have become Monthly Messages, with one issue in June, July, and August. Please submit items to Dr. Murphy (Christopher.Murphy@indstate.edu)
News about us
Dr. Joy O’Keefe and her Indiana bat crew, in full decontamination garb, prepare for a night’s mist-netting of bats.
Jenica Ringo, Ty Rosenbalm, and Joshua Downey, undergraduates working with Dr. Gonser, received Undergraduate Student Research awards.
Rae Richards, Kasey Napier, and Tory Torma, undergraduates working with Dr. Albig, received Undergraduate Student Research awards.
Daniel Schaefer an undergraduate working with Dr. O’Keefe, received an Undergraduate Student Research award.
An interview with Dr. Tom Simon, a senior research scientist in the Department of Biology, appeared in the New York Times. The article can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/us/03cncriver.html
Two concept papers submitted by Biology faculty members to the Unbounded Possibilities initiative were among the 14 approved to move on to the full proposal phase. Clicking on the title of a proposal will download a copy of that proposal.
Center for Genomic Advocacy: Elaina Tuttle, Rusty Gonser, Gary Stuart, and Michael Romanov (and colleagues from other departments)
Center for Environmental, Mathematical & Evolutionary Epidemiology: Diana Hews and Kathy Dannelly (and colleagues from other departments
Members of Dr. Ghosh’s lab made two presentations at the National Conference of the American Association of Immunologists in San Francisco (May 13-17, 2011):
Extracellular matrix from porcine small intestinal submucosa as immune
adjuvants. Youssef Aachoui and
Swapan Ghosh. Abstract
citation: J Immunol 2011
186:52.21
Anti-microbial immunity augmented by extracellular matrix adjuvant from porcine small intestinal submucosa. Roshni Roy Chowdhury and Swapan Ghosh. Abstract citation: J Immunol 2011 186:52.22
Announcements
Upcoming Birthdays
Sunshine Mack: July 1
Dr.
Scott: July 6
Final
Grading for Summer I 2011 courses that end on or before June 17 will be
available beginning June 17 at 8:00 a.m. and will end on Tuesday, June
21 at 4:00 p.m.
New Members of
the Department
A warm welcome to the new members of our department!
MS Students:
Michael
Gerringer
graduated from Cedarville University in May 2007. He has
work since graduation for the Southern Ohio Council for
Higher Education (SOCHE)/Air Force Institute of
Technology, (AFIT), Wild Birds Unlimited, The Ohio State
University , Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University through the United States Geological
Survey/Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Cornell Lab of
Ornithology, Braddock Bay Bird Observatory Banding
Station, and Cornell University,
His research will include testing radar systems
designed to provide real-time warnings about avian
hazards. His advisor is Dr Steve Lima.
Raghav Pandey
graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. degree in
Biotechnology. He will be working in Dr Allan Albig’s
lab. He is investigating the effects of cyclosporine on
angiogenesis using fish model and cell culture, testing
if cyclosporine is inhibiting angiogenesis through the
“notch” pathway, as well as its positive and
negative effects on JAGI and DLL4.
Michelle Baird
graduated from Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin in
2007. Since graduation, she has done ornithological
research for the University of Maryland in collaboration
with the Smithsonian Institute, Patuxent Wildlife
Research Center’s Bird Phenology Program, Archbold
Biological Centers Avian Ecology Lab and has interned
and had supervisory experience at the Second Chance
Wildlife Center.
She will be working with Dr. Tuttle on avian
behavior and genetics.
Vincent Keller
is a native of
our department graduating with a Biology degree with a
minor in Chemistry, from Indiana State University in
2009. He worked with Dr. Gary Stuart during his
undergraduate degree investigated phylogenetic
relationships among eukaryotes using bioinformatics.
He will continue his research with Dr. Stuart
developing methods to extract phylogenetic relationships
among eukaryotes using ISU’s high performance computer,
as well as creating a heritable means of temperature
induced gene expression in zebrafish (Danio
rerio).
Undergraduates
Calmal Courtney Blaire Webster Cassie Walden
LaRaya Dotson Nicholas Wine Shannon Wilson
Marquita Dunbar Brandon Withers
Cassandra Fisher Jennifer Bensinger
Nicholas Gallina Greta Lowry
Nicholas Graham Kelsey Marvin
Shanna Gross Daniel Montgomery
Sarah Harlow Jerrilyn Thompson
Nydra Harvey-Costello Nicole Kruswicki
Bailey Klir Jacob Anderson
Gabriel Laska Autumn Fuller
Melanie Lucas Kierstin Linton
Abby Miller Christopher Ndife
Mary Roberts Rebecca Norcross
Riley Sutherlin Charles Parker
David Tekulve Josaphine Riley
Caitlyn Trotter Kathleen Spicer
Web assistant
Anusha Gade,
a graduate student in Computer Science, will be helping
to revise our web page to make it a better communication
tool.
January 29 2010
An Indiana State University biology professor began the year with a long-awaited recognition and it numbers 7,642,045.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded Swapan Ghosh, professor of biology, and the university patent number 7,642,045 for a biomarker that could aid in determining disease.
"The university is very proud of the work of Dr. Ghosh in securing this patent," said Indiana State Provost Jack Maynard. "His research has been focused on this area for a number of years and it is great to see the results of the work so recognized. "
Ghosh and Nisreen Al-Shaibi of Qatar, then a doctoral student, worked on novel biomarkers that would help in tracking stem cells, called myeloid dendritic cells, which originate in bone marrow.
"Those stem cells can give rise to a type of white blood cells important for our immunological defense," said Ghosh, who conducts immunology research.
Working on those stem cells, Ghosh and Al-Shaibi discovered DP58, a previously uncharacterized protein biomarker.
"It could be used to help determine if someone has immunological deficiency of some sort or whether where a vaccine is able to recruit a type of white blood cells of innate immunity to help defend the body," Ghosh said. "In the absence of such biomarkers, it may be difficult to determine if stem cell differentiation has begun in the body in response to danger or other signals." Blood stem cells differentiate into disease-fighting white blood cells.
Ghosh's invention relates to a method of generating and identifying the dendritic cells and a biomarker.
Such biomarkers could be used in fighting inflammation during infection or tumor growth, and so are valuable in medicinal research.
"Although this study was done in mice, the protein exists in most vertebrates, including humans," Ghosh said.
Ghosh filed for the patent in Nov. 18, 2005. He credited the assistance of Edward Lentz of Brazil, who earned a master's degree in life science from ISU, for working as his attorney pro-bono.
"I am grateful to ISU and the Office of Sponsored Programs for their support," he said.
Contact: Swapan Ghosh, Indiana State University, professor of biology, at 812-237-2416 or Swapan.Ghosh@indstate.edu