Congratulations to our 2017 SURE Grant winners, we commend your effort!
Amber L. Clark, mentored by Dr. Terence M. Farrell, Mapping range and impacts of abiotic factors on pigmy rattlesnakes (Sistrurus miliarius) with snake fungal disease
Sarah Coffey, mentored by Dr. Wendy Anderson, Fire History on Lopez Island, Washington
Elena Finver, mentored by Dr. Dejan Magoc, Health-related attitudes and behaviors among college students in the U.S. and Europe: A cross-cultural perspective.
Marissa Hanley, mentored by Dr. Kimberly Reiter, Ex Americanus: The Translation of European Catholic Relics to the American Midwest
Madison Hill, mentored by Dr. Emily Mieras, The Representation of Women and Context of Gender in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History
Sarah Hollmann, mentored by Dr. Eugene Huskey, Origin and Ethnicity in Northern Ireland
Holly Molinaro, mentored by Dr. Terence M. Farrell, Kin Recognition in Pygmy Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus miliarius)
Amanda Rogers, mentored by Dr. Jelena Petrovic, Trail Magic on the A.T.
Arden Tomassetti, mentored by Dr. Michele Skelton, A comparative analysis of the beliefs and attitudes of Physician Assistant students and practicing Physician Assistants on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Victoria Wells, mentored by Dr. William Nylen, Funding of the Arts
Brett Whitmore, mentored by Dr. Kimberly Reiter, Dissecting the Wreckers: Where Does History Meet Commodity in Key West and South Florida?
Congratulations to our 2018 SURE Grant winners, we commend your effort!
Nathan Bodger, mentored by Dr. Christopher Bell, Dharma and Human Rights in Thailand
John Levee, mentored by Dr. Nathan Wolek, Acousmatic Composition for Multi-Channel Speaker Arrangement
Linsey Hughes, mentored by Dr. Mayhill Fowler, Present but Unrepresented: Finding Women in the Gulag
Colette Cacciola, mentored by Dr. Kimberly Reiter,The Politics At Play in the Creation of the Museum of the Bible
Chelsea Seaver, mentored by Dr. Asal Johnson, Uncovering the History behind Spring Hill’s Wright Building
Mackenzie Nalven, mentored by Dr. Camille King, The Effect of Limiting Email Usage on Job Productivity
Riley Reynolds, mentored by Dr. Holley Lynch, The Effects of Fibronectin Concentration on the Rate of Tissue Spreading
Riley Bibaud, mentored by Dr. Jason Evans, Coral Abundance and Distribution in Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras
George Ridgeway, mentored by Dr. Holley Lynch, Collective cell migration in Axolotl embryos during the Epiboly stage and how initial explant size affects spreading rate
Jessica Algieri, mentored by Dr. Emily Mieras, The History of Elizabeth Stetson
Porter Crapps, mentored by Dr. Philip Lucas, The Camino de Santiago: Meaning and Motivations in the Medieval and Post-Modern Periods
Congratulations to our 2019 SURE Grant winners, we commend your effort!
Vincenzo Cornacchione, Assessing Perceptions of Healthcare Access Among Rural Honduran Community Members
Lezhi Liu, Convergent Series Solution Analysis for Lane–Emden equations with initial values and boundary conditions
Jeffery Lu, An Analysis Regarding the Accuracy of An Application of The Monod Equation for The Growth and Decay of Escherichia Coli Biofilm Under Variable Conditions
Jenna Palmisano, Determining the Competent Intermediate Hosts of a Recently Introduced Snake Parasite, Raillietiella orientalis, in Florida
Breanna Shi, Study of the Homotopy Perturbation Method and the effect on different non-linearites on the Lane-Emden Equation
Caitlyn Bishop, Dating Experiences of Asian-American Women
Dakota Figueroa, From Archenemies to Allies: Reassessing the Birth of the United States-Japan Alliance, 1945-1960
John Levee, Interactive Audio Installation for 5.1 Speaker Array and VR Headset
Emily Maule, Where Has the Art Gone? Examining the Use of Imagery in the Baptist Community
Isabelle Palmer, 3D Modeling and Animation at FIEA
James Parman, America’s Genocide: Analyzing the Motives and Effects of Anti-Native Violence
Nelson Quezada Herrera, Elite-Driven BeliefsHow Issue Framing Affects American Attitudes Toward the Green New Deal
Assistant Professor of Biology Lynn Kee, PhD, right, works with junior Maggie Struble on a DNA sample inside a Sage Hall Science Center lab on Feb. 1, 2022. Photos: Stetson University / Izais Ocasio
Inside the Sage Hall Science Center, students soon will work in a lab with microscopes and needles to alter a strand of DNA in butterfly eggs.
The students will use CRISPR gene-editing technology this semester to change the color of butterfly wings from orange and brown scales to black scales — with one simple cut.
Stetson Assistant Biology Professor Lynn Kee, PhD, received a $299,996 grant from the National Science Foundation to teach students about this technique. Associate Philosophy Professor Melinda Hall, PhD, will teach them about the bioethics surrounding its use.
Lynn Kee, PhD
“The point of the grant was to bring CRISPR into the classroom in the sense that I want students to learn about this technique because it’s so new,” Kee said. “It’s not even really in textbooks. My genetic textbook has literally two, three paragraphs about it. And so what I want them to learn is about what’s currently happening in society, what’s happening in science, what’s happening in medicine.”
Melinda Hall, PhD
The discovery of CRISPR technology was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2020 and now is used in medicine, agriculture and food production. “Given the broad reach of CRISPR, there is an increased need and urgency for undergraduate students to learn about and consider how to use the technology appropriately,” according to her grant.
CRISPR is actually a molecule that acts like a pair of scissors to cut a strand of DNA at a very precise location. Scientists are using the technology to try to treat a variety of diseases and medical conditions, such as sickle cell disease, by correcting the mutation in the gene that causes the disorder. Earlier this month, doctors transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into a male patient after using CRISPR gene editing to make the organ less likely to be attacked by the patient’s immune system.
Pipettes are an indispensable tool when working with DNA and analyzing genes.
At Stetson, Kee introduced the technology in a 2019 pilot project, teaching students how to disable a gene that makes a certain bacteria glow green.
For the NSF grant, she will use butterflies, raising them in Sage Hall from caterpillar to chrysalis, a process that takes about a month. Once the butterfly emerges, it will live for about three weeks and, if provided certain leaves, will lay eggs there. These blue eggs will be collected and used for the CRISPR gene-editing technique.
“Butterflies are beautiful. We can learn a lot from studying them. We actually deliver CRISPR into these butterfly eggs to basically target a specific gene that’s involved in butterfly wing color and patterning,” Kee said. “Because what I want for them (students) to understand is how CRISPR works and for them to be able to see it with their own eyes.”
Junior Chloe DeYoung, left, and sophomore Hannah Swartz perform DNA gel electrophoresis in an experiment looking at their own DNA sequence. Both students plan to attend medical school.
Once the DNA is altered, the butterflies will not be released into the wild. “We’re very careful with what we do,” she added.
Kee has used the NSF grant to purchase microscopes and microinjection systems for the lab and other specialized equipment and supplies to analyze and sequence the DNA. The three-year grant will fund two research assistants each year in the lab, beginning this semester. A post-doctoral faculty fellow will be hired starting this fall to help teach classes. The grant will also provide funds for Kee to train faculty from other colleges in implementing CRISPR technology in the classroom.
This week, inside the Sage Hall lab, students were busy making copies of DNA taken from their cheeks. Next, they will sequence it and analyze it before moving on to the CRISPR gene-editing technique with butterfly eggs.
Junior Briana Hall, right, works with a DNA sample in the Sage Hall lab.
Senior Adrianna Strozak is a laboratory research assistant in the class and was helping students with the various laboratory techniques needed to copy their DNA. She took this class a year ago and hopes to one day earn a PhD and conduct medical research.
“That’s partially what made my senior research possible was the experience that I got taking this class,” said Strozak, whose senior project is entitled, “Testing amplification of the butterfly gene optix by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA).”
Junior Briana Hall plans to attend dental school and was enjoying working with DNA for the first time in the class.
“You feel like you’re a scientist,” said Hall, a biology major. “It’s not like we’re just sitting in a lecture, writing down notes. We’re actually doing what she’s teaching us, which is awesome.”
We congratulate our winners of the 2022 Willa Dean Lowery Fund to Support Research in the Natural Sciences:
Roslyn Crowder, Associate Professor of Biology
Examining Hypoxia-Induced Caspase-8 Post-Translational Modifications in Hypoxic Cancer Cells
Caspase-8 is a mediator of regulated cell death, apoptosis. Caspase-8 mediated cell death is used clinically to target and eliminate pathogenic cells in diseases including cancer, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Loss of caspase-8 activity has been identified as a cell death resistance mechanism, highlighting the requirement of complete caspase-8 activation for cell death progression. Hypoxia is a term that refers to conditions with low oxygen levels. Hypoxic regions in solid, malignant tumors have been found to be resistant to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, presenting therapeutic challenges. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy utilize initiation of cell death pathways involving caspase-8 activation to kill cancer cells.
Caspase-8 protein receives several post-translational modifications (PTMs) that effect protein function including phosphorylation (adds phosphates), ubiquitination (adds ubiquitin) and sumoylation (adds SUMO). Cullin3 ligase and A20 deubiquitinase are associated with adding and removing ubiquitin to and from caspase-8, respectively. PIAS ligase and SUMO specific protease SENP1 are associated with adding and removing SUMO to and from caspase-8, respectively. Hypoxia has been shown to alter protein phosphorylation. While changes to phosphorylated proteins under hypoxia have been studied, changes to ubiquitinated and sumoylated proteins, remain largely unexplored. Regulation of caspase-8 sumoylation and ubiquitination, under hypoxia, has not been investigated.
We congratulate our winners of the 2021 Willa Dean Lowery Fund to Support Research in the Natural Sciences:
Kristine Dye, Assistant Professor of Biology
Elucidate the Mechanisms of Cellular Transformation and Tumorigenesis by MCPyVST Necessary for the Development of MCC
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare but aggressive skin cancer with a mortality rate three times greater than melanoma. In 2008, it was discovered that MCC is caused by the integration of the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) genome into the host genome, and subsequent constitutive expression of viral oncoproteins, such as the small tumor antigen (ST). Previous research of mine has shown that MCPyV ST binds to the cellular protein AMOT, a regulator of the cell cycle. The goal of this current project with senior research students is to elucidate the mechanisms by which MCPyV ST perturbs the functions of AMOT resulting in tumorigenesis. Such experiments will provide the MCC field with influential advancements necessary for the design of novel, efficacious, therapeutics to treat MCC. Of importance, the most influential health care workers have an appreciation and the ability to conceptualize basic research that contributes to our current understanding of disease and individualized, efficacious treatment options. Therefore, the engagement of senior research students in an authentic virology and cancer research project will provide these students with the comprehensive training, confidence, and experience that will undoubtedly influence their future careers in health care and progress my development as a teacher-scholar at Stetson University.
Holley Lynch, Assistant Professor of Physics
Tracking Cellular Motion During Early Embryo Development
The proper assembly of new tissues and organs throughout development depends on large-scale tissue motions. Current approaches to understand the mechanics of these developmental processes in many species are limited to analysis of fixed samples or almost non-existent. In this project, we will establish protocols for live cell imaging in Ambystoma mexicanum embryonic tissue explants and Vanessa cardui butterfly embryos. These time-lapse image sequences will be used to determine the cellular coordination within developing tissues and to investigate the extent cellular behaviors are conserved across species. This will further my development as a teacher-scholar at Stetson University by enhancing my research program. In addition, protocols established in this project will be used to expose Biophysics (PHYS 251) students to fluorescent microscopy and its use in interdisciplinary research. The proposed image processing workstation will advance computationally intense tasks, like deconvolution from long term and live imaging experiments using the inverted fluorescent microscope acquired from the National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation grant ($266,091, 2019), on which I am a principal investigator.
Congratulations to the following recipients of the 2021 Hand Awards for Distinguished Faculty Achievement.
The Hand Award for Distinguished Faculty Achievements are made possible through the continued generosity of trustee emeritus and alumna Dolly Hand and her husband, Homer Hand. Through their support of excellence in higher education, we are honored to recognize outstanding faculty. The awards have been presented to faculty since 1988, with recipients whose names many in the audience will recognize as faculty who have been transformative to this institution—Michael Rickman, Karen Kaivola, and Leonard Nance to name a few
This year, we recognize the professional achievements of two outstanding faculty members in two primary areas: Research, Creative, and Professional Activity and Community Impact. Historically, there have been Hand awards that recognized the stellar work of faculty who have been at Stetson for a short period of time, and then go on to do great things at Stetson. Some examples include then-Assistant Professors Terri
Witek, Stephen Robinson, Sue Ryan, and Isabel Botero, who all received the Hand recognition just a few years after they joined the University. Both recipients of this prestigious recognition are junior faculty members. In sum, during their short tenure at Stetson University, they have made significant contributions to their fields, to Stetson’s vibrancy and vitality, to our academic culture, and to the world beyond this campus.
The first 2021 Hand award honors a faculty member who was invited to join the faculty at Stetson University five years ago and who has already helped to bring $1.6 million in funding to our campus. In addition to an impressive publication record, she has experienced exceptional success in obtaining grant funding, and demonstrated an amazing ability to forge strong collaborative efforts with faculty from a diverse array of academic departments at Stetson, including Biology, Environmental Science, Health Sciences, Chemistry, Philosophy, and Physics in the quest of academic excellence. Her publications and successful grant applications showcase her success in integrating cutting edge molecular techniques and scientific equipment with high impact teaching practices and novel pedagogical approaches to the great benefit of Stetson students. One nominator wrote, “She is interested in inspiring all students through exposure to research.” One of her photographs was selected for the cover of the journal Development. In the STEM disciplines, this selection is recognized as a distinction. One nominator wrote, “Her work involved photographing cilia of cells and she has produced photographs of cells that are quite beautiful.”
For her professional commitment, and in recognition and celebration of her substantial scholarly contributions, it gives me great pleasure on behalf of the faculty and staff at Stetson University to present the first of two 2021 Hand Awards for Research, Creative, and Professional Activity to Assistant Professor Lynn Kee.
Lynn Kee, Assistant Professor of Biology
This year’s second 2021 Hand award honors a faculty member who has accomplished an extraordinarily impactful breadth and scope of timely work within the short three years of her tenure at Stetson University. Invited in 2018 to join the faculty as Brown Teacher-Scholar Fellow in Sustainable Food Systems, she rapidly became a key force in the development of Stetson’s Sustainable Foods Systems program, and broad to this academic endeavor the lenses of equity and inclusion especially aimed at uncovering issues of race, class and gender in the U.S. food system. Working with other Stetson faculty and students, she has co-developed multiple programs in the broader community, forging strong connections with local elementary schools, boys and girls clubs, the Artisan Alley Market, local farmers, and the Tomoka Correctional Facility. As a Stetson teacher-scholar, she has experienced successful grantsmanship to support her craft of educational outreach as a grant recipient of the Nina B. Hollis Institute for Educational Reform and the recent collaborative Andrew Mellon Foundation grant. Her many peer-reviewed publications are strong evidence that others find her work on the intersection of equity, education and food production of great significance. For her professional commitment, and in recognition and celebration of her substantial contributions to Stetson and the communities of central Florida, it gives me great pleasure on behalf of the faculty and staff at Stetson University to present the second 2021 Hand Award for Community Impact to Assistant Professor Sarah Cramer.
Sarah Cramer, Visiting Assistant Professor in Sustainable Food Systems
Presented by Dr. Rosalie Richards, Associate Provost for Faculty Developmenton May 6, 2021 at the 2021 Academic Awards and Recognition Ceremony
Congratulations to the recipient of the 2021 William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching
Established in 1974, the McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching is considered to be Stetson University’s most prestigious award based on the highest attainment of teaching excellence as personified by the former Dean of the University, William Hugh McEniry. Exceptional teaching in the classroom is at the heartbeat of this award, along with intellectual growth, professional competency, academic activities outside of the classroom, and impactful service to students and the University as a whole.
Needless to say, this year’s McEniry selection committee had an incredibly challenging job with Stetson being a community full of highly deserving teacher-scholars. That said, this year’s awardee stood out as an exceptionally impactful educator at Stetson and also within her field. There is a clear record demonstrating that she is phenomenal teacher and a dedicated leader in her field. And she had thoughtfully written nominations demonstrating her deep commitment to high-quality teaching at Stetson and beyond.
A nomination by a fellow faculty member notes: “[This professor] is in her nineteenth year as a member of the Stetson faculty…and clearly, [she] is one of Stetson finest scholar-teachers. While her stature as a publishing scholar is highly meritorious, her skills and accomplishments as a teacher are no less remarkable. She is highly organized, mature, innovative, engaged, and passionate.”
This professor is described as a master teacher who cares most about student learning, and she considers part of her teaching role preparation of students for professional success.
A student nomination states: “[This professor] goes the extra mile in every aspect, teaching and beyond. She teaches some of the most challenging courses at Stetson and in the computer science field. While the coursework is rigorous and intellectually demanding, she provides ways to grasp the difficult concepts in ways that suit all learning styles. As an advisor, she’s not only concerned about short-term academic success, but also long-term professional development and your best interests. Additionally, she never fails to encourage and inspire. I switched my major to computer science after a semester and felt very out of place at first. Having [this professor] as a mentor was a really important part of staying encouraged; she connected me with other women in the field and introduced me to conferences and other opportunities.”
This year’s recipient is a professor of computer science who recently received the Florida Council Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Outstanding Engineering Educator Award, a testament to her commitment to teaching excellence and the quality of education that she provides students, as well as her outstanding contribution to the electro-technology profession. I am delighted and honored to announce this year’s award winner! Please join me in wishing a heartfelt congratulations to the recipient of the 2021 William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching… Dr. Hala ElAarag!!
Congratulations to the recipient of the 2021-2022 Sabbatical Awards:
Eric Kurlander, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of History,“Before the ‘Final Solution’: A Global History of the Nazi ‘Jewish Question’”
Maria Rickling, Associate Professor of Accounting, Chair of M.E. Rinker, Sr. Institute of Tax and Accountancy, “A Research Proposal: A Unique Point of View to Innovating the Accounting Curriculum”
Leila Roach, Associate Professor of Counselor Education, Chair of Counselor Education, “Exploring and Expanding Mental Health Services in Bhutan”
Peter Smucker, Assistant Professor of Music Theory, Director of Music Theory, “Values, Currencies and Economies of Video Game Music”
Nancy Vosburg, Professor of World Languages and Cultures, “Antonia Huerta’s Cybercrime Fiction; Ushering in a New Subgenre in Spanish Literature”
Robert Askew, Assistan Professor of Psychology, “Imparting Clinical Meaning to Pain Intensity Ratings”
Grace Kaletski-Maisel, Assistant Professor, Learning & Information Literacy Librarian, “Trajectories of Information in Literacy Learning”
Dejan Magoc, Professor of Health Science, “Promoting Active Living Through Behavior Change”
Michael McFarland, Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies, “Discourse Strategies in Sudden Change Rhetoric: Argument and Invention in Evangelical Preaching”
Emily Mieras, Chair of History; Associate Professor of History and American Studies, “Progressive People” in “Elysian Lands: History, Memory, and the Making of Community Identity in the American South 1870-1970”
Ramachandran Subramanian, Professor of Leadership, “Developing Teaching Cases in Corporate Governance”
John York, Professor of Chemistry, “Utilizing Molecular Dynamics (MD) and Quantum Mechanical/Molecular Mechanical (QM/MM) Methods for the Study of Metal-Ligand Bonds in Proteins”
