EIU-BioSci Departmental News 2008

The Biological Sciences Graduate Student Association (BSGSA) has A. titanum commemorative T-shirts. If you want to buy one (or two, or three, or a dozen) shirts, you'll need to fill out a form and send it back to the BSGSA with a check for the amount. Proceeds will support the BSGSA program. Use this form to order them.

Janice Coons has been elected as a Fellow in the Illinois State Academy of Sciences.

Joanne Crawford's Master's thesis "Mating, Kinship, and Population Structure in Illinois Beaver Populations" was selected as Eastern's nomination for the 2007 Distinguished Master's Thesis Award of the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools. This is the highest form of recognition for a graduate thesis at Eastern Illinois University. (Dr. Nelson mentor)

Megan France is the recipient of the Rachael Richardson Scholarship which is presented to Honors students in recognition of their superior academic achievement.

Ann Fritz has received one of the 2008 Woman of Achievement Awards presented by the Women’s Studies Program of EIU.

Dr. Craig Gatto, a former undergraduate and graduate student at Eastern and now professor at Illinois State University, has received a 2008 Outstanding Graduate Alumni Award.

Sharon Hickman (Bulla Lab) was awarded the best graduate poster presentation in the division of Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology at the recent Illinois State Academy of Sciences
meeting.

New Faculty:	Kai Foong (Billy) Hung
Specialty Area:	Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

What attracted you to EIU:	The primary focus of EIU on undergraduate education fits with what I seek in a tenure position. EIU also offers infrastructure support for undergraduate research, which I consider to be a critical part of undergraduate education in biological sciences. The presence of a master's graduate program also adds to the overall attraction of the department. Another advantage for EIU is the competitive salary and start-up package. In addition, the unionizing of the faculty and a well-described objective list for tenure requirement are both greatly appreciated and valued. Finally, the recruitment process was conducted professionally and with great care, which made me feel welcome and appreciated.

Academic/Employment:	Assistant Scientist, January 2008 to current, at University of Wisconsin – Madison, Department of Bacteriology. Post-doctoral Research Associate, January 2004 to December 2007, at University of Wisconsin – Madison, Department of Food Microbiology and Toxicology/Department of Bacteriology. Graduate Research Assistant, August 1997 to December 2003, at University of Wisconsin – Madison, Department of Genetics. Undergraduate Research Assistant, August 1995 to May 1997, at University of Georgia – Athens, Department of Genetics.

Other Interests:	Hobbies – Bridge and other card games, board games, gardening, and cooking. Family – life partner of 13 years.

Vince Hustad's oral presentation in the Botany Division at Illinois State Academy of Sciences meeting was chosen as the best presentation at the meetings.

Ashley Imboden (Dr. Daniel mentor) received 2nd place in the John C. Johnson Competition for best poster presentation at the annual Tri-Beta District Conference.

Trip Krenz (Dr. Pederson mentor) is one of this year's two recipients of the Undergraduate/Graduate Scholarship Award as well as one of this year's Robert Esser Student Achievement Scholarship Award from the Illinois Lake Management Association.

BreAnne Nott (Dr. Meiners mentor) received 1st place in the Frank G. Brooks Competition for best paper presentation at the annual Tri-Beta District Conference. This award includes a $750 travel allowance for BreAnne to present her research at the biennial Tri-Beta National Convention.

College of Sciences SURE Award
   Nikki Pisula (Dr. Meiners mentor)
   Amanda Hance (Dr. McGilliard mentor)
   Amanda Steber (Dr. Fischer mentor)
   Megan France (Dr. Marjanovic mentor)

College of Sciences GSI Award
   Peter Frey (Dr. Meiners mentor)
   Alexandra Baluka (Dr. Daniel mentor)
   Vince Hustad (Dr. Methven mentor)
   Brandon Jutras (Dr. Liu and Dr. Laursen mentors)
   Stephen Warner (Dr. Fischer mentor)
   William Beatty (Dr. Liu and Dr. Nelson mentors)

Scott Meiners. The LTREB Program has awarded him $6,640 to support an REU student (Natalie Morris) during Summer 2008.

Biological Sciences Research Grants
    Jason Allen (Eric Bollinger and Paul Switzer mentors)
    Chelsie Hahn (Ann Fritz mentor)
    Jessica Leathers (Barbara Carlsward mentor)
    Natalie Morris (Scott Meiners mentor)
    Emily Mott (Ann Fritz mentor)
    Cory Penn (Steve Daniel mentor)
    Gerald Presley (Scott Meiners mentor)

Graduate School/Research Creative Activity Award
    William Beatty (Dr. Liu and Dr. Nelson mentors)
    Danyelle Dehner (Dr. Fischer mentor)
    Brandon Jutras (Dr. Liu and Dr. Laursen mentors)

Williams Travel Awards
   Alexandra Baluka (Dr. Daniel mentor)
   Peter Frey (Dr. Meiners mentor )
   Danyelle Dehner (Dr. Fischer mentor)
   Laura Ladwig (Dr. Meiners mentor)

Drake, H. L., Gößner, A. S., Daniel, S. L. 2008. Old acetogens, new light. In: Wiegel, J. (ed.), Incredible Anaerobes. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1125:100-128.

Baluka, A.E.C., and S.L. Daniel. 2008. PCR-based detection of genes responsible for oxalate detoxification in probiotic microorganisms. Ann. Meet. Ill. St. Acad. Sci. 17, p. 26.

Baluka, A.E.C., and S.L. Daniel. 2008. Oxalate-Consuming Activities of Probiotic Microorganisms. Gen. Meet. Am. Soc. Microbiol., I-019.

Crawford, J.C., Z. Liu, T. A. Nelson, C. K. Nielsen, and C. K. Bloomquist. 2008 Characterization of Microsatellite Loci in the Beaver (Castor canadensis). Molecular Ecology Resources 8, 616-618

Crawford, J.C., Z. Liu, T. A. Nelson, C. K. Nielsen, and C. K. Bloomquist. (2008) Microsatellite analysis of mating and kinship in beavers (Castor canadensis). Journal of Mammalogy 89, 575-581.

Inboden, A.M., and S.L. Daniel. 2008. Resolving the nutritional requirements of Clostridium scindens, a bile acid-metabolizing gut bacterium. Ann. Meet. Ill. St. Acad. Sci. 60, p. 44.