| Bios |
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The Biology Department NewsletterFall 2000 |
Volume 16: No. 1, Editor: J. Maxwell, Publisher J.W. Dole California State University, Northridge |
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In fall 1999, eleven graduates of Cal State Northridge entered dental schools: USC (2), UCLA, UCSF, and Harvard, Boston, New York, Columbia, Temple and Tufts Universities. Fall 2000 acceptances have not yet been received.
Information about the DAT, dental schools and the application process is available from Dr. Mary Corcoran, Pre-Dental Advisor. Her office is in Science 3216B, or call her at 677-3348. Her email address is mary.corcoran@csun.edu. This year applications can be done on-line. The DAT is also given on-line.
A Woodland Hills dentist is offering an internship for advanced Pre-Dental students. He will provide training in: Dental examination and medical history review; processing x-rays; record keeping, both computer and paper; periodontal surgery and implant placement; dental hygiene procedures; and insurance processing.
Interested students must request an interview, submit a brief resume, and provide letters of recommendation and transcripts. A minimal wage will be paid. See Dr. Corcoran for more information.
The University was recently notified by CalTrans that its request for a $37,040 grant to purchase 181 more trees to be planted around Science 1 and 2 was approved. Major contributors to the grant request were Mr. Brian Houck and Ms. Brenda Kanno, manager and associate manager, respectively, of the Greenhouse and Botanical Gardens; Dr. Barbara Caretto, Development Officer of the College of Science and Math; Dr. Jennifer Matos; and Willie Lapin, a student working under Dr. Matosí guidance.
The trees will be planted around Science 1 and 2 next spring as a part of Earth Week, and will form the backbone of a nascent Gymnosperm Forest, an assemblage of coniferous trees and allied plants. Students and the general public are encouraged to join in the planting activities. As the trees mature, ferns and herbs will be added as an understory, thus creating an outdoor botanical laboratory and a tranquil place of refuge for the campus community.
Clarence Gillett, one of Dr. Robert Carpenterís students, spent his summer at Cambridge University in England. A MBRS student, Clarenceís summer experience was devoted to a study of how diet is related to and can be used to predict the incidence of stroke. After eight weeks in the lab he took a 2-week vacation in France, Spain, Italy, and Greece.
Nick Haring, also a graduate student working in Dr. Robert Carpenterís lab, spent six weeks at the University of Washingtonís Friday Harbor Labs taking a course on Biomechanics. Nick enjoyed the interactions with his classmates, most of whom were Ph.D. students. The intensive course focused on properties of marine organisms and how the organisms interact with their physical environment. In addition to his course work, Nick conducted a research project on a species of intertidal algae, and expects to be able to apply his new knowledge of biomechanics to his own thesis project.
Karalyn Ramon spent her summer conducting research as an intern at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. Working with Dr. Deborah Hursh of the Food and Drug Administrationís Center for Biologic Investigations and Research, she investigated a unique mutation in the shortvein region of the decapentaplegic (dpp) gene in Drosophila. Karalyn described her internship as "an amazing experience. Conducting research of this magnitudewas the opportunity of a lifetime." This is the third year that Dr. Catherine Coyle-Thompsonís students have worked as summer interns at NIH; Karalyn is the sixth of Dr. Coyle-Thompsonís students to participate in the program. The results of Karalynís research will be presented at the National Drosophila Conference in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Steven Oppenheimer welcomes students interested in helping him study cell surfaces in development and cancer. Numerous students have aided his research in the past and more than 200 of them have been authors on his approximately 130 published papers, abstracts and books. Dr. Oppenheimer is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the nationís most prestigious scientific honors. His research and teaching programs have been supported by over $5 million in grants. He can be found in his Basement lab in Science 2005.
The Biology Department now has an agreement with the V.A. Medical Centers and the University to reinstate a cooperative undergraduate research program. The initial program, begun in 1986, fell apart with the 1994 Northridge earthquake when both institutions were heavily damaged. With both institutions now largely recovered, the program has been given the "green light" once again.
Dr. Cheryl Hogue is the Biology Departmentís coordinator of the program, and Dr. Joyce Maxwell serves as the Universityís liaison for the program. One student began working on a research program at the Wadsworth Medical Center in Westwood this summer. Other interested students should contact Dr. Hogue.
The program is selective, with only the very best and most responsible students being chosen to participate. All applicants are screened by a faculty committee before being accepted to the program. Students in the program are directly involved in research efforts at either the Wadsworth or the Sepulveda VA Medical Center, working under the direction of one of the hospitalsí researchers.
Past participants in the program have been extremely successful, many of them snapped up by graduate, medical, dental and other professional programs.
The College of Science and Mathematics recently acquired new statistical software for use in undergraduate, graduate and research environments. After careful analysis by several interested faculty, Systat 9.0 was the software of choice. Systat was selected both because it is "user friendly" and because it will meet the needs of users with a broad range of experience.
The program will be the primary teaching tool in Biol. 330 (Design and Analysis of Experiments) and Biol. 502 (Biometry), the principal courses in which students learn to analyze data. Initially, Systat will be installed only on the computers in the Science & Mathematics PC lab; when the computers in the Mac lab are upgraded, they too will be provided with Systat. Students who wish to can buy a "gradpak" copy of the software for $170 at the bookstore. A 30-day demonstration version can be downloaded from www.spss.com.