BioSynthesis

Taylor Bozza Taylor Bozza , B.S. Biology, pre-medical sciences option, is conducting an internship at WellSpan Family Medicine in Lebanon, PA.  Taylor is seeing the medical field from many perspectives. Taylor has observed Primary Care physicians, worked with Diabetes Educators, and spent time in the Volunteer Clinic, where physicians volunteer their time to help patients and all prescribed medications are donated. Taylor has learned how to use the EPIC system for charting patients’ visits. She has seen first-hand the great impact of medical social work on the well-being and mental health of patients. Medical social workers help patients arrange transportation to appointments, assist with insurance and food security, and sometimes are there just to talk. In this role, Taylor has sat in on meetings with Child Protective Services to review cases and plan care for patients. Taylor describes all of these eye-opening experiences as “incredible.” They will undoubtedly make her a be...

Dr. Carl A. Hansen Dr. Carl A. Hansen , professor of Biological and Allied Health Sciences, was feted at a reception on July 19, 2019 as he retired after 18 years at Bloomsburg University. Dr. Hansen has accepted a position as professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Florida Atlanta University, a public university with a main campus in Boca Raton. He will teach courses in Human Morphology and Physiology in the honors college at FAU's Jupiter campus. Dr. Hansen began his career at Bloomsburg University in 2001. He earned his Ph.D. in Physiology from Penn State Hershey and conducted post-doctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. John R. Williamson in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the faculty at Bloomsburg, Dr. Hansen was a senior research scientist at the Weis Center for Research at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA. During the course of his career he has published over 45 articles with his col...

Dr. Lauri Green and Jackie Formosa present research at the Disappearing Boundaries conference J acquelynn Formosa , a B.S. Biology, ecology, conservation, and field biology major, and Dr. Lauri Green , assistant professor,  attended the  tenth annual Disappearing Boundaries  conference  at Lebanon Valley College (LVC) on July 17, 2019.  The  Disappearing Boundaries conference brings together regional scientists and undergraduates to share their research interests and to provide opportunities for interdisciplinary conversations. In addition to Bloomsburg University, student presenters were from Albright College, Alvernia University, Elizabethtown College, Gettysburg College, Lebanon Valley College, Messiah College, and Millersville University. Speakers at the event included Katie McCardle, a member of the Panetier Research Group at SUNY-Binghamtom who designs catalysts for the conversion of solar energy to fuels, Justin Cammarota, a physics and math ma...

Alyssa Williams and the hog nose snake.  Alyssa Williams , a BS Biology major, Ecology, Conservation, and Field Biology option, and Spatial Analysis and GIS minor, is conducting an internship at Refreshing Mountain’s Wildlife Center in Stevens, Pa. She cares for reptiles and amphibians at  the facility and teaches school groups about herpetology.  As part of her internship, she practiced snake identification in the Pocono Mountains. She and  her coworkers identified a total of 23 snakes including a copperhead and timber rattlesnake. In the photo at right, Alyssa holds a hog nose snake (who is playing dead!)   Dr. Steven Rier is Alyssa's program adviser . . 

Amanda Aulenbach and  Bobber the water safety dog at Blue Marsh Lake. Amanda Aulenbach ,  a BS Biology major and Geography minor, conducted an internship at Blue Marsh Lake in Leesport, PA. Originally built by the Army Core of Engineers for flood control, Blue Marsh Lake is also a popular recreation area that is open 365 days a year and attracts 900,000 visitors annually. The  lake has 1,150 surface acres of water for swimming, boating, and fishing and 6,200 acres  of land containing hiking and horseback riding trails, picnic areas, and boat ramps. Operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District, the mission of Blue Marsh Lake is to promote water safety, to provide opportunities for outdoor recreation, and to conduct outreach activities related to the outdoors. During her internship, Amanda's duties included trail maintenance, patrolling the grounds, beaches, and dams, assisting visitors, and checking water quality. To prepa...

Caitlyn Collins   Caitlyn Collins, a master's student mentored by Dr. Thomas Klinger, conducted research this summer on sea urchins at the Roatan Marine Park in Honduras. Caitlyn's thesis work investigates the thermal tolerance of sea urchins in order to understand the potential impacts of climate change. She examined sea urchin abundance using the roving diver method, which is swimming at specific depths , typically 10, 15, and 20 meters for a specific time.   Caitlyn determined the depth, temperature,and  abundance of sea urchins, along with the coexisting species.  Her preliminary data showed that the most abundant sea urchin was  Echinometra  vi ridi s   (Reef Urchin), typically found living in the crevices of  Agaricia  tenuifolian   (Thin Leaf Lettuce Coral).  In addition to her own research, Cailtyn assisted with a coral restoration project that is underway at  the Roatan Marine Institute. The project ...

  Allison Sowers , biology, pre-medical sciences major and chemistry minor, spent three weeks at the   Coast Provincial General Hospital (CPGH)  in Mobassa, Kenya shadowing in pediatrics, surgery, and the emergency department.  CPGH is the second largest government hospital in Kenya. Allison also had the opportunity to experience a private hospital, for those that can afford it. She found the private hospital to be better equipped and staffed.  Allison was impressed with the passion of the doctors at the CPGH especially there creativity in providing needed medical care, despite a lack of resources.  One of her lessons that Allison will carry with her in the future as she prepares to become a physician is "t hat heart is more important than privilege, resources, or money."      While in Kenya. Allison  also participated in community outreach activities including a hygiene clinic  and a menstruation clinic at a local scho...

Dr. Kate Beishline Dr. Kate Beishline, assistant professor, has published an article in the peer-reviewed, biomedical journal On cotarget with colleagues from Wistar Institute. The article  entitled " Elevated telomere dysfunction in cells containing the African-centric Pro47Ser cancer-risk variant of TP53 ."  appears in the June 4, 2019  issue. Here is the complete citation for Dr. Beishline's article: Check it out! Tuton S, Deng Z, Gulve N, Vladimirova O, Beishline K, Wiedmer A, Murphy M Lieberman PM. Elevated telomere dysfunction in cells containg the African-centric Pro47Ser cancer-risk variant of TP53. Oncotarget. 2019 Jun 4;10(38);3581-3591.