Meet our Graduate Students

 BioSynthesis will include periodic features of our outstanding crew of graduate students. Our master's program in biology offers opportunities for advanced study at the supra-organismal, organismal, cellular, and molecular levels of biology. A broad array of disciplines is represented among the faculty, allowing considerable flexibility in the selection of research topics. Thesis research may be carried out on campus, or at an off-campus site. For more information on our Master's program in biology or our 3 + 2 program, contact Dr. Thomas Klinger, graduate program coordinator at tklinger@bloomu.edu   Our featured student this week is Kyle Flannery.

Kyle Flannery
Kyle Flannery is from Blandon, PA and received his B.S. in Health Sciences from Bloomsburg University in 2018. He is currently conducting his master’s thesis research in the lab of Dr. Abby Hare-Harris. Kyle is currently collaborating with the Autism and Developmental Medicine Institute (ADMI) in Lewisburg, PA to study developmental profiles of individuals with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related genetic disorders such as Fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, Smith-Magenis syndrome, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, and 16p11.2 deletion syndrome. In particular, individuals with ASD often demonstrate atypical attainment of developmental language milestones; therefore, Kyle’s research is focused on the use of a quantitative metric to capture these atypical patterns. In addition to his thesis work, Kyle has also devoted time as a research assistant to characterizing the phenotype of the 16p11.2 deletion using electronic health record data, and he has been annotating coding regions and transcription start sites from raw sequence data in unannotated Drosophila species. After completing his master’s degree, Kyle plans to begin working toward a Ph.D. in Human Genetics and building on the computational research skills he has developed at Bloomsburg University. Kyle serves as a graduate assistant in Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2 and tutors at ABLE, the Academic Biology Learning Environment, in Columbia Residence Hall. He is a member of Tri-Beta Biology Honor Society. Kyle has served the department as a volunteer for Husky Decision Day and the Tri-Beta Northeast District  2 Convention. He shared his experiences as a graduate students as a panelist on the College of Science and Technology Pathways Webinar panel. Kyle plans to graduate in May 2020.

Kyle has presented his research at several regional venues:

Flannery, K.P., Mitchel, M.W., Hare-Harris, A.E. March 2019. Characterization of Developmental Milestones of Language in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Tri-beta Biological Honor Society Northeast District 2 Convention, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Flannery, K.P., Mitchel, M.W., Hare-Harris, A.E. April 2019. Characterization of Developmental Milestones of Language in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists Annual Meeting, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.

Flannery, K.P., Mitchel, M.W., Hare-Harris, A.E. April 2019. Characterization of Developmental Milestones of Language in Autism Spectrum Disorder. College of Science and Technology Research Day, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Flannery K.P., Basile, G.M., Whiteside, I.S., Hare-Harris, A.E. November 2019. Analysis of Within-Task Variability on Standardized Reading Assessments in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Conference, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.




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