BioSynthesis

Fifteen BAHS students spent the afternoon on November 3 brushing up on their interview skills at Tri-Beta's MOCK INTERVIEW sessions. Students had the opportunity to have two interviews conducted by faculty. This was great preparation for interviews for medical imaging and laboratory science clinical programs, professional schools, graduate schools, and jobs. Following the interviews, students and faculty met for a debriefing to discuss the interview process and to enjoy some snacks. Student participants were Madison Aungst, Heather Beattie, Jamie Davis, Daniel Deignan, Nathan Feiertag, Dhir Gala, Lindsay Gehman, Joseph Kennard, Elizabeth Kester, Ben Paul, Samantha Romania, Michaela Roth, Erin Smith, Max Strickland , and Rachel Sullivan. Faculty interviewers were Dr. Bell from Chemistry and Biochemistry and BAHS faculty members: Drs. Beishline, Hare-Harris, Green, Kipe-Nolt, Coleman,  Schwindinger, Wood, Klinger, Brubaker, Williams, and Surmacz.   The event was hosted by Tri-Be

Dr. Kate Beishline Dr. Kate Beishline, BAHS assistant professor, and her collaborators  Olga Vladimirova, Stephen Tutton, Zhou Wang, Zhong Deng, and Paul M. Lieberman , have  published a paper entitled " CTCF Driven TERRA Transcription Facilitates Completion of Telomere DNA Replication"   in Nature Communications. Telomeres function as a protective nucleo-protein structure at the ends of linear chromosomes. They are composed of tandem TTAGGG nucleotide repeats bound by a series of specialized proteins meant to protect this repeat DNA and maintain its structural integrity. Transcription of telomere repeats can initiate at subtelomeric repeat elements generating a long non-coding RNA, telomere repeat encoding RNA (TERRA) who’s function is not fully understood. The essential genome regulator CCCTC-binding factor, CTCF, is a sequence specific DNA binding factor that has been implicated in maintaining telomere stability and regulating TERRA transcription through b

Alexandria Ostman Alexandria Ostman , a pre-veterinary science major and vice-president of the BAHS club,  has received two grants, a BU Professional Experience Research grant and a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists Undergraduate Research Grant. Allie is conducting research with her mentor Dr. Kevin Williams. The aims of her research are 1) to determine how hydraulic conductance is increased following clipping in a variety of plant species; 2) to determine if changes in hydraulic resistance influence the photosynthetic physiology of the leaf in a manner similar to conventional water stress; and 3) to compare the responses of plant species with different mechanisms of cicatrix formation and/or tolerance to herbivory. Poinsettias excrete a latex sap that may quickly clog damaged leaf tips and prevent water loss. Poinsettia responses to clipping will be compared to sunflowers that lack that ability. 

Congratulations to nine BAHS sophomores who were recognized by the interdisciplinary honor society Phi Kappa Phi for outstanding academic achievement in their freshmen year. The award recipients received certificates at a ceremony and reception on Nov 10, 2017. Award recipients include: Lauren Bunnell (Health Sciences), Ethan Fiedler (Health Sciences), Emily Hacken berg (Medical Imaging) , Lizmeidy Hernandez (Health Sciences), Alexis Jasman (Health Sciences), Nina Litz (Medical Imaging), Nathan Reynolds (Health Sciences), Kathryn Sherry (Biology), and  Mikayla Ulicny (M edical Imaging.)