NCC SciNews

2008 Rall Symposium

The 2008 Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research showcased the research of North Central College students across campus, including many science majors.

The symposium was part of the annual Honors Day events. Keynote speaker Dr. William Cronon from the University of Wisconsin spoke on the environmental history of Chicago and the Midwest.

Shown here are junior Allison Beckham, sophomore Emily Albright and sophomore Dorothy Tran, three of the many biology and biochemistry students who presented their research in oral presentation or poster sessions.

Visick receives NIH research grant

Dr Jonathan Visick has been awarded a research grant from the National Institute of Aging (NIA) to support the work that he and his students are doing on protein repair in bacteria and its relationship to aging.

Dr. Visick’s research project, titled "Repair of Isoaspartyl Damage to Protein: in vivo Roles in E. coli," focuses on an enzyme, PCM, that repairs a specific form of damage to proteins. This damage has been linked to aging, autoimmunity, cancer and other disease states. Visick and his students study protein repair in bacteria and hope that their discoveries will eventually lead to better understanding of human aging. The grant will provide funds to support summer and academic-year undergraduate student research and provide laboratory equipment and supplies.

NIA is one of 27 institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The three-year grant of approximately $125,000 is part of NIH’s Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program, which supports research projects in the biomedical sciences conducted at undergraduate colleges and other institutions that do not receive major research funding.

Weilhoefer Joins Biology Faculty

Dr. Christine Weilhoefer will join the Biology faculty in 2008-09 as our plant ecologist. She replaces Dr. Jason Lynch, now at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Dr. Weilhoefer plans to actively involve students in her research, which merges ecological theory with environmental problem-solving. She will be studying environmental constraints that shape plant communities, including the effects of development and land-use issues. Dr. Weilhoefer will be teaching botany, ecology, environmental science, plant physiology and introductory biology and participating in our new Environmental Studies minor.

Dr. Weilhoefer is currently a postdoctoral researcher with the U.S. EPA in Newport, Oregon. She earned her PhD in Environmental Science and Resources from Portland State University, an MA degree in Marine Science from the University of Texas and a BA in Botany and Environmental Studies from Connecticut College.

New Environmental Studies minor

The Environmental Studies minor fosters an interdisciplinary approach to the social, cultural, economic, and biological causes and solutions of today’s environmental problems. In this cross-college program, students learn to critically evaluate arguments about environmental issues, apply the methods of various disciplines to understanding environmental problems, and understand the cultural, economic, and political facets of environmental problems in order to develop potential solutions. Students will study with faculty actively involved in the fields of ecology, environmental history, literary eco-criticism, green business, and conflicts between economic development, environmental degradation, and indigenous Central American cultures.

The minor complements a variety of majors in science, business, social science, and humanities, preparing students for careers and graduate study in business, science, journalism, law, and public policy with a focus on environmental issues. Students complete three credit hours in approved courses in each of three core areas: Sciences, Humanities, and Social Sciences as well as an additional nine credit hours from a list of electives and an interdisciplinary capstone course. Students are encouraged to pursue field study, undergraduate research, projects in environmental activism, and internships. See more details on the major page.

Outstanding Biochemistry Major

Deborah Muganda was named the Outstanding Biochemistry Major for 2008. Deborah has done summer research at North Central, at Loyola and at the University of Wisconsin. In the fall of 2008, she will enter a PhD program in Computational Biology at the University of Wisconsin.

Peterson is 2008 Outstanding Major

Cassandra Peterson was named the Outstanding Biology Major for 2008. Cassandra will pursue a degree in veterinary medicine at the University of Kansas in fall 2008.