(1) Todd Barkman, PhD, Evolutionary Genetics.  Dr. Barkman is currently studying the evolution of plant genes involved in the production of secondary chemicals that act as environmental signals. This includes studies of historical patterns of sequence change and expression patterns of the gene, salicylic acid methyl transferase, during floral development and pathogen attack. Dr. Barkman has trained 15 undergraduates and two high school students in molecular laboratory techniques during the past five years. One student has published; three undergraduates have presented a total of eight seminars or posters based on their research; both of the high school students have completed poster presentations.

 (2) Christine Byrd, PhD, Neurobiology.  Dr. Byrd’s research is examining the cellular interactions involved in maintenance of the adult brain structure and the ability of the brain to respond to injury. She uses the olfactory system of zebrafish as a model; her work involves techniques such as immunocyto-chemistry, tract-tracing methods, histology, and light and confocal microscopy. Dr. Byrd has had more than 35 undergraduate students assist in her laboratory since she has been at WMU. These students have been included in one peer-reviewed publication and 12 abstracts.

 (3) David Cowan, PhD, Evolution and Ecology.  Dr. Cowan is studying the evolutionary ecology of insects. The particular research focus of his lab is on inbreeding by wasps and the interactions and signaling cues associated with the evolution of sex determination mechanisms. During the past academic year, Dr. Cowan supervised two undergraduates. In the summer of 2005, he had three undergraduates working in his laboratory. Two will be working in the lab this fall.

 (4) John Geiser, PhD, Microbial Genetics.  Dr. Geiser uses the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system to study the interaction of bacterial protein toxins with intracellular target proteins. His laboratory is currently identifying the intracellular targets of Yersinia pestis toxins so that methods can be devised to stop infection by the bacteria that causes bubonic plague. During the past six years Dr. Geiser has mentored 13 undergraduates, including three previous REU students. Four students have gone on to graduate school (including all three REU). One former REU student has co-authored a publication.

(5) Pam Hoppe, PhD, Cell Biology.  Dr. Hoppe’s lab uses the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to study the molecular mechanisms that underlie formation of the highly ordered contractile apparatus found in striated muscle. Current projects include (1) studying the role of the unc-82 serine/threonine kinase in localization of myosin and other thick-filament proteins, and (2) using RNAi screens to identify phosphatases and other kinases that are required for proper cytoskeletal organization in muscle. Since 2000, Dr. Hoppe has employed three undergraduate students for summer research projects. Two have published or submitted papers, and one has conducted research that will be included in future publications. All three students are now in graduate or medical school programs.

(6) David Huffman, PhD, Bioinorganic Chemistry.  Dr. Huffman studies the structure and functions of Wilson protein, a P-type ATPase responsible for copper transport. This protein contains six N-terminal copper-binding sites that facilitate acquisition of this trace essential metal. Students working in the laboratory gain a battery of skills, including the construction of recombinant vectors, protein expression studies, large-scale protein production, protein purification and protein characterization. In the past four years, undergraduate students under Dr. Huffman have co-authored four abstracts, one presentation and one submitted publication.

(7) John A. Jellies, PhD, Neurobiology.  Dr. Jellies focuses on neuromuscular development, pattern-formation and neural pathfinding in the sensory systems of a model system, the medicinal leech. Projects include: (1) muscle assembly into defined structures recognizable by motor neurons; (2) cellular integration of environmental cues to project growth cones; and (3) influences among motor neurons, interneurons, sensory neurons and muscle targets. Dr. Jellies has had 12 undergraduates in the lab in the past five years; one has co-authored a peer-reviewed paper and four have published abstracts.

(8) James J. Kiddle, PhD, Organic Chemistry.  Dr. Kiddle’s research focuses on the chemical mechanisms by which environmental pollutants react with biomolecules, producing damage or changes that are deleterious to an organism. Projects include: (1) elucidation of the free radical mechanism of action for nitrosoamines, a class of potent carcinogens present in the environment, and (2) development of a potential model explaining the long-term neurological effects seen in organisms that have been exposed to organophosphorus chemical warfare agents and pesticides. During the past 10 years Dr. Kiddle has supervised 26 undergraduate students (16 women, 10 men) on novel research projects. The work has resulted in undergraduate co-authorship in 10 publications in premier journals.

(9) Steve Kohler, PhD, Ecology.  Dr. Kohler’s research is focused in two general areas: (1) the roles of species interactions and disturbance in signaling and affecting the structure and resilience of stream communities, and (2) the influence of parasites/pathogens in the population/community ecology of aquatic invertebrates and the structure of food webs. For more than 15 years, Dr. Kohler has always had two or three undergraduates engaged in research in his lab, with active involvement in both field and laboratory activities. Several students have conducted undergraduate honors thesis research under him.

(10) Dongil Lee, PhD, Electroanalytical Chemistry.  Dr. Lee’s research area includes electron and energy transfer and signaling in lipid bilayer membranes. This work is extended to electron transfer dynamics and the photoelectrochemistry of metal nanoparticle monolayers, as well as the synthesis and size purification of metal nanoparticles. Dr. Lee, who is in his third year at WMU, has mentored three undergraduates, one of whom has co-authored a presentation at the national ACS meeting.

(11) Cindy Linn, PhD, Neuroscience.  Dr. Linn’s laboratory analyzes neuroprotective mechanisms that prevent excitotoxicity in the mammalian retina. Excitotoxicity is the process by which excessive excitatory neurotransmitter release in the central nervous system destroys neurons through apoptosis. Dr. Linn mentored one REU student in her lab during each of the years, 2003 and 2005.

(12) Maria Scott, PhD, Microbiology of Infectious Disease.  Dr. Scott’s research investigates methods utilized by Gram-negative bacteria to transport virulence factors across the outer-membrane barrier. Secretion of potent proteins, such as cholera toxin, into the environment can have catastrophic health consequences as in the case of Vibrio cholerae. Transport of cholera toxin out of the cell occurs via the type II secretion system produced by V. cholerae. Dr. Scott's lab is exploring how the V. cholerae type II secretion apparatus assembles. Dr. Scott has mentored an REU student who presented at the Annual Argonne Symposium for Undergraduates in Science, Engineering and Mathematics.

(13) Wendy Randsom-Hodgkins, PhD, Plant Molecular Biology.  Dr. Randsom-Hodgkins’ laboratory is using molecular and biochemical approaches to study the regulation of the multifunctional protein Eukaryotic Elongation Factor One Alpha in Arabidopsis thaliana. During her two years at WMU, she has worked with eight undergraduate students in ongoing research projects in the laboratory. In addition, she has mentored an REU student whose project was presented at an international meeting.

(14) David S. Reinhold, PhD, Biochemistry.  Dr. Reinhold's lab focuses on the process by which environmental carcinogens, such as metals and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), transform human cells to tumor cells. Specific projects involve the signal transduction pathways involved in this transformation, as well as studies on the inherent cellular protective processes that prevent this process. In 12 years as a faculty member at WMU, Dr. Reinhold has been the research advisor for 23 undergraduate students (including seven REU students). Five meeting presentations and one publication have been presented with undergraduate authors.

(15) Silvia Rossbach, PhD, Microbial Genetics.  Dr. Rossbach’s laboratory focuses on microbial ecology, specifically the environmental control of gene expression. When exposed to harmful environments, such as elevated levels of heavy metals, bacteria respond rapidly by changing their gene expression. Techniques that are used to identify metal-regulated genes in Pseudomonas fluorescens and Sinorhizobium meliloti include transposon mutagenesis with reporter genes and microarray analysis. Several previous REU students have been involved in constructing mutant banks and screening transposon-generated mutants for zinc, copper and cadmium-regulated genes.

(16) Elke Schoffers, PhD, Organic Chemistry.  Dr. Schoffers’ expertise is in the area of stereoselective synthesis, with a background in organometallic, heterocyclic and biochemistry. Specific projects in her lab address the development of N-containing ligands for asymmetric catalysis and the synthesis of metabolites that influence biological signals. During the last five years, Dr. Schoffers has worked with seven graduate and nine undergraduate students (including eight females and two minority students) on various research projects.

(17) John Spitsbergen, PhD, Cellular Neurophysiology (co-Principal Investigator).  The focus of Dr. Spitsbergen’s research is on understanding the regulation of neurotrophic factor expression in target tissues of the peripheral nervous system (blood vessels, cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle) and to determine the consequences of altered neurotrophic factor expression with aging and disease. Since 1996, Dr. Spitsbergen has supervised laboratory research projects for 51 undergraduates and four high school students. These research projects have resulted in 13 abstracts and presentations at national meetings for undergraduate researchers, 15 abstracts to local meetings within Michigan, and eight abstracts to national meetings. All of the high school students have received honors in regional, state or international science competitions.

(18) Susan Stapleton, PhD, Biochemistry (Principal Investigator).  The work in Dr. Stapleton’s laboratory focuses on understanding the mechanisms involved in the differential regulation of gene expression by nutrients, hormones and metal contaminants, including the activation of specific signal pathways and transcription factors to elicit these responses. Dr. Stapleton has served for seven years as the PI for WMU’s NSF REU award and has been instrumental in establishing the partnership program with Western’s HBCUs. She has mentored more than 50 undergraduate students in her research laboratory, and many have co-authored publications or abstracts or given presentations at scientific meetings. In the past five years, five undergraduates have co-authored published abstracts and nine have made presentations at local, regional or national meetings. Two of these presentations have received “best presentation” awards.

(19) Brian Tripp, PhD, Protein Biochemistry.  Dr. Tripp uses various molecular biology, microbiology and biophysical techniques to investigate the function of proteins and engineer them to perform novel functions, such as biosensors and nanomaterials. Current research projects involve (1) the engineering of self-assembling bacterial flagellin proteins to form bionanotubes and hybrid nanomaterials, and (2) investigation of novel inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase enzymes via high-throughput screening methods. Dr. Tripp has mentored two WMU undergraduates, one NSF REU summer program student and two Kalamazoo Valley Community College/WMU NIH Bridges Program students. 

(20) Maarten Vonhof, PhD, Evolutionary Ecology.  Dr. Vonhof’s laboratory focuses on the environmental and biological (social, morphological, physiological and life history) factors that influence the development of genetic structure in natural populations of bats and their parasites. Specifically, he pursues studies related to social behavior, population genetics and phylogenetics. Dr. Vonhof typically has two or three undergraduates working in his lab. They learn various techniques associated with DNA sequencing and genotyping. In addition, they learn analytical techniques to carry out population genetic and phylogenetic analyses.