News and Events
“Plastics, bisphenol A (BPA), and research credibility: When a scientist collides with industry and the media”
Dr. Patricia Hunt
April 11, 2013 | 4:30pm | MBH 216
GENERAL AUDIENCE LECTURE
Click HERE for details (and for info on Friday's science talk)
Sponsored by the George B. Saul II Lecture Fund
Congratulations to Anne Runkel '11 (BIOL) who has been awarded an NSF Graduate Fellowship !!!
Caitlin Hicks getting her PhD 2012, University of Florida, Gainesville. Next stop: a post doc at the Dept of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in Berkeley, California
Moria Robinson '12 and E.O. Wilson, at the ATBI Conference in Tennessee, April 2012.
Vickie L. Backus
Senior Associate in Science Instruction in Biology
Email: backus@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.5647
Office Hours: Spring 2013: Monday 1:30-2:30 PM, Wednesday 10:00AM-11:00AM, Thursday 11:00AM-12:00PM or by appointment
Alma Mater: University of Vermont
Years at Midd: 15
Download Contact Information
The goal of my laboratory exercises are to provide students with the context and skills necessary so that they can answer the What?, How? and Why? questions that they may have about the natural world.
I focus on these questions as they are the ones that I like to ask; and my search for answers lead me to become a biologist. An example of a what question is "What insects are living the Middlebury River?". In Ecology and Evolution lab we answer it by going to the river and sampling it to see who is there. A how question might be "How do taste receptors work?". In Cells and Genetics we answer that by using computer models to explore protein structure and polymerase chain reaction analysis to explore genetic differences in taste ability. Why questions are my favorite kind; an example of a why questions is "Why are bacteria that are exposed to antibacterial hand soaps no longer being killed by them?". In Ecology and Evolution we answer that by exploring the process of natural selection.
In my personal scholarship I ask and try to answer similar questions about a wide variety of biological systems. The primary research system I have used is a number of species of cavity-dwelling forest ants from Vermont and northern New York but I have also worked on molecular genetics projects exploring the genetic basis for infertility in mice, captive breeding protocols for endangered species using an insect model system and mating behavior in field crickets.
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
BIOL 0140 - Ecology and Evolution ▲
Ecology and Evolution
In this introduction to ecology and evolutionary biology we will cover the topics of interspecific interactions (competition, predation, mutualism), demography and life-history patterns, succession and disturbance in natural communities, species diversity, stability and complexity, causes of evolutionary change, speciation, phylogenetic reconstruction, and population genetics. The laboratory component will examine lecture topics in detail (such as measuring the evolutionary response of bacteria, adaptations of stream invertebrates to life in moving water, invasive species and their patterns of spread). We will emphasize experimental design, data collection in the field and in the laboratory, data analysis, and writing skills. 3 hrs. lect./disc./3 hrs. lab
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013
BIOL 0145 - Cell Biology and Genetics ▲
Cell Biology and Genetics
In this introduction to modern cellular, genetic, and molecular biology we will explore life science concepts with an emphasis on their integral nature and evolutionary relationships. Topics covered will include cell membrane structure and function, metabolism, cell motility and division, genome structure and replication, the regulation of gene expression and protein production, genotype to phenotype relationship, and basic principles of inheritance. Major concepts will be illustrated using a broad range of examples from plants, animals, and microorganisms. Current topics in biology will be integrated into the course as they arise. 3 hrs. lect./1 hr. disc./3 hrs. lab
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013
Selected Publications
*Indicates a Middlebury College student
Backus, VL and JM Herbers 2009 Demogrpahy and Reproduction in the Cavity-dweling Ant Stenamma diecki (Emery) (Hymenotpera: Formicidae). The Northeastern Naturalist. 16(1):113-124.
Ward, JO, LG Reinholdt*, WM Motley*, LM Niswander*, DC Deacon*, LB Griffin*, KK Langlais, VL Backus, KJ Schimenti, MJ O’Brien, JJ Eppig, and JC Schimenti 2007 Mutation in Mouse Hei10, an E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Disrupts Meiotic Crossing Over. PLoS Genetics. 3(8):1550-1563