Biology

Biology-ES-ConBio thesis Presentations, Feb. 11 & 12:
Annie Blalock ’21, Feb. 11: Please register in advance at go/BioThesisBlalock
“Functional Trait Diversity of Aquatic Insect Communities and Stoichiometric Constraints”
Phoebe Oehmig ‘21, Feb. 12: Please register in advance at go/BioThesisOehmig

Panel discussion of the documentary film “Picture a Scientist”. The panel will feature Ananya Christman Ph.D. Asst. Prof. of CSCI, Stephanie Pritchard Gilley ‘06 M.D./Ph.D. currently a Pediatrics Fellow at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Yin Daisy Zhue ‘12 Ph.D. Co-founder of Interpretable AI and Stephanie Soriano-Cruz ‘21 President of UR-STEM. The movie is available to Middlebury students, staff and faculty through Davis library.

Senior Thesis Presentation by Colin Howe, Biology ‘20.5
“Host Competence of Two Cryptic Peromyscus Species for Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme Disease Agent, in Central Vermont”

Register in advance at: go.middlebury.edu/BioHowe. More information at: www.middlebury.edu/academics/bio 

Talk by Dr. Krista Sherman, of the Perry Institute of Marine Science. Nassau grouper are globally critically endangered and a key fishery species in The Bahamas and parts of the Caribbean, with an urgent need for better management and conservation. Nassau grouper from Exuma and Long Island appear to have genetic signatures that differ from other islands and from an active fish spawning aggregation. DNA analyses have revealed findings that provide novel information on the intraspecific population dynamics of Nassau grouper within The Bahamas. 

The Vermont Academy of Science and Engineering will host Dr. Mark Levine, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health, as its keynote speaker on Monday, October 26th at 5:00pm. Dr. Levine will speak on “The Application (and Misapplication) of Science, Epidemiologic Data, Public Health Practices, and Health Policy during the COVID-19 Pandemic” via webinar. This webinar is open to the public, although advance registration is required to attend. Go to http://go.middlebury.edu/vasetalk to register.

Four Midd seniors majoring in the biological sciences (MBBC) will give brief presentations about their summer research experiences at Midd.  Presenters are Micaela Roy, Erica Dean, Talia Ruxin, and Amy Conaway.  Lunch will be available at 12:15pm!    For details visit:  www.middlebury.edu/academics/bio

Dr. Lisa Baik is an insect neurobiologist investigating the sensory system of mosquitoes. Dr. Baik received her PhD from University of California Irvine. Her PhD thesis focused on the circadian clock, light sensing mechanisms, and behaviors in Drosophila melanogaster and mosquitoes. Dr. Baik is currently a postdoctoral scholar at Yale University in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. Current project focuses on the chemosensory system of dangerous mosquito species. 

Dr. Davis is an Assistant Professor (Interim) of the Department of Surgery and Scientific Director of the International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes (ICSBCS) at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, NY. Dr. Davis will present findings emerging from her breast cancer research, where she has identified that an African-Ancestry allele, and the recently discovered tumor expression of a gene named DARC (ACKR1) is linked to the tumor-specific immune/inflammatory response. 

PLEASE REGISTER in advance, at:

Thesis Defense for Zachary Peters.

Come hear students majoring in the biological sciences (ES, Biology, MBB) talk about their research experiences last summer. Talks by Laura Blum ‘20, Eleanor (Ellie) Broeren ‘22, Niko Carvajal ’20, and Janet Sanchez ‘20. We’ll provide a pizza lunch starting at 12:20pm. MBH 220 at 12:30pm.