Student Research
Learn more about the JCU students who have conducted research in the classroom and in the field during their time on campus.
Blake Dixon '18 traveled to Colombia where he worked with Dr. James Watling and Colombian colleagues to collect data on thermal biology of amphibians and reptiles along an elevational gradient in the eastern slope of the Andes mountains. At several survey sites between 250 and 1300m, they sampled animals in rainforest and pasture, collecting data on body temperatures in situ. They transported animals to an ambient lab where to obtain additional data on thermal preferences and tolerance for high temperatures. In contrast with several previous studies, strong evidence was found that thermal traits vary a great deal within species, even among samples that are very close geographically.
Emily Ellis '19 performed research in Dr. Chrystal Bruce’s lab to understand how potential medications work to prevent certain types of cancer. Emily created models of a protein that is implicated in the development of cancer. She then studied the importance of molecular shape in determining the binding energy between potential therapeutic medications and the proteins they target.
Katie Puhalla ’18 worked in the Vanderzalm lab as a Colleran-Weaver SURF student. Her summer work was a continuation of an earlier project investigating neural development in the genetic model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, more commonly known as the fruit fly. Her project focused on identifying members of a signaling pathway involved in restricting growth of the neuromuscular junction, where nerves and muscles meet. The molecules involved in the development of this structure are akin to the molecules involved in the development of connections in the human central nervous system, so what she learns in the fruit fly will be applicable to other organisms as well.
Rebecca Reicholf '19 worked in the Drenovsky lab on two projects: inundation responses in the aquatic invasive weeds, Ludwigia hexapetala and Ludwigia peploides and resource responses in California chaparral shrubs. For the first project, Becca traveled to the Exotic Invasive Weed lab at the University of California, Davis, where the experiment took place. While there, she helped to make physiological measurements and harvest plants.
