Enhance Your Education

Distinctive Programs in Biology

Whether you want to conduct independent research on campus, at Green Oaks Field Station a few miles down the road, or at a research facility halfway around the world, there are ample opportunities to enhance your studies in biology through internships, independent research, and off-campus study. These programs are integral to a Knox education, teaching you how to apply your skills in "real world" situations.

Student Research Opportunities
Funding For Research
Honors
Off-campus Study
Internships
Presentations
Additional Student Opportunities

Student Research Opportunities
In biology, your professors' programs are expressly designed to offer you the chance to learn by working as a research assistant, both during the academic year and the summer. Students have input on the projects and help shape the research—it's a collaboration between student and professor. Biology faculty members encourage student-initiated and student-driven research.

Examples of some recent student research projects include:

• "An Experimental Investigation of the Search Image Phenomenon in Foraging Starlings," Sara Fink, independent study/senior research funded by Richter program.
• "Interactions Between Host and Commensal Bacteria," Jason Casicio, McNair research.
• "Development of biotinylated rubisco activase probe," Kelly Van Winkle, independent study/senior research funded by Richter program.
• "Isolation of antibodies that bind to the protein moesin," Erin Jesuit, Ford Fellowship independent/senior research.
• "Minimizing undesired traits in dogs (canis familiarus) at shelters via training," Roberto Castillo, McNair research.
• "The effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and ozone on soybeans," Kelly Ramig, Rockefeller Brothers Foundation Fellowship.
• "Moesin and intersectin in connection to Downs Syndrome," Jacqueline Corry, independent study/senior research funded by Richter program.

Funding for Research
Knox is a leader in promoting top-notch undergraduate research. In fact, last year Knox students were awarded well over $200,000 in grants for undergraduate research and creative projects.

As you study biology at Knox, one of the best preparations for graduate school and a career in science will be the act of writing grant proposals or budget proposals to request research funding—something "real" scientists and scholars must be prepared to do.

Knox has a number of its own institutional funding sources supporting undergraduate research:

• Ford Foundation Research Fellowships are awarded to Knox College juniors from all academic disciplines interested in pursuing careers in teaching and research.
• Ronald E. McNair Fellowships encourage students from under-represented groups to prepare for academic careers. McNair Fellows receive funding for substantive summer research projects.
• The Richter Memorial Scholarship Program offers support to students conducting independent studies or Honors research in any discipline. More than 10 percent of Knox's students receive support for independent research from this fund.

Other programs that provide support for independent study in biology include the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, Hughes Research Fellowships, and Pew Research Fellowships for research in the natural sciences.

Honors
Outstanding students may elect to undertake College Honors in their senior year, carrying out an advanced research project presented and defended to a faculty committee that includes a distinguished outside examiner. Examples of recent Honors projects include:

• "A Longitudinal Investigation of the Forces Impacting the Articular Cartilage in the Knees of NCAA Division III Football Players During One Season," Sarah Mariel West, '09.
• "Telomerase Upregulation During Tissue Regeneration in Dugesia tigrina," Megan McNeil Brady, '09.
• "The Nuclear Localization of Both Isoforms of Intersectin During Xenopus laevis Development," Jamie Natsue Hadac, '09.
• "Ecological Census of Coral Reef Habitats in the Vicinity of Tobacco Caye, Belize C.A." Clint Steven Moore, '09.
• "The Effect of Ozone on the Morphology of Soybean (Glycine max) Leaves," Gifty Kusi '07.
• "Functional Genetic Analysis of the Xenopus laevix Intersectin Long Isoform," Andrew Edward Prendergast, '07.

Off-campus Study
Studying off-campus gives you the opportunity to experience different ecosystems, be part of a large research community, and expand your horizons. Knox offers several off-campus programs of particular interest to biology students:

• The Argonne Science Semester and the Oak Ridge Science Semester both give students the opportunity to work in a distinguished national research laboratory as junior members of a major research team.
• The Tropical Field Research Program in Costa Rica, available through the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, provides highly distinct and valuable settings for intensive biological study.
• Knox's interdisciplinary Green Oaks Term brings students and faculty from a variety of disciplines together for a 10-week interdisciplinary residential experience.

Biology students have also recently embarked on off-campus study programs in Tanzania, Denmark, Australia and Scotland.

Internships
Few experiences can prepare you better for life after Knox than conducting an internship. As a Knox biology student, you can conduct an internship for course credit either during the academic year or the summer, working closely with a faculty supervisor while engaging in fieldwork, and completing an academic paper.

Knox has placed student interns at numerous research facilities and other agencies, including The Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum in Chicago, The Galesburg Clinic Association, Denver Botanical Gardens, United States Department of Agriculture's Northern Regional Research Laboratory, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Knox County Humane Society, Illinois Department of Agriculture's Animal Disease Laboratory, and Knox Veterinary Clinic. Recent internships by biology students include:

• Technician Intern, Clarke Mosquito Control, Roselle, Illinois. Katherine Chi '07, biology and English major.
• Summer Medical Mission trip, Cameroon, Africa. Jennifer Presley'07, biology major.
• Employee, Salmon Boat, Bristol Bay, Alaska. Wes Roodhouse '07, biology major.
• Computer Intern, Downers Grove Grade School District 58, Downers Grove, Illinois. Laura Wentink, '07, educational studies and biology major.
• Research Intern, Department of Biology, Greenville College, Greenville, Illinois. Akosua Adu-Boahene '06, biology major.
• Naturalist Intern, Wildlife Prairie State Park, Hanna City, Illinois. Ryan Arch '06, environmental studies and biology major.
• Intern, World Book Publishing, Chicago, Illinois. Julie Mascenic '06, biology and independent major.
• Recycling Educator, Solid Waste Solutions, Evanston, Illinois. Julie Mascenic '06, biology and independent major.
• Internship with Dr. Mark Davis, Galesburg, Illinois. Daniel Bruce '05, biology major.
• Internship with Dr. Joseph Maslak, Galesburg, Illinois. Daniel Bruce '05, biology major.
• Americorp Coworker, Camphill Village, Copake, New York. Lucy Havlovic '05, biology major.
• Conservation Intern, Student Conservation Association. Lindsey Roland '03, biology major.
• Idaho National Environmental & Engineering Laboratory, Dept. of Energy U, Idaho Falls. Leanne McFarland '02, biology and biochemistry major.
• Illinois State Animal Disease Lab, Galesburg, Illinois. Amanda Fluegel '02, biology and biochemistry major.
• Environmental Quality Internship, Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, Illinois. Sam Mathis '01, biology major.
• Laboratory Assistant Intern, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Samvit Tandan '01, biology major.

Pre-Med students shadow local and doctors and health practitioners in Galesburg or in their home towns. Examples of recent pre-med internships include:

• Galesburg Cottage Hospital. Kate Xiao '03, and Marcia Robinson '01
• Dr. Kandy Sayrs-Denistry, Galesburg. Janelle Curtis '01
• Kehoe Eye Care, Galesburg. Nathan Crouch '01
• Mary Benson, Physician's Assistant, Galesburg. Stephanie Metevelis '03
• Akhtar Eye Clinic, Karachi, Pakistan. Aasma Khan '05
• DAP & World Health Organization Collaborating Center, Karachi, Pakistan. Aasma Khan '05
• McLaughlin Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Great Falls, Montana. Leanne McFarland '02

Presentations
Every year, a significant number of Knox biology students present their research at conferences or meetings of professional societies such as Illinois State Academy of Science, Pew Midstates Science Consortium, American Association for Advancement of Science, Animal Behavior Society, and Society for Developmental Biology. Examples of recent presentations include:

• "Conditioning for adoptable behaviors in shelter dogs," 94th Annual Meeting of the Illinois State Academy of Science. Kimberly Martinez, '03.
• "Investigating the role of Rho protein in d-src mRNA injected Xenopus laevis oocytes," Alisa Pantanakasame '03, and "The expression of intersectin m-RNA and protein in the oocytes of Xenopus laevis," Elizabeth Mandel '02, 61st Annual Meeting of the Society for Developmental Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Additional Student Opportunities
Each year in the spring, the department recognizes students with departmental awards for outstanding work including the Alvah Peterson Award: awarded to junior or senior Biology majors for outstanding performance in Biology courses or research; the David "Burney" Dunn Award for Students' Field Research: provides resources needed by students who are conducting field work in biology, ecology, and environmental science; Inn-Siang Ooi Prize: given to a Knox student who has demonstrated skill in field biology, a commitment to conservation, and a concern about human coexistence with other species; and the P.J. Deoras Student Research Fund: provides annual research awards to support outstanding junior or senior students interested in environmental studies.