Tag: Halmos College of Arts and Sciences

Researchers Continue Algal Bloom Study on Lake Okeechobee

From left, Robert Smith, Viviana Mazzei, and Emily Karwack with the United States Geological Survey, and Lauren Krausfeldt and Jose Lopez with Nova Southeastern University.

Since 2019, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences (HCAS) faculty member Jose Lopez, Ph.D., has been co-leading an Army Corps of Engineers-funded project with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to better understand the blue green (cyanobacterial) algae dynamics. These algae are at the heart of many of these harmful algal blooms (HABs) and microbial communities in the Lake Okeechobee watershed. After a couple of years of relative calm with no massive harmful algal blooms, the blue green algal communities have now made their presence known again in a big way.

Lopez, along with faculty and students from Florida Gulf Coast University, USGS, and the South Florida Water Management District, has continued the project using artificial mesocosms. These controlled outdoor experiments at the Franklin Lock test the effects of adding nitrate, ammonium, urea or phosphorus supplements to an environment. In addition to this work, the group conducts monthly environmental water sampling across Lake Okeechobee.

“The artificial mesocosm experiments are based on taking Caloosahatchee River water and placing it into large replicate cylinders, which essentially creates a closed system for systematic study,” Lopez said. This also allows the team to add various nutrient supplements to the natural river water communities and monitor the effects physiologically and allows the group to see which genes are activated without degrading the surrounding habitats.

Lopez’s laboratory at the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center has been applying deep “-omics” techniques (metagenomics/metatranscriptomics approaches with deep DNA sequencing) to better understand the microbial community dynamics and drivers that could lead to HABs. HCAS assistant researcher Lauren Krausfeldt, Ph.D., has conducted most of the metagenomic analyses for the project. The large cache of genomic data will likely provide important baselines and references, adding richer context for future comparisons and possible HAB predictions.

This research is funded in part by the Army Corps of Engineers to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and NSU via the Caribbean Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit.

 

NSU Research Focuses on Elusive, Vulnerable Big Cat: The Leopard

Credit: Nikolay-Zinoviev

The majestic leopard – the only great cat species (Genus Panthera) to roam about both Africa and Asia today – is classified as highly vulnerable by the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). An international team involving scientists from Nova Southeastern University (NSU), Nottingham Trent University, the University of Cambridge, University of Leicester in U.K. and the University of Potsdam in Germany hope to improve that status.

Because of its elusive nature, and its adaptation to multiple landscapes (rain forest, savannah, deserts and mountain sides) an accurate estimation of their global census has not been possible.

Using the latest technologies of population ecology and molecular evolution, researchers sampled the genome DNA sequence of 23 individual leopards from eight geographically separated subspecies locales. Ancient DNA sequences for 18 archival specimens along with five living leopards were combined to refine our understanding of the leopard’s movements, population reductions, divergence and isolation, and over the past half million years.

The new study was published in Current Biology in May.

 “This study changes everything about genetic contributions to conservation management of the world’s leopards, particularly the highly threatened Amur leopard,” said Stephen J. O’Brien, Ph.D., a professor and research scientist in NSU’s Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, who is a collaborating author and also led the genetic analyses the Florida panther restoration two decades ago.

O’Brien, is also the Chief Scientific Officer at the Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics, St. Petersburg State University, Russia, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

See full story.

Students Win Awards at Microbiology Conference

In March 2021, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences biology faculty member Julie Torruellas Garcia, Ph.D. co-organized the 2021 Florida and Southeastern Branches of the American Society for Microbiology Joint Virtual Meeting. This meeting was well attended by microbiology researchers from across the southeastern region of the United States.  Garcia and fellow biology faculty member Robert Smith, Ph.D. attended the virtual conference to support their research students who gave presentations.

Garcia mentored Chloe Barreto-Massad, a ninth grade student at the American Heritage School, in her research project entitled, “Using antiSMASH to Compare Antimicrobial Genes of Commensal E. coli (Normal Flora) to Pathogenic E. coli” who was awarded second place for Outstanding Undergraduate Oral Presentation. Garcia also mentored NSU undergraduate biology major, Sukriti Prashar, who was awarded third place for Outstanding Undergraduate Oral Presentation for her presentation entitled, “Characterizing the mechanism of inhibition displayed by imidocarb dipropionate on Yersinia pestis.”

Smith mentored graduate students Laura Garcia-Dieguez who gave an oral presentation entitled, “Periodic spatial disturbance of biofilms modulates expression of quorum sensing virulence genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa” and Ivana Barraza who gave an oral presentation entitled, “Increasing the frequency of periodic spatial disturbance decreases surface attachment protein expression in Staphylococcus aureus.” Smith also mentored undergraduate students Camryn Pajon, Taniya Mariah and Brandon Toscan in their research poster presentation entitled, “Periodically disturbing the spatial structure of a microbial community composed of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus affects its composition” and undergraduate students Estefania Marin Meneses and Gabriela Diaz Tang who won second place for their poster presentation entitled, “Growth efficiency as a determinant of the inoculum effect.”

This year’s meeting included a Microbiology Art Contest with the theme “Microbes Shape our World”.  NSU graduate student in the Masters in Biological Sciences program, Laura Garcia-Dieguez, won First Runner Up for her artwork entitled, “Our World.”

Faculty Members Hold Discussion on Healthcare Management

Ben Mulvey, Ph.D.

Mark Jaffe, M.D.

With the COVID-19 pandemic showcasing disparities in our health care delivery system, a timely discussion titled “Who Should Manage Healthcare? A Conversation with
a Philosopher, a Clinician, and You” was presented on May 5, 2021 via Zoom to the members of the Lifelong Learning Institute by two Halmos College of Arts and Sciences Faculty.

Ben Mulvey, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Humanities and Politics who has been a member of the NSU faculty since 1988, and Mark Jaffe, M.D. associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, who has been a member of the NSU faculty since 2004, presented their respective viewpoints and members of the audience weighed in with their own perspectives as the pair tackled the cost, quality and access of health care in the U.S. today.

NSU’s Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI) was founded in 1977 and serves lifelong learning passions of retired adults. The LLI, a center within the College of Osteopathic Medicine, is located on NSU’s Fort Lauderdale East Campus. older-adult learning.

NSF Grant Funds Dental Research Project

Project CHOMPER principal investigators Cecil Lewis (top left) and Tanvi Honap (top right), with co-investigators (below from left) Cara Monroe, Marc Levine, Anne Stone, Brenda Baker, Andrew Ozga, and Keith Prufer.

Andrew Ozga, Ph.D., a Halmos College of Arts and Sciences faculty member, and project leading University of Oklahoma researchers Drs. Cecil Lewis and Tanvi Honap were awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant or their project “CHOMPER: Calculus and Hominid Oral Metagenomes for Pathogen Evolution Research.”

Oral diseases, such as dental caries and periodontitis, affect nearly 3.5 billion people worldwide, and are often referred to as the “silent epidemic.” These diseases are caused by bacteria found in the normal oral cavity and can cause disease in an opportunistic manner. The core aims of the CHOMPER project are to study how the genomes of these oral disease-causing bacteria differ depending on host species, geographic location, and dietary lifestyle, as well as how these genomes have evolved over time.

The CHOMPER team has collected dental calculus (calcified dental plaque) samples from nonhuman primates, such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, housed in museums in the U.S., and from archaeological human remains from archaeological sites in the Americas and Africa. These ancient human populations span a period of nearly 10,000 years and encompass the transition of humans from a forager to agricultural lifestyle. Using cutting-edge ancient DNA techniques, the team will reconstruct the genomes of oral pathogens from the dental calculus samples to answer questions regarding strain diversity, biogeography, genome structure, and the presence of genes associated with virulence and antibiotic resistance.

The CHOMPER team also includes researchers Drs. Cara Monroe and Marc Levine (University of Oklahoma), Drs. Anne Stone and Brenda Baker (Arizona State University), and Keith Prufer, Ph.D., (University of New Mexico). The CHOMPER project aims to encourage positive oral health outcomes through public presentations focused on the impact of oral disease and the role of the microbiome in oral health.

Student Wins NOAA Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship

This spring, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences marine biology major Nikolas Kuncis was awarded the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship. Given to only 120 undergraduates a year, Mr. Kuncis is conducting research with Halmos faculty member Joshua Feingold, Ph.D. This is NSU’s second winner of this prestigious award.

The Hollings Scholarship Program provides successful undergraduate applicants with awards that include academic assistance (up to $9,500 per year) for two years of full-time study and a 10-week, full-time paid ($700/week) internship at a NOAA facility during the summer. The internship between the first and second years of the award provides the scholars with hands-on, practical experience in NOAA-related science, research, technology, policy, management, and education activities. Awards also include travel funds to attend a mandatory NOAA Scholarship Program orientation and the annual Science & Education Symposium, scientific conferences where students present their research, and a housing subsidy for scholars who do not reside at home during the summer internship.

https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/hollings-scholarship

 

Pregnant Shark Migration Tracked from Space

This spring, Forbes Magazine published an article on an amazing international collaboration.

For the first time, researchers have been able to record in near real-time the migration of a pregnant scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) from the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador to Isla del Coco in Costa Rica, located over 435 miles (700 kilometers) away.

This collaboration: the Charles Darwin Foundation’s shark ecology project, the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNPD), Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Research Center, and Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University (USA) have teamed up to study the migrations and population genetics of the world’s largest scalloped hammerhead shark aggregation.

Scalloped hammerhead sharks are a globally endangered species. It inhabits different habitats throughout its life cycle, making information about their movement and use of habitat disjointed at best. Enter a special hammerhead shark: Cassiopeia. Measuring about 8.2 feet (2.5 meters) long, this pregnant female was tagged in February of this year during an expedition to Darwin Island.

Satellite tracking data revealed that after swimming north of Darwin Island for about 10 days, Cassiopeia started swimming eat until she reached Isla del Coco. The trek Cassiopeia made between the two islands means she covered around 390 nautical miles (700 km) in just under 14 days, travelling an approximate of 28 nm (50 km) per day. While previous studies have documented inter-island movements of hammerheads using passive acoustic tags, the tags weren’t able to capture the precise pathways the sharks would take. With satellite tags, scientists were able to see exactly the route she went.

HCAS biology faculty member Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D., director of the Guy Harvey Research Institute and Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Research Center stated, “The data being collected in this study will be key for establishing a flexible management system that provides this protection at precisely the right places and times.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2021/05/04/migration-of-a-pregnant-hammerhead-shark-documented-from-space/?sh=1b7e8fba5256

 

Halmos College Student Wins Prestigious National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Fellowship

Rose Leeger

This spring, Halmos College Marine Biology, Environmental Science, and Biology Major Rose Leeger was awarded the NOAA Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions Undergraduate Scholarship. This prestigious scholarship is only awarded to eight undergraduates per year.

Ms. Leeger is a member of the Farquhar Honors College and is currently conducting research with HCAS faculty member J. Matthew Hoch, Ph.D. on mosquitofish population dynamics in the everglades.

The EPP MSI Scholarship Program provides successful undergraduate applicants with awards that include academic assistance (up to $9,500 per year) for two years of full-time study and students complete an 11 week paid ($700/week) summer internship and training at NOAA in Silver Spring, MD, between May and July of the first summer. During the second summer, students complete a 10 week paid internships at NOAA facilities across the country. The internships provide the scholars with hands-on, practical experience in NOAA-related science, research, technology, policy, management, and education activities. Students are paid a stipend and receive a housing allowance during summer internships. Student scholarship recipients attend a two-week orientation at NOAA in Silver Spring, MD, and begin their first summer internship in early June. At the end of both summer internships, students present the results of their projects at the annual Education and Science Symposium, scientific conferences where students present their research, in Silver Spring, MD (travel expenses paid).

EPP/MSI Undergraduate Scholarship Program | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (noaa.gov)

 

Families Dive Deep Into Germs at Alvin Sherman Library

This winter term, HCAS biology faculty member Julie Torruellas Garcia, Ph.D. gave a presentation for the Alvin Sherman Library entitled, “Germs: Good Guys or Bad Guys” as part of their Family Deep Dives series. She taught kids and their families about different types of germs, where they can be found, how to protect themselves from bad germs and the benefits of good germs.

The Deep Dive Series allows families learn and explore together. They can get the inside story and Q&A time with experts in science, history, community services, and more. Recommended for ages 6 and up.

University School Alumni shares Danny Lewin Best Student Paper Award 2021

Danny Lewin

This year, University School alumni won the Danny Lewin Best Student Paper Award 2021 from SIGACT (Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory). SIGACT is an international organization which promotes the discovery and dissemination of high quality research in theoretical computer science.

While he was a student at the University School that took a number of mathematics courses with us as a high school student.  Afterwards he went to Cal Tech.  Zachary is now a D. Phil. student in Mathematics at Oxford working in the area of additive combinatorics where he has been quite productive.

Two of the department’s faculty were especially remembered by Zachary.  “Having the opportunity to take NSU courses while a U-School student was crucial to my development as a mathematician. Beyond elementary number theory and differential equations increasing my passion for mathematics, I was introduced to proof writing, which made the transition to undergraduate courses significantly easier. The encouragement of Professors Ricardo Carrera and Evan Haskell was especially helpful to my career.”

 

 

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