Theses Defended

Congratulations to the following graduate students who successfully defended their theses:

Alain Vaillancourt (M.Sc. - January 16, 2007) - Identification, characterization and chromosomal location of ry-specific ISSR, RAPD and SCAR markers (supervised by Dr. K. Nkongolo)

Zachary Veitch (M.Sc. - January 17, 2007) - The genomic response of MCF-7 breast cancer cells in the selection of resistance to taxane and anthracycline chemotherapeutics (supervised by Dr. A. Parissenti)

Seminars

On January 12, Dr. Ramon Carreno (Department of Zoology, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio) presented a seminar entitled "Unravelling the Nodule: The Evolution of Metastrongyloid Lungworms." Dr. Carreno was invited by Dr. G. Parker.

Dr. Tom Johnston (Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit, OMNR, Sudbury, ON) presented a talk entitled "Effects of salmonid cage aquaculture on fish communities of northern Lake Huron" on January 26. He was hosted by Dr. J. Gunn.

On February 2, Yemisi Dare, a Ph.D. Candidate at Carleton University (Ottawa), presented a seminar entitled "Host-parasite interactions: Causes and consequences of variation in patterns of transmission and response." He was invited by Dr. F. Mallory.

On February 9, Dr Chris Wilson (Trent University, Peterborough) visited the Department and presented a seminar entitled "Adaptive potential of lake trout populations to climate change." Dr. Wilson was invited by Dr. J. Gunn.

Edward Morris (Ontario Parks, MNR, Sudbury, ON) gave a presentation entitled "A Natural History Tour of Polar Bear Provincial Park," on February 16.

Other Activities

Biology Society (BioSoc)

On January 10, the first meeting of the Biology Society (BioSoc) was held. BioSoc provides an opportunity for Biology students to socialize and share experiences in a club setting. Dr. J. Shorthouse attended the meeting and explained some of the activities of past BioSocs and helped them plan their approach to a successful club for the remainder of the 2006-2007 academic period.

Ms. Courtney Andrews was elected President of BioSoc. Dr. Shorthouse invited invited her to be the undergraduate representative on Biology Council. Ms. Jan Vaneindhoven (a first year student) was elected treasurer.

There will be a 'Cubs Day' in the bowling alley on January 24. They also want to have a t-shirt contest. It was decided that a t-shirt with the LU logo (white pine in an acid pond) and the words BioSoc at the top and 2007 on the bottom would be designed.There are plans for a web site for BioSoc in the making. It will be announced in our Newsletter when it is up and running.
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On February 12th, the Biology Society’s Icebreaker first general meeting was a hit with guest speaker Dr. Diane Cameron. The turn out of approximately 40 people, made up of students and professors, enjoyed refreshments provided by BioSoc’s Executives Mackenzey Bacon, Rebecca Mulligan and Betty Yabio. At intermission, a video by Brent Ross explaining the purpose of BioSoc and upcoming events was shown and was a hit among all those who attended.

Dr. Cameron’s presentation displayed beautiful pictures of her trip to Antarctica visiting various penguin colonies. The breathtaking scenery and antics of the wildlife were appreciated by all.

Next up for BioSoc is a logo designing contest, and a skating event on Ramsey Lake on March 2.

Graduate Education Day

The Department extends its sincere thanks to the following who volunteered to advertise our M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs in the bowling alley on Monday, January 29, as part of the University's Graduate Education Day: Luc Boileau, David Lesbarreres, Lorraine Brosseau, Daniel Campbell, Jackie Litzgus, Charles Ramcharan, and Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde. Your willingness to explain the functioning and objectives of our Department was appreciated by everyone. The University wished to highlight all graduate programs in a series of displays. The idea was to encourage undergraduates at LU to consider graduate studies. There was much positive feedback along with numerous requests to organize this event again next year.

Thanks is also extended to Luc Boileau for organizing the display. The Department plans to use many of the pictures from the display in two new departmental posters that Luc is designing - one for the Undergraduate Program and one for the M.Sc. program.

Biology Alumni

Hower Blair is now working in the Kapuskasing area on pine marten. Hower did his undergraduate thesis with Dr. J-F. Robitaille.

Publications

Greaves, W.F. and J.D. Litzgus. 2007. Overwintering ecology of wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) at the species’ northern range limit. Journal of Herpetology 41: 31-39.

Theses Defended

Congratulations to the following graduate students who successfully defended their theses:

Alain Vaillancourt (M.Sc. - January 16, 2007) - Identification, characterization and chromosomal location of ry-specific ISSR, RAPD and SCAR markers (supervised by Dr. K. Nkongolo)

Zachary Veitch (M.Sc. - January 17, 2007) - The genomic response of MCF-7 breast cancer cells in the selection of resistance to taxane and anthracycline chemotherapeutics (supervised by Dr. A. Parissenti)

Seminars

On January 12, Dr. Ramon Carreno (Department of Zoology, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio) presented a seminar entitled "Unravelling the Nodule: The Evolution of Metastrongyloid Lungworms." Dr. Carreno was invited by Dr. G. Parker.

Dr. Tom Johnston (Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit, OMNR, Sudbury, ON) presented a talk entitled "Effects of salmonid cage aquaculture on fish communities of northern Lake Huron" on January 26. He was hosted by Dr. J. Gunn.

On February 2, Yemisi Dare, a Ph.D. Candidate at Carleton University (Ottawa), presented a seminar entitled "Host-parasite interactions: Causes and consequences of variation in patterns of transmission and response." He was invited by Dr. F. Mallory.

On February 9, Dr Chris Wilson (Trent University, Peterborough) visited the Department and presented a seminar entitled "Adaptive potential of lake trout populations to climate change." Dr. Wilson was invited by Dr. J. Gunn.

Edward Morris (Ontario Parks, MNR, Sudbury, ON) gave a presentation entitled "A Natural History Tour of Polar Bear Provincial Park," on February 16.

Other Activities

Biology Society (BioSoc)

On January 10, the first meeting of the Biology Society (BioSoc) was held. BioSoc provides an opportunity for Biology students to socialize and share experiences in a club setting. Dr. J. Shorthouse attended the meeting and explained some of the activities of past BioSocs and helped them plan their approach to a successful club for the remainder of the 2006-2007 academic period.

Ms. Courtney Andrews was elected President of BioSoc. Dr. Shorthouse invited invited her to be the undergraduate representative on Biology Council. Ms. Jan Vaneindhoven (a first year student) was elected treasurer.

There will be a 'Cubs Day' in the bowling alley on January 24. They also want to have a t-shirt contest. It was decided that a t-shirt with the LU logo (white pine in an acid pond) and the words BioSoc at the top and 2007 on the bottom would be designed.There are plans for a web site for BioSoc in the making. It will be announced in our Newsletter when it is up and running.
-----------------

On February 12th, the Biology Society’s Icebreaker first general meeting was a hit with guest speaker Dr. Diane Cameron. The turn out of approximately 40 people, made up of students and professors, enjoyed refreshments provided by BioSoc’s Executives Mackenzey Bacon, Rebecca Mulligan and Betty Yabio. At intermission, a video by Brent Ross explaining the purpose of BioSoc and upcoming events was shown and was a hit among all those who attended.

Dr. Cameron’s presentation displayed beautiful pictures of her trip to Antarctica visiting various penguin colonies. The breathtaking scenery and antics of the wildlife were appreciated by all.

Next up for BioSoc is a logo designing contest, and a skating event on Ramsey Lake on March 2.

Graduate Education Day

The Department extends its sincere thanks to the following who volunteered to advertise our M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs in the bowling alley on Monday, January 29, as part of the University's Graduate Education Day: Luc Boileau, David Lesbarreres, Lorraine Brosseau, Daniel Campbell, Jackie Litzgus, Charles Ramcharan, and Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde. Your willingness to explain the functioning and objectives of our Department was appreciated by everyone. The University wished to highlight all graduate programs in a series of displays. The idea was to encourage undergraduates at LU to consider graduate studies. There was much positive feedback along with numerous requests to organize this event again next year.

Thanks is also extended to Luc Boileau for organizing the display. The Department plans to use many of the pictures from the display in two new departmental posters that Luc is designing - one for the Undergraduate Program and one for the M.Sc. program.

Biology Alumni

Hower Blair is now working in the Kapuskasing area on pine marten. Hower did his undergraduate thesis with Dr. J-F. Robitaille.

Publications

Greaves, W.F. and J.D. Litzgus. 2007. Overwintering ecology of wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) at the species’ northern range limit. Journal of Herpetology 41: 31-39.