Category: Students Page 36 of 42

High School Project Lands Freshman in Top Journal

On November 13, 2013

In Animals, Biology, Engineering, Mathematics, Students

By Pranali Dalvi

Hayes Griffin is no ordinary freshman at Duke. He hasn’t even been in college for one semester and he’s already published in the top-tier science journal Evolution. During his junior year in high school, Griffin worked alongside his classmate Dalton Chaffee and used mathematical models to forecast what happens when sexual imprinting is introduced. Sexual imprinting is when individuals prefer mates with traits similar to those of their mother, father, or another adult member of their population.

While most research in this area examines how imprinting changes the population, Griffin focused on how imprinting itself evolves.

“Our model suggests that paternal imprinting is superior to other types. In other words, it is more advantageous for animals to mate with individuals similar to their fathers,” Griffin explained. On the same note, other types of imprinting, including maternal and oblique – the latter one meaning imprinting on a non-parental adult – are more favorable than random mating.

Even though sexual imprinting is common in nature, it is not well understood and there is much variation from one species to the next. What is known is that females are choosier mating partners than males are. If females require a complex mechanism to select mates, then sexual imprinting will not evolve. However, if imprinting does evolve, a female is more likely to choose a mate similar to her father.

Griffin admits that doing research was very strenuous and time consuming. He spent about 25 hours a week on the project under the guidance of R. Tucker Gilman, a post-doc working with the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) at the University of Tennessee.

“Reading the background information was also extremely difficult, because neither of us had any experience with scientific papers or evolutionary theory,” Griffin said.

Hayes Griffin (left) with Dalton Chaffee (right) at the Siemens Competition for Math, Science, and Technology.

His hard work did not go unnoticed though. Griffin and Chaffee were declared Regional Finalists in the Siemens Competition for Math, Science, and Technology. They also were invited to present their findings at the annual conference of the Society for Mathematical Biology.

“Overall, it was a good experience that pushed my limits, and I would definitely do it again,” said Griffin.

Griffin hopes his model will further the scientific community’s understanding of imprinting and selection in general.

For now, though, Griffin is excited about his time at Duke and is considering a major in mechanical engineering.

Teaching Young Scientists the Elements of Design

By Erin Weeks

On November 4, 2013

In Science Communication & Education, Students, Visualization

by Erin Weeks

Ten visiting undergraduate researchers spent the summer sharpening their science communication skills at Duke. They came from around the country to chemistry and engineering labs to participate in a National Science Foundation program called Chemistry and Applications of Smart Molecules and Materials and to learn the principles of ‘molecule-to-material’ research.

While the students spent most of their days in the lab, they were also tasked with creating a visual representation to explain some aspect of their summer research—once at the beginning of the summer, and once again at the end, after feedback and instruction on the basics of good visual design. The process was designed to help the students understand their research, their roles as scientists, and the importance of science communication.

“You want to catch peoples’ eye, but you want to be fairly simple and easy to interpret,” said chemistry professor and department chair Stephen Craig. Craig and project co-leader, associate chemistry professor Kathy Franz, discussed their project at a visualization seminar series last week (Nov 1).

As for the visual don’ts, Craig advised the students to skip abstract art and avoid anything flashy or over the top. In addition to the images, the students practiced explaining their research in strictly timed three-minute talks.

“We wanted them to give that elevator pitch, that three-minute pitch,” said Franz, so that the students would be able to “communicate to their peers what their project for the summer was going to be.”

Duke professor Jane Richardson first visualized protein as ribbon-like (Courtesy Wikimedia)

When Franz was a student, she was never trained how to make her research graphics clear and intelligible. But as a chemist, she knew the significance of effective visuals. Take, for example, the structure of proteins, which were first visualized as ribbon-like in 1980 by Duke biochemist Jane Richardson. These days, Franz said, she and generations of biology students only picture protein as a ribbon.

“The way people represent scientific results changes the way we imagine it,” Franz said.

Peter Singer Explains "Effective Altruism"

By Clara Colombatto

On October 30, 2013

In Environment/Sustainability, Field Research, Global Health, Lecture, Students

By Clara Colombatto

In a recent conversation over Skype, renowned ethicist Peter Singer encouraged a group of Duke students to “think from the point of view of the universe” and use their education to alleviate suffering in low-income countries.

Singer, the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, has published numerous books on ethics and animal rights and spoke to Duke students about effective altruism on October 22.

Peter Singer talks to Duke Students on a Skype conference.

Peter Singer talks to Duke students via Skype.

Altruism is not about ethical pureness and spiritual nobility, Singer said; rather, he believes individuals should focus on the ultimate result of their actions. This is effective altruism–helping others while making sure one’s efforts are well directed and the best use of time and resources.

As an example, Singer pointed out that $40,000 could train one guide dog for a blind individual, but that same amount could prevent blindness for 100 people in a low-income country.

Research shows that not all charities are created equally–some are a hundred or even a thousand times more effective than others. Give Well is an agency that assesses the impact of charities, and of hundreds companies screened, the agency recommends only three: Against Malaria Foundation (AMF), which provides insecticide-treated nets in sub-Saharan Africa; GiveDirectly, which distributes cash to extremely poor individuals in Kenya; and Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI), which assists African governments with treatment of neglected tropical diseases.

THINK promotes effective altruism organizing discussion and support meetups around the world

THINK advocates for effective altruism.

The Skype conversation was organized by the Duke chapter of The High Impact Network (THINK), a group that promotes effective altriusm. THINK organizes meet-up groups at universities and cities around the world to help members increase their positive impact in the world and create networks for support and collaboration.

The Duke chapter was founded by juniors Andrea Tan, Sheetal Hegde and Lainey Williams. The group unites students from different backgrounds–from public policy to neuroscience for discussion and service, including a partnership with Durham Urban Ministries to support student outreach and service.

Duke's First Annual Brain Games

By Sonal Gagrani

On October 14, 2013

In Behavior/Psychology, Science Communication & Education, Students

by Sonal Gagrani

Question: How many miles of myelin-covered nerve fibers exist in the brain of the average 20 year old?

In an effort to bring together students and faculty to celebrate and spread the awareness of neuroscience, the Neuroscience Majors Union, Synapse, and the neuroscience education team put together its first annual Brain Games. Students who had signed up beforehand to compete formed four teams with one faculty mentor per team to collaborate on various neuroscience related games.

Faculty mentors included Dr. Jenni Groh, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dr. Nina Sherwood, Assistant Research Professor in Biology, Dr. Leonard White, Associate Professor in the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, and Dr. Tobias Egner, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience.

The games consisted of 6 different sections of play. The first was the Left Brain game in which a neuroscience related word or phrase was shown to one member of a team and he or she had to use describe that word with other words so that the team could guess it.

In the second game, called Timing is Everything, teams had to chronologically arrange a given series of events such as discoveries about neurotransmitters and drugs or the order of founding of certain neuroscience/psychology programs at Duke.

photo by Sonal Gagrani

The third game was called the Match game in which students, without their faculty mentors, had to match facts to the correct faculty to whom they belonged. Facts ranged from baby pictures of faculty to which pets they had to which instruments they played. Dr. Groh plays the banjo, Dr. Marty Woldorff juggles flaming torches and Dr. Craig Roberts has written a paper on the management of lower extremity lawn mower injuries in children. So many things you never knew about professors at Duke!

After this came the Right Brain game, similar to the Left Brain game but instead of using words, teams drew pictures of the given neuroscience phrases. The fifth game was the Numerical Cognition Game, which was essentially Price is Right: Neuroscience Version. Given a prompt, the teams had to guess the value of what was shown without going over the true value, like the myelin question. Answer: 100,000 miles!

The end of the Brain Games was a bonus round that allowed teams to bet any amount of points that they wanted. They viewed two images quickly switching back and forth that had a very slight difference between them and had to identify what that change was. This presents a phenomenon known as change blindness where it is very difficult to detect quick or subtle changes between two photos or environments. Surprisingly, all the teams were able to identify the change and all finished with comparable scores.

Shaina Gong, a sophomore neuroscience major and visual arts minor from the winning team said about the experience, “I signed up for this without knowing what I was really going to do. I was really nervous actually, like, what if I didn’t know enough neuro for this? But it was fine and really fun! Anyone interested in neuroscience should definitely try it out!”

Biology Junior Plays Tag with Hawaiian Seals

By Karl Bates

On August 14, 2013

In Animals, Biology, Environment/Sustainability, Field Research, Guest Post, Students

Guest Post By Emma Weitzner, T’15

I came to the Duke Marine Lab as a student during the spring semester of 2013, where I was first introduced to the Hawaiian monk seal in an independent study project working with Kenady Wilson, a PhD candidate in Dr. Andy Read’s lab.

The project involved analysis of Crittercam video footage. My job in the spring was to go through all of the Crittercam footage that had been obtained over the past year, which comprised six seals inhabiting three of the Main Hawaiian Islands, and score the video data using a set rubric. The aim of the analysis was to observe how many fish the seals were passing versus capturing.

A monk seal newly fitted with a crittercam heads back into the surf.

Hawaiian monk seals are critically endangered, but myths held by local Hawaiians are inhibiting conservation and recovery efforts. My results indicated that seals are eating a mere fraction of the prey items that they come into contact with, which is important information that can be used to quell local Hawaiians’ fears that these animals are depleting fish resources at and unsustainable rate.

This summer I was fortunate enough to be able to accompany my advisor into the field and travel to Hawaii. We worked with a team of NOAA scientists, veterinarians, and National Geographic photographers to deploy Crittercams onto the backs of monk seals on the islands of Molokai and Kauai.

The field work was intense, but it was an outstanding introduction into the kind of work I want to continue doing. On Molokai we would walk over 8 miles a day checking beaches for seals that were resting, and if we found a good candidate, we would restrain the seal, lightly sedate it, and then collect a variety of biomedical samples followed by the attachment of the Crittercam and other tags using a 10-minute epoxy. We tagged two seals on Molokai over the three days.

The crittercam on this seal’s back sees everything the animal sees as it swims and hunts.

In Kauai, the field work involved driving to different beaches to check for seals, and relying on a vast network of volunteers to inform us of any seal sightings. On our first day we were able to deploy a camera. The vet tech was unable to make it to this deployment, so I got to step in and help the vet prep the seal for sedation, assist in the collection of samples, and help restrain the seal during the attachment of the camera. It was a little nerve-wracking but also really exciting!

On our last night in Kauai, we went to a community meeting where the head of the NOAA monk seal research program gave a presentation about monk seals in an attempt to dispel some of the myths held by the locals, including, “seals aren’t native to the Main Hawaiian Islands,” “the seals eat their weight in fish every day,” and “the government is transporting seals here.” The information given at the presentation seemed to enlighten most of the people there, so more deployments of Crittercams and increased dissemination of the information they provide will hopefully help local community members and other stakeholders become aware of the actual impact of monk seals on the Hawaiian ecosystem, and lead to more widespread and successful conservation and recovery efforts.

It was a truly incredible two weeks in which I got to handle three critically endangered animals, meet a team of fascinating professionals in my dream career, and see the beautiful sights of Hawaii! I will continue working with Kenady throughout my next two years at Duke, and I look forward to completing my senior thesis on monk seals and the analysis of their future Crittercam footage!

Grad Students Share Winning Ideas

By Karl Bates

On June 13, 2013

In Science Communication & Education, Students

By Karl Leif Bates

Clare Fieseler wants to teach grad students how to make short films explaining their science.

Duke students apparently really care about improving graduate education in the STEM fields (science, technology engineering and math). Two Duke projects have been named winners in a National Science Foundation contest to develop ideas to do just that.

The Innovation in Graduate Education Challenge, invited graduate students to submit ideas with the potential to improve graduate education and professional development. Ideas could be oriented to students, faculty, departments, institutions, professional societies, and/or federal agencies.

Second place and a $2,000 prize went to “The Scientists with Stories Project,” founded by Clare Fieseler, a 2010 masters graduate from Duke who is now a PhD student in Ecology at Chapel Hill. Grad students on both campuses designed and conducted a 6-day workshop on storytelling and video skills in 2010 which resulted in short films about their science — several of which have won awards at festivals. The model of giving grad students the tools to communicate with the general public is one Fieseler thinks can be spread to other campuses.

David McDonald would like to see professional development modules added to the grad school experience.

Third place and a $1,500 prize went to Duke Genetics & Genomics PhD student David McDonald for his proposed professional development curriculum that includes mentors and modular classes to help students learn about grant writing, mentoring, lab budgets and service and outreach while they’re pursuing their scientific training. He calls it “Creating a Cooperative Environment for Graduate Studies and Career Preparation.”

More than 500 proposals were submitted to the NSF and eight prizes were awarded. Did we mention that two of them were from Duke?

Learn more about these students and their projects.

Duke Students Travel to D.C. to Present Findings to FDA

By sa160@duke.edu

On May 6, 2013

In Genetics/Genomics, Science Communication & Education, Students

By Nonie Arora

Duke students outside the FDA. Evelyna Kliassov, Ryan Gimple, Jenae Logan, Hiruni Amarasekara, Biqi Zhang, Selina Chen and Akash Shah. Credit: Huntington Willard

Last month, Duke seniors presented findings on noninvasive prenatal testing at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Washington D.C.

The students explained to government officials that noninvasive prenatal testing requires only a blood sample from a pregnant woman. Current tests, such as amniocentesis, involve extracting cells from the placenta or fluid surrounding the fetus.

Instead, with the new technology labs genetically sequence fetal, cell-free DNA from in the mother’s blood to test for certain disorders. The method can detect when a fetus does not have the normal number of chromosomes. Specifically, it can detect abnormalities in chromosomes 13, 18 and 21, which can lead to disorders such as Down’s Syndrome.

The technology can also identify some fetal, sex-linked disorders and certain single-gene mutations. It is reliable after seven weeks of pregnancy, the students reported.

The presentation was a final project of the Genome Sciences & Policy capstone course, which leads to students earning a certificate in the field.

The students said Duke geneticist Hunt Willard and Dr. Robert Cook-Deegan, the professors for the course, chose noninvasive prenatal testing as the capstone topic because it is a new and rapidly growing field.

“Our professors wanted us to have a feel for what it’s like to research technology while it’s happening, while decisions are being made about whether it’s accurate and reliable,” said Biqi Zhang, one of the students in the class.

To investigate the scientific basis for noninvasive prenatal testing, its challenges, the active stakeholders and associated ethical considerations, these students interviewed individuals involved with different aspects of the technology.

“We had to go out and connect with many well-established professionals in related fields. It was exciting to develop skills that you normally don’t inside the classroom,” said Selina Chen, another student in the course.

“We had the opportunity to contact researchers and CEOs of companies to gain a comprehensive understanding of the technology,” Zhang added.

Evelyna Kliassov presenting on cost-effectiveness of noninvasive prenatal testing to the FDA. Credit: Huntington Willard.

The students said that the technology can and will fundamentally alter prenatal medicine. Throughout the semester, they have gained a nuanced understanding of its complexities and the viewpoints of many different stakeholders involved, from technology startup CEOs to primary care physicians.

“It was most exciting being able to go into the real world and see how this technology is being clinically implemented,” said capstone student Ryan Gimple.

“Traveling to the FDA was definitely nerve-wracking, for me at least,” capstone student Hiruni Amarasekara said. “We wanted to present a comprehensive report of the technology so that they could use this information in their decision making process on whether to recommend the test in the future. It was hard to tell what the FDA was thinking as we were presenting our information.”

The FDA has not yet stated a position on use of noninvasive prenatal testing.

Visible Thinking 2013!

By Pranali Dalvi

On April 24, 2013

In Biology, Environment/Sustainability, Faculty, Field Research, Neuroscience, Students

By Pranali Dalvi

Students explain their research to peers and faculty at Visible Thinking 2013 in the French Family Science Center. Photo credit: Pranali Dalvi

On April 19, Duke undergrads gathered in the French Family Science Center for Visible Thinking 2013.

The event showcases the exciting research undergraduates are doing in every discipline from the biological sciences to the humanities. For many students, it was also a celebration of several semesters and summers of hard work. Like seasoned scientists, students explained their research to their mentors, peers and prospective Dukies during the annual poster session.

Renata Dinamarco, a Trinity senior, studied the entrepreneurial preparedness of small businesses in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Renata Dinamarco, Trinity’13. Photo credit: Pranali Dalvi

People are moving to the newer, western front of the city, so the eastern portion of Pembroke Pines is being redeveloped. Many people believed business owners in the east were underprepared as compared to the west when it came to opening small businesses.

When Renata interviewed 55 small business owners, she found that there was no statistical difference between entrepreneurs in the east versus the west. But, she did find that business owners in the east were more likely to view the city government negatively. Renata’s study of the demographics of small business populations is important for making informed policy decisions.

Christine Tsai, Trinity’14. Photo credit: Pranali Dalvi

Junior Christine Tsai studied the expression of gut-specific genes three days after fertilization in zebrafish. In a healthy developing embryo, epithelial cells line the internal organs.

To explore what genes are turned on and off during the development of the cells, Tsai compared gene expression from the gut cells to gene expression of cells from the entire body. Zebrafish have clear embryos that develop quickly, making them easy to study and use as a system to study genetics.

“I plan to continue conducting undergraduate research and know that the techniques and skills I have acquired and continue to develop through my research will further my understanding of processes in cell and molecular biology,” she said.

Ben Finkel, Trinity’13. Photo credit: Pranali Dalvi

For his honors thesis in evolutionary anthropology, Ben Finkel worked in Dr. Brian Hare’s lab combining his interest in education outreach with his passion for conservation. Finkel’s project examines how portrayals of chimpanzees as either aggressive or affiliative can affect our conservation perception. Through his research, Finkel wanted to understand how media steers conservation beliefs. He found that people were less likely to promote conservation of chimanzees if they showed aggressive behaviors rather than affiliative behaviors.

For more from Visible Thinking, check out my video about senior Emily Ngan who studies the brain’s immune system cells and their role in addiction.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waqFuqbukG0?rel=0]

Students Create Multimedia Ocean Conservation Text

By Ashley Yeager

On April 16, 2013

In Animals, Biology, Climate/Global Change, Computers/Technology, Environment/Sustainability, Faculty, Science Communication & Education, Students, Visualization

By Ashley Yeager

This screenshot shows one of the opening page of of Johnston's new iBook. Image courtesy of Dave Johnston, Duke.

This screenshot shows one of the opening pages of a chapter in Johnston’s new iBook. Image courtesy of Dave Johnston, Duke.

Duke marine biologist Dave Johnston and his students are back in business on iTunes.

They’ve just released The View From Below, a free iBook for middle school students and teachers that uses multimedia and classroom exercises to discuss overfishing, marine debris, climate change, invasive species and other issues related to marine conservation.

This is Johnston’s second digital textbook. His first was Cachalot, an iPad textbook covering the latest science of marine mammals like whales, dolphins and seals. Experts contributed the text, images and open-access papers.

The View From Below, however, is a bit different.

Undergraduate students in Johnston’s Marine Conservation Service Learning class wrote the book using Apple’s iBooks authoring tool. Johnston and Tom Schultz, Director of the Marine Conservation Molecular Facility at Duke’s Marine Lab, edited it.

“There are a lot of people exploring the use of the iBooks platform for student-generated content, among other development platforms,” Johnston says. “I don’t think we’ve seen many that focus on marine science yet though, and I’m pretty sure it’s the first marine conservation textbook written by students on the iTunes store.”

Johnston says the class chose to use the iBooks software because the technology is free, easy to use and provides “great templates to get things going quickly.” The software also works well because Duke’s Marine Lab has an iPad loaner program, making the tablet the platform of choice for developing and testing the textbook.

The middle school that the service learning class works with also has access to iPads for students and instructors, so the audience was there for the iPad format, Johnston adds.

His students chose to write the book as the class project to spur learning and discussion about some of the most serious problems facing Earth’s oceans.

“As the text indicates, all life on earth is ultimately supported by the ocean, so we need to take care of it,” he says.

Not your typical spring break

By sa160@duke.edu

On April 12, 2013

In Field Research, Genetics/Genomics, Students

By Nonie Arora

Students in front of Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Credit: Bob Cook-Deegan

Seventeen Duke students had a taste of science policy over spring break. We traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with influential scientists and policy makers from a variety of different institutions, from the Genetic Alliance to the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the White House.

The trip clarified for many of us what science policy is like in action, and the winding paths that guide people to this career.

The students contributed to a trip blog, on which they discuss experiences such as seeing Bo Obama, the First Dog (!), outside the White House and “sipping the kool-aid” of genome science at the National Human Genome Research Institute.

The trip was sponsored by Focus and the Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy under the direction of professor Bob Cook-Deegan.