BIO 391 - Senior Projects homepage

Homepage for BIO 391 - Senior Projects at Wilkes University

Course instructor: Dr. Kenneth M. Klemow

Announcements (last updated 7:00 P.M., 1 September 2009):

I've started to fill in the grid at the bottom of the page regarding projects and students. I will continue to fill in the projects as I receive information from the faculty.

Class information (click for course syllabus).

Primary Course Objective:

To serve as the first part of a capstone sequence for Senior Biology majors that will allow them to conduct an open-ended problem-based project, so as to integrate information gained during their careers at Wilkes.

Detailed Objectives:

By virtue of completing this course, students will:

Work as part of a team under the direction of a faculty mentor to identify and address a study problem.
Identify and master existing literature that bears upon the problem.
Identify appropriate methodologies to address the problem.
Prepare a written research proposal that summarizes and properly references the appropriate literature, identifies gaps in our knowledge, states questions, poses an hypothesis, and outlines methodologies.
Begin to use the identified methods to collect data or prepare the deliverable
Where appropriate, apply relevant statistical tests to begin to analyze the data.
Provide periodic oral progress reports.

Ultimate Course Objective:

To prepare students for BIO 392 in which they will complete the work initiated in BIO 391 and present their findings. Project conclusions will be in the form of a poster presented at Biology Research Night in April 2009, as well as a manuscript in the form of a journal article that will be completed during the final week of the semester. Students may also present their findings at local, regional, national, or international conferences.

Current Course Calendar:

Week	Topic
31 Aug.	Course introduction
7 Sept.	NO CLASS
14 Sept.	Forming the teams, Q&A session
21 Sept.	Refresher on how to search and read scientific literature
28 Sept.	Preparing for life after Wilkes
5 Oct.	Student presentations: team goals
12 Oct.	How to prepare a proposal
19 Oct.	Proposal workshop
26 Oct.	TBA
2 Nov.	Student presentations: progress report
9 Nov.	Student presentations: progress report
16, 23, 30 Nov.	TBA
7 Dec.	Student presentations: final semester report
14 Dec.	Student presentations: final semester report

Projects (to change as new information is added)

Title (click for description (.doc or .pdf format))	Mentor(s)	Students
Studying antisense copies of rice genes	Terzaghi	N. Kocher
Studying the function of non-coding RNAs	Terzaghi	J. Akakpo
Regulation of settlement and metamorphosis of Capitella larva by protein nitrosylation	Biggers	L. Witt, B. Sines
Impact of thrombospondin expression on colonization of the murine gastrointestinal tract by Escherichia coli.	Pidcock	N. Williams, E. Horvath, M. Hurst
Impacts of urbanization on parasites in song sparrows	Stratford	K. White, A. Bartlow
Assessing woody plant colonization on reclaimed minelands in the Wyoming Valley	Klemow, Rompre'	E. Janosov, C. Rizzardi, R. Mercatili
Egf receptor signaling and genetics in Drosophila development	Kadlec	J. Buzalewski, J. Crawford
TBA	Steele	A. Otis
Ecological and conservation attributes of scrub oak barrens	Stratford, Steele, Klemow, Rompre', Fetcher	J. Oziemina, Paul Witt

This page posted and maintained by Kenneth M. Klemow, Ph.D., Biology Program, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766. Phone: (570) 408-4758, FAX: (570) 408-7862, email: kklemow@wilkes.edu.