The SDS Biotechnology PAGE
Fall 2014
Welcome to the fall 2014 newsletter for the Tulsa Community College Biotechnology Program! This newsletter
also serves past participants in the NSF-ATE grant, the NIH supplemental grant, the Community College
Undergraduate Research Initiative grant, the TABERC participants and the Oklahoma INBRE outreach
participants! This newsletter is an excellent way to communicate with all who support and participate in our
programs.
Milestones this Summer and Fall Include:
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During the summer of 2014, four of our TCC Biotech students were successful in their Oklahoma
INBRE internships, and two of our TCC Biotech students were successful in their TABERC internships.
Mylissa Stover, Michael Adair, Carol Hefley and Mang Chang are on the SSTEM scholarship at OSU.
Hunter Bearden, Jeremy Sabo, Patrice Samuels and Minji Sohn are all continuing their undergraduate
studies at TU, OSU, or NSU/BA.
Ian Schalo and Kerry Quinn-Swift are working on their doctoral studies as graduate students at OU
Medical Center in the Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences in Oklahoma City.
Amie Francis and Sheri Toal are working on their doctoral studies at OSU/CHS in Tulsa.
Through her summer research, Amanda Winn won the OK INBRE Transfer Scholarship, and she has
been selected to also present her poster as the TCC representative at the Oklahoma Capitol in March of
2015.
Dusti Sloan presented at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior at Seattle, Washington in
August. Dusti continues to work through her doctoral studies and recently passed her oral examinations!
The inaugural Oklahoma Women in STEM Conference was held Saturday, May 17, on the Tulsa Tech
campus in Owasso. Diana Spencer and recent OSU graduates (and TCC Biotechnology graduates),
Kerry Quinn-Swift, Amie Francis, Sheri Toal, and Carol Saylor Hefley presented.
Through support of TCC, CCURI and TABERC, Dr. Diana Spencer presented the Lab Sprints and Lab
Sprints Plus during the summer. Professor Dusti Sloan also teaches a portion of the Lab Sprints. Class
size of the “Plus” course has grown to 12 students.
Professors Briscoe, Enis, Sloan and Spencer hosted the CCURI Lab Methods national workshop during
May 20-23, 2014. Forty participants from Connecticut to Washington State learned molecular
techniques in the TCC Biotechnology Labs.
Sticky Ends (Biotechnology Student Progress):
During the summer months Ashton Williams, Amanda Winn, and Jeremy Sabo were awarded OK INBRE
Summer Research Internships. Hunter Bearden was awarded his second INBRE internship! During the
OUHSC 2014 Summer Undergraduate Research Program presentations, the students shared the following
posters.
Jeremy Sabo—Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Dr. Robert Sheaff at TU
Characterization of DMID, an Isoflavonoid Pathway Enzyme via Interactions with VR
Amanda Winn—Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology with Dr. Gerwald Kohler at OSU/CHS
Exploring Mercury Detoxification in Probiotic Lactobacilli
Ashton Williams—Department of Med Biochemistry and Microbiology, Dr. Frank Champlin OSU/CHS
Evidence that Treated Hospital Wastewater Selects for Bacterial Resistance to Hydrophobic Molecules
Hunter Bearden—Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Dr. Kathleen Curtis OSU/CHS
Mechanisms Contributing to Weight Gain in Male Rats Fed with Diet or Regular Soda
Amanda won one of the two transfer scholarships and she has been selected to represent TCC at the Oklahoma
EPSCOR Research Day at the Capitol in March of 2013. YAY!
Jennifer Nichols, Jordan Cox, and Nancy Keithline who took the Lab Sprints Plus course and studied midge
genes through a barcoding exercise learned this week that they were awarded the 1st Place Poster in Biological
Science/Zoology section of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 2014 Fall Technical Meeting (Friday,
November 7, 2014). The poster is Barcoding the COI Mitochondrial Gene of Culicoides, Biting Midges. These
students began their studies with Dr. Valerie O’Brien, and then they did the molecular research in the
biotechnology labs. Excellent!
The spring 2014 Cell Culture students included Michael Adair, Grant Chrapla, Angela Fortner, Lina Guerrero,
Gabriel Johnson, Kimberly Knowles, and Ashton Williams. Their undergraduate research project is entitled,
Effect of Industrial Pollutants on Mammalian Cell Viability. Grant and Angela Joy were able to present this
poster at the CCURI Fall 2014 Colloquium at Gaston College on November 22, 2014 outside of Charlotte,
North Carolina.
Ashton Williams and Samantha Rice were able to present their posters at the National Poster Session in the Hart
Senate building in Washington, DC on September 29, 2014. Samantha Rice presented Analysis of
Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Genes in Oklahoma Plants and Ashton Williams presented Effect
of Industrial Pollutants on Mammalian Cell Viability. Ashton’s project was embedded in the curriculum of cell
culture, and Samantha’s project was undertaken during the summer in the Lab Sprints Plus Course which is an
applied science research course. Both of the students were able to meet with congressional staffers in both
Senate and House offices. We were particularly happy to get to meet with Representative Bridenstine and
discuss our work.
TCC biotechnology students presented at the Tulsa Research Partners Citywide Research Day on Friday,
November 7, 2014. The conference STEMulating Connections was held at The TCC Center 4 Creativity.
Students and posters included:
COI Microgenomic Identification and Phylogenetic Evaluation of Arachnida and Insecta Specimens
Eric W. Bates, Grant E. Chrapla, A. Joy Fortner, Lina M. Guerrero, Gabriel M. Johnson, J. Scotty Karvia,
Alejandro Torres, Nicol Whinery, Ashton Williams, Diana S. Spencer
Effect of Mining Byproducts on Mammalian Cell Viability: A Study of the Tar Creek Superfund Site
Eric Bates, Jeffrey Bleichner, Alex DeLeon, Nnamdi Ekest, Tyler Noble, Alejandro Torres, Nicole Whinery,
Dusti Sloan
Students in the summer Lab Sprints Plus class also produced a poster, Analysis of Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate
Dehydrogenase Genes In Oklahoma Plants by M. Stover, P. Samuels, G. Chrapla, J. Cox, S. DeLeon, M.
Fleming, G. Johnson, N. Keithline, D. Nelson, J. Nichols, T. Noble, S. Rice, A. Torres, N. Wickline, and D.S.
Spencer. This poster was presented at the TABERC 2014 Summer Internship Presentations on Friday, July 25,
2014 at the Tulsa Technology Center.
Two students were awarded TABERC summer internships and presented their slide shows during the TABERC
2014 Summer Internship Presentations.
Lina Guerrero with mentor Al Rouch, Ph.D. from OSU/CHS
Sex Differences in Blood Pressure, Renal Handling of Sodium , and Expression of Renal Sodium
Transporters in DOCA-Treated Mice
Angela Joy Fortner with mentor Randy Wymore, Ph.D. from OSU/CHS
Microbial Analysis of Morgellans Disease Tissue Samples
Grant Chrapla, Lina Guerrero, and Alejandro Torres presented posters at the Research Retreat for Students on
September 19, 2014.
We have a wonderful group of graduates this Fall 2014. Please join me in congratulating Kim Knowles, Joy
Fortner and Scotty Karvia. We wish them every happiness that life has to offer.
Making Solutions (Secondary Outreach):
On Saturday, May 17, 2014, Diana Spencer, and TCC Biotechnology graduates Carol Saylor-Hefley,
Sheri Toal, Amie Francis, and Kerry Quinn-Swift presented Funding & Realizing Your STEM Undergrad/Grad
School Future at the inaugural Oklahoma Women in STEM: Breaking the STEM Glass Ceiling Conference.
The conference provided insights into breaking the STEM glass ceiling by encouraging communication
between young women across the state, educators and business professionals to provide support to break down
barriers for women interested in STEM careers in Oklahoma.
In June, the TCC Biotechnology labs hosted two sets of Math and Science in Health Careers (MASH)
camps. The funding is through a Summer Academies grant from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher
Education. We hosted a total of 48 students in the two four hour workshops. Students Kim Knowles, Lina
Guerrero, Andrew Nelson, and Gabriel Johnson assisted the students and professors Spencer and Gray.
Translations (Community Outreach- Presentations and Workshops):
We are thrilled that we have been able to hire Mona Easterling, M.S. as the Oklahoma INBRE
Bioscience Outreach Representative. Mona’s position was clearly required by the TCC STEM Strategic Plan,
and we have worked hard to make the part time position possible. Already, Mona has made multiple
presentations and contacts to improve the bioscience opportunities for our students and the bioscience capacity
in northeastern Oklahoma.
Diana Spencer attended the Council on Undergrad Research Business Meeting in Washington DC in
June. The business meeting (June 26-28) was followed by the 16th National Conference (June 28-July 1).
Diana worked with Maria Bautista (Hawaii) and Heather Bock (New York) to present in the conference
Creating the Citizens of Tomorrow: Undergraduate Research for All. The talk was Community College
Undergraduate Research Initiative: Providing Research Opportunities and Overcoming Barriers at
Community Colleges.
Diana presented a talk at the Bio-Link/CCURI Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina on November
20, 2014. The presentation was Synergy Between Bio-Link and CCURI at Tulsa Community College, and Diana
was paired with Linnea Fletcher, Ph.D., previous NSF Program Office and Austin Community College
Biotechnology Director.
Dr. Spencer served as a panelist during the Student Research Retreat and presented Primary Research:
Opportunities, Practices, and Protocols on September 19, 2014.
During the 5th Annual Promoting Undergraduate Research Conference on Friday, September 26, at the
Presbyterian Health Foundation Conference Center in Oklahoma City, Diana presented Opportunities in
Undergraduate Research for Maximum Student Success.
Student Lina Guerrero and Diana Spencer presented a booth for gel electrophoresis loading at the
Oklahoma EPSCoR Women in STEM conference this fall.
Outreach this fall included the Oklahoma INBRE OACC presentations by Drs. Steve Hartson (OSU),
Tarren Shaw (OU), and Edgar Trout (CUNY Kingborough CC).
TCC Biotechnology hosted Sam Rhine with at least 200 high school and community college students in
attendance.
Professors Briscoe, Sloan and Spencer offered a national molecular biology workshop on May 20-23.
Professor Neil Enis from microbiology also presented. High Pressure Liquid Chromatography, Cell Culture,
Real Time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, and Antibiotic Discovery were presented by our
faculty to 40 other community college faculty across the nation. Along with TCC, the Community College
Undergraduate Research Initiative funded the workshop.
Diana Spencer was invited to serve on a panel regarding undergraduate research at community colleges.
The meeting was for the National Academies of Science Board of Science Education and was help in Irvine,
California on Wednesday, December 10, 2014.