The SDS Biotechnology PAGE
FALL 2012
Welcome to the Fall 2012 newsletter for the Tulsa Community College Biotechnology Program! This
newsletter also serves past participants in the Stimulating Enthusiasm, Exploration and Discovery in
Biotechnology Education (SEEDBEd) NSF-ATE grant, and Medicines, Explorations, and Discoveries in
Biotechnology Education (MEDBEd), the NIH supplemental grant, and the Sustaining Outreach of Learning
Experiences in Biotechnology Education (SOLEBEd) grant! This newsletter is an excellent way to
communicate with all who support and participate in our programs.
Milestones this Summer and Fall Include:












Amie Francis and Kerry Quinn-Swift completed marvelous INBRE Summer Student Internships.
Four TCC Biotech students were awarded OSU SSTEM Scholarships. TCC Biotech students have
received 25% of the OSU SSTEM Scholarships!
Carol Saylor completed her 2012 TABERC summer internship in the lab of Dr. Randy Wymore at
OSU/CHS.
In May 21-May 25, 2012, Diana Spencer attended the week-long DNALC workshop, NSF ATE
Genomic Approaches in the BioSciences in Austin, Texas. TCC Biotech will serve as host for this
workshop in May of 2013.
TCC has been awarded the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative (CCURI) full
partnership. Diana Spencer serves as the coordinator for the activities, and we have partnered with OU
and OSU/CHS to form the Bioscience Undergraduate Research Experiences in Tulsa (BURET) Institute.
The BURET team worked in Austin, Texas this spring with summer and fall TCC CCURI work
described in this newsletter.
Through support of TCC, CCURI and TABERC, this summer, Diana Spencer presented the Lab Sprints
and the Lab Sprints Plus course.
Diana Spencer attended the BioRad Advisory Board in San Francisco, California during June 18 and 19.
Students from the Lab Sprints Plus course of Summer 2012 were able to present a poster at the OU
Learning Center this summer while also presenting to the community this fall.
Students from the Cell Culture class of Fall 2012 were able to present a poster on leachate contaminants
with mammalian cells.
Students from the Molecular Biology and Techniques classes of Fall 2012 were able to present a poster
on phylogenetic studies of the rbcLa and matK genes.
This fall, we had an outreach for the community through the Science Seminar evening studies.
During this semester, we had two more students earn PIPESTEM awards. They are Michael Adair and
Ruth Schorman.



We have three graduates in biotechnology this fall! We are immensely proud of Sami Ricketts, Ashley
Hopkins and Carol Saylor-Hefley!
Diana Spencer and Lyn Kent, Associate Dean of Science and Math worked diligently with Beth
Shumate, TCC Grant Director, to submit an NSF ATE grant this fall. We are all keeping our fingers
crossed!
TCC Biotechnology hosted Sam Rhine on November 16, 2012.
Sticky Ends (Biotechnology Student Progress):
A crew of biotechnology students traveled with Professor Dusti Sloan to the Oklahoma Academy of Science
Technical Meeting in Edmond, Oklahoma on November 9, 2012. The Molecular Biology and Techniques class,
Carol Saylor Hefley, Edwina Thompson, See Vang and Diana Spencer presented “Discrimination and Analysis
of matK and rbcLa Genes in Angiosperms.” The Cell Culture class, Andrew Brown, Bobby Daugherty, Minji
Sohn, See Vang, and Dusti Sloan presented “Effect of Landfill Leachate on the Viability of Mammalian Cells
Grown in vitro.”
Two of the students awarded the INBRE summer internships in 2012 include two biotechnology students that
worked in labs at OSU/CHS. Amie Francis worked in the lab of Dr. Randall L. Davis and produced the poster
"Fentanyl Effects on IL-1Beta-Stimulated Chemokine Expression in Human Astroglia." Kerry A. Quinn-Swift
worked in the lab of Gerald Kohler and produced the poster "Characterization of the Interaction of Candida
albicans with Probiotic Bacteria." During the fall semester of 2012, biotech student researchers and Diana
Spencer through CCURI, INBRE and TABERC affiliations presented a community outreach presentation. The
presentation, “Biotechnology Research: Collaborations, Partnerships and Internships,” was presented September
26, 2012. Jeremy Sabo, Samantha Ricketts, Amie Francis, Kerry Quinn-Swift and Carol Saylor-Hefley gave
marvelous presentations while Diana Spencer served as moderator.
Carol Saylor-Hefley presented at the OU Learning Center during her TABERC presentation in August of
2012. Carol worked with Dr. Randy Wymore at OSU/CHS and technician, Lindsey Allen to investigate
Morgellon's Disease. They grew cultures and selected for bacteria and fungi to compare organismal growth of a
Morgellon's home compared to the growth in a control home. During the same forum, Jeremy Sabo and Sami
Ricketts presented a poster “The Cloning and Sequencing of the GapC Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate
Dehydrogenase from Gaillardia and Monarda and Determination of its Potential Protein Sequence.” Jeremy
and Sami developed their study through the summer CCURI-sponsored Lab Sprints Plus course.
On November 7, 2012 three Molecular Biology and Techniques students were able to travel to the Henry
Bellmon Research Center which houses the OSU Protein/DNA and Microarray Core Labs! Dr. Steve Hartson
and Dr. Peter Hoyt were able to host the students with career advice and explanations of the new instruments.
On Tuesday, December 4, 2012, nine students were able to attend a tour of the OSU/CHS bioscience research
labs. Students were Introduction to Biotechnology students, and the tour was led by Dr. Dorothy Turetsky,
Researcher Ms. Naukam and previous biotech student now researcher, Ms. Lindsay Allen.
After being awarded the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative Full Partnership, a team of
faculty, administration and partners traveled to Austin, Texas to develop the Bioscience Undergraduate
Research Experience in Tulsa (BURET) Institute. Great plans have been made to continue to develop the
culture of research at TCC. Dr. Kath Curtis (OSU/CHS) and Drs. Julie Marino and Kent Teague (OU Tulsa)
are partners in the program. Faculty and administration at TCC include: Dusti Sloan, Patty Smith, Bryan
Coppedge, Connie Hebert, Diana Spencer and Ric Baser. Diana Spencer has taught two summer research
courses, Lab Sprints, and Lab Sprints Plus through the Summer Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE)
portion of CCURI. Reagents and instruments purchased through the program were used this fall by Professors
Dusti Sloan and Patty Smith through the Course Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE).
Making Solutions (Secondary Outreach):
We are making great plans for the spring semester with our outreach to high school students and high school
faculty. We are busy with the Extravaganza and four separate workshops in the spring semester, 2013.
On Friday, November 30 and Friday, December 14, Diana Spencer attended Union and Jenks Public Schools to
discuss the opportunities available to high school students through the Introduction to Biotechnology course.
TCC Biotechnology has been invited to work with the MASH outreach camps during the summer of 2013.
Translations (Community Outreach- Presentations and Workshops):
Please read above regarding the biotechnology outreach for the community through the Science Seminar
evening studies. Five students presented their work.
Five separate outreach workshops or outreach events for community college and secondary faculty and students
are going to be hosted by TCC Biotechnology and Oklahoma INBRE next spring. Much work is in progress.
Patty Smith (conservation studies), Diana Spencer, and Lyn Kent attended the Oklahoma INBRE Committee on
Undergrad Research workshop in Oklahoma City. The November 9-11, workshops were rigorous and
concluded with a plan to increase undergrad research opportunities at Tulsa Community College.
The Sequence (Our Web Site):
http://www.TCCBiotech.org
The opening page of this web site allows you to click on the SEEDBEd icon, the MEDBEd icon, or the
Biotechnology icon. The biotechnology link leads you into the TCC web site of the biotechnology curriculum.
Both links are constantly updated. For the latest news and information on TCC Biotechnology, travel to our
TCC Biotechnology facebook page.
We have just finished work on the TCC Partner Page for the CCURI undergrad research NSF ATE grant.
Please travel to http://ccuri.org/ and click on the partner pages to find the TCC work in progress!
ARTWORK COURTESY OF NSF