Department of Biological Sciences Newsletter
Purdue University Calumet
Vol. 1, Issue 2
July – Dec
2011
Jessica Orr,
Editor
Highlights
• Prof. Young Choi
Receives—$38,042 grant
• Department Outreach—
new genetics teaching
workshops and Upward
Bound course
Biology faculty,
staff, & graduate
students picnic at
the PUC Founder’s • Many Faculty
Members—publish and
Plaza, read page 6.
present research findings
• New Courses for
Spring—Plant Physiology,
Greetings from the Department of Biological Sciences Advanced Cell Biology, &
Virology
The Department of Biological Sciences faced many challenges in 2011. With a shortage
of faculty and two new staff members integrating with the rest of the department, we
all worked very hard to fulfill our commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and • Top Biology Students—
share their tips for success
services. I hope that this newsletter helps illustrate the accomplishments of our
students, faculty, and staff in the past six months. We are especially proud of our
• Arleen Guard—
students. Many of them were recognized for excellence in their coursework, research,
Department secretary
and community service. For recent updates and current events, please visit our
receives “Going the Extra
website: http://webs.purduecal.edu/biology/.
Mile with a Smile Award.”
Best wishes for a successful new year.
Evert Ting, Ph.D., Professor and Interim Head of Biological Sciences.
 Faculty Research Updates
Prof. Young Choi recently received a $38,042 grant,
“Establishing a Local Workforce for Wetland
Monitoring in Wolf Lake,” from the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources. This project will give local college students
and volunteers the opportunity to learn about Wolf Lake’s
ecology and assist in wetland restoration monitoring.
Prof. Barbara Mania-Farnell and her collaborators at Children's
Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL have recently published two papers:
“Epigenetic regulation of sensory neurogenesis in the
dorsal root ganglion cell line ND7 by folic acid” in
Epigenetics, 2011 Oct 1 and “Efficacy of interstitial continuous
vincristine infusion in a bioluminescent rodent intracranial
tumor model” in the Journal of Neuro-oncology, 2011 Aug 14.
Prof. Evert Ting and her collaborators at Purdue University
Calumet and West Lafayette gave a presentation on “Modular
Waste/Renewable Energy System for Production of
Electricity, Heat, and Potable Water in Remote
Locations” at the IEEE Humanitarian Technology
Conference, Seattle, WA in November 2011.
Page 1
Biology Fun Quote:
“Nature composes some
of her loveliest poems
for the microscope and
the telescope.”
~Theodore Roszak, Where
the Wasteland Ends, 1972
Prepared Microscope specimens
circa 1800
Courtesy Hans Splinter, Flickr
July – December 2011 ● Volume 1, Issue 2 ● Purdue University Calumet Department of Biological Sciences
New Course Offerings
 Faculty Research Updates Continued
Prof. Charles Tseng and Prof. X. Yang (of Electrical and
Computer Engineering) presented “Modeling of DNA
Replication” and “Effective Algorithms for Altering
Human Chromosome Shapes” with proceeding publication at
the 2011 International Conference on Modeling, Simulation and
Visualization Methods in July 2011, Las Vegas, NV. They also
presented “Simulation of human abnormal chromosomes:
an innovative tool for teaching” with a proceeding
publication at Control, Automation, and System Engineering
International Conference in August, 2011, in Hong Kong.
In response to student demand for more
biology electives, the biology faculty has
developed three new courses for Spring2011:
BIOL 30700 Plant Physiology
BIOL 59500 Advanced Cell Biology
BIOL 59500 Virology
Students have shown strong interest in
these new courses; two of the three were
completely filled during the first two
weeks of registration!
New Course for PUC
Upward Bound Program
Prof. Barbara Mania-Farnell, in
conjunction with adjunct faculty
Ms. Carly Rossner and Ms. Misbah
Siddique designed a series of lectures
and experiments to introduce core life
science concepts to high school students
in the Upward Bound Program.
According to program director Joseph
Flores, this course has been well
received by the students.
Prof. Tseng and Prof. B. Chen (of Electrical and Computer Engineering) presented
“Generation of Mass Genome Sequencing Based E. coli DNA Markers for
Microbial Source Tracking” and “E. coli Source Tracking Using
Multispectral Laser Imaging" at the Great Lakes Beach Association Meeting on
September 27, 2011 in Michigan City, IN. They also presented “Multispectral
Laser Imaging for Microbial Source Tracking" at the Sixth Annual Water
Quality Forum-Ottawa on November 4, 2011 in Ottawa County, MI.
Prof. Mike Zimmer’s paper “Dysregulation of
CD1d-Restricted Type II Natural Killer T Cells
Leads to Spontaneous Development of Colitis in
Mice” has been accepted for publication in the Journal
of Gastroenterology. He has also presented a poster and
given a talk entitled “Granulysin and
Lipopolysaccharide Elicit Distinct Macrophage
Responses” at the 40th annual Autumn Immunology
Conference in Chicago, IL, November 2011, as well as cohost and section chair of this conference.
 Students Enjoy an Ice Cream
Treat at the Annual Biology Ice
Cream Social
The Department celebrated the new academic year by
treating our students with ice cream on September 9, 2011.
This annual event was initiated in 2006 to provide an
opportunity for freshman students to mingle with faculty
and biology sophomore, junior, and senior students. We
all enjoyed the ice cream and had fun together.
Three Biology Freshman Enjoy Their Ice Cream
Page 2
Prof. Evert Ting
and Kali Porzel
serve ice cream
while Freshman
students line up
to join the Biology
Club and the PrePharmacy Club
during the Ice
Cream Social.
From left- Jelena Kolundzic, President of The Biology
Club, & Noel Zemaitis, President of The Pre-Pharmacy
Club
July – December 2011 ● Volume 1, Issue 2 ● Purdue University Calumet Department of Biological Sciences
 Genetics Teaching Workshops are offered to Local Middle and
High School Teachers
Profs. Charles Tseng and Xiaoli Yang (of Electrical and Computer Engineering) have given three workshops
since Summer 2011 introducing their newly developed interactive computer program for learning basic genetics
to teachers from Lake County, IN. These workshops are a part of the project “Shoring Up STEM Education
in Lake County, Indiana” which is funded by the Indiana State Commission of Higher Education.
 Biology Professors Give Talks in the
Region
Prof. Curtis Creighton gave a lecture “Evolution” at PUC on
Friday, September 23, 2011.
Prof. Mike Zimmer visited Valparaiso University and gave a talk at
their weekly Colloquium entitled “Lipid-reactive T cell function
in health and disease” on Friday, November 4, 2011.
Prof. Barbara Mania-Farnell gave a Presentation
“DEVELOPING THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, Why Do Some
Cells Become Neurons While Others Don’t?” to an enthusiastic
audience at the Hobart’s First Unitarian Church on Friday,
November 18, 2011.
 Retired
Christine Kozanda from Lake
County Animal Shelter receives a
microscope from Prof. Evert Ting.
Microscopes put to Good Use
The Department of Biological Science recently donated four retired monocular microscopes to three local
organizations. Two units were donated to Avicenna Academy, a private elementary school in Crown Point, IN,
one was given to Lake County Animal Shelter, and one went to the Purdue Calumet Riley Child Care Center.
According to Amanda Arceo, principle of Avicenna Academy, the microscopes will bolster the student’s science
projects. Prior to the donation, students had to borrow microscopes from another university. Christine Kozanda
from Lake County Animal Shelter indicated that with the microscopes, they will be able to cut costs by doing
some lab work in house.
 Six Undergraduate Students Receive 2010-2011 Top Biology
Student Award
Each fall, the best student in each biology core course from the previous academic year is nominated by
his or her professor to receive the Top Biology Student Award. On September 9, 2011 the following
students were recognized for their outstanding performance in the 2010-2011 school year:
BIOL 10100
BIOL 10200
BIOL 24300
BIOL 24400
BIOL 31600
BIOL 33300
BIOL 35700
Page 3
Michelle Roak
Lauren Pazik
Carolyn Brunt
Carolyn Brunt
Raymond Davis
Anthony Miniuk
Kristen Moran
(Nominated by Prof. Feng-Song Wang)
(Nominated by Prof. Curtis Creighton)
(Nominated by Prof. Feng-Song Wang)
(Nominated by Prof. Charles Tseng)
(Nominated by Prof. Evert Ting)
(Nominated by Prof. Young Choi)
(Nominated by Prof. Radmila Sarac)
July – December 2011 ● Volume 1, Issue 2 ● Purdue University Calumet Department of Biological Sciences
 Top Biology Students Share Their Secrets of Success
Introductory Biology—Lauren Pazik:
“The secret to my success stems from my middle school years. I had
become a straight-A student, and had several excellent teachers
that pushed me to excel and always go above and beyond in my
studies. Once I started high school, my freshman biology teacher
became a true mentor for me and inspired me to choose biology as
my major of study. After finding the one subject I was passionate
about, I was immediately motivated to succeed. At the collegiate
level, freshman year biology was much more difficult than I had
anticipated, but I did not let myself get discouraged. The real key is
to just take things one day at a time so as to not feel overwhelmed,
and never be afraid to ask for help. As with anything else, it was
important to always stay on task and keep up with the course; once
you fall behind in a class, it can be extremely difficult to catch up.
Many long nights of studying and reading paid off for me, and
having great professors—Dr. Wang and Dr. Creighton—certainly
made a difference. Their passion for the subject reminded me of
how much I enjoy biology and why I chose to make it a huge part of
my education.”
Lauren Pazik receives the 2010-2011
Top Biology Student Award from Prof.
Curtis Creighton
Cell Biology and Genetics—
Carolyn Brunt:
Prof. Feng-Song Wang (left) and Prof. Charles Tseng
(right) present the 2010-2011 Top Biology Student Award
to Carolyn Brunt.
Page 4
“I was thoroughly excited to earn two top
biology student awards. I am proud of the
awards because they were recognition for the
great amount of time and effort I dedicated to
my studies. Anyone who knows me knows I am
a flashcard fanatic! I spend countless hours
making and memorizing hundreds of flashcards
for every exam. They are my academic secret to
success! I am a visual and auditory learner so
the process of writing flashcards and reading
them aloud help me to retain valuable
information. However, simply memorizing the
material isn’t enough; I thoroughly enjoy
learning new topics and acquiring new skills in
the subjects of biology and chemistry.
Flashcards are the tool I use to continually add
new and exciting information to my current
store of knowledge.”
July – December 2011 ● Volume 1, Issue 2 ● Purdue University Calumet Department of Biological Sciences
 Top Biology Students Share Their Secrets of Success Continued
Basic Microbiology—Raymond E. Davis:
“The top Microbiology student award means a lot to me. It reflects
my dedication to learning and my desire to always better myself.
The key to my academic success, other than the massive amount of
time I spend studying, is that I know how I learn. I am a very visual
learner, so when I read I try to connect the text to a picture, graph,
or diagram. Online videos and quizzes of the material either
provided by the instructor or found by one’s self, make studying
more engaging and less trivial. But my greatest key to academic
success is to put the subject material in my own language. I know
when I have learned a subject when I can accurately teach it to
someone who is not taking the course.”
Raymond Davis receives Award
from Prof. Evert Ting
Graduating Senior Kevin
Moran Receives
Distinguished Biological
Science Undergraduate
Student Award
Kevin Moran was
nominated by the Faculty of
Biological Sciences to receive
the Distinguished Biological
Science Undergraduate
Student Award on December
8, 2011 at the School of EMS
convocation. “Kevin is a hard
working student who started
at Purdue Calumet in 2007 as
a scholarship recipient.
During the past 4 ½ years, he
worked 40 to 45 hours per
week in average at his job. Yet
he was able to maintain a GPA
above 3.85 and made the
Dean’s list every semester.”
said Prof. Evert Ting.
Page 5
Ecology—
Anthony Miniuk
“First of all, I attended each lecture and was on time and prepared.
This is important, because I gained a basic understanding of the
material the first time it was presented. Additionally, I wanted to
show the professor that I was willing to put in the time and effort
required to succeed in the class. The weekends following each
lecture, I would study the PowerPoint handouts, along with the
textbook, in order to understand and memorize each topic. By
staying on top of studying, I did not have to cram the night before an
exam. For the lab, I found a good group of students to become my
partners. This really helped me stay on task, and it even allowed me
to have fun while working. In addition, there was a term paper based
upon data collected at the sand dunes in Indiana for lab. The
professor offered to read and correct the first draft of the paper if it
was turned in a few weeks prior to the deadline. By taking advantage
of this, I was able to really enhance the quality of my paper based
upon the remarks I received on my first draft.”
July – December 2011 ● Volume 1, Issue 2 ● Purdue University Calumet Department of Biological Sciences
 Biology Undergraduate and Graduate
Students Receive Fall 2011 Purdue
Student Research Grants
Ryan Mihalic, Yu-Pin Chiao, Carolyn Brunt, and Amy
Poortinga received PUC Undergraduate Research Grants.
Na-Jee Harris received an LSAMP award and Ashlee
Smith received $750 Graduate Student Research Grant.
Ryan Mihalic worked on three research projects under three
faculty mentors. The first project, “Isolation of lytic
bacteriophages as bio-control agents against Escherichia coli
O157:H7 in Food,” is mentored by Prof. Evert Ting while the
second project, “Determining the Antimicrobial Properties of
the Oral and Anal Secretions of Nicrophorus orbicollis in
Suppressing the Decomposition of Animal Carcasses,” is
mentored by Prof. Curtis Creighton. His research in the third
project, “A DNA Based Phylogenetic Analysis of Anthurium,”
is performed in conjunction with Amy Poortinga under the
instruction of Prof. Charles Tseng.
Biology Faculty, Staff and
Graduate Students Mingle
at the Biology Graduate
Student Picnic
On September 16, 2011 the
Department of Biological Science
hosted a picnic for biology graduate
students on campus. This event
allowed the graduate students to
network with each other and with the
biology faculty. The biology faculty
and staff donated their time to cook
the food for the picnic. Everyone
played games, enjoyed the food, and
had a wonderful time together.
Yu-Pin Chiao worked on “Control Salmonella contamination
using a mixture of lytic bacteriophages” which is supervised
by Prof. Evert Ting. Carolyn Brunt is studying “Generation of
Specific DNA Markers for Microbial Source Tracking” under
the instruction of Prof. Charles Tseng. Na-Jee Harris will also
be mentored by Prof. Tseng in his work on the “Development
of Website for Interactive Programs for DNA Education.”
Prof. Curtis Creighton mentored Ashlee Smith in her research
on “Parental Investment and Sexual Conflict in the Burying
Beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis.”
 Biology Senior, Ryan Mihalic, is Involved in Various Student
Research Projects
Ryan Mihalic, a five-time undergraduate research grant
and two-time LSAMP scholarship recipient, was selected
to participate in The Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Research Program at Purdue University West Lafayette
(PUWL) last summer. He presented his research results
as a poster “Experimental Design to Optimize
Protein Production” at PUWL in July 2011.
Mihalic also presented a poster “Isolation of lytic
bacteriophages as bio-control agents against
Escherichia coli O157:H7” at the 5th Annual Louis
Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation-Indiana
(LSAMP-Indiana) Research and Enrichment Conference
on November 11-12, 2011 at PUWL. This research project
was mentored by Prof. Evert Ting. Mihalic was
recognized at the dinner and award ceremony on
November 12th.
Page 6
July – December 2011 ● Volume 1, Issue 2 ● Purdue University Calumet Department of Biological Sciences
 Biology Students Enthusiastically Participate in Charity Events
PUC Biology Club Members Volunteer on the Day of
Caring at the Crown Point Center to paint benches and picnic
tables on August 26, 2011. The story can be found on the
Hammond Times web site. Read more:
http://tinyurl.com/72cvlkb.
PUC Biology Club Raises $400 for Water.org in
October 2011. Water.org is a U.S.-based nonprofit
organization committed to providing safe drinking water and
sanitation to people in developing countries.
Pre-Pharmacy Club Wins the 2011 Penny Wars. They
beat 12 other PUC student organizations and raise a total of
$376.26 in this fund raising event on October. 11, 2011. The
money was donated to the Lake Area United Way.
 Arleen Guard, Department Secretary,
Receives Going the Extra Mile With A Smile
Award
PUC Biology Club Members
Volunteer on the Day of Caring:
Front row from left, Jelena Kolundzic,
Ashlee Gabrionne, Ashley Bohling,
Emily Mastej and Carolyn Brunt. Back
row, Charolette Harris, Desiree Purnick,
Noel Zemaitis, and Andrew Matson.
Ms. Arleen Guard received the 2011 Going the Extra Mile with a Smile Award from Dr. Ralph Rodgers, VCAA on
December 19, 2011. This award recognizes clerical, service and administrative professional support staff within Academic
Affairs who have exhibited exemplary customer service and have gone beyond the expected to provide noteworthy
service to the University. Arleen was nominated by Evert Ting and Eric Bird.
Ting had this to say about why Arleen deserved to receive this honor:
“Ms. Arleen Guard joined the Department of Biological Sciences in March
2011. During the past eight months, she has worked tirelessly to learn about
her job and carried out enormous job responsibilities as the department
secretary. Despite her busy work, she pleasantly greets everyone calling her
by phone or walking into her office for help every day and does not mind the
constant interruptions. If she cannot offer a solution right way, she will go
out her way to make sure that all the unresolved business is properly taken
care of.
Last summer, a graduate teaching aid did not receive his stipend due to
mishandled paper work. The student had difficulty to make his financial
ends meet. Arleen made a real effort to help the student trace the paperwork
and pleaded for speedy process on his behalf. After numerous phone calls
and emails, the student finally received his paycheck and was able to pay his
bills.
Arleen Guard (middle) receives award from
Dr. Ralph Rodger, VCAA. She was
nominated by Dr. Evert Ting (left) and Eric
Bird (not pictured).
Page 7
Recently, our department credit card was fraudulently charged for over a
thousand dollars. We were told that the department would be responsible for
the entire loss. She voluntarily investigated the fraud by contacting the
Credit Card Company and the Procurement & General Services at PUC for
these unauthorized charges. Later, it was found that the credit card number
was stolen when the on-line ordering system of a vendor was hacked. She
immediately contacted the CEO of the vendor and successfully persuaded
him to cover our loss. Ms. Arleen Guard is not only a valuable member of the
Department of Biological Sciences but also a true asset of Purdue University
Calumet. We are so fortunate to have her working for us.” --continued--
July – December 2011 ● Volume 1, Issue 2 ● Purdue University Calumet Department of Biological Sciences
New Staff of Biological Sciences
Jessica Orr joined the Department of
Biological Science in June 2011 as a
Laboratory Demonstration Assistant
after receiving her BS degree in Biology
from Purdue North Central. During the
past six months, she has quickly
learned about her job, made significant
contributions to clean and reorganize
several teaching labs, and done a
wonderful job in preparing media,
reagents, and specimens for lab classes.
Jessica says “working at PUC has
afforded me a great opportunity to
observe different methods of
experiential education. The labs taught
here are some of the most interesting
I’ve seen and I’m pleased to be a part of
them. My favorite so far is the gel
immunodiffusion lab in Microbiology
31600 and 22100.”
(Arleen Guard continued from page 7)
Bird wrote: “This past summer I was
desperately waiting to receive a stipend
check from Purdue that was awarded to
me through a research fellowship. Arleen
worked very hard to assist me during that
time. At the time I felt that I had to sort
of pester people in order to get
information on what was happening, and
for the most part I felt like I was getting
the run around. Arleen made an effort to
contact the right people to really "get to
the bottom of it". She understood how
important it was to me, and certainly
went out of her way in an attempt to
remedy the situation. She would provide
me with regular updates to inform me
what was going on, without it being her
responsibility to do so…When I show my
appreciation for Arleen's assistance she
responds by saying things along the line
of, ‘we are a team and if something
affects you it affects me,’ or she is
‘happy to be of service.’ She truly
desires to assist students in succeeding,
and tends to be very modest about how
helpful she has been.”
 1991 MS Graduate, Rosemary Duda Receives 2011 Biological Sciences
Alumni Leader Award
Ms. Rosemary Duda received the Alumni Leader Award from
Chancellor Keon at the Alumni Leaders Day Event on September 22,
2011. Ms. Duda started her career as a medical technologist at St.
Margaret Hospital after completing an internship there. Soon after
receiving her MS degree in Biological Sciences at Purdue Calumet, she
was promoted to Director of the Medical Technology Program at St.
Margaret Hospital. “My most valued Purdue Calumet experience is that
what I learned there was so pertinent to my field of study. Everything I
learned helped to enhance my teaching of Medical Technology to students
and brought me to a deeper level of what I had to offer students in
return,” Duda said.
Page 8
July – December 2011 ● Volume 1, Issue 2 ● Purdue University Calumet Department of Biological Sciences

PUC Summer 2012 Field Course Preview
For the past decade, the Department of
Biological Sciences has offered intensive
courses at the Big Falls Biology Field Station
in Big Falls, WI. Students spend one week
each Spring on the property of Biology
Professor Emerita Jane R. Shoup and her
husband Stefan. Two courses are offered
simultaneously: BIOL 21000 (Field
Biology, 3 credits, no pre-requisites) which
meets the Experiential Learning
requirements for students in any major.
BIOL 59100 (Field Ecology, 4
credits) is intended for upper division
biology majors or graduate students.
A variety of field activities are
provided on the property or in the
local area, including identification of
macro-invertebrates in Spaulding
Creek, and study of distribution and
abundance of organisms in local
ecosystems. Students camp in tents
along the banks of the Little Wolf
River and cook outdoors on camp
stoves.
These two courses will be offered May 26 through June 2,
2012. Course instructors are Prof. Shoup and Prof. Curtis
Creighton.
Page 9
July – December 2011 ● Volume 1, Issue 2 ● Purdue University Calumet Department of Biological Sciences