Biology

Jon Ellison '04

Growing up in a family of doctors, I have always had a heightened interest in science and medicine. While most people probably remember going into their parents' offices and playing on the computer or feeding old documents through the paper shredder, I can recall going to work with my mom, a radiologist, and playing in the "bone box", a chest filled with bones from a human skeleton. I have since outgrown my fascination with the bone box, but I still have the same curiosity towards the sciences that I had as a little boy. There was never any question in my mind that coming to Denison I would major in biology.

I have had many opportunities over the past three years to pursue my interests in biology and medicine. I have been a TA for three years for the Biology department here at Denison, one year for plant biology and two years for molecular biology. Currently, I am president of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the pre-health honorary, and I am a member of the Denison chapter for Colleges Against Cancer. For each of the past three summers I have been on week long mission trips to provide medical care to the underprivileged populations of Honduras. While I have never taken the opportunity to do research here at Denison, I have had many off-campus research experiences. For three summers at the Ohio State University I worked with Dr. Stan Nahman researching gene therapy for late-stage kidney complications in diabetes patients, and for one summer at Duke University I worked with Dr. Tom Coffman researching the genetics of blood pressure regulation.

In addition to my many experiences within the field of biology, I am also involved in a number of other extracurricular activities. I tutor children in Newark at the YES clubhouse through Mortar Board and I am a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. My Denison experience has certainly prepared me for the next step in my life, medical school. Whether through class discussions, labs, campus organizations, or relationships with students and professors, Denison has helped me grow as a student and as a person.

Laura Finkes '04

My interest in biology is stems in large part from a deep appreciation I feel for the beauty of natural spaces and the outdoors. My best memories include the wide-open sky of the prairie and agricultural fields of the St. Louis area and afternoons picking blackberries with my family here in central Ohio. Though, I had aspirations of becoming a medical doctor when I first came to Denison, a desire to understand and protect the natural areas that I so loved quickly led me to the field of ecology.

While at Denison, I have tried to focus my studies toward understanding the dynamics of natural systems and the ways in which many individual units interact to create the whole. In conjunction with Dr. Jennifer Rudgers of Indiana University (DU '96) and Dr. Juliana Mulroy I am presently completing a year of senior research looking at the indirect effects of endophytic fungi on the distribution and abundance of spider in a tall fescue grassland systems.

When I am not busy with academic pursuits, most of my free time is devoted to competing on the varsity women's track team. I also work in the local community as an English as a second language tutor for Spanish-speaking elementary school students.

Kelli Gibson '04

I was interested in life science from an early age. When I was six my mother started nursing school, and the projects she brought home to complete fascinated me to no end. She often told me about the interesting things she was learning, the animals she got to dissect, and sometimes, at my request, even read to me from her anatomy books. When I started school moved on to checking my own books out the library, and I remember going through a phase where I would read nothing but books about the life cycle of frogs. I have always loved and been curious about all aspects of nature, a quality which my parents encouraged, though it wasn't until high school that I began to seriously consider biology as a possible career. I took four biology courses in high school, one of which was a microbiology class. Through these opportunities I was able to explore various aspects of the field and have a good idea of what I wanted to do when I came to Denison.

I am primarily interested in the "small stuff," namely molecular biology, genetics, and microbiology. Throughout my years here I have had the chance to learn more about these areas and others, and I have come away with an even greater fascination with the world around me. I've been involved in other biology-related activities as well, including being a TA and a biology tutor, as well as an active member of the Denison University Biological Society since my freshman year and holding an officer position for the last two. I spent two summers doing biology and biochemistry-related research here at Denison. My senior research, conducted under the advisement of Dr. Warren Hauk, involves assessing genetic variation within two grapefern species, Sceptridium lunarioides and S. jenmanii.

My future goals consist of getting into a Ph.D program for microbiology, with my specific interests lying in microbial genetics and pathogenesis, and then moving on to do research in some capacity. Right now I think I will most likely concentrate on careers within private or government-funded industry, though teaching someday is not out of the question.

Tim Heacock '04

My first interest in biology came from my life as a child. Growing up on a farm, I was blessed with the opportunity to be surrounded by nature. I spent most of my days outside with my brother and sister, but my parents really cultivated our interactions with nature. Identifying birds and bugs with my mother or seining for minnows in local creeks and fishing with my dad were just a few of the things my parents did to make us appreciate what surrounded us.

Living on a farm, there were always lots of farm like things to do as well. Ever since I can remember, I was taking care of some sort of plant or animal. If it wasn't the orchard or the extensive garden, it was raising cows, rabbits, or even quail. It was these experiences that composed most of my childhood that turned me on to biology.

This interest in biology led me to become a biology major when I came to Denison. Here I have encountered a wide range of biological fields, and this has changed my interest in biology of the expanse of nature to molecular biology. At Denison I have also been able to be a TA and experience the frustrations (and joys) of research. My experiences as a biology major and elsewhere also lead me to work in an emergency room in my summers off, which has been instrumental in determining the direction I have finally chosen for my life; becoming a doctor.

This year I am doing Senior Research studying the protein:protein interactions of the intercellular domain of Neurotactin, and I am also applying to med schools; hopefully pursuing my goal of becoming a doctor at one of them next fall.

Jimmy McCloskey '04

Being raised in rural Ohio, I grew up in close connection with the nature. My sisters and I spent summers playing outside and often chasing after anything that moved. My curiosity for the world around me grew and focused in high school. I developed an intense interest in science, and spent each year excitedly preparing a science project for the state science day. The diverse curricula and outgoing faculty in the Denison Biology department have cultivated my interest in science and prepared me for a career in the scientific field. I have been active in the department as a teaching assistant, summer scholar, and tutor. This year I am completing a senior research project under the supervision of Dr. Kristina Mead that explores variation of crayfish olfactory chemosensors in relation to body size and gender.

I also have been active in the Denison Community. I am very involved in Greek life, serving as the president of the Order of Omega, and am a proud member of Denison's chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha. At Denison, I have become passionate about minority issues, and have played an active role as a member of Outlook. I am also a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta, Mortar Board, and have served as a June Orientation Staff Member.

My extracurricular and academic experiences have led me to pursue a career in the medical field. I am currently in the midst of the medical school application process, but I am also considering deferring for a year to do research. Ultimately, I would like to obtain certification in obstetrics and gynecology and work in a hospital setting, providing healthcare to underprivileged women.