Highlights 2023
Dr. Manu Ramalho was a keynote speaker at Mirmeco (Oct 2023) - the largest international symposium for myrmecologists (researchers who study ants! đ), held in the Amazon (Manaus, Brazil). In addition to presenting on microbiomes and women in science, Dr. Ramalho had the opportunity to embark on a small expedition into the Amazon forest, where he encountered fascinating ants!
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, presented an invited seminar, âCreation of Innovative Technologies Based on Bio-Inspired Designs from Marine Animalsâ to aerodynamics students in the University of Washington Aeronautics and Astronautics Department on January 3, 2024.
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, co-authored a research paper âExamining the interplay between body shape and stiffness for improving water entryâ that was presented at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics, Washington, DC, November 19-21 (2023). The paper was co-authored with Bart Boom and Dr. Ed Habtour of the University of Washington, and Dr. Tadd Truscott of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, is a co-author on a research article, âThrust generation and propulsive efficiency in dolphin-like swimming propulsionâ that was published in Bioinspiration & Biomimetics 18(5): 056001 (2023). The article was co-authored with Dr. Haibo Dong of the University of Virginia.
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, co-authored a research paper âWater entry dynamics of avian inspired diversâ in the Proceedings of the ASME 2023 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptative Structures and Intelligent Systems (2023). The paper was co-authored with Bart Boom and Ed Habtour of the University of Washington, Adam Summers of the Friday Harbor Lab, and Tadd Truscott of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, along with former biology graduate students William Gough and Danielle Adams, published a book chapter âDolphin muscles and movementâ in The Physiology of Dolphins (Fahlman, A. and Hooker, S., eds.), published by Academic Press, London (2023).
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, co-authored a presentation, âWater entry of avian inspired projectileâ that was presented at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS 2023) in Austin, TX, September 11-13 (2023). The presentation was co-authored with Bart Boom and Dr. Ed Habtour of the University of Washington and Dr. Tadd Truscott of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.
Sage Forsythe presented her research Redefining American ginseng harvest regulations: Using size rather than age as a conservation-minded harvest criterion at the Ecological Society of America meeting in Portland Oregon in August, 2023. Sage is an undergraduate research student in Dr. Chandlerâs Plant Conservation Biology lab.
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, published a book chapter titled âHydrodynamicsâ in the book Physiology of Marine Mammals: Adaptations to the Ocean, which was edited by M. A. Castellini and J-A. Mellish by CRC Press (2023). The chapter was co-authored with Dr. Jean Potvin from St. Louis University and Jeremy Goldbogen from Stanford University.
Dr. Jen Maresh published a book chapter with colleagues:
Noren, S.R., J.L. Maresh & T.M. Williams. 2023. "Energy for Exercise: The Cost of
Motion in Marine Mammals", in Physiology of Marine Mammals: Adaptations to the Ocean
(eds. M.A. Castellini and J. Mellish). CRC Press, pp. 27-50. DOI: 10.1201/9781003297468-2
Dr. Manu Ramalho conducted a workshop on host-microbiome interactions using R software at Universidade Estadual Paulista in Brazil in August 2023.
Dr. Manu Ramalho was an invited speaker at Universidade Estadual Paulista in Brazil (August, 2023). She shared her research on the ant microbiome with Brazilian students and discussed the significance of diversity and inclusion in science.
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, presented a paper âMorphology and kinematics of amphibious marine vertebrates for transition to biorobotic systemsâ at the meeting of the International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology in Cairns, Australia, July 28-August 1, 2023. The presentation was co-authored with biology graduate students Caitlyn Swiston and Matt Wileyto, and with Dr. Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio of Yale University, Dr. Megan Leftwich of George Washington University, and Drs. James Tangorra and Harry Kwatny of Drexel University.
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, was a co-author on a research paper âHydrodynamics of dolphin in forward propulsionâ that was published in the Bioinspiration & Biomimetics volume 18: 056001 (2023).
Josephine Szczyrbak, Biology undergraduate student, presented a research poster titled âThe development of isopropanol tolerance by Staphylococcus aureusâ at the TriBeta National Honor Society NE District 2 Annual Convention at Penn State Schuylkill on April 1, 2023. Josephine was mentored by Dr. Sean Buskirk, Biology.
Nevy Harris, Biology undergraduate student, was accepted to participate in the 2023 Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI). She will be mentored by Dr. Sean Buskirk, Biology, on her project titled âInvestigating the Development of Hydrogen Peroxide Tolerance in Staphylococcus aureusâ.
Dr. Sean Buskirk, Biology, received a Provostâs Enrollment Planning Investment grant to support his proposal to develop âa workshop series to improve student preparedness in biologyâ.
Dr. Manu Ramalho delivered a lecture at the Center for the Study of Social Insects in SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil.
Dr. Manu Ramalho gave a talk entitled 'Untangling the Complex Interactions between Turtle Ants and Their Microbial Partners' at the Evolution Meeting 2023 in Albuquerque, NM.
Dr. Manu Ramalho along with other collaborators, published a paper in the journal Neotropical Entomology titled "Hitting the Road: Haplotype Diversity of Brazilian Fire Ant đ Nesting in Disturbed Habitats by the Atlantic Forest." You can access the paper here.
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, gave two presentations âLocomotion and transitions of an amphibious system: Biologic to roboticâ with Dr. Megan Leftwich of George Washington University and Dr. James Tangorra and Dr. Harry Kwany of Drexel University, and âAutonomous environmental transitions of an amphibious turtle inspired robotâ with Dr. Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio and Dr. Robert Baines of Yale University. The presentations were made at the Office of Naval Research Bio-Inspired Autonomous Systems Review that was held at the University of Maryland, May 16-18, 2023.
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, coauthored a research article âSome like it hot: Temperature and hydrodynamic factors influence Xenobalanus globicipitis attachment to cetaceansâ in Marine Mammal Science 2023:1-15. Doi: 10.1111/mms. 13022 (2023), with Milan Dolezal and Dr. Janet Mann of Georgetown University.
Sage Forsythe, Biology undergraduate student, presented the research poster âRedefining American ginseng harvest regulations: Using size rather than age as a conservation-minded harvest criterionâ at the Mid-Atlantic Ecological Society of America meeting in Newark, DE on April 1, 2023. The presentation was co-authored with Dr. Jennifer Chandler, Biology.
Biology undergraduate student Sage Forsythe received the Outstanding Poster Award at the Mid-Atlantic Ecological Society of America meeting in Newark, DE for her research âRedefining American ginseng harvest regulations: Using size rather than age as a conservation-minded harvest criterion.â The presentation was co-authored with Dr. Jennifer Chandler, Biology.
Dr. Manu Ramalho together with other authors published a paper entitled "Investigating the Diversity of Wolbachia across the Spiny Ants (Polyrhachis)". Check the paper here: DOI: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/3/348
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, published a chapter, titled âAquatic locomotion: environmental constraints that drive convergent evolutionâ in the book Convergent Evolution. Fascinating Life Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11441-0_15. (2023).
Abigail Downs, biology graduate student, published a research paper âMultiple behaviors for turning performance of Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis)â in the Journal of Experimental Biology (2023) 226: jeb244144. doi:10.1242/jeb244144. The paper was co-authors with Dr. Frank Fish, biology, Dr. Allison Kolpas, mathematics, and Dr. Barbara Block of the Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University.
Dr. Manu Ramalho published a paper about fire ants - The Facet of Human Impact: Solenopsis invicta Buren, 1972 Spreading around the Atlantic Forest. Diversity, 2023, 15, 194. Check it out here: https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020194
Dr. Pisciotta received US patent #11,492,713 for an "Energy Storage and Metal Upcycling Systemâ which is useful for production of hydrogen and water disinfection.
Dr. Pisciotta co-authored with former WCU graduate student Azar Saikali a book chapter âNanobiotechnology in Enzyme-based Biorefinement and Valorization of Wasteâ in the book Enzymes in the Valorization of Waste. December 19, 2022, CRC Press.
Dr. Pisciotta and former WCU graduate student Azar Saikali and current WCU undergraduate Kevin Phillips presented a poster âEffect of Metal-containing Nanoparticles on Biofilms and the Microbiome of Girardia tigrinaâ at the Infection and Immunity Forum in Philadelphia, PA on December 12, 2022.
Dr. Manu Ramalho co-authored the following manuscript: Ramalho, M.O. & Moreau, C.S. Untangling the complex interactions between turtle ants đ and their microbial partners. Animal Microbiome 5, 1 (2023). Check it out here: https://doi.org/10.1186/s42523-022-00223-7
Steven Snipes, Biology graduate student, presented a research poster âModeling Dynamic Muscle-Tendon Interactions in Interrupted Movementsâ at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Austin, TX on January 3-7, 2023. The presentation was co-authored with Dr. Michael Rosario, Biology.
Daniel Wagner, physics and biomedical engineering undergraduate student, presented a research poster âDrag Reduction in the Snailfish Tail Curlâ at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Austin, TX on January 3-7, 2023. The presentation was co-authored with Dr. Michael Rosario, Biology.
Rajal Vyas, physics and biomedical engineering undergraduate student, presented a research poster âThe Effect of Activation Dynamics on the Muscle-Tendon Unitâs Ability to Decelerate Massâ at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Austin, TX on January 3-7, 2023. The presentation was co-authored with Dr. Michael Rosario, Biology.
Dr. Michael Rosario, biology, presented a research poster âSTRECH: Strain Tension Recorder Engineered from Cheap Hardwareâ at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Austin, TX on January 3-7, 2023. The presentation was co-authored with biology graduate student, Abigail Downs and Biology undergraduate student, Hailey Smith.
Dr. Molly Gabler, biology graduate student (currently a post-doctorate student at Harvard University) and Dr. Frank Fish, biology, published the paper âMorphological and histochemical characteristics of the pectoral fin muscle of batoidsâ in the Journal of Morphology 2022: e21548, (2002).
Dr. Frank Fish, biology, presented research paper âTaking a new heading: the sea lion head as a control surfaceâ at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Austin, TX on January 3-7, 2023. The paper was co-authored with Caitlyn Swiston, biology graduate student, Scott Moon, mathematics graduate student, and Dr. Allison Kolpas, mathematics.
David Kramer, biology undergraduate student, presented a research poster âThrust production and chordal flexion of the bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) performing tail stands at different effortsâ at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Austin, TX on January 3-7, 2023. The presentation was co-authored with Dr. Maura Sheehan, health emerita, and Dr. Frank Fish, biology.
Matt Wileyto, biology graduate student, presented an oral research paper âTurning corners in sea turtle maneuvering performanceâ at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Austin, TX on January 3-7, 2023. The presentation was co-authored with Dr. Frank Fish, biology.
Caitlyn Swiston, biology graduate student, presented an oral research paper âOn the flip side: Hydrodynamic function of the hind flippers of three otariidsâ at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Austin, TX on January 3-7, 2023. 2023. The presentation was co-authored with Dr. Frank Fish, biology.
Alexa Cesari, physics and biomedical engineering undergraduate student, presented a research poster âBiological and biomechanical properties of tendons in the peduncle of harbor porpoiseâ at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Austin, TX on January 3-7, 2023. The presentation was co-authored with Dr. Jessie Placone, physics and biomedical engineering, Dr. Nicole Ramo, physics and biomedical engineering, K. V. Saini, physics and biomedical engineering undergraduate student, Dr. Michael Rosario, biology, and Dr. Frank Fish, biology.