Biology News & Events

Professor Andreas Madlung of �� Receives Lynwood W. Swanson Scientific Research Award

Professor Andreas Madlung, has been honored with the prestigious 2024 Lynwood W. Swanson Scientific Research Award by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. The award was presented to Professor Madlung at the Murdock College Science Research Conference in Vancouver, Washington, on November 8th. The award is presented in recognition of a senior faculty exemplar with an established, productive, and nationally recognized research program.

Watch a short video of Dr. Madlung's research in this video:

Graduation 2024

The Department of Biology wishes to acknowledge a heartfelt congratulations to the graduating class of 2024! You have completed one of the stepping stones on your life journey. Now, on to the next stone.

Watch and listen to this marvelous biological environment that surrounds you, that is you, and continue to learn from it. Now is the time to use your education and the skills you've learned here at the �� to push the boundaries of the known, explore the unknown, and make the discoveries that will help our planet become a better place.

We have been a family and a community these last four years. And although our bittersweet parting will be replaced with cherished memories, we are excited to share all that you will accomplish in the future. So please stay in contact with us.

Graduating Biology Class of 2024

To the graduating class of 2024, the faculty and staff of the Department of Biology would like to send a very heartfelt congratulations! You made it! Thank you for all of your hard work and contributions that have made our biology family and community such a success. You will be missed, we assure you. Graduation is an important moment. But, as all endings do, it signifies a new beginning. Graduation is not the end goal in itself, but it is instead a stepping stone along the larger journey on the road of your life. We hope that all of your future aspirations and dreams in life are reached.

Please stay in touch and send us updates as you travel down that road. We love hearing from our alumni!

Biology Department Awards Reception 2024

Gordon D. Alcorn Award

This award is given to the student considered to be the outstanding senior in biology based on a combination of scholarship, research, and service to the department & community.

Winner:

Ellie Olpin - Ellie has a near perfect GPA, has done 2X summers of research with Professor Carrie Woods (two distinct projects; one is almost ready for submission to journal) has been branching out to bring in molecular methods in Professor Bryan Thine’s lab as a volunteer. They have served as an excellent docent at the museum and as an IA. Presented at professional society meeting and will present again this summer. (Professor Andreas Madlung adds: No matter what the situation, Ellie is prepared, enthusiastic, and ready to dive in. And Professor Carrie Woods: Ellie is so capable in everything they do – scientific writing, research abilities, education and outreach, mentoring other students – they have been a leader in my lab in all of my classes).

Ellie Olpin, Gordon D. Alcorn Award recipient

Beverly Pierson Research Engagement Award

This award is named after Beverly Pierson, our microbiology professor from 1975-2005. It is given to the graduating student who, like Bev, has demonstrated exceptional research dedication and engagement.

Winners:

Kaitlin Riggan - Kaitlin has worked in Professor Bryan Thine’s lab continuously since the spring of 2022. She has done research every semester during the academic year, and during the summer of 2022 (she received an Agricola award in 2022). Last summer she was awarded and completed a 10-week REU at Purdue University. Kaitlin has presented her work (as a poster) at a national-level meeting (ASPB, 2022) and a regional-level meeting (ASPB – Western Section, 2023). She will present her work again this June at our national level meeting (ASPB). She is a model to other students in the lab by showing purposefulness in the planning and completion of her work, and in the number of hours spent on her project.
Claudia Luthy - Claudia is described as a very strong researcher, who makes others around her stronger. Her advisor, Professor Oscar Sosa, says that she has contributed so much to the lab and work to mentor other students. She is in the lab a lot – she’s done 2 summers of research – and this work shows. She has presented her work at national meetings. In addition, Assistant Professor Katherine Crocker points to her work at CWL and how she reached out to students in this fall’s offering of joint BIOL/CHEM intro course to be helpful when many were struggling.

Kaitlin Riggan & Claudia Luthy, Beverly Pierson Research Engagement Award recipients

DeMarais Outstanding Service Award

This award is given to the graduate who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to service to the Biology Department and the broader community during their time at the ��.

Winner:

Ben Smith - Ben is the Phi Sigma president. The biology faculty appreciate how hard he (and other officers) has worked to revitalize the group which had lost some of its structure/focus after the pandemic. He has done a lot to reach out to biology faculty (“almost too much outreach” says Professor Leslie Saucedo).

Ben Smith, DeMarais Outstanding Service Award 2024 recipient

Outstanding Symposium Presentation

This award is given in recognition of an outstanding oral presentation describing excellent biological research at this year’s Phi Sigma Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Winner:

Andrew Saddler - Excellent talk that hit on all criteria – this student told a good story, had an impressive data set, the slides were clear and helpful to presenting the story, and captured the audience’s attention.
Honorable Mention is given to: Myah Stauffer

Myah Stauffer, Outstanding Symposium Presentation 2024 honorable mention

Outstanding IA Award

This award is presented to a student who has demonstrated outstanding dedication and talent for helping other students to learn and appreciate the science of biology during their service as an instructor assistant.

Winners:

Ruby Gunter - “Ruby is the best IA that I have ever had! She prepares meticulously for every lab and interacts extremely well with the students! She is proactive with everything she does and is extremely generous with her time, offering extra help to students. She has an overall great attitude in lab; the perfect balance between being positive, respectful, and encouraging, while also stressing to the students that they need to take their work seriously.
Abi Jeskey - Abi is a 4-time IA. She prepares meticulously for every lab and interacts extremely well with the students! One professor described Abi as extremely competent saying they could step out of the lab and know that Abi would run the show. Another professor adds that she’s very helpful and accessible to students, offering multiple extra hours for meeting with students one-on-one to work on data analysis.

Ruby Gunter & Abi Jeskey, 2024 Outstanding IA Award recipients

The Phi Sigma Junior Research Award

This award is presented to two juniors who are active members of Phi Sigma currently conducting research, with plans to continue pursuing research opportunities over the summer or next academic year. Recipients have also demonstrated a dedication to service to the biology department, university campus, or broader community.

Winners:

Annika Laberge-Shusterman - Our first awardee has been involved in Professor Bryan Thine’s lab since the summer of 2023. They plan to continue doing research this summer at the Pacific Northwest Research Institute in Seattle. In the fall, they will continue research in the Thines lab for their Computer Science capstone project. They have been a member of the Phi Sigma Volunteering Committee this year and are actively involved with the high school tutoring service provided to freshmen at Mount Tahoma High School.
Gavin Sands - Gavin did research last summer in Assistant Professor Katherine Crocker’s lab working with crickets studying the endocrinology of transgenerational nongenetic effects. They will continue to do research in the Crocker lab this summer and into the fall to complete work for their senior thesis (for which they have been awarded an Agricola Research Grant). They were also an integral member of the Phi Sigma Symposium Committee this year helping coordinate all the food and refreshments.

Annika Laberge-Shusterman & Gavin Sands, Phi Sigma Junior Research Award 2024 recipients

University Academic Honors-Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude

Awarded by the university to degree candidates who have exhibited academic excellence and breadth of scholarly achievement and who have a GPA of 3.7 or higher.

University Academic Honors 2024 receipients

Winners:

Abbey Hansen
Mariah Canton
Ellie Olpin
Martin Hendrickson
Else Mayo
Logan Winn
Bailey Fuhrmann
Kiara Hamlin
Deniz Kelemet
Claudia Luthy
Ophir Klein
Julia Vahey
Viola Drazga
Moira Gaffney
Andrew Saddler
Keren Rivkin

Honors in Biology

These graduates are selected by the biology department based on their research, GPA, and contribution to the university. Only 10% of the graduating seniors can receive departmental honors.

Winners:

Olivia Brech
Abi Jeskey
Coby Rodriguez
Ben Smith
Maggie Smith
Evelyn Standaert

Professor Stacey Weiss Receives Lynwood W. Swanson Scientific Research Award

Professor Stacey Weiss, associate chair of biology and William L. McCormick Professor of Natural Sciences has been honored with the prestigious 2023 Lynwood W. Swanson Scientific Research Award by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. The award was presented to Professor Weiss at the 2023 Murdock College Science Research Conference in Vancouver, WA, on November 10, 2023.

The Lynwood W. Swanson Scientific Research Award, sponsored by the Murdock Trust, includes a $20,000 grant to support ongoing research, including funds for two student summer research positions. The award recognizes a senior faculty member with an established, productive, and nationally recognized research program at a predominantly undergraduate university in the Pacific Northwest.

Watch a short video of Stacey, and to read more about her many incredible successes with her research at this link.

Summer Research 2023

Kaia Doan and Olivia Brech collecting data on the beach

Kaia Doan and Olivia Brech are working with Professor Carrie Woods, as part of their summer research program, and are testing the heterogeneity hypothesis in the intertidal zone at Tongue Point in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They are examining habitat associations of intertidal species to particular substrate types and whether rugosity is an adequate measure of habitat heterogeneity.

Their research is an extension of an Independent Project in Ecology in fall 2022. Brech and Doan are so committed to their research! They camped for 2.5 weeks straight to collect their data, and are among the nearly 100 students participating in Puget Sound's long running summer research program.

BIRDS ON THE BRAIN

Portrait of Dr. Peter Hodum standing outside

A self-professed "outdoor bum," Peter Hodum, professor of biology and environmental policy and decision making, spends his non-teaching days by the sea studying birds. Seabirds were a passion he discovered as a first-year student doing summer research at Bowdoin College. That opportunity was "revelatory and transformative," he says. Now, his research centers on seabird conservation, specifically community-based conservation – an approach that centers local communities in the work.

Welcome Dr. Katherine Crocker

The Department of Biology is thrilled to announce that Dr. Katherine Crocker will be joining us as a tenure-line Assistant Professor this fall. Katherine is an interdisciplinary biologist studying how the environmental conditions experienced by an individual affect the health and phenotype of their *descendants*. These transgenerational effects of environmental stress are fascinating, and we can't wait to learn more about them from Katherine and their future.

The Tiktok Doctor

Rose Marie Leslie wearing a lab coat with a stethoscope around her neck, and looking intently at her cell phone.

Rose Marie Leslie '12 has a real passion for providing care and health education to patients of all ages, and she is making a difference by helping slow the spread of health misinformation by using TikTok. After graduating from the �� with a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a minor in Spanish, Leslie attended medical school at the University of Minnesota and started posting a "Daily Doctor Fact" on TikTok. In late 2019 she posted about vaping which got a big enough response that Rolling Stone magazine, Good Morning America, and others did stores about her! Leslie is now a primary care doctor at Allina Health in Faribault, MN and continues to be active on TikTok.

Learn More

Where is the methane in the ocean coming from?

Two students with a long net in front of Puget Sound water.

Scientists are puzzled by the amount of methane in the ocean, so Clarissa Troutman '22, who has a molecular and cellular biology major, is looking for answers. Troutman was digging into the so-called "marine methane paradox" during the summer of 2021 alongside her faculty advisor, Professor Oscar Sosa. She collected samples of seawater and plankton from Commencement Bay, enriched them in the lab, and then measured their methane concentration. Her research is helping scientists understand the role of plankton in the global carbon cycle.

Learn More

Tomato harvest in the Madlung lab

The fruit in the field and greenhouse are now ripening quickly all at once. We have dozens of different genotypes of new light receptor gene combinations that we have bred using Mendelian genetics and are isolating using molecular genotyping. After a 2-hour treatment with dilute hydrochloric acid to mimic passage through the stomach of a seed disperser the seeds are dried (photo on the right) before they are used for phenotypic experiments or for growing, crossing, and segregation in the next generation

Sue Hannaford’s student, Adam Schmidt, dives into the mysteries of Parkinson’s disease with the help of bees

hypodermic needle with a droplet held to a bee specimen's mouth

On the rooftop of Thompson Hall, a figure emerges in a full beekeeper suit, a head-to-toe covering including a white jumpsuit, a wide-brimmed hat with a mesh face veil, and thick protective gloves. Carefully, he approaches the hive, a five-foot-tall stack of wooden boxes located behind a greenhouse near the edge of the roof. Adam Schmidt ’23, the molecular and cellular biology major inside the suit, isn’t interested in the colony of several thousand bees for their honey—he wants to study their brains in an attempt to understand the progression of neurodegenerative diseases in humans.

Learn More

Photos by Sy Bean

NSF awarded a Research Experience for Post-Bac Students (REPS) supplement to Sam Barnwell and the Madlung lab

NSF awarded a Research Experience for Post-Bac Students (REPS) supplement to Sam Barnwell and the Madlung lab! This supplement is specifically for recently graduated students who missed out on a research experience due to COVID-19 during their time in college. The supplement pays 12 months of salary for the post-bac for doing full-time research in an NSF-supported lab. Sam started with us last week and already got her first batch of DNA sequencing results back last Friday. Congratulations on the NSF award and welcome to the lab, Sam, we are glad you are here!

Summer Quest Symposium

This September, summer research students from all across campus gathered together for the Summer Quest Symposium where they presented their research to the campus community. It was inspiring to see so much incredible, student-driven research. Biology had 23 students presenting at the conference and they all did great

Faculty Awards & Recognition

Portrait of Peter Wimberger wearing a rain jacket and a ball cap standing outside

Peter was awarded the Walter Lowrie Sustained Service Award for his incredible service to the Puget Sound community. A stalwart champion of interdisciplinary thinking and experiential learning, Peter has helped build institutional programs that make a Puget Sound education distinctive. From expanding the community engagement focus on the Slater Museum of Natural History, to developing what has become the Environmental Policy & Decision-Making Program, to his innovative inter-institutional and international teaching, Peter’s work is felt across campus, across the community, and beyond borders. Thank you, Peter! We are so pleased you have received this awesome recognition of your work.

Andreas Madlung

We are delighted to congratulate Puget Sound Biology faculty member Andreas Madlung, who has been named as a Distinguished Professor! Distinguished Professors are selected as the very top few Full Professor files read by the Faculty Advancement Committee each year. This award celebrates his exceptional teaching, research, and service to the university.

Peter Hodum

Congratulations to Peter Hodum who, not only has just received a promotion to Full Professor, but has also won the Bartanen Faculty Research. Peter has an active research lab with multiple lines of research centered around conservation biology of birds and island ecosystems, and with direct applications to boots-on-the-ground conservation work and public policy. He is a fantastic mentor to our students and a valued collaborator to local and international scientists. Just since 2019, he has contributed to 9 peer-reviewed publications, 1 book chapter, 1 state recovery plan, 1 oral conference presentation, and 1 poster conference presentation; he also has obtained $750,000+ in grant funds and written two popular articles.

Dr. Bryan Thines

Dr. Bryan Thines who was awarded tenure in May 2021! We are thrilled! Bryan is a true teacher-scholar, an excellent molecular biologist, a fearless innovator, and a fantastic mentor to our research students.

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