Michael DeJong, Department of Biology
mjdejong@stthomas.edu
    Research Interest: Avian behavior ecology generally and in Rough-winged Swallow natural history. I have spent the last few years looking at the relationship between paternity and mate guarding issues in Rough-winged Swallows (and a few other species) as well as describing and evaluating Rough-wing vocalizations. I also recently initiated research into the invasion dynamics and effects on other plant species of buckthorn (Rhammus cathartica) in Burnsville.

    Inquiry-based education experience and interest: Over the last 10 years, I have spend considerable time discussing inquiry-based education and active learning with other members of the Biology Department. Many of us have attended seminars on active learning and have incorporated many techniques in both lecture and laboratory situations. We have helped each other implement these ideas into laboratory exercises throughout our curriculum and assess their effectiveness. Labs normally consist of modules of 2-4 weeks where students first learn background information and techniques and then design and conduct an experiment of their own. I enthusiastically endorse this approach in all my teaching. This is the main premise of our Introduction to Field Biology course. I and one other faculty member take students for 2-3 weeks in January to a warmer place (Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica) and practice inquiry-based education.

Simon Emms, Department of Biology
skemms@stthomas.edu
    Research Interest: Evolution and ecology of plant reproductive systems. I am currently studying the evolutionary and ecological consequences of selfing vs. outcrossing mating systems in different species of Bidens. I am also about to start a second project on the effect of variation in resource allocation to male and female reproductive structures on reproductive success in columbines.

    Inquiry-based education experience and interest: I believe strongly in the importance of inquiry-based and active learning approaches to undergraduate education. Not only do students learn best with these approaches, but they are the sine qua non of actually doing science at any level. This philosophy underlies both my upper division courses and the way I involve students in my own research. My ecology course especially includes a variety of studies designed to teach fundamental ecological principles by taking data in the field and analyzing it with the appropriate statistical techniques.

Dwight Nelson, Department of Biology
denelson@stthomas.edu
    Research Interest: My primary field of research interest is the field of circadian rhythms. I am specifically interested in how neural circadian pacemakers in vertebrates receive light information to synchronize or entrain to environmental time. I have performed experiments using mammals (rodents) and fishes. The studies I perform in this area range from measuring the behavioral and physiological outputs from endogenous pacemakers to cellular and molecular analyses of brain changes correlated with visual input to circadian clocks.

    Inquiry-based education experience and interest: Most biology laboratories at UST are very inquiry-based. Many lab "exercises" begin with learning fundamental lab techniques, the lab experiences in most courses include applications of those techniques to experiments that are designed by the students themselves. Often labs will be conducted in 2-3 week modules where the first week will focus on techniques and the 3rd and 4th weeks will allow time for students to use those techniques to answer questions of their own choosing. I have used this approach with most labs related to my own course. It offers the students applications of their class and lab experiences to real-world problems.

MaryAnne Sullivan, Department of Biology
jslofstrom@stthomas.edu
    Research Interest: My main research interests focus on stress induced proteins, more commonly known as heat shock proteins (hsps). Much work has been done in bacteria investigating the role of hsps and hscs in the cell. On the other hand, little work has been done investigating how hsps respond, at either the transcriptional or translational levels, to environmental toxins. I am interested in learning about the role or the heat shock response in organisms used in bioremediation to further our understanding of both the heat shock response and of the molecular biology of these unique organisms.

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