SOAR 2018: Full Schedule

8:30am PDT

Biology Senior Projects

Biology students will be presenting independent senior research and McNair scholar projects:

Erica Rudolf, The possible effects of blister rust fungus infection and mountain hemlock density on whitebark pine growth in Crater Lake and Lassen Volcanic National Parks
Nina Friedman, Evolution of the PR4A Family of Pathogenesis Related Proteins in Fir Trees
Amanda Stacy, Endophytes: Testing Host Specificity in a Coniferous Forest
Paige Stephens, Routes for Roots: Nutrient Foraging Patterns in Serpentine Plants
Alena Slaughter, Baker's Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) Stress Response to Change in Dough pH
Meghan Flannery, Microbial Ecology

Moderators

Biology

Wednesday May 16, 2018 8:30am - 10:30am PDT
LIB Meese Hannon Library

Symposium

Host Organization Biology
Majors & Minors Biology
Student Organizations Biology Club
Topics Science

12:00pm PDT

All in the Family 3: A Novel Group of Proteins May Enable Species of Disease-Causing Pythium to Infect Their Plant Hosts

Oomycetes are a group of fungal-like organisms that cause plant diseases through the use of effector proteins which manipulate and break down their host’s immune system. We have been sequencing genes from a recently discovered family of proteins called simply “Family 3” in species of Pythium native to a Pacific Northwest forest to better understand how they do this. Results suggest that these genes are actively evolving by both gene duplication and gene loss non-equally in different species.

Speakers

David Oline

Paige Stephens

Thursday May 17, 2018 12:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
SU Rogue River Room Stevenson Union

Poster

Host Organization Biology
Majors & Minors Biology
Student Organizations Biology Club
Topics Science, Nature

12:00pm PDT

Endophytic Fungi of Pacific Yew: A Molecular Approach

Investigation of foliar endophytic fungi of Taxus brevifolia across two locations in the Pacific Northwest: A Molecular Approach.
This research was done as part of the Winter 2018 Molecular Biology class by Dr. David Oline. This research describes endophytes in general as well as those we found in Taxus Brevifolia (Pacific Yew) via genetic sequencing. Endophytic fungi, endo meaning inside and phyte meaning plant, are mutualistic or commensal fungi that reside entirely within and help plants.

Speakers

Nelson Wedin

Thursday May 17, 2018 12:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
SU Rogue River Room Stevenson Union

Poster

Host Organization Biology
Majors & Minors Biology
Student Organizations Biology Club
Topics Science

12:00pm PDT

Family 3 Effector Proteins

For our molecular biology capstone, we sequenced and examined family 3 effector proteins from oomycete plant pathogens. Throughout the project, we constructed clone libraries, extracted and purified DNA and sequenced the family 3 effector genes. We used bioinformatics to explore the diversity within the family 3 effector genes to determine their importance to Pythium pathogenesis.

Speakers

Walker Andrews

Tristen Holmes

Ariana Sattler

Thursday May 17, 2018 12:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
SU Rogue River Room Stevenson Union

Poster

Host Organization Biology
Majors & Minors Biology
Student Organizations Biology Club
Topics Science

12:00pm PDT

Generalistic and Mutualistic Coniferous Endophytes

Endophytes are fungal microorganisms that colonize the tissues of virtually all plants and can exhibit a variety of relationships from mutualism to parasitism with their hosts. Ten endophytes isolated from five northwest coniferous tree species were grown on seven different types of agar media made from three different host species and potato dextrose. Preliminary results suggest that some endophytes grow better on tree media than potato dextrose, and some are more host specific than others.

Speakers

Amanda Stacy

Thursday May 17, 2018 12:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
SU Rogue River Room Stevenson Union

Poster

Host Organization Biology
Majors & Minors Biology
Student Organizations Biology Club
Topics Local Interest, History, Science

12:00pm PDT

Pacific Division of the AAAS

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the oldest and largest general scientific society in the US and publishes the journal Science. The Pacific Division includes membership in eight western states, two provinces of Canada, and most countries surrounding the Pacific Rim. An annual meeting is held within the geographical boundaries of the Division. SOU has hosted three meetings previously, in 2000, 2005, and 2010. We're back in 2019. Come see what we are all about!

Speakers

Roger Christianson

Pacific Division, AAAS/Science

Roger Christianson is an Emeritus Professor of Biology at Southern Oregon University. Starting at SOU in Fall 1980, his primary responsibility was coordination and teaching in the Biology Department's program for non-majors, General Biology, until his retirement in 2014. He also served... Read More →

Angie Christianson

Thursday May 17, 2018 12:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
SU Rogue River Room Stevenson Union

Poster

Host Organization STEM
Majors & Minors Biology, Chemistry, Art, Ethics, Healthcare Administration
Student Organizations Biology Club, Chemistry Club, Ashland Nursing Students without Borders, Pre-Health Care Society
Topics Public Health, Nature, Poetry, Religion, Social Justice, Social Science, Sustainability, Science

12:00pm PDT

Soil Microbial Ecology in Response to Long-term Manipulations

Revealing the results obtained during my independent research project that examined soil microorganisms after long-term soil manipulations. The soil was collected after 20 years of controlled alterations to the amount of woody debris, leaves, or roots allowed to reach the soil ecosystem. This study characterized and compared soil microbial communities using soil incubations to assess nitrogen transformations and biochemical analysis of fatty acids to determine community composition.

Speakers

Meghan Flannery

Thursday May 17, 2018 12:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
SU Rogue River Room Stevenson Union

Poster

Host Organization Biology
Majors & Minors Biology, Environmental Science & Policy
Student Organizations Biology Club
Topics Nature, Science

1:30pm PDT

Effect of Farming Practice and Storage on Nutrition of Eggs

I will be presenting my capstone research project for my Biology and Chemistry degrees. I am focusing on the effect of storage time and farming practices on the fatty acid profile of chicken eggs. This study shows the rate of degradation of fatty acids over time and how the diet, environment of the chickens, and method of storage impacts this. It also shows the difference in nutritional content of washed vs. unwashed eggs over an 8 week storage time.

Speakers

Ariana O'Malley

Sponsors

Chemistry

Thursday May 17, 2018 1:30pm - 1:50pm PDT
SU 313 Stevenson Union

Presentation

Host Organization Chemistry
Majors & Minors Biology, Chemistry
Student Organizations Chemistry Club, Biology Club
Topics Science, Sustainability, Agriculture

3:00pm PDT

Plastic Eating Microbes: A Review of Plastic Biodegradation

Learn about the exciting potentials of utilizing microbial communities to transform plastic waste into living organisms, soil carbon, and useful products. This review discusses biodegradation of several types of polymers, with a special focus on polyethylene - the most ubiquitous plastic waste. Plastic waste is rapidly accumulating in the environment and damaging ecosystems, meanwhile plastic production is increasing. Facilitated biodegradation of existing plastics is possible and paramount.

Speakers

Nelson Wedin

Sponsors

Biology

Thursday May 17, 2018 3:00pm - 3:20pm PDT
SU 313 Stevenson Union

Presentation

Host Organization Biology
Majors & Minors Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science & Policy
Student Organizations Bee Team Club, Environmental Education Club, OSPIRG, Biology Club, Chemistry Club
Topics Biochemistry, Nature, STEM, Sustainability, Environment

SOAR 2018

8:30am PDT

John Roden

Meghan Flannery

Nina Friedman

Erica Rudolph

Alena Slaughter

Amanda Stacy

Paige Stephens

Biology

12:00pm PDT

David Oline

Paige Stephens

12:00pm PDT

Nelson Wedin

12:00pm PDT

Walker Andrews

Tristen Holmes

Ariana Sattler

12:00pm PDT

Amanda Stacy

12:00pm PDT

Roger Christianson

Angie Christianson

12:00pm PDT

Meghan Flannery

1:30pm PDT

Ariana O'Malley

Chemistry

3:00pm PDT

Nelson Wedin

Biology

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