Neuroscience and Biology Major Interns at NASA

Rising senior Christin Godale is spending her summer doing an "out of this world" internship. The neuroscience and biology double major is interning at the NASA Glenn Research Center as a Human Research Project intern doing research on a project called the "Digital Astronaut."

According to Godale, a day in the life of a Human Research Project intern consists mainly of working on visual impairment and intracranial pressure models. These models deal with the effects that long-term exposure to microgravity has on the structure of the eye. The research seeks to explain why many astronauts experience poorer vision after returning from space, as astronaut Mike Kelly discussed with CBS News this week from the International Space Station.



Interning at Glenn has benefited Godale in a variety of ways from developing her critical thinking skills to networking with NASA employees. She also has the unique benefit of using the research that she is doing this summer for her BW neuroscience thesis which she will present in Spring 2016.

Godale hopes to eventually pursue her Ph.D. in neuroscience or cell biology, although her experience at NASA has sparked her interest as a possible career path as well.

Students and Faculty Elevate Science/Math Days at Cedar Point

The BW Cedar Point team, left to right, back row: David Revta and Dr. Ed Meyer, midde: Dr. Lisa Ponton and Alan Duncan, front: Brandon Dropic and Dr. Jim Emigh (not pictured: Dr. Peter Hoekje)

A group of Baldwin Wallace University students and faculty has transformed the learning materials used in one of the most anticipated spring field trips for Ohio middle and high school students: Physics, Science and Math Days at Cedar Point.

The week-long event (May 11-15 for 2015) turns “The Roller Coaster Capital of the World!®" into "the world’s biggest classroom" with special presentations, demonstrations and hands-on exhibits aimed at helping students to see how math and science apply to a wild ride on the Slingshot or the Wicked Twister, or the creation of cotton candy.

BW electronics technician David Revta spearheaded the BW effort to develop new middle and high school workbooks that include concepts, illustrations, and problems to solve—all based on the Cedar Point experience. “Our ultimate goal as education partner,” Revta says, “was to strengthen the ties to state science standards, and offer a progressive, tiered curriculum that will allow teachers to customize learning for their students.”

Brandon Dropic '15, a neuroscience/chemistry major from Seminole, Fla. got involved in this the project for the “unique experience of connecting other students to chemistry in a fun, non-traditional way.” He goes on to explain that “since chemistry questions had not previously existed, we were creating something brand new and exciting.”

While Cedar Point’s ties to the laws of physics are obvious, chemistry professor Dr. Lisa Ponton says finding chemistry connections sounded like a challenge. But, the inspiration came easily when the group visited the park to brainstorm. “We zeroed in on the steam combustion railroad, the kettle corn and cotton candy right away,” Ponton explains. “So we included problems like density comparison, moisture calculation, and the pressure involved in the corn exploding.”

In addition to Dropic, Ponton and Revta, the BW team included chemistry major Alan Duncan '15 from Valley City, Ohio, plus faculty members, James Emigh (education), Dr. Peter Hoekje (physics) and Dr. Edwin Meyer (physics).

BW also plans to send students and faculty to the park during science week to host a booth and answer questions, further helping Cedar Point to offer a one-of-a-kind learning experience, wrapped in pure fun.

Photo courtesy Cedar Point

From Tears to Triumph...Grad Pursues Goals Honoring Friend

For Cynthia Kenmuir ’02, the path to success first began with a screech of tires, a frantic rush to the hospital and tears…so many tears.

“When I was in high school, one of my best friend’s was involved in a terrible automobile accident that severed her spinal cord. It left her paralyzed from the waist down I took the news very hard," she recalled. "It was at that time I developed a true interest in medicine."

Today Kenmuir, M.D., Ph.D., is chief neurology resident at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. This week she presented key research at the International Stroke Conference (Nashville) that centered on using stem cell therapy to improve cognitive function in patients who haven’t recovered months or years after a clot-caused stroke.

The Lisbon, Ohio, native, who was valedictorian at her high school, said she looked at several colleges and universities nationwide before deciding on Baldwin Wallace. She picked BW because of its strong neuroscience program and amazing hands-on learning opportunities.

Today, her BW experience is being carried forward in her career. "I am so excited to have fulfilled my passion," she noted.

Neuroscience Major Secures Major Grant for Thesis Project

Rachel Zacharias '15 won a prestigious $5,000 grant from the International Honor Society in Psychology, Psi Chi, to fund the research for her thesis project. This is just one of many successes for the impressive neuroscience and psychology major.

Zacharias just wrapped up a summer internship at West Virginia University where she won recognition and a cash prize for her poster presentation. She spent the summer at WVU as part of a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.

"I learned lab techniques, such as running western blots and radial arm water maze testing, that will be helpful as I continue my career in neuroscience,” she said of the experience. "One of the highlights was attending the WVU Neuroscience Retreat at Oglebay, where I won an award for my poster presentation of my research project.” She was one of just four undergrads to receive recognition.

With a successful summer behind her, Zacharias now turns to her thesis research, which focuses on possible treatments for the negative impacts of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on daily life. She hopes to "discover more about the effectiveness of (the drugs) acetazolamide and corticosterone as either prophylactics or treatments for PTSD."

Neuroscience Major Conducts "Drop-Dead" Research

Jordan Smith '16, a BW neuroscience-biology major,  spent 10 weeks of her summer break participating in a National Science Foundation-sponsored Summer Research Program in the Biological Sciences Department at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wis. Jordan's main research focus was to determine whether fruit flies with a gene mutation called "drop-dead" experienced hypoxia or the absence of oxygen.

The rich research program experience for Jordan and 18 other young scientists included weekly journal clubs and social activities, and culminated in a symposium for the students to present their research.  ​

Jordan was mentored in her summer work by Marquette biology professor, Dr. Edward Blumenthal.

Student Researcher Wins National Neuroscience Grant

The research of one BW Summer Scholar has received additional recognition and funding from Nu Rho Psi, the national neuroscience honor society. Biagio Niro '16 is one of just two student researchers nationwide to receive a 2014 Nu Rho Psi Summer Research Grant.

With the support of neuroscience chair and faculty mentor, Dr. Jackie Morris, Niro's work is aimed at helping scientists to better understand the role of the PAD-2 gene in the normal development of the nervous system. The PAD enzyme has been the focus of research in cancer and autoimmune diseases, in particular multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

The BW neuroscience-biology major is using a new gene editing system to delete a portion of the PAD-2 gene in zebrafish. After editing the genes, he analyzes the mutated fish to determine if nervous system development has been altered.  According to Niro and Morris, "If we understand the normal role of the PAD gene, then we might understand why it reappears during disease states."

Second Round of Contest Produces Winning Ideas

The second and final round of BW’s Blackstone LaunchPad's 2014 Year of the Idea Contest produced a number of winning ideas, but Kara Gawelek '14 claimed the biggest prize. The neuroscience and biology major and chemistry minor drew on her experience in the lab as inspiration for a "Semi-Automatic Pipet Tip Cartridge," which not only won the $200 first place prize in the for-profit category, but claimed the $300 overall grand prize as well.

Kara's idea would speed up the research process for small labs and scientists who are frustrated by the slow pace of manually reloading sterile, plastic tips onto their micropipets (which are used to dispense small samples), but who can't afford expensive, fully automated equipment.

In this second round, students submitted more than 50 ideas in three categories. The first place non-profit idea was a Serving for Soldiers program suggested by Alexis Charara '14 and Christine Austin ‘15. In the Baldwin Wallace category, Nnaji Iwunze ’17 won with a BW Workout Buddy concept. Second place winning ideas came from Tim Gruskiewicz '15, Rachel Hoffpauir ’15,  Tom Jackson ’16 and Ashley King '16.

Judging was based on the originality and problem-solving power of each idea. The goal of the contest was to spark campus creativity and increase awareness about BW's Blackstone LaunchPad, which is sponsored by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation and the Burton D. Morgan Foundation.

Sean Anderson '15 Seizes Research Opportunities

Sean Anderson '15, a Neuroscience-Psychology major, has made the most of his time here at BW, assisting in numerous Neuroscience Lab and physics research projects, such as how normal-hearing people adapt to similar deficits in auditory information.

Over the summer, Anderson, who's been active in BW's research community, was selected out of 400 students for the Summer Research Initiative - a competitive internship at the University of Maryland that promotes diversity in social science.

His ultimate goal is to earn a doctorate in Cognitive Neuroscience or Hearing and Speech sciences.

Neuroscience Students Present at Regional Meeting

Two BW Neuroscience students were singled out for individual research presentations at the recent Regional Neuroscience Meeting "mGluRs" (Midwest/Great Lakes Research Undergraduate Research Symposium in Neuroscience) at Wabash College in Indiana. Benjamin Brown '15 and Sean Anderson '15 individually presented their independent research; Brown's research topic was “In vivo and in vitro exposure exhibits a dose-dependent induction of ADNP in rat cortical neurons,” while Anderson reviewed his work on "The use of secondary acoustic cues to prosodic stress in vocoded speech.”


Rachel Zacharias '15 (pictured) along with Agata Szwakowska '14 and Janace Gifford '15 presented a poster summary of ongoing research in BW's  Neuroscience laboratory during the symposium known as "mGluRs."

Five other students presented research during conference poster presentations. Tyler Alban '14 and Logan Sirline '14, students who were also involved in BW's 2013 Summer Scholars, summarized the research they pursued during that 10-week-long program. The students traveled with Jacqueline Morris, Director of BW's internationally recognized Neuroscience Program.

Deying Gravity on NASA's "Vomit Comet"

Five Baldwin Wallace University students conducted summer research during a wild ride on NASA’s “Weightless Wonder” airplane, aka "the Vomit Comet." The BW experiment was one of just fourteen selected for NASA’s 2013 Reduced Gravity Student Flight Program.  Read more about our fearless flyers' amazing adventure on the BW website, in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, on space.com, in The Strongsville Post and in the Strongsville Patch.

Left to right, Astronaut Mike Fossum, Sarah Rospert '13 (biology), Astronaut Cady Coleman, Carissa Bonus '13 (biology), Logan Sirline '14 (neuroscience/chemistry) and Frank Prochaska, NASA Reduced Gravity Education Program Manager

Biology/Neuroscience Major Wins Prestigious Scholarship

Kara Gawelek ’14 was one of three scholarship winners at the prestigious, 2013 YWCA Women of Achievement Awards in Cleveland. Gawelek, a Brunswick native, was selected to receive the $1,500 Dr. Jennie S. Hwang Award, which recognizes an outstanding female sophomore or junior student who is majoring in a science, engineering or technology-related discipline. She was chosen from more than 40 student nominees from 12 universities!

Gawelek, an aspiring pathologist who credits her late father with inspiring her to “live up to her potential,” has earned a 3.96 GPA while studying Neuroscience/Biology and Chemistry at BW.

The first-generation college student is head ambassador for BW’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Studies Program, vice president of the Pre-Medical Society and a Choose Ohio First STEM Scholar, as well as a STEM Scholars Leadership Council member. Read more on the Strongsville Patch.

Gawelek (center) at a meeting of BW's STEM Scholars, an innovative BW scholarship program preparing students for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).