Dr. Vishy Ramamurthy
3:30 PM / Life Sciences Building rm. G23
Cytoskeletal changes and Sensory Disorders: As described in several textbooks, microtubules (MTs) have traditionally been considered uniform tubular structures. However, MTs play diverse roles in mediating various cellular functions. How, then, can a uniform structure fulfill such a wide range of functions? The prevailing view in the field is that functional diversity is achieved through a "tubulin code." In this talk, I will illustrate this concept and its significance in hearing and vision using mouse models. Also, I will briefly talk about our ongoing research on potential connections between glial cells and photoreceptor neurons, as well as the role of the actin network.
Dr. Moriah Katt
3:30 PM / Life Sciences Building rm. G23
Dr. Miriam Leary
3:30 PM / Life Sciences Building rm. G23
Enhancing Retention and Student Success in Undergraduate Physiology Programs: Student retention in undergraduate physiology programs is a growing concern, particularly in Appalachia, where college attendance and graduation rates are historically low. This presentation synthesizes findings from multiple studies examining factors influencing first-time, full-time student retention, with a focus on at-risk populations, including first-generation college students and those with lower academic preparation. This research examines the impact of academic preparedness, cohort scheduling, classroom design, and targeted interventions—such as first-year seminars, flipped classrooms, and integrated support structures—on student retention and success. Findings suggest that while these strategies enhance social integration and perceptions of faculty engagement and academic experience, their impact on retention is more complex. This work highlights strategies for early identification of at-risk students and emphasize the need for evidence-based, student-centered approaches to improving retention in physiology-related programs.
Dr. Laurel Lynch
3:30 PM / Life Sciences Building rm. G23
Exploring how disease-induced scavenger declines impact ecosystem function: On the small Australian island-state of Tasmania, the progressive spread of a transmissible and highly lethal cancer is threatening Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) with extinction. The resulting natural experiment—where devil population densities vary from 5% of carrying capacity in the east of Tasmania to 90% of carrying capacity in the west—offers a rare opportunity to test whether the decline of an apex scavenger can scale up to impact ecosystem processes. Our team of community and ecosystem ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and forest scientists have spent the past several years exploring how devil declines impact scavenger foodwebs, carcass decomposition, soil biogeochemistry, and forest carbon sequestration. We found that carcasses in high devil-density areas were consumed far more rapidly and thoroughly than those in low-devil density areas, reducing nutrient flow belowground. In contrast, carcasses that were slowly consumed by a diverse scavenger network (e.g., mesopredators, avians, invertebrates), delivered up to 47 times more nitrogen and 11 times more phosphate to soils directly below the carcass, significantly altering microbial community composition and function. Because devils concentrate carcass-derived elements in their scat, we next fused experimental data and modeling to test whether dispersed inputs could subsidize forest productivity. We found that devil scat inputs are likely to sustain, or increase, above and belowground net primary productivity and microbial biomass carbon through the year 2100. In contrast, replacing devil scat with lower-quality scat inputs (e.g., from non-bone-consuming scavengers and herbivores) caused forest carbon pools to increase more slowly, or decline, under expected increases in temperature and changes in precipitation. Because ecosystem processes are responsive to many drivers, our results in Tasmania highlight the importance of considering how multiple global change factors (e.g., biodiversity loss, biotic-abiotic feedbacks, climate change) scale up to impact current and future ecosystem function.