Three Bloomsburg University chemistry students pass national accreditation exam

 

Three Bloomsburg University students in the B.S. Chemistry-Biochemistry option passed the national American Society for Biochemistry and Biochemistry Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Accreditation Exam.

Stepan Budkin, Tara Full, and Jason Stone were among 926 students nationwide that took the rigorous exam in spring 2020 and among the 40.4% (374 students) who passed. Additionally, Stone was awarded certification with distinction for extraordinary success on the exam. Including this year’s cohort, nine total BU students have earned the national certification recognition and three have earned high distinction. Bloomsburg’s 50% certification rate exceeds the national average of 43.8%.

“The ASBMB has routinely validated what we have always known,” said Michael Borland, ASBMB Accreditation Coordinator and professor of chemistry and biochemistry. “Small class sizes, hands-on laboratory experiences, use of cutting-edge instrumentation/methods, and the high impact practice of one-on-one faculty-mentored research experiences creates students ready for nationwide success in whatever path they choose.”

BU was also the first PASSHE program to garner ASBMB program accreditation in 2014. Only 85 programs nationwide hold ASBMB accreditation, including 5 others in Pennsylvania alongside BU. “It is a great testament to the hard and dedication of our students for BU to regularly earn national recognition alongside other prestigious ASBMB programs; I am proud that BU, and our department, provides this opportunity to our students,” said Borland.

Stone, a senior from Dresher, plans to attend medical school with the goal of becoming a cardiovascular surgeon. Jason has conducted research with Matthew Polinski, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, investigating the understudied chemical bonding patterns in f-element containing materials. Stone’s work studying these uncommon ligands and donors will shed light on new modes in which f-element chemistry can be harnessed.

“All the professors have been very supportive and encouraging,” said Stone. “Due to the small student to teacher ratio you really get the chance to interact with your professors and get to know them. Several of my professors were constantly available to help me work on my medical school application and provide valuable insight into the processes and how I could make myself stand out. For me personally, research has taught me several valuable lessons about science and about life, but most importantly it has taught me how believe in myself and work towards my goals.”

Tara Full, a senior honors student from Mountain Top, will graduate this fall and plans to attend medical school to become an emergency medicine physician. Full conducted her two-semester honors research project with Kate Beishline, assistant professor of biology, to study the regulation and role of telomere dynamics in aging and cancer. Full’s research was also supported by a chemistry and biochemistry Department Summer Undergraduate Research Experience.

“The chemistry program at Bloomsburg has taught me more about myself in four years than I ever thought possible,” said Full. “It has taught me to reach outside my comfort zone and shown me that my potential in this field is much larger than what I originally thought as a freshman. I would like to specifically thank Dr. (Michael) Borland and Dr. (Matthew) Polinski for encouraging me to pursue my dreams and change those dream into a very real possibility for my future.”

Stepan Budkin, a Hazleton resident who was born in Russia, praised the access to laboratory experiences at BU. “The BU chemistry program is focused on giving students lots of laboratory experience, which becomes very important when students are searching for jobs and graduate schools,” said Budkin. “Students spend over four hours a week in a lab when they are taking multiple chemistry classes. Labs meant for more advanced classes are stuffed with unique equipment.”

Budkin conducted research with Dan McCurry, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, in generating high surface area electrodes for sensitive molecular analysis. He has been able to alter fabrication conditions to modify geometry on the hundreds of atoms scale. Budkin plans to attend graduate school in the biomedical sciences as a mechanism to apply his knowledge to solving real-world science diagnostic issues. 

 

Retrieved from the Week Ahead 9-7-2020

Recent Publications, Presentations, and Awards

Publications
Jennifer Haney, assistant professor of EGGS, recently published a paper, "Science or Fiction: The Persistence of Disaster Myths in Hollywood Films" in the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters.

Debra Minzola, assistant professor of nursing, recently published a paper, "Damage Control Rususcitation of a Patient with Tramatic Aortic Rupture: A Case Report." in the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) Journal.  This work was a collaboration with the Geisinger Medical Center.

John M. Hranitz, professor of BAHS, recently published a paper, "Thermal tolerance varies with dim-light foraging and elevation in large carpenter bees (hymenoptera: Apidae: Xylocopini)" in Ecological Entomology.  Stephen Tapsak, undergraduate Biology and EGGS major, was also an author on the paper, along with collaborators in a 2019 Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, from the University of Kansas, the University of Texas, Pomoma College, University of Aegean, and the University of Central Oklahoma.  Funding by the National Science Foundation (DBI 1560389) to the host institution, University of Central Oklahoma, for 2016-2019.

Karl Kapp, professor of Instructional Technology, and co-authors recently published a paper, "Enhancing motivation in workplace training with casual games: a twelve month field study of retail employees" in Educational Technology Research and Development.

Pamela Smith, professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, recently published a paper, "Palliative Care in Dysphagia and Dementia" in Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups.


Adrian Van Rythoven, assistant professor of EGGS, and co-authors recently published a paper, "Ultramafic xenoliths from the 1.15 Ga Certac kimberlite, eastern Superior Craton" in The Canadian Mineralogist.


Sean Hartzell, instructor of BAHS, recently published a paper, "An amelanistic Spotted Salamander, Ambystoma maculatum (Caudata: Ambystomidae) from Eastern Pennsylvania" in Herpetology Notes.

John M. Hranitz, professor of BAHS, recently published a paper, "Effect of pan trap size on the diversity of sampled bees and abundance of bycatch" in Journal of Insect Conservation.  Cody Pavlick, a spring 2019 B.S. Biology graduate, was also an author on the paper.  The paper stems from research conducted on Lesvos Island Greece with collaborators in a Research Experiences for Undergraduates program from University of Kansas, The College of New Jersey, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Unidad para el Conocimiento (Guatemala), University of the Aegean (Greece), and University of Central Oklahoma. Funding by the National Science Foundation (DBI 1560389) to the host institution, University of Central Oklahoma, for 2016-2019.


Presentations
Daniel McCurry, assistant professor of Chemisty and Biochemistry, was scheduled to present at the ACS (American Chemical Society) 2020 National Meeting and Expo.  His presentation, "Modified surface-limited redox replacement for template-free nanodeposition" presented research conducted by BU undergraduate, Stepan Budkin.

Awards 
Pamela Cook and Rebecca Toothaker, assistant professors in nursing, received the 2020 Generating Evidence for Nursing Education Practice Award for their abstract "Student Perceptions of Just Culture in Nursing Education Programs: A Multi-Site Study" presented virtually as part of the 2020 Nursing Education Research Conference (NERC).  This prestigious award was in reference to a national research study in assessing a safe and just culture in nursing educational programs.  The results from this study are a call to action for nursing education to emphasize the tenets of just culture, error reporting, and quality improvement.

Students Present at 6th Annual PASSHE STEM Conference

The 6th Annual PASSHE STEM Conference was held in early November at Kutztown University.  This conference is an opportunity to showcase the research done by students across the State System in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  This year, ten Bloomsburg University students and six faculty members attended.  The conference included both oral presentations and poster sessions.   Bloomsburg presenters were as follows:

Oral presentation - "Hybrid Stars" by Katelynne Pursel; mentor: Dr. Peter Stine

Oral presentation - "Using Photogrammetry to Produce Morphometric Datasets for
Comparative Paleobiology" by Keara Drummer; mentor: Dr. Alan Gishlick

Oral presentation - "Gold Nanofabrication via Template-Free Electrodeposition" by Stepan Budkin; mentor: Dr. Daniel McCurry

Poster presentation - "Comparison of Sublethal Effects of Neonicotinoid and Pyrethroid
Pesticides on Motor Responses in Honeybees" by Rachel Nenstiel and Taylor Bozza; mentors: Dr. Cynthia Surmacz and Dr. John Hranitz

Poster presentation -  "Fishing for alpha-L-fucosidase: Evaluating Enzyme Activity in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)" by MacKenzie McDowell; mentor: Dr. Jennifer Venditti

Poster presentation -  "Examining the Effects of BORIS on Telomere Regulation and Stability" by Ian Whiteside; mentor: Dr. Kate Beishline

Poster presentation - "Analysis of Within-Task Variability on Standardized Reading Assessments in Autism Spectrum Disorder" by Kyle Flannery and Geena Basile; mentor: Dr. Abby Hare-Harris

Poster presentation  - "Low Frequency Variability in a 𝛿 Scuti Star observed with the Kepler Space Telescope" by Juliette Gudknecht; mentor: Dr. Peter Stine

Keara Drummer and Dr. Gishlick

Kyle Flannery and Ian Whiteside

Kyle Flannery, Gina Basille, and Dr. Hare-Harris

Mackenzie McDowell and Dr. Venditti

Juliette Gudknecht and Katelynne Pursel

Taylor Bozza and Rachel Nenstiel

X-Ray Diffraction Equipment Extends Capabilities

BU has a new X-ray diffractometer in the Department of Environmental, Geological and Geographical Sciences (EGGS).

The powder X-ray diffractometer (PXRD) is a D2 Phaser made by Bruker. PXRDs are essential instruments in investigating the crystalline structures of solids. Applications for the type of research this acquisition allows include mineralogy, pharmacology, and solid-state chemistry.

X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a nondestructive technique for characterizing crystalline materials. Typically, XRD is used for the identification of a crystalline phase or mineral. However, it can also provide information on structures, preferred crystal orientation, and other structural parameters, such as average grain size and strain distribution.

In the near term, this instrument will be used by Dr. Adrian Van Rythoven (EGGS, shown at right) to understand the mineralogy of ore deposits, by Dr. Brett McLaurin (EGGS) to investigate airborne minerals that could constitute human health hazards, and by Dr. Daniel McCurry (Chemistry and Biochemistry) to examine electrode coatings.

Roughly the size of a large microwave, the PXRD will also be used in a variety of geology and chemistry undergraduate courses for practical exercises. This will provide applicable hands-on training using instrumentation that many of our graduates could encounter in their careers.

This purchase was made possible by a generous $129,192 National Science Foundation grant under the Major Research Instrumentation Program.

In addition, this purchase made possible the acquisition of a related instrument, a single-crystal X-ray diffractometer: a D8 Quest, also made by Bruker, to be installed later this fall by the Chemistry department.

These two acquisitions, along with the existing and planned instrumentation already at Bloomsburg, are a significant step in developing the campus as a major center for materials characterization in central Pennsylvania.

Recent publications and presentations

Publications
Rebecca Toothaker, assistant professor in Nursing, recently had a paper entitled, "Development and Validation of the Just Culture Assessment Tool for Nursing Education" published in Nurse Educator.  This work was a collaboration with individuals from Texas Christian University, The College of New Jersey, Oakland Community College, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Kate Beishline, assistant professor of BAHS, recently had a paper entitled, "Elevated telomere dysfunction in cells containing the African-centric Pro47Ser cancer-risk variant of TP53" published in Oncotarget. This work was a collaboration with individuals from The Wistar Institute and the Childrens Hospital of Phildelphia.

Shaheen Awan, professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, recently had a paper entitled, "Spectral/Cepstral Analyses of Phonatio in Parkinson's Disease before and after Voice Treatment: A Preliminary Study" published in Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica.  This work was a collaboration with individuals from  the University of Jeddah, the University of Louisiana, and the University of Memphis.

Sean Hartzell, adjunct faculty of BAHS, recently had three papers published;  "Observation of a Cambarus bartonii bartonii (Common Crayfish) Overwintering in a Terrestrial Winter Microhabitat" published in Northeastern Naturalist; "Sexual Dichromatism of Dorsal Stripes in "Red-back" Morph Individuals in a Population of Eastern Red-vacked Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus)" published in Herpetological Review; and "Observation of a Cambarus bartonii bartonii (Common Crayfish) Overwintering in a Terrestrial Winter Microhabitat" in Northeastern Naturalist.

Kevin Ferland, professor of mathematical and digital sciences, published a paper, "Maximal Crossword Grids", in the Journal of Computational Mathematics and Computational Computing.  This was joint work with Robert Pratt of the SAS Institute.  It determines the maximum number of clues possible in a square crossword puzzle grid of any size.

Debra Stayer and Elizabeth Culver, assistant professors of nursing, published a paper, "Case Report of Nursing Care for a Pregnant Woman with Cystic Fibrosis", in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing.  This work was a collaboration with Geisinger Medical Center.

Abby Hare-Harris, assistant professor of BAHS, published a paper, "Within-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the Response Dispersion index" in the Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.  This was a collaboration with Geisinger Medical Center, Bucknell University, and Rutgers University.

Reza Noubary, professor of MADS, published a book, Reflections on Contemporary Life, An Outsiders Perspective.  The book recounts the life of a boy who through hardships, learns a great deal about the dynamic aspects of life and the changes that take place accordingly.

Chris Lynd, associate professor of MADS, published a paper entitled,  "Sequences Generated by Powers of the k^th-order Fibonacci Recurrence Relation", in The American Mathematical Monthly.  BU undergraduate James Sharpe was also an author on this publication.

Barry Minemyer, assistant professor of MADS, published a paper entitled, "Filling triangulated surfaces" in Geometriae Dedicata. This work was in collaboration with the Ohio State University. 

Rebecca Toothaker and Pamela Cook, assistant professors in Nursing, recently had a paper entitled, "Measuring Nursing Students' Perception of Just Culture within Nursing Programs: A Multisite Study", accepted for future publication in the January 2020 edition of Nurse Educator.  This work was a collaboration  across 18 schools nationwide with 20 nurse educators from the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) Academic Taskforce.

Presentations

Peggy Shipley, assistant professor of nursing, presented a poster entitled, "Compassionate Love: A Concept Analysis" at the Beta Sigma Research Day at the Pennsylvania State University.

Julie Ambrose, instructor of BAS-TL, participated in a panel discussion "Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn" at the 2nd Annual Pennsylvania Leadership Studies Conference.
   
James Rommens, instructor of BAS-TL gave a talk entitled,"How a Lean Six Sigma Mindset can Help Project Managment", at the Project Management Institute Keystone Chapter Professional Speaker and Networking Event Series.

Chris Lynd, associate professor of MADS, presented a talk entitled, "The class of sequences of nested radicals" at the American Mathematical Society (AMS) regional conference at the University of Connecticut. The talk included published research from two BU undergraduates, James Sharpe and Devin Lesher.

Barry Minemyer, assistant professor of MADS, gave a Colloquium talk at Juniata College entitled "The geometry of n-dimensional triangles via edge lengths". He also gave a talk, entitled, "Warped product metrics on complex hyperbolic manifolds" at the 53rd Annual Spring Topology and Dynamical Systems Conference at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Conference Scholarship
Daniel McCurry, assistant professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, received a Research Corporation for Science Advancement scholarship to attend the American Chemical Society (ACS) New Faculty Workshop in Savannah Georgia.