Education

APS Recognizes Outstanding High School Students at the 55th Annual International Science and Engineering Fair

R. Clinton Webb Receives First Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award

Undergraduate Students Receive David S. Bruce Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research

Summer Research Teachers and Research Hosts Honored at Luncheon

Undergraduate Research Highlighted at Experimental Biology Meeting

APS Recognizes Outstanding High School Students at the 55th Annual International Science and Engineering Fair
     The 55th Annual International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) was held in Portland, OR in May 2004. Over 1,200 exuberant, enthusiastic high school students from 40 different countries jostled with each other in setting up their posters at the elegant Portland Convention Center. In addition to the Grand Awards presented by the Intel Foundation and five other organizations, Special Awards were given by 93 scientific, professional, industrial, educational, and governmental organizations in the form of scholarships, tuition grants, summer internships, scientific field trips, and equipment grants. As is our tradition, the APS presented Special Awards in the form of cash prizes and student subscriptions to select finalists with the best projects in the physiological sciences, including cellular physiology, animal physiology, and neurophysiology.
Following is the first-hand account of the proceedings as reported by P.K. Rangachari from the O’Brien Centre for the Bachelor Health Sciences at the University of Calgary, who headed up the APS judging team.

APS: Rewarding Excellence at the ISEF
     The atmosphere was quite giddy with excitement. I was not alone in feeling exhilarated by the waves of enthusiasm that surged through those halls. My fellow judges Virginia Brooks, Charles Roselli and John Resko, all from the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Oregon Health and Sciences University, were equally impressed. Using the Finalist Directory as our starting point, we tried to fulfill our mandate from the APS, which was to recognize and reward outstanding projects in the physiology realm. It was not easy, as many projects were quite interdisciplinary. We did, however, select half-a-dozen through several iterations that seemed to fit in the category of “physiology.” We interviewed the candidates, specifically to probe their knowledge of the subject under study and also to get a personal feel as to the process of inquiry that they had engaged in.
     Allison Jaye Landstrom, a senior from Southridge High School, Beaverton, OR, was our unanimous choice for the first prize ($1,000). She sought to determine whether the preponderance of anterior cruciate ligament tears in females resulted from an enhanced response to relaxin (The Effects of the Relaxin Hormone on the laxity of Male and Female Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tissue, in vitro). She used porcine tissues (Achilles tendon strips) in an in vitro study done entirely in her school laboratory. All of us were impressed with her poise, as well as her awareness of the pitfalls and potential implications of the study.
     Samuel Gregory Finlayson, a freshman from San Ramon Valley High School in Danville CA was awarded the second prize ($500). He, too, did much of his project beyond the ivy-covered walls of academe, in his case, quite literally out of doors. He sought to gauge the effects of chlorine on the lung function of outdoor swimmers (Effect of Chlorine on Lung Function of Outdoor Swimmers). Finlayson’s study was a neat example of integrative physiology. Once again, we were impressed with his ability to marshal limited resources and conduct a well-controlled study. He stood up to some serious questioning, all the more impressive considering his age. The two third prize winners, who received $500 each, were John Zeqi Luo of Bishop Hendricken High School, Warwick, RI and Jason Scott Pellegrino from Manhasset High School, Manhasset, NY. Interestingly, both had worked on different aspects of glucose homeostasis. Whereas John focused on the effects of an extract of American ginseng root on insulin secretion in beta cells (Alternative Medicine A relief for diabetes, Phase 3), Jason used transgenic mice for his project (Analysis of Metformin’s Effect on Brain Insulin Receptors). In contrast to the other two winners, these studies were conducted with the help of mentors in university laboratories and the techniques used were far more sophisticated than those used by Alison and Samuel. John and Jason were well aware not only of the conceptual basis but also the technical aspects of their study. John knew quite well the pitfalls in his project and Jason, whose interest in the subject was sparked by being a diabetic himself, was able to breathlessly cite relevant publications. Allison, John and Jason also picked up awards from the Endocrine Society.
     In addition to the four award winners, the APS judging team recognized two other students with honorable mentions: Julian Clint Hong, a senior from Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio, TX (Restraining Restenosis: Combating Vascular Disease–Year 4) and Lisha Laura Constantine, a senior from the American Senior High School in Hialeah, FL (Characterization of a Truncated form of Slow Skeletal Troponin T that causes Nemaline Myopathy). These outstanding students will receive a one-year subscription to Physiology.
I found the experience to be richly rewarding. I stayed behind for the Awards Ceremony the day after the judging and so had the chance to walk through the halls looking at the other posters. The breadth of coverage was impressive, with topics ranging from the construction of an astronomical spectrograph to exploring group dynamics in Beadlet anemones to moral reasoning in teens. I stopped next to a poster attractively labeled Hormesis. My curiosity was piqued, since I had been involved in a study looking at the effects of low dose radiation on colonic transport. I was treated to a delightful explanation of U-shaped dose-response curves, the relevance of exploring that phenomena and its potential significance. So infectious was the enthusiasm of the young lady from Arlington, VA that had I known nothing at all about the subject, I would have been tempted to rush to my room for a “Googling” session to learn more.
     Often, teenagers get a bad rap from the media and the world in general. Teens are frequently portrayed as narcissistic, callous, casual and irresponsible. If that is so, the students participating in the 2004 ISEF must have been raised on some other planet. I left Portland oddly elated. When I volunteered to be the lead judge and represent the APS, I hardly realized what a tonic it was going to be for me. Curiously, the Canadian edition of Time magazine for that week had a lead article on the confusion raging in the brains of teenagers. If there was any lack of decision-making abilities on the part of those who jostled the exhibit halls that week, it was certainly well-concealed. Their determination, exuberance, skill and competence were rather scary to an aged one like me! Modern travel has become quite unpleasant. Crossing borders even more so. But the hassles of the well-choreographed dances we perform across innumerable airports (placing shoes on trays, cell-phones off, shuffling unsmilingly with out-stretched hands past grim-faced security guards), seemed somehow quite trivial. The world seemed a better, braver one for having such wondrous creatures in it. In dreams, said Yeats, begin responsibilities. These kids are dreaming well, very well. The future seemed so much safer with them.

P.K. Rangachari,
APS Education Committee

P.K. Rangachari congratulates ISEF award winners Allison Landstrom Samuel Finlayson, Jason Pellegrino, and John Luo.

 

John Resko, Charles Roselli, P.K. Rangachari, and Virginia Brooks served as judges for selecting APS special awards at ISEF.

 

R. Clinton Webb Receives First Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen
Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award

     The Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award honors a member (male or female) of the American Physiological Society who is judged to have made outstanding contributions to physiological research and demonstrated dedication and commitment to excellence in training of young physiologists whether by mentoring, guiding and nurturing their professional and personal development, developing novel education methods/materials, promoting scientific outreach efforts, attracting individuals to the field of physiology, or by otherwise fostering an environment exceptionally conducive to education in physiology.
     The award was established to recognize Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen, the first woman President of the Society and a distinguished physiologist who has made significant contributions in her field.
     The APS Women in Physiology Committee, chaired by Carole M. Liedtke, Case Western Reserve University, selected R. Clinton Webb, Medical College of Georgia, from a large pool of candidates. Webb was chosen based both on his outstanding record of mentoring and research.
T     he award of $1,000 plus travel expenses and a commemorative plaque were presented to Webb by Liedtke, APS President John Williams, and Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen at a special luncheon honoring him during the Experimental Biology 2004 meeting in Washington, DC. During the luncheon Webb spoke on “Mentoring, a Mission to Initiate and Inspire” to the attendees, which included current and former students of Webb as well as some of his own mentors.
Carole Liedtke, Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen, R. Clinton Webb and John Williams at the first Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen Award Presentation.

Undergraduate Students Receive David S. Bruce Awards
for Excellence in Undergraduate Research

     Undergraduate students who were first authors on an abstract submitted to Experimental Biology 2004 in Washington, DC were eligible to apply for the David S. Bruce Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research.
The award is named in honor of APS member David S. Bruce (1939-2000), who served as Chair of the APS Teaching Section and was a professor of physiology at Wheaton College from 1978-2000. Bruce was a dedicated physiology educator who had a particular interest in engaging undergraduate students in scientific research. Bruce not only encouraged and supported his students in participating in research, but he also regularly brought undergraduate students to the Experimental Biology meeting, often to present their research findings.
     The APS Education Committee, chaired by Robert G. Carroll, East Carolina University, initially selected 12 finalists from a pool of 19 applicants. Finalists were chosen based on the quality and novelty of their abstracts, and letters written by the candidates describing their career goals, research, and why they were particularly deserving of the award. The 12 finalists were:
David Arnolds, Williams College
Shaun Best, Univ. of Kansas
Matt Buelow, Medical College of Wisconsin
Rachel Byerley, Indiana Univ.
Jennifer DiPenta, Acadia Univ.
Justin Long, Indiana Univ.
Lauren Parish, Texas Tech Univ.
Jacob Rullo, McMaster Univ.
Alisa Sato, Tripler Army Med. Center
Steven Smith, Queen’s Univ.
Heather Spaulding, Louisiana State Univ.
Carmen Troncoso, Univ. of New Mexico
     These students then made oral presentations of their posters to a subcommittee chaired by Jeffrey L. Osborn (University of Kentucky) and Nancy L. Kanagy (University of New Mexico). Four awardees were selected based on their knowledge of their research project. Each awardee received $500 and a certificate of recognition. Awards were presented by Carroll and Janet Bruce during a special APS Undergraduate Poster Session at EB 2004. The awardees were:
David Arnolds, Williams College
Lauren Parish, Texas Tech Univ. Jacob Rullo, McMaster University
Steven Smith, Queen’s University
 
Janet Bruce, center, presents undergraduate students with certificates for the David S. Bruce Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. The awardees were: Jacob Rullo, Lauren Parish, David Arnolds, and Steven Smith.  

 
    
Rob Carroll reflects on Janet Bruce’s comments regarding her late husband, David, at the first David Bruce Award ceremony.

Janet Bruce offered the following comments about David at the award ceremony:
     “David proactively involved undergraduate students in research throughout his entire career. He invited the students who has worked with him on a project to present it with him at the Experimental Biology meetings, and he followed through with getting the research published with the students listed as co-authors.
     “David was intentional about life and did a lot of things well. He was a husband, father, professor, researcher, and naturalist. We met in French class in college. David loved French pronunciation! I’m not sure he always knew what he was saying. During the ‘Pink Panther’ years of popularity he had a lot of fun imitating ‘Inspector Clouseau, you know.’ There was as much laughter as labor in the research lab.
     “But it was also a serious business. A former student researcher, now a cardiac surgeon, said in his tribute to David that ‘precision’ was a verb to David Bruce.
     “My hearty congratulations to all of you for qualifying to present a poster here, and special congratulations to the finalists and award winners.”
Another tribute came from Bill Cliff at Niagara College. This was published in the Teaching Section newsletter shortly after David died.
     “Although I can’t say I really knew him as a friend, in the times that I had to share his company at the FASEB meetings, I came to appreciate him more and more for who he was—a fellow who quietly and unobtrusively lived out his personal faith and remained steadfast in his passion for undergraduate science education. Words fail me as I try to describe his impact upon the circles we shared at FASEB. But I will say this: In a community that always seems to be rushing from latest trend to latest trend, he was one who exerted a profound settling and stabilizing effect on the folks who got to know him. We will miss him.”

Summer Research Teachers and Research Hosts Honored at Luncheon
      As the culmination of their 12-month fellowship, the 2003 Frontiers in Physiology and Explorations in Biomedicine Summer Research Teachers attended Experimental Biology 2004 to learn about the latest science research findings, meet with physiologists, attend workshops and tour the posters and exhibits. Six of the sixteen Research Teachers also presented posters about their summer research projects along with their research hosts and lab teams.
       The 2003 Summer Research Teachers and their APS member Research Hosts were honored at a luncheon during Experimental Biology 2004. Teachers received certificates of achievement, and their Research Hosts were presented certificates of appreciation for their participation in the 12-month fellowship. Robert Carroll, Chair of the Education Committee, served as the master of ceremonies. Past President Barbara Horwitz, President John Williams, President-Elect Neil Granger and Executive Director Martin Frank offered their congratulations while presenting the certificates to the teachers and their hosts.
The Frontiers in Physiology and Explorations in Biomedicine programs are designed to create ongoing relationships between research scientists and middle and high school teachers; and to promote the adoption of the National Science Education Standards for K-12 science content and pedagogical techniques among middle and high school teachers. The Explorations in Biomedicine project works intensively with the science faculty at Montana schools and tribal colleges that serve Native American students to create an atmosphere that encourages science studies, and the exploration and pursuit of biomedical research careers.
The Summer Research program offers teachers nationwide a full-time, hands-on laboratory experience for seven to eight weeks at APS members’ research labs. Teachers also attend a one-week workshop at the Airlie Center in Warrenton, VA, where they explore hands-on, inquiry based teaching strategies, consider classroom equity and technology-use issues, and begin to develop their own inquiry lab activities.
     Frontiers in Physiology is sponsored by APS, the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), Science Education Partnership Awards (SEPA), and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health. The Explorations in Biomedicine program is administered through a partnership between APS and the American Indian Research Opportunities (AIRO) consortium of Montana tribal colleges and Montana State University-Bozeman, Bozeman, MT.
     More information about these programs is available on the APS website at http://www.the-aps.org/education/edu_k12.htm.
The 2004 Research Teachers pictured during a week long workshop in July 2003. Front row: Judy Toledano, Alita Thompson, Sandie Nichols, Diane Ford, Mary O’Leary. Middle row: Becky Carney, Larissa Raven, Barbara Behnke, Melissa Gildehaus, Linda Dearth-Monroe. Top row: Elizabeth Quick, Christin Arnini, Sonal Patel, Bonnie Moody, Tim Crane, Tim Craddock, Melissa Maringer.

Undergraduate Research Highlighted at Experimental Biology Meeting
     For the first time at the Experimental Biology meeting and as a result of the establishment of the David S. Bruce Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research, APS was pleased to host a special APS Undergraduate Poster Session to highlight the contributions of undergraduate researchers to physiology.
This special session was held in addition to the regularly scheduled poster session that the students were programmed into as part of the EB scientific program. It was held Sunday afternoon of the EB meeting and culminated in the presentation of the David Bruce Awards.
     Of the 88 undergraduate first authors invited to present at the APS Undergraduate Poster Session, 75 came to the session and had the opportunity to put up their poster and present it to interested scientists and guests. The session not only provided the undergraduate students with an opportunity to highlight their research but also to meet faculty from many graduate schools and medical schools to discuss their future plans. Approximately 200 APS members and guests were in attendance at the session, with many comments heard as to the high quality of research being presented by the students.
      APS looks forward to hosting APS Undergraduate Poster Sessions at future Experimental Biology meetings and encourages APS members to have their undergraduate students to submit abstracts for EB, apply for the David Bruce award, and attend the poster session in 2005.
Undergraduate students hang their posters in preparation for the first APS Undergraduate Poster Session at Experimental Biology. Dee Silverthorn poses questions to an undergraduate student presenting a poster. 

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