Research Projects in Biological Sciences

The Biological Sciences Department has a long record of providing opportunities for students to get involved in faculty-led research projects. We believe that research is a fundamental way to encourage students' appreciation for the splendor of the natural world, to model for young scholars the methods of scientific inquiry, and to provide students with both the technical skills and experiences that hone their career interests.

Biology, Molecular Biology, & Physiology

Yeast Genetics Research and Molecular Biology, Dr. Stan Grove
The yeast research project began at Goshen College in 1994 after Stan Grove returned from a sabbatical at Northwestern University. Since then dozens of students have contributed to the project in a variety of settings. Some students work voluntarily in the lab, while others are paid assistants, while still others receive course credit for their work. After years of research we have gained a better understanding of the inner workings of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Liver Cancer Research, Dr. Stan Grove
In collaboration with Dr. Seza Gulec of the Cancer Care Center of Goshen General Hospital students at Goshen College have been examining samples from liver resection operations. Patients with inoperable liver cancer received Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) followed later by removal of the areas containing the treated tumor residue. Selected samples of the liver tissue surrounding the treated tumor areas were prepared for electron microscopy to assess the untrastructural damage to cells from the radiation. Maple Scholars worked with Dr. Stan Grove on this project while several students worked directly with Dr. Gulec and his staff at the Cancer Care Center.

Membrane Transport (Erythrocyte Hermelyin) Research Project, Dr. James Miller
Membrane transport research project began in 1999. One of Goshen College's Maple scholar who participated in this project during summer of 1999 and 2000, presented her findings at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2000. NCUR was held at the University of Montana on April 26-29.

Field Ecology & Environmental Science

Gleason Moss Collection, Dr. Dave Miller
The objectives of the Gleason Moss Project is two-fold. The primary objective is to make the information in the Gleason Collection available to the general public and other scientists by putting in onto the World Wide Web. The indirect objective is to understand the complexity, taxonomy and techniques regarding moss preservation and study. Goshen College does not have a moss expert on staff. Therefore, two students, under the supervision of a Goshen College biology professor, have endeavored to learn the glossary, taxonomy and histology of those moss families found in the Gleason Collection.

The Tallgrass Prairie Project, Dr. Ryan Sensenig
In the summer and fall of 2008, students helped initiate a project which examines the effect of white tail deer browsing on Tallgrass prairie forb dynamics in a restored prairie at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center. Researchers helped erect 8 ft tall deer exclosures around two 20 m X 20 m plots in Luckey's Prairie in the spring of 2008 and have been helping collect cover and herbivory data to quantify which forbs deer preferentially select as forage.