Posters will be on display Wednesday through Friday of the conference. On Friday, June 20th, presenters will be available to discuss their topics with visitors.
Titles and abstracts are listed below, alphabetically by the first author’s last name.
Modeling DNA fingerprinting with Crayola Markers
Lisa Bartee, Mt Hood Community College
I have developed a combination of dyes from Crayola Markers that can be run on an agarose gel to model DNA fingerprinting. This combination can be made up and stored for several terms. The agarose can also be reused. This protocol greatly reduces the cost of running a DNA fingerprint.
From Science Labs to Browser Tabs: A fully actualized remote Science Teaching Lab
Paul (PJ) Bennett NANSLO, Colorado Community College System
The North American Network of Science Labs Online (NANSLO) is an open source (Creative Commines By License) project that seeks to develop a network of Remote Web-based Science Labs (RWSL) that offer access to high end laboratory equipment for critical gatekeeper courses in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, to students that normally don’t have access because of location, family, and/or work commitments. The NANSLO network currently consists of three labs: the original lab at North Island College, Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada; the second lab at the Colorado Community College System in Denver, Colorado, USA; and the third lab at Montana State University: Great Falls College in Great Falls, Montana, USA. This poster will present data examining the first couple years of Biology labs presented out of the Denver RWSL.
Development of game-like learning objects (GLOs) to enhance a learner-centered approach to blended learning
Betty L Black, North Carolina State University
As we have begun to move toward a blended classroom format in Introductory Biology, lack of preparation by students before class has made it difficult to implement active learning during class, especially in sections that meet in large lecture halls. Biology textbooks and online publisher’s materials are not working well for learning outside of class, and these materials are becoming a financial burden for our students. Thus we wish to provide online materials for use before classes that are cost-free, engaging, and more likely to stimulate student interest in biological content and motivation to learn. We are developing online modules in the form of game-like learning objects (GLOs). Each GLO covers basic concepts in a selected topic of biology. Learning objectives of the GLO are presented as quests, with each quest taking the student to a scientific article, narrated slide-show, video clip, or interactive simulation, followed by assessment questions with immediate feedback. The GLOs are entirely html5/JavaScript format for universal usage and are easy to edit and customize for a variety of purposes. A GLO developed for the topic “Introduction to Cells” is described in this poster.
Evo-Devo II: Does seedling protein biochemistry reflect plant phylogeny and development?
Charlene F. Blando-Hoegler and Carl S. Hoegler, Pace University
Biochemistry of plant seeds and seedlings may provide insights into both evolution and development. The present research compares protein banding from extracts of cotyledons and germinating epicotyl and hypocotyl seedlings in three plant families. This strategy shifts the focus on experiments from animal tissues to plant tissues that can be adapted for classroom use. The advantages are numerous ranging from lower expenses to minimal maintenance. Analysis of protein profiles reflects similar methodology used in animal tissue protocols. Seeds available through commercial supply houses are germinated for one, two and three weeks. Students are then taught to perform protein quantification and SDS-PAGE (denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). After staining, gels can be scanned using available documentation instruments. These studies are performed on select members of Brassicaceae, Fabaceae and Curcubitae. This exercise provides an experimental guide for undergraduates to understand the developmental biochemistry of plants as well as the possible evolutionary relationships among members of particular plant families. Teachers may also use inquiry-based collaborative pedagogy to encourage students to alter parameters such as light and soil conditions.
Integration of the Introductory Biology and Organic Chemistry LaboratoriesThrough the Lens of a Huntington’s Disease Project Laboratory Series
Ariana L. Boltax, Melissa S. Kosinski-Collins, and Jason K. Pontrello, Brandeis University
Many undergraduate laboratory courses use real-world problems as a context for students to develop the technical skills necessary to apply and analyze scientific concepts in an experimental setting. Programs of this nature temporarily spark student interest, but retaining that interest throughout the experimental process is an existing problem. By giving students the independence to influence experimental methodologies and by emphasizing connections between scientific disciplines, lab courses can motivate students to employ what they have learned and draw parallels between science fields. As part of a larger interdisciplinary initiative by Brandeis’ introductory Biology and Organic Chemistry laboratories, an Experiential Learning (EL) Practicum has been developed to allow students to explore therapeutic approaches to targeting protein aggregates in Huntington’s Disease. Through this collaborative project series, students design, synthesize, purify, and characterize unique multivalent inhibitors of huntingtin protein aggregation in the Organic Chemistry Labs. They then develop a method for evaluating the biological effectiveness of their inhibitors in transgenic Drosophila melanogaster in the Biology Labs and finally measure the potential rescuing effects of the molecules. This newly implemented course provides students with an opportunity to engage in experimental design and analysis from start to finish, a process that then culminates in a final oral presentation at the end of the semester. End-of-semester course feedback from students indicates that having ownership of and a stake in their interdisciplinary work results in a heightened appreciation of experimental processes, interest in scientific research, and awareness of the connections between scientific disciplines. Future longitudinal analyses will examine interest over time, and future course design initiatives are intended to incorporate principles of physics, statistics, and math into the experimental system in the context of the project laboratory series.
The Complete Student Workout – Boosting Physical & Mental Fitness in a Human Biology Laboratory Class
Alistair Dias, University of Toronto
A student’s life can become extremely busy during their university career. There is often insufficient time left to eat right, maintain a regular workout regime, and keep up with academic responsibilities. More often than not, spending too much time on any one of these activities leads to another being neglected. However, what if there was an opportunity for a student to succeed and excel at performing all of these activities? In HMB314H1F, Laboratory in Human Biology, a practical and lecture based course offered at the University of Toronto through the Human Biology Program, students are given such an opportunity. Students are asked to introduce a well researched lifestyle change (e.g.less caffeine, a jogging routine, a diet change, a dedicated fitness regime) and then measure their subsequent performance at fitness stations set up during specific lab sessions throughout the 12-week semester. These fitness stations are arranged and assembled using readily available standard fitness equipment or BIOPAC based fitness recording devices and cover various fitness areas including flexibility, body composition, aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness and muscular strength/endurance. By the end of the semester students produce a research poster describing and analyzing the results of their fitness project providing information on the effects of their lifestyle change on fitness performance and its impact on the whole-body stress response. The use of the literature to support a feasible physiological and/or biological mechanism behind any observed improvement in fitness performance is also emphasized. Finally, post-course survey data is used to evaluate new found student interest in fitness and health while also gauging a student’s increased understanding of physiology and human biology.
A student-driven, technology-intensive lab design for teaching neuroscience, molecular genetics, and developmental biology
Audrey J. Ettinger and K. Joy Karnas, Cedar Crest College
Our current work builds on a four year collaborative effort (2010—2013) at Cedar Crest College that has been previously presented at this conference; students enrolled in a Molecular Genetics course collaborated with students from either Developmental Biology or Diseases of the Nervous System courses to conduct a research-based, multi-week project using microarrays to measure changes in gene expression in chicken embryos or neurons following chemical exposure. The project described here extends this methodology, incorporating current molecular technology (i.e. Quantitative Real Time PCR and PCR-based arrays), and broadening the overall focus to include automated electrophysiology. Overall, this multidimensional laboratory engages students in experimental design of the initial project and follow-up confirmatory studies, models collaborative efforts used in real-world laboratory studies, extends student learning beyond the scope of a single course, and helps students recognize the connections among biology subdisciplines. Students have been involved in the redesign of the lab activities from protocol development to implementation, and collaborations with faculty at neighboring institutions have been initiated. The ultimate goal of this NSF grant-funded effort is to disseminate lab protocols to other institutions, presenting a viable methodology for teaching development, neuroscience, and molecular biology in college lab courses, and to provide access to technologies rarely available to undergraduates.
Pinnation and predation – predicting the effects of muscle architecture in an ecological context
Jeffrey S. Jensen, University of Washington
Physiology students generally hear much about muscle at the cellular level, but little about the quantitative influence of muscle architecture on the generation and transmission of force. In this exercise, students dissect crab claws and estimate force output by 1) measuring claw in-levers and out-levers; 2) measuring muscle lines of action to isolate appropriate force vectors; 3) and developing models to simplify calculations of anatomical and physiological muscle cross- sectional area. Students evaluate the effect of muscle pinnation by measuring angle of muscle fiber insertion and comparing predicted force generation of a pinnate to parallel fibered muscle. Finally, students consider muscle architecture in an ecological context – force generation by crab predators compared to shell strength in bivalve prey. This exercise combines detailed anatomy and simple quantitative modeling in a clear ecological context.
Are you a hidden heterozygote? Use of PCR to genotype brown vs. blue eye color alleles
Jennifer Klenz, University of British Columbia
This lab exercise provides a good introduction to the principles of how to isolate human DNA, perform a PCR reaction, gel electrophoresis, and how to design PCR primers than can detect SNP allelic differences. Students become very invested in the results of their experiment because with the majority of the student population having brown eyes, the chance of finding brown-eyed persons carrying a blue allele, that they didn’t know they possessed, takes on the element of a CSI mystery. For ethical reasons students who do not wish to determine their eye color genotype are able to test control individuals or other potential heterozygote volunteers. This is a good initial PCR experiment that can be done during one 1.5-2 hour lab period to do the PCR and a second lab period to run the gel. Other more demanding molecular biology experiments usually follow this experiment during the term. Also, after this introduction, a computer-based bioinformatics and PCR primer design experiment can be given where students choose a mapped SNP in another organism and then design their own two sets of primers to differentiate between two different SNP alleles.
Assessment of the impacts of Bio Sci D140: How to read a science paper on student attitudes towards biological research
Rebekah Le*, Anne Phan, Cristian Aguilar, Vaishali Jayashankar, Seong Min Kim, Michelle Mattson, Charles Yi, Justin Shaffer, David Gardiner, and Debra Mauzy-Melitz, University of California
Students that major in the biological sciences aspire to go on to careers in a variety of different fields – including health sciences and biological research – and success in these fields require both a comprehensive knowledge of biology and training in scientific inquiry. To complement their classroom training, many undergraduates conduct original research in a laboratory. Unfortunately, student researchers often struggle to grasp the broader scope of their research project, a major reason for which is the challenging nature of reading the primary literature necessary to place their work into context. Students report that this can lead to a lack of confidence in their ability to understand and perform biological research, and in the long run, this might cause students to come away with a negative attitude towards the value of biological research. To satisfy the need to train students in the critical analysis of primary literature, the Developmental and Cell Biology department at UC Irvine has designed a new course, Bio Sci D140: How to Read a Science Paper, taught by two senior graduate students. This small, discussion-based course integrated seminars and journal clubs to provide guided instruction on the critical analysis of primary scientific literature and give students the opportunity to interact with investigators from the relevant research laboratories. In this study, we sought to evaluate whether participation in Bio Sci D140 altered student perceptions of the value of scientific research and self-efficacy in biological research. At the beginning of the course, students were asked to self-report their attitudes towards biological research, its relevance to their career goals, and their confidence in learning, performing, and communicating biological research. At the end of the course, students were asked similar questions, and changes in attitude were measured. Here, we present the structure of this new course, student assessments of the course components, and our current analysis of the effects of this course on student attitudes towards biological research. The results of this study will be instrumental in improving scientific training for biological sciences majors at a large research university.
Adventures along the road to inquiry: The journey so far
Hans D. Lemke, Michael J. Keller, Jefferey L. Firestone, University of Maryland
The introductory biology courses at the University of Maryland have been moving away from a “traditional” curriculum towards an inquiry-based approach. Two courses, Principles of Biology I and II, have coordinated their efforts to accomplish this goal. Although much of the process has been shared by the two courses, each has presented its own challenges. After much planning and preparations, this journey has taken us through the first semester of full implementation and onto the evaluation and revision phase.
How undergraduate students and graduate teaching assistants conceptualize the purpose of laboratory courses
Stanley M. Lo, Northwestern University
Undergraduate laboratory education has been undergoing transformation in recent years to provide authentic and relevant research experiences for all students. While faculty may design laboratory activities with such a goal in mind, laboratory learning at research universities happens largely between undergraduate students and graduate teaching assistants (TAs), who may not share the same goal. In this study, we use a qualitative approach to explore how undergraduate students and graduate TAs conceptualize the purposes of introductory biology and chemistry laboratory courses. We identify major conceptions that students and TAs hold in relation to what they expect from an undergraduate laboratory education. Our data indicate a mismatch between faculty intentions and students’ and TAs’ expectations. Whereas faculty intends to provide research experiences, students and TAs believe that laboratory courses serve to reinforce lecture concepts. Such a misalignment can potentially hinder meaningful learning in research-based laboratory courses that focus on the process of science.
Hard-wiring for success: Simplified teaching and assessment of the mammalian heart dissection
Daniel L Martin, University of South Alabama
Here, the age-old exercise of mammalian heart dissection is given new life by using some common materials (colored wire and Velcro) in an innovative way. The simple methodology works effectively on a variety of levels, but mainly by increasing: i) cost-effectiveness, since it is inexpensive, re-useable, and time-saving; ii) student engagement, as challenge balances success to make it fun – particularly for groups, and the concept is expandable for more detailed projects; iii) reinforcement of concepts, since basic functional attributes of the circulatory system must be understood to complete this activity correctly; and iv) assessment, as expectations are clear and precise, problems are detected rapidly as working groups are visited, and the very same method may be used in a practicum.
Cellular respiration, do plants really do it?
Catarina Mata and Adolfina Koroch, BMCC/CUNY
It is a common misconception among urban community college students that only animals do cellular respiration. They think that photosynthesis and cellular respiration do not really go together. A lab demonstration is proposed to dissipate the myth, and to add another critical thinking opportunity to a lab, possibly a photosynthesis or respiration lab. Seeds are germinated on filter paper in a container in the light, and in the dark. Students will observe that there is germination and growth in both cases, and are posed the questions: Where does the energy for growth come from? The answer to this question can be done as a group activity in the lab. As students reach the cellular respiration answer, further ideas can be incorporated, such as the growth of bulbs underground or the trees that have flowers before leaves in spring. These concepts can then be complemented by the presentation of a picture of a white plant (no chlorophyll) and the possible explanation of the energy source. If time is available the opportunity may just be right to show a graph of photosynthetic response to light, and have the students come up with the explanation of the negative CO2 consumption rates with no light, and the compensation point.
Throwing the baby out with the bathwater: Could a less sophisticated technology be better suited for our students’ needs than a digital technology?
Kevin P. Miller, Young Harris College
Many students have difficulty with concepts such as aerobic respiration that apply knowledge of biochemistry. Traditionally instructors have used the microrespirometer to demonstrate aerobic respiration for organisms as diverse as plants and animals. These demonstrations require little equipment and have a fairly low cost. However, electronic probes are now often favored over microrespirometers. Students may not benefit from this change as it may be more difficult to understand the process of respiration without being able to observe it and work with the data directly. An average biology student using an electronic probe may lack understanding of both the device and the fundamentals of aerobic respiration because the device and its accompanying software do the work of visualizing data. However, students may benefit from using the less sophisticated microrespirometer as they will need to visualize the data more directly. In turn this may lead to a better overall understanding of aerobic respiration.
Re-examining sponge cell reassociation
Marianne Niedzlek-Feaver, North Carolina State University
For a few years, we have been able to consistently monitor cell aggregation after cells were dissociated in sponges in an invertebrate biology laboratory. Often an experiment that fails, we feel that finally, after much trial and error, we have designed an almost foolproof method for maintaining aggregating cells in Petri dishes for at least ten days. Once transferred to salt water aquariums, some of our aggregates will develop into small sponges, even though aquarium temperatures are too high to sustain development into large sponges. The poster will detail our suggestions for maintaining aggregating cultures of various species on laboratory tabletops.
Aquaria and zoos as labs: Recording vocalizations of marine mammals using Audacity
Kathleen Nolan, Kristy Biolsi, Francine Foo, Andrew Salzillo, Afua Azaah, Chunxiu Wang and Allen Burdowski, St. Francis College
Students and professors at St. Francis College conducted an inventory of marine mammals in aquaria and zoos in the New York City region. Behavior of the marine mammals was recorded, and vocalizations were recorded using Audacity, a free down-loadable software. Correlations of vocalizations and behavior were then noted. The participants in these mini “field trips” were able to develop useful biology laboratory curricula for ecology, marine biology, and marine mammal cognition courses.
Your local green market to teach artificial selection
Kathleen Nolan and Alison Cucco, St. Francis College
Did you know that the wild tomato is only the size of a currant? Through many years of artificial selection, farmers have been able to artificially select for traits such as size, taste, color and texture. Students in Biological Evolution and Botany courses participated in tastings of heirloom tomatoes and apples obtained from a local green market. They rated characteristics of these fruits such as color, mass, texture and taste. This exercise was a lead-in to a discussion about artificial selection and genetically modified organisms. The students then present to the class their findings from peer-reviewed research papers on the genetics of tomatoes and/or apples.
Enhancement of photosynthesis labs using Vernier’s SpectroVis Plus
Kathleen Nolan and Marlon Joseph, St. Francis College
Students blend various vegetable products such as beets, greens, orange and yellow peppers with water in a blender, strain through cheesecloth, and pour into cuvettes or glass test tubes. These are then used in: a. a spectrophotometer to create an absorption spectrum, and b. in a Vernier SpectroVis Plus spectrometer, which is a colorful tool that yields an instantaneous absorption spectrum. Surveys, after the completion of the laboratory exercise, reveal that most students feel that the SpectroVis Plus helped them understand the concepts of: a. wavelengths of light, b. absorbance of light energy, and c. reflection of a color better.
Re-discovering majors’ and non-majors’ introductory biology lab
John S. Peters, College of Charleston
Traditional introductory biology labs usually involve following a set of instructions, which guide students through a process of finding out about a concept, and for which an outcome is preplanned and already known. This more “cookbook” approach to science labs does little to help students develop literate conceptions of the nature of scientific knowledge (validity, tentativeness, limitations, collaborative & community-based nature, etc.). This poster will explore our efforts to reform the introductory labs to a more science-like and inquiry-based experience. This project was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes.
Online learning objects with embedded self-assessments as a model for a blended student-centered approach in introductory biology classes
Kimberly Pigford, Miriam Ferzli, Hannah Grabow, Betty Black, North Carolina State University
Blended learning classroom formats are becoming increasingly prevalent in large lecture undergraduate science courses. Integration of blended learning practices with embedded student self-assessments provides flexibility during in-class time to extend conceptual understanding with student-centered approaches. We have developed web-based quiz questions with feedback that can be used in concert with online materials outside of class for introductory biology courses. The questions are in html5/Javascript format and can be accessed by most internet browsers and mobile devices. We specifically focused on difficult concepts in molecular biology such as DNA transcription and translation. Several question formats were used in concert with online materials to provide students with background material and opportunities for self- assessment. We compared in-class assessment results using a comparison group study approach that analyzed overall conceptual understanding in various classroom formats: a traditional large lecture with no student-centered learning, a large lecture with active learning and flipped components, a completely flipped student-centered format (Student-Centered Active Learning Environments with Upside-down Pedagogies—SCALE-UP), and a distance education section of the class.
Introducing first-year undergraduates to research through a first-year orientation camp for undergraduate sciences (iFOCUS) and a genomics learning community
Catherine Reinke and Anne Kruchten, Linfield College
iFOCUS is a one-week science camp aimed toward fostering an interdisciplinary science community of students and faculty at Linfield College, by engaging a group of students in research projects across the disciplines of biology, chemistry, math, physics, and education. One project was designed to have students explore the relationship between observable traits, genes, and chromosomes through a bona fide novel gene-mapping project using Drosophila melanogaster. Students were charged with contributing to the identification of a novel gene required for microRNA-mediated gene silencing. Students worked independently to identify traits in Drosophila observable by light microscopy, and subsequently performed fly matings and progeny analysis to determine the nature of the genetic interaction between a chromosomal deficiency and a mutation of interest. Interested students returned to the lab once the semester began to identify the genomic region containing the mutation of interest based on their data collection and complementation analysis. Student learning gains were measured by pre- and post-project assessment indicating attainment of learning objectives. Data generated by iFOCUS students directed the course of independent research projects throughout the year. iFOCUS students’ interest in genome analysis led to the creation of a student-led freshman Genomics Learning Community that recruited additional Linfield freshman to analyze raw sequence data to identify a mutation that leads to defective gene silencing in Drosophila melanogaster.
A simple, no-cost, conversion of a descriptive lab exercise to one that promotes critical thinking and honors-program participation
William P. Rivers, SUNY Canton
Our undergraduate microbiology course has historically served 2-year nursing students and 2- year veterinary technology students. The laboratory exercises for this course have largely been descriptive rather than experimental. In an effort to increase the critical thinking skills of our students and to better serve the growing number of 4-year nursing and 4-year veterinary students, I have developed a simple methodology for changing a lab designed to merely sample microbes in the environment to one that answers two basic clinical questions: How long does a sterile field stay sterile?, and which method of hand cleaning (hand washing or alcohol-based hand sanitizer) is most effective? One hundred students were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups for each experiment. For experiment one, students exposed sterile nutrient agar plates to the air for 1, 15, or 30 minutes. For experiment two, students placed their index, middle, and ring fingers onto the surface of a sterile nutrient agar plate either after washing their hands with soap and water, using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, or doing nothing. Plates were incubated at room temperature for one week and then the number of colonies on each plate was counted and treatment comparisons were made and discussed. These two experiments are designed to facilitate critical thinking and allow students opportunity to relate these lab exercises to practical clinical issues. This shift toward more experimental laboratory exercises also provided opportunities for more advanced students to develop research posters which they presented at our college’s nascent honors program symposium.
Assessment of course design, student learning outcomes, and student attitudes in a combined human anatomy lecture and lab course
Justin F Shaffer, University of California, Irvine
Undergraduate students that apply to professional schools (nursing, dental, optometry, pharmacy, etc.) are required to complete a human anatomy lecture (and sometimes lab) course prior to admission. In order to meet this growing demand at the University of California, Irvine, a novel combined human anatomy lecture and lab course has been developed and was taught for the first time in the Spring 2014 quarter. Students received a combined grade for this highly structured course that included three hours of lecture a week, three hours of lab a week, daily pre-class assignments, active learning activities in class, and weekly review quizzes. Students were asked to evaluate the lecture and lab components, including Mastering A&P, an online virtual cadaver (Practice Anatomy Lab), Learning Catalytics, and lab activities using anatomical models. Student performance in the course was evaluated based on prerequisites (prior completion of a human physiology lecture and/or lab course), major (biological sciences versus nursing sciences), and other student demographics (GPA, year in school, etc.). Students were also asked to self-report their confidence in being able to achieve the course goals and their attitudes towards the anatomical sciences in a pre-post-test format and these data were compared to student performance on summative assessments in the course. The results from this study will be of interest to instructors who currently teach human anatomy lecture and/or lab courses as it aims to identify best practices for teaching human anatomy.
GENI and GENI-ACT projects provide authentic undergraduate research experiences in genome analysis
Lori Scott and Angela Ghrist, Augustana College
The Genomics Education National Initiative (GENI) has partnered with the Microbial Genome Annotation Network (MGAN) to create an online toolkit that consolidates publically available bioinformatics tools into a single platform for the purpose of providing an authentic research experience in microbial genome annotation to undergraduates and high school students. Previously known as the DOE Joint Genome Institute’s IMG-ACT, the GENI Annotation Collaboration Toolkit (GENI-ACT) builds on the capabilities of the previous toolkit by 1) expanding to include access to all sequenced genomes in GenBank, 2) allowing for public dissemination of student work, and 3) allowing for multi-instructor collaborations. As a follow- up to gene annotation studies, the GENI project provides detailed instructions for subsequent functional genomics studies, which is the wet-lab complement to the bioinformatics analysis. MGAN provides training workshops for the GENI-ACT platform. This poster describes the GENI and GENI-ACT projects, faculty resources, and faculty development opportunities.
QUBES Hub: A vision of online collaboration in teaching and learning in quantitative biology
Robert Sheehy, Drew LaMar, Carrie Eaton, Dorothy Belle Poli and Anil Shende, Radford University
As quantitative tools are recognized as more important to biologists, and biological applications of more interest to mathematicians, an interdisciplinary approach to education in these areas is crucial. Curricular materials for quantitative biology education are being developed at a number of levels; by individuals, via department or college initiatives, and through various professional societies. This dispersed approach has resulted in multiple, non-communicating, repository sites, many of which remain opaque to the quantitative biology community and makes the sharing of information and ideas difficult. To address these difficulties in information sharing, we are creating a compact between several organizations devoted to this common mission of Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis (QUBES). Our goal is to bring these organizations together to sponsor a single, dynamic, community-sourced hub of educational materials and social-network of users. Here we will present a review of some of the existing and planned functionality of QUBES, and solicit feedback and requested features from those in attendance.
Using Gromphadorhina portentosa, the giant Madagascar hissing cockroach, as a model organism in the biology laboratory
Ken Sossa, Notre Dame of Maryland University
The American Cockroach (Periplaneta americana) has been the standard model insect in biology laboratories for decades. Here we present the Giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, Gromphadorhina portentosa, as a novel model organism. This Malagasy cockroach is a low maintenance, inexpensive, non-federally regulated invertebrate organism that requires minimal bench space. Laboratory exercises employing the Malagasy roach present students with an opportunity to study the intricacies of anatomy and principles of physiology. This roach’s considerable size (about 8 cm length) provides for ease of visualization and dissection. Textbook knowledge of organ systems, especially respiratory and nervous, is reinforced using G. portentosa. Students learn valuable techniques like respirometry and extracellular electrophysiological recordings. Taken together, G. portentosa makes a new and versatile model insect for use in undergraduate courses with laboratories from General Biology to Animal Physiology.