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Ottar Bjørnstad seeks answers to general ecological questions by studying a variety of specific systems—among them rodents in Japan, fish in the North Sea, moths in laboratory plasticware, and historical databases on childhood disease incidence. His current focus, using a large database about measles incidence in England, is the ecology of infectious disease. He has recently published details of his work regarding ecology and epidemiology in Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, and Proceedings of the Royal Society. “Viral diseases such as rabies and measles exhibit complicated patterns of variation in both space and time,” Bjørnstad said. “Some viral diseases exhibit fairly regular local epidemic cycles while others undergo erratic outbreaks. The challenge for ecological theory is to explain such patterns in incidences of infectious disease.” By combining population dynamics and ecological statistics, and by studying interactions between species, Bjørnstad works to better understand ecological interactions. With such an interdisciplinary nature to his research, covering ecology, epidemiology, and biostatistics, he believes his position at Penn State—having a “home” in three different academic departments—should benefit him as a researcher and teacher. He anticipates abundant opportunity for collaborative work. “The playground for modern academia is a combination of local and global opportunities,” Bjørnstad said. “Some might think it would be challenging to triangulate membership in three different departments, and it might be at times. At the same time, more departments mean so many more chances for cross-disciplinary work.” Bjørnstad joined the Penn State faculty for the spring 2001 semester. He previously had been a postdoctoral fellow at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, located at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Before that, he received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Norwegian Science Foundation and conducted work at the University of Oslo in Norway, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and Cambridge University in England, from 1997 to 1998. His teaching background includes a wide variety of duties. He has taught an advanced-level, computer-assisted course in biostatistics and ecological modeling as well as field courses in general biology. Bjørnstad earned his doctoral degree in ecology from the University of Oslo in 1997. He also earned his master’s in zoology and his bachelor’s in biology from the university in 1993 and 1991, respectively. Wendy Hanna-Rose Wendy Hanna-Rose studies developmental genetics, focusing on structure
development, using Caenorhabditis elegans as the model organism
for her research. Hanna-Rose studies the formation of the vulva in C. elegans, a
microscopic, see-through worm that can be found in soil in many parts
of the world. While researchers know a total of 22 cells combine to develop
the vulva and that cell identity is genetically programmed, they do not
know how the cells build the exterior structure of the animal’s reproductive
organs. “Those 22 cells start life in a line along the ventral midline of
the developing animal and then at a certain time they all begin to move
toward the center and form the vulva,” Hanna-Rose says. “It
is just a simple tube that forms, but we do not have a really good idea
how the cells know how to form that structure.” Although the University faculty includes other developmental biologists,
Hanna-Rose becomes one of the first to use C. elegans as the model
organism for her research. She enjoys working with the worm, which was
the first animal to have its genome sequenced. With the use of florescent
markers, scientists can study any of the worm’s functions. For example,
she can watch the complete vulva develop in just one day. Although the
number of researchers worldwide who study C. elegans might be somewhat
smaller than the groups studying Drosophilia (fruit flies) or mice,
Hanna-Rose knows the strength of the worm as a research organism and the
strength of the common bond she shares with other developmental biologists.
“C. elegans is a really powerful model system because you
can do and see so much,” Hanna-Rose says. “At the same time,
if you’re a biologist working on development, no matter what the
system, you’re doing similar things and thinking in similar ways.
That’s one thing that made Penn State a good fit for me. The faculty
members here were friendly and supportive. There was a real sense that
there was an interest in having me join them.” Along with her research, Hanna-Rose also looks forward to her teaching
duties at Penn State. She anticipates sharing her knowledge with undergraduate
and graduate students in the classroom and in her laboratory Hanna-Rose, who grew up in Grove City, Pennsylvania, joined the Penn State faculty for the spring 2001 semester. She had been working as postdoctoral fellow, with a fellowship from the American Cancer Society, at the University of Colorado. She earned her doctoral degree in microbiology and molecular genetics at Harvard University in 1996 and her bachelor’s degree in biology at Anderson University, graduating summa cum laude in 1989. Christine Keating Christine Keating combines insights and interests from cell biology,
chemistry, and materials science and works to build functional materials
from the bottom up by controlling their nanoscale and mesoscale features.
She believes such materials might find applications in biotechnology,
medicine, nanoscale electronics, sensors, and a variety of other fields.
In addition, she believes a bottom-up approach to construction holds the
most promise because it allows scientists to tailor the building blocks
they use during the construction process. “Building materials from the bottom up gives much greater flexibility
than top-down approaches,” Keating says. “For example, if you
wanted to build a bicycle, you wouldn’t think of starting with a
single big block of aluminum. Rather, you would assemble several types
of smaller components, each bringing necessary functionality. The same
type of approach can be used on the nanoscale, where building blocks might
be tiny metallic particles or biological macromolecules.” Her research includes three different thrusts: DNA-directed assembly
of metal nanowires; the development of “barcoded” metal particles
for bioanalysis; and the synthesis of “artificial cells.” Each
represents a focused portion of her larger goal to build functional materials
and provides a slightly different route to that goal. Specifically, DNA-directed assembly of nanowires uses DNA as “glue”
to help arrange segmented metallic wires onto surfaces and in solution.
By using DNA, researchers benefit from more options in terms of selectivity
and reversibility when binding the wires to other substrates or surfaces.
When such interactions are controlled and directed, the potential for
application increases. Likewise, the development of “barcoded” metal particles—somewhat
similar to barcodes on consumer goods because the nanowires are comprised
of different materials that can be detected as stripes by optical methods—allows
researchers to design uniquely identifiable substrates for bioanalysis.
Through the use of “artificial cells” Keating studies how the
chemical and physical structure of a cell contributes to its properties.
She hopes to better understand the basic biology of cells as well as how
the cytoplasm and macromolecules impacts what happens within the cell.
“The interface area between chemistry, cell biology and materials
science really interests me,” Keating says. “It seems to be
an area with the potential for some important discoveries and an area
where what we know about materials science can be applied to develop functional
materials.” Although Keating officially joins the faculty for the fall 2001 semester,
she has been at Penn State since 1992—having completed her doctorate
in 1997. She earned her bachelor’s degree at St.
Francis College in Loretto, Pennsylvania, in 1991. For the past two
years, she has lead the research group of Michael Natan, professor
of chemistry, on leave, and has taught classes. She is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Biophysical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Sigma Xi. Katriona Shea Katriona Shea studies the life history and population dynamics
of animals and plants. A theoretical ecologist, she applies her approach
to many different species and systems in a search for ecological generalities.
Her research often focuses on systems that require some sort of management—an
endangered species, an invasive species, or a system such as a fishery.
In that way, she can ask basic ecological questions and also use the information
she gains to help solve environmental problems. For example, Shea studies certain invasive species in order to determine
what makes them successful in their new environment. At the same time,
she attempts to understand how to limit that success when necessary. She
summarizes her approach as thinking from an ecological point of view about
the potential reasons for and implications of a species’ success
or failure. “I think a lot about structured populations and their behavior,”
Shea said. “It is not enough just to think about the number of individuals.
For example, younger individuals often behave very differently than older
individuals of the same species.” Because of her theoretical background and her experience working with
applied systems, Shea already has opportunities for collaborative and
individual research projects at Penn State. As part of a $2.09 million
grant from the National Institutes of Health,
she is working with Joseph Kiesecker, assistant professor of biology,
to study the ecology of infectious diseases in amphibians. In addition,
Shea will collaborate with Charles Fisher, professor of biology,
who studies deep-sea communities. She also plans to study plant population
ecology with a focus on a species of thistle, musk thistle, that has migrated
from Europe and become a nuisance for farmers in places such as Australia,
Canada, New Zealand, and even Pennsylvania. “It is a type of thistle that can completely take over in some areas,”
Shea said. “My experience with it in Australia was that in some places
there were fields full of it. That would be fine if there was a market
for thistles, but it is not a welcome sight for farmers who raise cattle
and sheep!” While musk thistle has only a slight foothold in central Pennsylvania,
it might spread farther and she hopes to study the factors that allow
it to invade. In addition to her research, Shea anticipates her teaching duties and
her interactions with colleagues and students at the University. “I look forward to working with other people in the department,”
Shea said. “It is an exciting time for ecology in the department
and I would like to contribute by bringing more mathematical insight to
our existing strengths in that area. It is going to be exciting to teach
a theoretical ecology course, too. It will be an opportunity to expose
students to different types of modeling, and to provide them with a whole
toolbox full of approaches that they can use in their own research.”
Shea joined the Penn State faculty for the spring 2001 semester. She
had been a postdoctoral researcher working on conservation strategies
for endangered salmon at the University
of California at Santa Cruz. Her background also includes work on
pest management in Canberra, Australia, plus additional postdoctoral work
studying host-parasitoid population dynamics and stability at the University
of California at Santa Barbara. She has worked as a lecturer and instructor
for a variety of classes and her field experience includes research projects
in locales ranging from rain forests in Guyana to the Serengeti
National Park in Tanzania. She earned her doctoral degree in theoretical population ecology at London University in 1994 and her bachelor’s in physics at Oxford University in 1990. Back to Science Journal Summer 2001 Index
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Ottar
Bjørnstad 
