As the Earth's climate changes, species will be exposed to different thermal environments from the ones in which they evolved. This not only includes changes in average temperatures (e.g., warmer winters), but more variable temperatures (e.g., a 70F day in the Spring followed by a 30F day). To some degree, organisms can cope with these temperature changes because of their physiological systems... but the degree to which variable temperature might cause short- or long-term effects in wild organisms is still poorly understood. Professor Jennifer Houtz (Biology) and her students study some of these physiological mediators of stress resilience in wild birds. In this episode, I caught up with Sophia Mita ('24) quite literally right after she completed her Biology Senior Seminar to chat a bit more about the work that she did as part of a summer research project and how that morphed into her Senior Comp project, both under the direction of Professor Houtz. 

Professor Mahita Kadmiel's (Biology and Biochemistry) research program focuses on hormonal regulation (and dysregulation) of the eye. Although most of her research is done in the laboratory setting at Allegheny College, she is actively involved with collaborative research with Erie Retina Research Center. Some of this collaborative work involves mobile screening of patients for eye diseases, with the aim of increasing access to care for patients who might not routinely visit an ophthalmologist. In this episode, I chat with Ngwe Leku ('27; Biochemistry major and Global Health Studies minor) and Mitchell Devore ('26; Biochemistry major and Psychology minor) about a summer project that they did associated with the mobile retinal screening program.

It’s been a quite a while since I’ve thought about Prince Tuesday, Mr. McFeely, and the other fictional characters in one of my favorite childhood TV shows: Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Bridgette Reeb (’25), a student in our Philosophy Program, has spent time during the last 2 academic years under the mentorship of Prof. Irem Kurtsal thinking about Fred Rogers… specifically, about some of the virtues and ethics associated with the philosophy of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. In this episode, Bridgette and I chat about how she began to view Fred Rogers as a philosopher and how some of the principles from his philosophy could be used/adopted by patients and health care providers in America.

The ⁠Watershed Conservation Research Center⁠ (WCRC) engages in strategic conservation activities related to land and water resources in the upper Allegheny River basin, focusing on the ⁠French Creek Watershed⁠. The co-directors Profs. ⁠Casey Bradshaw-Wilson⁠ and ⁠Kelly Pearce,⁠ along with numerous other staff scientists, work with Allegheny students and community partners to conduct research projects during the summer and academic year. Listen in to the 1st episode of Season 3, where Prof. Venesky and Marrin Crist (a student in the ⁠Department of Environmental Science and Sustainability⁠) chat about one of the projects that Marrin did during as part of our Summer Research Program in 2023.

Lyme Disease (caused primarily by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi) is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. In 2022, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ranked #2 in the number of  reported cases of Lyme Disease in the United States. Lyme Disease is of interest to biologists, epidemiologists, and health professionals because of the complex ways in which wildlife and ecological variables interact to affect human disease risk.  Alexis Furbush ('24) spent 8 weeks during the Summer of 2024 as part of a grant-funded research team trapping mice and collecting ticks in Crawford and Mercer Counties in Pennsylvania. Listen in to this episode as Alexis and I debrief some of the work that she was a part of and to also learn about how she applied her summer research project in disease ecology to her Senior Comp Research in Global Health Studies. 

Field guides are utilized by professional scientists, citizen scientists, and members of the general public to assist in the identification of living (and non-living) parts of our environment. In addition to providing users with images and descriptions of the things that are viewing, some field guides provide information about these items that relate to their historical or cultural significance. Milo Watson (’26) worked on a project during the Summer of 2023 with Associate Professor John Miller (in the English Department) to survey the aesthetics of field guides, how they present information, and the various ways that field guides discuss (or don’t discuss) historical, cultural, and political content. Listen in to Milo and I as we chat about his summer research project.

When the economies of countries grow, they experience a shift (or a transformation) in the makeup of their economy as jobs shift to meet the new economic demands. Economics major Zachary Wyse ('25) and Professor Stephen Onyeiwu (Andrew Wells Robertson Professor of Economics) spent part of the Summer of 2023 exploring the pathways through which inequality influences how, and whether, Africa might achieve structural transformation. Listen in to this episode to hear about their summer research!

Beatrice is from Toronto, Ontario -- one of the fastest growing cities in all of North America. As cities grow, most residents are typically added to the surrounding suburbs which creates a bit of a problem: how do cities efficiently move people from further distances into the city center? To accomplish this, public transits (such as the Toronto Transit Commission) consider adding to the existing network of transit lines. Although these additions are done to create more efficient travel, there are negative consequences to building new transit lines. Beatrice's research addresses this topic and she spent the Summer of 2023 working with Professor Jesse Swann-Quinn in the Department of Environmental Science and Sustainability on a project that examined topics surrounding the expansion of the transit system in Toronto.

You've probably heard that DNA contains the genetic code -- the "instruction manual" (if you will). Within DNA, some of these segments of A's, T's, G's and C's found in a certain order contain the instructions (= genes) to create proteins -- the macromolecules that actually "carry out" the instructions of DNA. Researchers, such as evolutionary developmental biologists, study how genes relate to the process of organismal development and how that process (and the underlying genetic code) is similar, or different, across different species. In this episode, I chat with Nickel Spartz ('26) about the research that he conducted with Professor Brad Hersh studying the development of fruit fly body plans and wings.

Bintou Fofana is a senior at Allegheny College, where she is pursuing a degree in International Studies with an area focus on West Africa. She is double minoring in Political Science and French. At Allegheny, Bintou is involved in numerous activities/organizations, including the Center for Political Participation and she is part of the Global Citizens Scholars’ Program. Bintou is also a podcaster and her podcast, “Things Just Got Spicy”, just finished its 3rd season. In the summer of 2023, Bintou worked on a student-faculty collaborative research project with Prof. Ishita Sinha Roy on podcasting and building gen-z political engagement. Listen in to our conversation as Bintou and I chat about a number of topics related to podcasting, political engagement, and using tools such as podcasts to help build engaging classroom environments. Also, be sure to check out her own podcast and subscribe to “Things Just Got Spicy”.