Imagine being up-close and personal with Costa Rican rainforest wildlife. Georgia College & State University senior biology major Amelia Pound of Savannah did just that. For two weeks, she worked alongside veterinarians in Costa Rica, helping its native creatures stay healthy. Pound was selected as part of a small team of students who volunteered to care for sloths, peccaries (pigs), kinkajous (squirrel-like creatures), capuchin and spider monkeys, macaws and other colorful parrots,...
American naturalist Roger Tory Peterson called birds “indicators of the environment,” saying “if they are in trouble, we know we’ll soon be” too. That’s one reason Dr. Katie Stumpf has her biology students research various aspects of bird life. Studying the health and wellbeing of birds can warn of environmental challenges—some yet unknown—we might face with a changing climate. “Birds are an excellent indicator of ecosystem health since they’re able to leave quicker due to their...
It looks like the water tables toddlers play at—only this 300-gallon aquarium is home to newly-caught translucent blue crabs, hermit crabs, mantis shrimp and miniature starfish that like to bury themselves in the sand. Georgia College & State University Associate Professor of Biology Dr. David Weese took his Intro to Marine Biology class on a recent research trip to experience the thrill of the open sea and salty breezes. They used trawling nets to capture multiple ocean dwellers and...
Humans think a snake’s life is simple. They slink. They slither. They bask. They bite. But a Georgia College & State University vertebrate biologist says we don’t really know much at all about what snakes do and why. Using the latest, state-of-the art technology, Dr. Dominic DeSantis and his students are keeping an eye on these coiling creatures—where they go, what they eat and how they interact—hoping to learn their serpentine secrets. “The role of snakes, especially the large-bodied...
Story developed by University Communications. Dr. Amy Amundson Smith, ’93, is a board-certified pediatric hematologist-oncologist with neuro-oncology. She serves as the division chief of the Haley Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and director of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Program—one of the largest pediatric neuro-oncology services in the southeast. Smith traces the start of her journey toward becoming a medical...
Story and photos developed by University Communications. As an environmental science major and geology minor, senior Isabella Banich of Alpharetta made the most of her time at Georgia College & State University--from participating in sustainability research to her work in multiple clubs and organizations But the biggest lesson she learned was the critical importance of making connections. “Knowing professors and professionals here and across academia has opened so many doors for me,”...
Story and photos developed by University Communications. At Georgia College & State University, senior biology major Wesley DeMontigny of Marietta learned nothing’s set in stone, and it’s OK to change your mind. “We should be willing to change our views and apportion belief according to the available evidence,” DeMontigny said. “Your views will change throughout college, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. But if you keep an open mind and seek out the truth, you will stumble...
They say going to college is like drinking from a water fountain—in medical school, a fire hose.At Georgia College & State University, a group of pre-med students already know what it’s like to drink from a hose and withstand the deluge.They have a mentor by their side.When senior Sarah Fix of Fayetteville, Georgia, switched her biology major concentration from nursing to pre-med, she checked resources at other schools. “There’s nothing comparable to this,” Fix said. “Private tutoring...
Imagine a complex system of gears—each wheel turning with interlocking teeth. Throw in a wrench, and everything stops. Dr. Arnab Sengupta, an assistant professor of cell and molecular biology, mulls over that scenario every day. Only, in his case, the wheels are cells and the wrench, stress. If Sengupta and his team of undergraduate researchers can learn enough about cells and what causes them to shut down or keep producing, they could someday help stop cancer. “From a cell’s perspective,...
Story and photos developed by University Communications. Georgia College & State University students are sowing the seeds of change. Funded through a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), an environmental science professor is leading this transformation in the central-southern region of Africa. His students are researching plants that may have the power to renew vast stretches of land poisoned from mining. The three-year program includes International Research...
