Anna Yeung-Cheung, Ph.D., Nancy Todd, Ph.D., and Wendy McFarlane, Ph.D.Department of Biology, Biochemistry and Environmental Studies, Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York

We have an Environmental Park with Ecoclassroom and Ecomachine for purifying water on campus

It provides an excellent area of research within Environmental Studies, reducing the need to travel or pay for research permits

for study purposes.

Many students have the opportunity to present their research at scientific conferences, and some projects are ultimately published.

Senior Research Projects 2008-201299 Papers and Presentations

Presentations at National Science Conferences 2008-201219 presentations

Presentations at Undergraduate Conferences 2008-201251 presentations

Scientific Publications by Undergraduates 2007-20129 publications

3 manuscripts currently in review2 currently in preparation

The Dollar Store, Duct Tape and Creativity: Maintaining an Undergraduate Research Program on a Shoestring Budget

Manhattanville College has an amazingly diverse mix of 1700 undergraduate students from more than 30 states and 50 countries, as well as ~1,000 graduate students.

The Department of Biology has 5 full time professors, several adjunct professors, and 40-50 major students each year. Our capstone experience includes a 3-semester research project in which students work closely with a research mentor. This sequence includes:

Bio 3099 Research Seminar (Junior Fall semester, 2 credits)

Bio 3499 Senior Research (Senior Fall semester, 2 credits)

Bio 3998 Senior Evaluation (Senior Spring semester, 2 credits)

At the end of this sequence, students write a potentially publishable research paper and give a final presentation to their mentors and peers.

Our current research budget for up to 25 seniors a year is only $7000.00, and we have limited amount of funding for students to present their work at conferences. Prior to 2008, we had no research line in our budget.. We have had some success with obtaining small research grants ($250-$3000), but the overall cost of research in terms of materials and space is not completely covered. As a result, we have had to be creative with our projects and seek out alternative sources of materials for these projects.

Abstract TitleAbstract

Background

Undergraduate Scholarship

Acknowledgements

Graduate Activities 1999-2012

We have developed many relationships with nearby parks and associations

We encourage “Field” studies to use the natural resources around our location: Hudson River, Mamaroneck Harbor, Long Island

Sound, Appalachian Trail, Black Forest, Marshlands Conservancy, Sheldrake Environmental Center to name a few.

Sometimes, we reuse/recycle items from home or other projects!

We find and purchase non-chemical supplies

through local retail stores or on EBAY.

1 gallon milk jugs, panty hose, paperclips and an

airstone

Maryke Van Leewen ‘01B.S. and M.S. in Nursing, Johns Hopkins University

TeamworkThere are often pairs or teams of

students working on different aspects of the same project.

Recent renovations and lab upgrades have resulted in a well-equipped tissue

culture laboratory to conduct in vitro lab projects

Cell lines are frozen to save for future use rather than additional purchases, and some cell lines are donated from

local research laboratories.

Food preference in the Asian Shore Crab

Angelica Scaglione ‘10

Kept the crabs from cannibalizing each

other by using baby food containers

collected by her mentor Total Cost: $0.00Nutrient Substrates and Development of Dermestes maculatus

Kirsten Betsill ’11Nicole ‘11

Yasmin Reyes ’12

We try to reuse and recycle common everyday productsSome research projects are

collaborations between 2 professors and another institution

Mame Cisse ’12NY Medical College and Manhattanville

Total cost to us: $0.00

Sometimes we build or create components of our research projectsHand-made electromagnetic coil

to examine the effects of 60hz EM fields on plant growth

Total Cost: Growlights, wire, seeds

Total Cost: $175.00

Crystal Noujaim ’07Ph.D. in Physical Therapy from

New York Medical College, 2010

The impact of water quality on early embryonic development of the green

sea urchin (Strongylocentortus drobachiensis)

Jake Fried ‘08Completed NYU College of Dentistry

A new breeding and egg collection protocol for Danio rerio, with notes on variability in hatching time

Nancy Todd, Hiroshi Osaka and Alyssa Fico ‘12Paper under review in Zebrafish

We recently started a composting project with reused wood pallets and food scraps from the campus cafeteria which was

used to start an organic garden on campus. Organized by Dr. Christopher Pappas and students

Thomen, A. ‘08, W.J. McFarlane, and N.E. Todd. Testing the efficacy of a small-scale Ecomachine

to improve water quality and allow for wetland restoration. Manuscript in prep

Total Cost: $300.00

The effect of the Gunderboom® water filter in bacteria levels in Mamaroneck Harbor – Total Cost: $2000.00, funded by a grant

from Gunderboom®Nicole Benevento, Pretima Persad and Donatella Pavel ’10

Yeung-Cheung, A. K., N. M. Benevento and D. M. Pavel. 2009. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the Gunderboom® in protecting waters

from bacteria. Journal of Environmental Health 71(8) 42-27

Recent Improvements

Renovations of the teaching laboratories have also provided additional space for research

GENERAL BIOLOGY LAB BEFFORE

GENERAL BIOLOGY LAB AFTER

Examples of Research Activities and ProjectsManhattanville College is a small liberal arts college

founded in 1917. There is a strong emphasis on teaching at the college, but faculty are also required to develop their scholarship to achieve reappointment, promotion and tenure. The Biology major incorporates a research sequence as its capstone project. Each year, 10-25 students conduct research with their mentors to produce potentially publishable papers, and many students travel to conferences to present their research. Funding for research has traditionally been limited, although more funds have been allocated in recent years. As a result, the faculty have had to be creative about developing, implementing and conducting research projects. With such limited support, we have been surprisingly successful at producing quality research and well-trained graduates who have gone on to successful careers of their own!

ENVIRONMENTAL/MICROBIOLOGY LAB BEFORE

ENVIRONMENTAL/MICROBIOLOGY LAB AFTER

New egg collecting apparatusTotal Cost:

$50.00

On many occasions, the student’s research project has been the deciding factor in their admission to graduate and medical schools. Our graduates have been very successful in their careers, and we have been able to keep track of 111 graduates since 1999. How do we do it?

Glad plastic containers, bridal tulle and duct

tapeTotal Cost: $200.00 Funded by TriBeta

GrantManuscript in prep.

A Mini-Gunderboom filter to test efficacy of Gunderboom technology for filtering

water in the lab, built in Hong Kong

Stephen Corvini and Janyll Perez ’12Stephen is studying Physical Therapy at

NY Medical College

Used an old refrigerator to keep urchin larvae alive, developed new method for oxygenation in the unit

Exercise stress and muscle physiology Students exercised mummichog fish to

exhaustion in a bucket, then froze

tissues for biochemical analysis

Total Cost: $200.00

Total Cost: $80.00

Tara Pisano & Alex Braverman ’11Tara is at Wagner College of Nursing Total Cost: $30.00

Total Cost: $50.00

Alyssa is teaching 6th Grade Life Science in the

Bronx, NY