Varner Lab 2022 Update

 

Last year, I received funds from BIOSINQ to support research on interactions between pikas and marmots, which was spent on lab supplies, sequencing, and other analyses. This year, one student, Holly Nelson was involved in collecting samples for these analyses in the La Sal mountains, the San Juan mountains, and Grand Mesa. BIOSINQ funds also supported sample collection at my long-term study site in the La Sal mountains, where Holly was able to participate in trapping and marking pikas for this study. Below are 2 photos of Holly in the field conducting this research. We are profoundly thankful for all donations to this account!

Connors Lab 2021 Update

 

The funds from last year’s BIOSINQ supported research in my lab investigating the ecological physiology of small mammals.  Students in my lab laid the ground work to determine the impacts of climate change on small bodied herbivores, and more specifically the impacts of rising ambient temperatures on woodrats or packrats. In 2021, BIOSINQ funds were used to purchase consumable supplies for field work, a research-grade camera trap, and helped support my research student Jada Mulford attend and present her research at a national conference (two photos of Jada are included below).  In January 2022, Jada will present a poster titled “Analyses of baseline ecological data to address local impact of climate change on woodrats” at the annual conference for the Society of Integrative & Comparative Biology. These BIOSINQ funds were crucial to support undergraduate research while also assisting a long-term ecological study based locally here in Grand Junction. A big thank you to donors for supporting basic research activities and authentic research experiences for students in biology here at CMU!

Varner Lab 2021 Update

 

Last year, I received funds from BIOSINQ to support research on American pikas in the La Sal mountains, which was spent on lab supplies and temperature sensors. This year, one student, Holly Nelson learned how to extract stress hormones from pika scat in the lab and to analyze samples collected in 2021 from the La Sal mountains and from a collaborator in Alaska. She will soon be analyzing data from the temperature sensors that we placed in the field this summer, and she hopes to present these results at a national conference next summer. Below are 2 photos of Holly in the lab conducting this research. We are profoundly thankful for all donations to this account!

Weeks Lab 2021 Update

 

My lab received funds for supplies to be used in a Boreal Toad microbiome sequencing project. These funds were not yet used for this project because I did not have enough funds from other grant opportunities to complete the project. However, I have teamed up with Dr. Lavelle on this project and we have acquired more of the funds needed to make this project a reality. We expect to mentor 2-3 students over the period of this collaborative project. I am requesting an extension for the 2021 fund so that I may use them for supplies in 2022.

Becktell Lab 2021

BIOSINQ 2021 funds helped pay for supplies to sequence fungi that are found on desiccated cadavers in the late stages of decomposition.  The cadavers are held at the CMU Forensic Investigation Research Station (FIRS).  The goal is to determine what role fungi may play in the late stages of decomposition in an arid environment.  Two students have worked on this project over the past two years, Selina Tucker and Morgan Badgley.  In 2020 Selina successfully sequenced fungal DNA from pure cultures to help us identify the fungal species present on the skin and bones of cadavers. This year Morgan has been working to determine whether we can detect the fungi directly from skin samples rather than having to culture the fungi first.   

Thank you to all of our donors for their support!

Fungi on skin (left), mixed fungal culture (right),
PCR of fungal DNA (bottom)

BIOSINQ MIXER 2020 Bat Chat Zoom Recording

 Hello Biosinq followers :)

We had a great Zoom Mixer and heard a wonderful short talk by Dr. Varner. Here is the link to the meeting recording :)  It's not to late to donate, we raised over $500 at the Mixer!

Meeting Recording:

https://coloradomesa.zoom.us/rec/share/qrRxz4fNFaIE94LDLZt5pN2zaKviLPUr9z78ehH-hVS8QkG5-Xmo7I7a8H7iIOBR.ibfyPslsoEC_TA2U

 

Access Passcode: Bats2020!

Weeks Lab Update 2020

Boreal Toads, an endangered high elevation species, and a CMU student were benefited by the BIOSINQ award in 2020. My lab received funds for a mini centrifuge, parafilm, and a DNA extraction kit. These supplies were requested to support project opportunities for students working with a deadly fungal pathogen, the chytrid fungus, that affects the skin of amphibians. Boreal Toad populations have suffered greatly in Colorado from this pathogen and they are now locally endangered with only one known remaining breeding population left in the Grand Mesa National Forest. In early 2020, dozens of Boreal toads emerged from hibernation in a captive breeding facility with this fungal infection and needed treatment. In collaboration with Colorado Parks & Wildlife, they were brought to CMU to be monitored and treated using an anti-fungal bath regiment. To ensure that the treatment worked, the skin of the toads needed to be swabbed and analyzed in the lab. The supplies provided by this BIOSINQ award allowed a CMU student to be a part of this process. During this time, she was prepared for a summer internship program in biological research (SIPBR) by learning husbandry & handling of the animals, how to collect swab samples, and how to analyze the data. These toads were cured of the fungus and 73 of them were released into the wild. 

The BIOSINQ financial support for the supplies helped to create the opportunity for student enrichment and saving the lives of sick animals. 

Thank you to the donors who made this possible!