STEM

Gangloff Lab of Amphibian and Reptile Ecophysiology (GLARE)

Hosted by OWU’s faculty member Dr. Eric Gangloff, his lab group focuses on studying physiology, behavior, morphology, and ecology in various reptile and amphibian species.

He often has students work with him on their own independent studies, has summer research available and is open to conversations about getting students involved.

Dr. Chris Wolverton’s research interests include how plants integrate signals such as light, touch, and gravity to influence growth and development. His lab uses a combination of mutants, transgenic approaches, and reporter gene studies along with a custom hardware and software system that combines real-time image analysis with motor control to study the dynamics of sensory output and growth regulation. He is currently funded by NASA for a spaceflight experiment investigating the threshold for gravity perception and to characterize the cellular systems that transduce the gravity signal into cellular information.

He often has students working with him year round is open to conversations about getting students involved!

Dr. Anderson is a plant ecologist and holder of the Morris Family Professorship in Natural Sciences in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Environment & Sustainability at Ohio Wesleyan University. She is also President of the Board of Directors for the Ecological Research as Education Network (EREN) and Chair of the Network Management Team of the Macrosystems Ecology For All Network (MEFA), both projects initiated with funding from the NSF. Her research and teaching interests include temperate forest ecology, invasive plants, global environmental change, and developing collaborative ecological projects across small colleges. She has led travel courses on global environmental change in Brazil, Utah and Alaska.

She is also a published poet and loves to explore how intersections among the humanities, arts, and sciences deepen our understanding and connection with the non-human world.

Dr. Anderson often leads travel learning courses, independent studies and encourages students to reach out with creative combinations of research topics. She is a great person to reach out to when brainstorming ideas and is an excellent mentor.

Dr. Carreno‘s most recent research has focused on the systematics of parasitic nematodes in mammals, birds, and arthropods, as part of a broader interest in wildlife parasitology and wildlife diseases.

Research approaches incorporate light and electron microscopy, as well as cloning and DNA sequencing.

He occasionally participates in the SSRP.

Dr. Dietrich is broadly interested in using data to study human behavior, with a particular focus on international human rights. Some of his research projects analyze human rights violations that went temporarily unreported, examine media bias in political violence reporting, and evaluate how people assess allegations of human rights abuses with incomplete information. His approach to data science emphasizes applied skills, critical thinking about how information is generated, and the social and ethical consequences of data analysis.

Research isn’t always labs and field work! Examining how data is used to make predictions, assumptions, decisions and more is an essential research avenue to pursue. Reach out to him to develop an independent study.

Dr. Downing’s current projects include characterizing how the population dynamics of individual species in ecosystems interact to influence the stability of aggregate properties of ecosystems and exploring how freshwater biodiversity responds to pollution such as road salt, nutrients and pesticides. She has been involved in several international collaborations that include exploring the effects of biodiversity loss on ecosystems and the response of freshwater communities to salinization due to road-salt runoff.

Reach out to her if you have interest in learning more about working with her on her current projects or if you have an interest in working on an independent study.

Dr. Guo is broadly interested in applied mathematics, with particular focuses on biological fluid mechanics and scientific computing. Much of his existing research is on mathematical modelings of cilia and ciliary flows. He is also interested in data-driven approaches applied to conventional and novel fluid mechanics problems, such as designing micro-robots in complex fluids.

Danielle Hamill‘s research interests include regulation of cell division and developmental processes. For these studies, the Hamill lab uses roundworms, including Caenorhabditis elegans. As these processes are highly conserved, what they learn from studying cell division and development in worms will likely provide a better understanding of these important processes in other organisms as well. Hamill also serves as the pre-physical therapy advisor.

She consistently works with students on both independent studies and is open to them contributing to her own research.

Shala Hankison’s research explores the role of animal behavior as an evolutionary mechanism, particularly in fishes. She focuses on how sexual selection, especially female mating preferences, interacts with other mechanisms to shape population divergence and speciation. By comparing natural and sexual selection, one can better understand the interaction of these forces in shaping the diversity of organisms we see around us. In addition, she is interested in variation in parental behavior and how that variation influences the behavior of offspring. This question has important implications as we strive to understand the interplay between nature and nurture.

She approaches these questions through both experimentation and behavior observation using multiple species of fishes, primarily sailfin mollies and threespined stickleback. By designing behavioral experiments in the laboratory, she is able to focus on specific behaviors of interest and understand the role of that behavior in an animal’s larger repertoire.

She often works with students on their own independent projects.

Krygier’s research interests include cartography and map design for GIS, critical cartography & GIS, mapping in the arts and humanities, Participatory GIS, multimedia and hypermedia mapping, the history of mapping, environmental studies, and environmental history. 

He is an excellent mentor and is happy to work with students on independent research projects.

Dr. McCulloch is a computer science and mathematics instructor with a particular interest in designing programs to play “modern” boardgames where traditional rules and strategies are not applicable and has a wide variety of interests in other complex programming challenges.

He works consistently with 1 or 2 students during the SSRP and during the academic year on independent projects.

Tami Panhuis’ research lab is broadly interested in comparative evolutionary biology and the evolution of fish placenta traits.

She works students both on independent research project as well as her own and has published work with OWU students listed as contributors.

Andrea Suria’s research examines how beneficial bacterial symbionts protect their host animals from infection. She uses the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, and its symbiotic egg bacteria as a model to study host defense in symbioses. The Suria lab uses genetic mutations, in vitro bioassays, and bioinformatic tools to explore the mechanisms of bacterial competition and antimicrobial production. The lab is also interested in characterizing defensive symbioses in the eggs of other aquatic invertebrates, such as crabs and shrimp. Suria teaches courses in microbiology and molecular genetics and is a partner instructor in the Tiny Earth Network, a global consortium seeking to discover new antibiotics.

As a new faculty member, she is still setting up her on campus lab (2024).

Current research in the Rudd laboratory is focused on molecular organization at air-aqueous interfaces of biological and atmospheric relevance.

She works with students on research projects during the SSRP.

Kayce Tomcho’s work focused on refining the structure and the dynamics of the human alpha-1 glycine receptor using systematic single, site-specific cysteine mutations and crosslinking mass spectrometry.

She participates in the SSRP frequently.

Dr. Chelsea Vadnie uses mouse models to study the role of circadian rhythm disruptions in behaviors relevant to anxiety, mood and alcohol use disorders. She uses optogenetics and environmental manipulations to understand whether circadian rhythm disruption alters behavioral phenotypes and neurobiology in mouse models. Her current project is centered on determining the role of the central pacemaker in the brain, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, in the regulation of mood and anxiety-like behavior. She also studies the behavioral and neurobiological effects of circadian disruption during adolescence.

She occasionally has students work with her during the SSRP.

Dr. Robert Harmon utilizes OWU’s Perkins Observatory for classes and research, including the study of starspots. He mentors undergraduates conducting research during the summer, the results of which often are presented at regional and national conferences.

He has routinely has 2 SSRP students working on projects each summer.

Dr. Dustin Reichard focuses broadly on the evolution of animal communication and sexual selection with a particular emphasis on birds. Specifically, he investigates the relationship between signal structure and function in a variety of poorly understood signals including whispered vocalizations that function in aggression and courtship as well as female songs, which were once thought to be exceedingly rare. His focus on communication extends to measuring how human-induced changes in the environment, such as anthropogenic noise, are affecting animal signaling and stress physiology. He is also interested in how various types of social interactions, which typically include vocalizations, affect circulating hormone levels and ultimately, an individual’s fitness. These studies are done in the field with free-living songbirds, predominantly Dark-eyed Juncos, House Wrens, and Carolina Wrens.

He works with students on independent studies and participates in the SSRP, often at OWU’s Nature Preserves.

Dr. Nathan Rowley researches fields include climatology, remote sensing, human-environmental interactions, and glaciology. As part of his approach to teaching, he is an avid supporter of mentorship of undergraduate research.

He often works with students on independent research and participates regularly in the SSRP.

Personal statements matter because they’re one of the few chances you get to speak directly to the people reviewing your application. They put a human face on transcripts, GPAs, and resumes. A strong personal statement can show how your experiences connect to your goals, what you’ve learned along the way, and why you’re a good fit for the opportunity. It doesn’t need to be dramatic or perfect – it just needs to be honest and reflective. If you can help the reader understand where you’re coming from and what drives you, you’re already ahead.

Applications will often provide specific guidelines for formatting your personal statement – including font, length, spacing, and file type. If no details are given, a safe default is to aim for about 500 – 1,000 words, using 12-point font (Times New Roman or Arial), 1-inch margins, and 1.5 or double spacing. Unless otherwise specified, there’s no need for a title page or unusual formatting. Focus on clear, persuasive writing that follows universal grammar and structure conventions and if not otherwise specified, PDF first, then DOCX are the best file types for submission.

Most strong statements include a hook (something that draws the reader in), a few well-developed paragraphs about your background and interests, and a conclusion that ties everything together and looks forward. This is a great general outline to start with!

What It Can Look Like
Introduction: 

Your hook – oftentimes it can be helpful to start with where you started! When, where and why are you interested in your subject of interest? Something to instantly try to humanize yourself and develop a connection with the reader. 

Your Academic Preparedness:

Things like classes that stand out, research you completed, volunteering or shadowing experiences that prepared you for the next steps you’re about to take are all good things to consider. Concentrate on sharing what interested you about them specifically, what did you take away from an experience, how did you handle challenges during that experience, triumphs? 

Remember that this is not just an informational document – they will have access to all of your academic records and any letters of recommendation to comment on specific projects or coursework, this is more about you and your relationship to academics and foundational experiences needed for medical or graduate school. 

Why This Program/School in Particular:

For Grad Schools: Why is this person, lab or university the best place for you to be accepted? Have you already envisioned yourself in their lab? Know what resources they have available and how your work and ambitions will fit into their goals? What do you see yourself contributing to the community as a whole?

For Medical Schools: Why medicine this way and no other? There are many technical degrees and other career paths that will get you into a healthcare career that don’t involve and MD – why is this the best option for you?

Both: Consider completing the ‘Finding Your Why’ exercise below to help draft this integral portion of your personal statement. 

How Will This Help You Towards Your Future Goals?:

What are your future goals beyond your degree? If you’re drafting a personal statement for an internship or research experience, how will this experience help your journey? What is most important for you to get out of this experience? 

Each is individual and unique! If you need assistance in drafting a letter of academic intent, reach out to the STEM & Pre-Health Career Catalyst today!