The Academic Minute

Category: Biology

  • Keith Clay, Indiana University – Tick Risks

    Keith Clay, Indiana University – Tick Risks

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    Don’t get scared, but the threat of ticks is growing! Keith Clay, biologist at Indiana University, details the increasing presence of these insects. A Distinguished Professor of Biology at Indiana University Bloomington, Keith Clay studies how microbial interactions affect the dynamics of ecological communities. This research falls into four general areas: the microbial community ecology…

  • Emily O’Brien, Duke University – AFib

    Emily O’Brien, Duke University – AFib

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    Atrial fibrillation is all too common. Emily O’Brien, a medical instructor in the Department of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center and the Health Services Research group at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, is working to treat the cardiac condition. Dr. O’Brien’s primary research focus is care delivery and outcomes in observational cardiovascular disease cohorts,…

  • Joseph Pawlik, UNCW – Killer Sponges

    Joseph Pawlik, UNCW – Killer Sponges

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    Sometimes living things don’t share a perfect symbiotic relationship. Joseph Pawlik, a professor at The University of North Carolina Wilmington, discusses sponges and coral reefs. Joseph Pawlik received his BS in 1982 from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and his PhD in 1988 from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD. After postdoctoral fellowships at Friday…

  • Graham Hatfull, PITT – Bacteriophages

    Graham Hatfull, PITT – Bacteriophages

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    Viruses are all around us! Graham Hatfull, biologist at the University of Pittsburgh, is working to decode their genetic makeup. Graham F. Hatfull, Ph.D. Professor of Biological Sciences, Eberly Family Professor of Biotechnology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Hatfull is Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. He received…

  • Adam Sobel, Columbia – Madden-Julian Oscillation

    Adam Sobel, Columbia – Madden-Julian Oscillation

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      There’s very limited chance you’ve even heard of the Madden-Julian Oscillation. Adam Sobel, Columbia University professor, details this phenomenon known better by its acronym, the MJO. Adam Sobel is a professor in Columbia’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; he is also director of the Columbia Initiative on…

  • Rob Spencer, FSU – Permafrost

    Rob Spencer, FSU – Permafrost

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    Thawing carbon in the arctic is presenting some potential problems. Rob Spencer, an oceanographer at FSU, is studying permafrost. Rob Spencer is an  assistant professor of oceanography at Florida State. Research in his laboratory is focused on understanding the chemical composition of Earth’s major carbon reservoirs (soils, sediments and dissolved organic matter (DOM) in marine…

  • Susan Brantley, Penn State – Hydraulic Fracturing Concerns

    Susan Brantley, Penn State – Hydraulic Fracturing Concerns

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    Is fracking harmful to our planet or is it worth the economic boon it brings? Susan Brantley, a professor of geosciences at Penn State University, is studying the water in areas where fracking occurs. Susan Brantley is a distinguished professor of geosciences and director of the Earth and Environmental Institute at Penn State. Her research…

  • Dylan McNamara, UNCW – Coastline Economics

    Dylan McNamara, UNCW – Coastline Economics

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    The future of the coastline depends on more than just sand and water. Dylan McNamara, physicist and physical oceanographer, recently published research exploring dynamics of coupled human-environmental systems and how they specifically apply to coastal communities and property value. Dr. Dylan McNamara is an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. McNamara received a bachelor’s degree…

  • Sarah Johnson, FSU – Blueberry Benefits

    Sarah Johnson, FSU – Blueberry Benefits

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    Blueberries are delicious, but aside from their palatable flavor, eating them comes with some great health benefits. Sarah Johnson, post-doc at Florida State University, touts the  benefits of consuming blueberries. Sarah Johnson is the assistant director of the Center for Advancing Exercise and Nutrition Research on Aging at Florida State. Her clinical research focuses on the role…

  • Michael Rawlins, UMass Amherst – Climate Change 2015

    Michael Rawlins, UMass Amherst – Climate Change 2015

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    Discussions of climate change are everywhere. Michael Rawlins, geoscientist at UMass Amherst, explores climate change in the context of last winter, one of the coldest on record for the northeastern United States. Dr. Michael Rawlins is an assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst and the manager of its…