Life Line
Otterbein
Greetings and Farewell!
In Fall 2024, the Department of Biology & Earth Science welcomed 100 new students to Otterbein University. The positive energy was palpable. In fact, Dr. Sinn and Dr. Grooms (far left in the picture below) were literally jumping for joy at the prospect of working with these new college students. Combined with the 85 new students that joined the department in Fall 2023, our core biology, zoo & conservation science, and environmental science courses are bursting at the seams. This has been an amazing time of growth and development for the department.
To help the department teach,
advise, and mentor all these new students we are currently interviewing for a new, full-time, tenure-track Cellular & Molecular Biologist to join the department. Stay tuned for the exciting announcement this Spring! We are excited to see what new avenues of research, teaching, engagement, and leadership this new faculty member will bring.
Spring 2025 will be bittersweet. The department will say farewell to Dr. Michael Hoggarth. After 33 years of dedication, teaching, scholarship, service, and leadership at Otterbein, he is retiring. During his tenure, he helped navigate the construction of
the Environmental Science and Zoo & Conservation Science programs, and he led this department as Chair for 13.5 years! He and his wife, Karen, funded both the Biology & Earth Science Faculty Research Award and the Student Travel Fund. These awards help support faculty research projects and student learning experiences every year; their impact on this department and Otterbein University will be palpable for decades into the future and for this we will be forever grateful. We wish him much rest, relaxation, and good times in his active retirement!
COSI 2024
The Department of Biology and Earth Science and the Department of Engineering participated in the 2024 COSI Science Festival in Columbus on May 4. Our program was titled “Light and Sight” and met with sev-
eral hundred school-age kids (and even a few curious adults) to show them various ways that eyes sense, the physics of photons, and how art pigments provide a splash of color.
Dr. Bouchard and students operated the ever-popular cow eyeball dissection station. We also had sections on bat echolocation as a way of "seeing" and bacteria expressing green fluorescent protein when excited by UV light. Additionally, Engineering made a board with lasers that, when disrupted by someone’s hand, would play different songs.
Look for Otterbein STEM's booth at this year's Big Science Celebration on Saturday, May 3, 2025, where we'll
be working to provide more habitats for wildlife in Central Ohio.
Cow eyeball station
Laser board
Ketchup, Culture, and an Unforgettable Conference
Dr. Jennifer Bennett: My research students and I were given the opportunity to present our projects at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS), held at the David L. Lawrance Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was a great opportunity to not only present research at a national meeting, but also to hear about the latest research from other labs, to network with other scientists, and to learn about various topics. We were also able to visit Duquesne University and the lab of our collaborator and my former PhD advisor. At Duquesne, two PhD students and an undergraduate presented their research posters to us and asked questions about our research as well. In addition to all of the interesting science, Pittsburgh is a great place to learn about history and culture. We explored the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Heinz History Center. We also ate at some famous and not-so-famous Pittsburgh restaurants, including the Primanti Brothers famous sandwiches, (or as we say in The Burgh, “sammiches”). Here is what some of my students had to say about their experiences in Pittsburgh at the ABRCMS conference this past November.
Ramla Abdullahi ’25: The "Power of Presentation" really resonated with me because it highlighted how presenting our research in a professional setting not only sharpened our presentation skills but also boosted our confidence. Personally, this experience provided invaluable
Alumna Earns PhD
insights into how to effectively communicate scientific concepts to diverse audiences. It was eye-opening to see how other presenters approached their work, and the feedback we received helped refine our own ideas. The conversations and connections I made at ABRCMS were invaluable, expanding my perspectives on both the research process and my career trajectory. This event truly emphasizes how powerful it is to share your work and engage in meaningful dialogue with others in the field.
Fathi Mohamed ’25: At ABRCMS, the experience of engaging with other presenters and seasoned researchers expanded my understanding and provided fresh perspectives. During my time there, I had the opportunity to meet undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds across the country, each bringing their unique insights and experiences. It was inspiring to witness individuals taking their research to new levels, which motivated me to push harder in my own work. Moreover, connecting with others who shared similar aspirations made me realize that the challenges I face in my research journey are not isolated, but shared by many students like me nationwide. Additionally, exploring different graduate schools that I am interested in and speaking with recruiters was an invaluable opportunity to forge connections for my future academic path.
Alyssa Coleman ’25: One more thing that I felt stood out was the ability to network with other schools and research institutions and learn
about the programs and opportunities each had to offer, which expanded our knowledge and possibilities for the future.
Hanan Hussein ’25: I am especially impressed by the emphasis on mentorship and the diversity showcased at the ABRCMS experience. The conference provided so many opportunities for meaningful connections with students from diverse backgrounds, fostering a sense of belonging and collaboration. This event was not only a chance for individual growth but also a step forward for organizations in building connections and fostering a stronger sense of community and collaboration within STEM.
Hibo Adan ’25: Attending this conference was not only a transformative experience, but also my most formative moment in my Otterbein journey that continues to fuel my passion for research and to become my most driven self. I would like to sincerely thank my research advisor, Dr. Bennett, as well as the Immersive Experiences Funding, for making this experience a reality.
Dr. Lorien Salyer successfully defended her Doctoral Thesis in Biomedical Sciences at The Ohio State University in April 2024. Lorien graduated from Otterbein with a BS in Zoo and Conservation Science in 2017. She switched her focus after graduation to study the effects of signaling pathways and posttranslational modifications on myofilament proteins to improve health function in disease. Lorien returned to Otterbein last year to share her research with our students.
Alyssa Coleman ’25, Ramla Abdullahi ’25, Hibo Adan ’25, Fathi Mohamed ’25, Hanan Hussein ’25, Dr. Bennett in front of the Pittsburgh skyline
Dr. Salyer
Tortoises, Butterflies, and Cockroaches, Oh My!
This year, Dr. Bennett Grooms worked with faculty and students to expand the Zoo and Conservation program’s terrestrial species collection! During the summer, Dr. Grooms and Dr. Calinger-Yoak collaborated to renovate and renew the former Aviary into a Butterfly Conservatory, installing new UV lights, shelves, and living spaces within the structure. Located at the north entrance of the Science Center, the Conservatory once housed the budgies for research and now houses two new additions: a Russian Tortoise named Darwin and a collection of Painted Lady butterflies.
Darwin is a rescue tortoise that the Zoo and Conservation Science program adopted during the Summer of 2024, thanks to a connection from one of our new students, Emmy Gregory ’27. While Darwin is currently not used in research, two technicians from the Grooms Conservation Behavior Lab (Patrick Shimko ’25 and Grace Barker ’28) are helping to
monitor his behavior and care for his wellbeing. Moving forward, we plan for Darwin to play an active role in the Zoo and Conservation program in providing students with opportunities to gain experience in animal husbandry, wellbeing, and potential ambassadorship experiences. The Painted Lady butterflies represented the first iteration of a potential long-term behavior research study from the Grooms Conservation Behavior Lab, which successfully raised two broods (100+) of butterflies from caterpillars during the Fall 2024 semester. The butterflies were an incredible success, with the first brood living for ~3+ weeks longer than the average lifespan! As of Spring 2025, the butterflies have been paused during the winter season, and will begin again during Summer 2025, along with several other potential species and research projects.
Beyond the Conservatory, the Grooms Conservation Behavior Lab has worked to update the Zoo and Conservation program’s terrestrial species collection to provide ambassador and behavior research opportunities to stu-
Licking River Roundup 2024
Otterbein Biology & Earth Science participated in the annual Licking River Round-up on Saturday, September 7. They helped clean up at the WildWood Park section of the Licking River in Granville, Ohio. While the work was wet and muddy, it was a great success! Students who participated were Phoebe Gibson '25, Tess Gallaspie '25, Tatum Poulton '25, Ella Benner '28, Paige Butcher '28, Frankie Nicotera '28, Adrienne Vawter '28, and Ethan Strauch '26. Students were joined by Casey Tucker, adjunct faculty, and Erin Ulrich, lab coordinator.
dents. Located in SCI 115, the collection currently houses two tarantulas, a scorpion, blue death feigning beetles, hissing cockroaches, grey tree frogs (from Dr. Bouchard’s lab), an axolotl (from the Otterbein Aquarium Crew), hermit crabs, jumping spiders, praying mantises, millipedes, and isopods. Dr. Grooms plans to expand the program during the upcoming year to provide a wider range of species and opportunities to zoo students, such as reptiles, amphibians, and various arthropods. Dr. Grooms’ research focuses on conservation behavior, which applies knowledge of animal and human behavior to solve conservation challenges. In addition to providing more opportunities to students, he also plans to expand his research program to
Hissing Cockroaches
Painted Lady Butterfly
Darwin
Aquarium Students Explore Coral Restoration in Fiji
Last May, eleven Otterbein students traveled to Fiji with Drs. Hal Lescinsky and Brandon Sinn to explore coral reefs and coral restoration techniques. The students, from the Department’s Aquarium Track of the Zoo and Conservation Science major, experienced first-hand how “planting” coral can help local communities. Our first project was working with the Naidiri, a community that several years ago overfished their reefs to the point that they could catch few fish for dinner. The community came together and they started to build racks and plant corals to boost fish habitat and they quickly saw the number of fish on
reef and then bringing them to Naidiri, where they worked with the villagers to attach staghorn coral pieces to them. These corals would quickly grow together into natural-appearing thickets and would provide structure and homes not just for the needed fish, but also for myriad other reef creatures, thereby enhancing the health of the reef as a whole.
The second restoration project was working with Reefs of Hope and its director, Dr. Austin BowdenKirby, to establish a genetic bank of heat-resistant corals. Students snorkeled recently bleached reef flats looking for colonies that had survived the bleaching and were thus heatresistant. Healthy corals of all species were identified, collected, and transferred to racks on adjacent reefs that were naturally exposed to cooler water, where they would be able to survive higher heat events in the future. These corals became part of a genetic bank, where they would grow out and provide fragments of heat-resistant
genotypes for future restoration efforts.
In addition to the restoration work, the students had many other activities, including removing hundreds of coral-eating crown of thorn sea stars from the reefs, building octopus houses, plunging in a mountain waterfall, hiking a giant sand dune, living on a farm, and diving amongst sea snakes on some of the best reefs remaining on the planet.
Amazingly intact reef flats in Fiji
Attaching corals to racks
Dr. Lescinsky and students moving corals between sites
Banded Sea Krait
Atlas Kirkendall ’26 towing collected corals to gene bank
Otterbein students and Naidiri residents worked together on restoring their reefs
Phoebe Gibson ’25 and Harley Miller ’25 attach corals to racks in Naidiri
The Galapagos Islands: Geology, Ecology, Conservation, and Culture
This past summer, Dr. Sarah Bouchard traveled to the Galapagos Islands to prepare for a new student travel course she will be teaching in May 2025. This course is part of a collaboration with Antioch University and will be team-taught with Dr. Dawn Murry, professor in their Environmental Studies Department. While in the Galapagos, Dr. Bouchard met with people from the Intercultural Outreach Initiative whose mission includes providing international education programs that support the education, conservation, and social development of the islands. They are helping to organize the travel course and will provide on-theground support while Otterbein students are there.
The course will primarily focus on two islands. First, students will spend two days on Santa Cruz, where they will visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, private tortoise reserves, and lava tunnels. They will then travel by boat to Isabela Island, where they will spend the remainder of the course. There, students will hike to an active volcano, snorkel multiple locations, visit an important tortoise breeding center, and complete service-learning activities with the national park service. They will also learn about the history and culture of the local people and examine the role that ecotourism plays in their everyday lives. Students are currently enrolled in a half-credit spring course in preparation for the trip. Topics covered during this portion of the course include the geologic forces that built (and continue to build) the islands, the endemic life that subsequently evolved, and the conservation efforts required to protect these fragile ecosystems. Students are also currently becoming experts on one animal and one plant species that they will observe
during the excursions. They will then share their expertise in the field while we are observing these organisms in their native habitat.
Opuntia Cactus
Frigate Birds
Marine Iguanas
Swallow-tailed Gull
Beach Sunset
Sea Lions are a common sight
Beautiful scenery
Dr. Svitana Presents on Otterbein Lake Well Field
Dr. Kevin Svitana had two opportunities to discuss the Otterbein Lake Well Field in 2024. This well field has been a unique opportunity for students to gain first-hand experience related to groundwater science. The well field has also been utilized by Ohio EPA, Columbus State and the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) for teaching and training activities.
The first presentation occurred in February 2024, to the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) at their quarterly Ohio meeting in Columbus. Many of the AIPG members were familiar with the Otterbein Lake facility, so they reached out to Dr. Svitana and asked if he could present regarding the well field at their February meeting, to inform their membership about this unique outdoor laboratory. Following the presentation, several members indi-
cated that they would be willing to contribute equipment and other resources for use at the facility.
The second presentation occurred at the Groundwater Summit held by the NGWA in Las Vegas in December. Dr. Svitana was pleasantly surprised when several people, including a hydrogeologist from Norway, indicated that they had participated in NGWA short courses conducted by Dr. Svitana and Doug Hunter (Cox Colvin & Assoc.) and were familiar with the data used in those short courses generated from the Otterbein Lake Well Field. It was a
great opportunity to talk about the outdoor laboratory and the benefits it offers to hydrogeologists.
From its humble beginnings as six monitoring wells around the lake, the well field has become a model for conducting pumping tests for doing hydraulic evaluations and groundwater modeling. Additional wells have been added to the original six wells; now there are 15 wells, all donated as in-kind services from EnviroCore LLC and Ohio EPA. The well field also now includes a solar pumping and remote monitoring system, thanks to Alan Goff, Coral Harris, and the Biology and Earth Science Department. Dr. Svitana uses data from the well field, as well as handson data collection, as immersive experiences to provide students with state-of-the-art groundwater learning opportunities.
Cell Bio Pilots Unique Approach to Learning
The gamification of learning has proven to improve cognition and learning because it puts learners in an active role rather than a passive learning role (an example study includes Khoshnoodifar, et al., 2023). In the Cell Biology laboratory, we applied gamified learning concepts to create an educational “escape-like” room for the students to participate in. We developed a scenario where the students assumed the role of a laboratory tech to diagnose a patient with an unidentified illness. The students participated in a series of tasks
that were designed to require them to use prior knowledge and context clues to uncover codes to lockboxes. If they successfully completed each of the ten tasks in the time allotted, they were able to access the “anti-toxin” and save the patient.
Engaging students in unique learning opportunities is crucial to creating a bridge between classroom learning and real-world applications. Providing students with alternative learning opportunities outside of the typical classroom allows learners of all types to engage with the material effectively. By participating in the escape room activity, students think critically about what they are learning and why it is important.
As a teaching assistant for the Cell Biology laboratory, I got to experience the planning and execution of a complex learning activity. The planning of the escape room took many hours and discussions to ensure everything was cohesive, correct, and reasonably chal-
lenging for the students. The other teaching assistant and I worked closely with Dr. Bennett to brainstorm exactly how everything was going to come together. A valuable part of this experience, for me, was being able to see a unique, hands-on learning activity come to life. It gave me insight into the value that learning activities like escape rooms can provide for students.
Ellie Fritz ’25
Dr. Svitana at the well field
Students successfully completed the puzzles with time to spare.
Another successful “escape”!
Hoggarth to Retire, June 2025
It’s been a pretty good ride that has taken 33 years of my life. In today’s world, that’s a long time to be with the same employer. One of the side jobs I did during this period was to teach Field Zoology at FT Stone Laboratory for OSU. When I retired from that gig after 20 years of summers, I put it out on Facebook and got all kinds of likes (this was when that’s all you could do, was to like or not respond to a post). Got me to thinking, though, that there were a lot of people out there who liked the idea that I was no longer teaching at the lab. Maybe there are as many who would feel the same way about my time at Otterbein. But I jest – I hope.
These 30+ years have been amazing. First, there are my students: some of you did a research project with me, or worked with me in a stream somewhere, or TAed one of my classes, or just took more classes from me than you should have. I know you are not actually “my students” but being a part of your lives
has been a blessing. You have gone on to do some remarkable things, and some everyday things too, but you have all made this world a better place. I am proud of you. Second, there are the colleagues I have worked with over the years: faculty and staff in my department and the university; former students, many of whom I work with on a professional level today; the Ohio scientific community; and many others who advocate for rivers and the organisms they support. You and I have made some real progress for our department, the university, Ohio science, and for the mussels and other organisms that call rivers home. I leave this job with a sense of accomplishment and value that has been afforded to me by all of you – thank you.
So, what have these past 33 years taught me? Here is my final lesson. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lists a whole bunch of ways to receive blessings. You are blessed if you are pure of heart, if you are meek, etc., but one blessing seems, to me, to be missing. There is no indication that the list was
supposed to be exhaustive, and so my last lesson adds one to that list. This blessing expresses where I am at this point in my life. And so, Blessed are the ones who give of their time, talent, and treasure, for they shall be filled with purpose, gratitude, and contentment. Purpose moves me toward the future, gratitude extends from my past, and contentment keeps me today. I can recommend this blessing. These gifts are enough for me.
Dr. Michael Hoggarth
AED is BACK on Campus!
The Otterbein Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) is being re-established this spring: We are happy to announce that there will be an induction ceremony of new members taking place this spring! AED is a National Honor Society for Health Professional Students. Otterbein’s AED chapter has not been active since being disrupted during the pandemic. The Biology and Earth Science Department has many majors who are also on a Preprofessional Health Track: while completing their Otterbein degrees, they are also diligently working through the prerequisites for Medical, Veterinary, Dental, Physician
Assistant, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, or other Professional Health Programs. Students in other majors on campus are also on such tracks. An active AED
chapter on campus will provide opportunities for such Otterbein students to share experiences, to learn from those already practicing in their fields, and to organize service projects for our community.
If you are an Otterbein graduate (or Otterbein student’s friend/ relative) with a career in any of these health fields and would be willing to offer your time to meet with the AED chapter or to be a mentor for an undergraduate interested in your field, please reach out to Professor Lisa Marr MD (emarr@otterbein.edu), AED faculty advisor.
Current AED Chapter Officers (L- R): Alyssa Galownia ’26 (VP), Cyleigh Sampson ’26 (Secretary), Paul Scott ’26 (Pres.), Keerstin Farson-Mantor ’28 (Treasurer), Hanan Jama ’26(Reporter). Missing officer: Joey Auld ’25 (Historian)
The Greenhouse Gets a Lifeline
Drs. Lehman and Sinn worked with Facilities Services over the past year to implement some muchneeded repairs to the Science Center greenhouse facilities. The shade cloth in both greenhouses, which automatically extended and retracted throughout the day depending on light and temperature conditions outside, had disintegrated over the last 15 years. While it might seem that a lot of sunlight is a good thing for a greenhouse, unregulated sunlight in a greenhouse quickly leads to incredibly hot conditions that very few plant groups can survive. Various mechanisms that allow the windows to be automatically controlled had also broken over the years, a fact which compounded with the unabating sunlight to create conditions that only desert plants could survive. Dr. Lehman worked with Prospiant and US Global Resources to create custom-sized shade cloth, which is a
high-tech, flame-resistant blend of polyester and aluminum that blocks and reflects some light entering the roof. Metallic cloth was also replaced on sidewalls of the greenhouse to additionally buffer against excess sunlight. Facilities Services conducted repairs needed to ensure proper functioning of the roof and sidewall windows, even manufacturing some parts(!). We are happy to report that the greenhouses are now functioning as though they are new! Also, the workers consumed Tang (a space-age drink developed for astronauts) during installation. The greenhouse is thus truly futuristic.
In addition to repairs, we have curated the plant collections with an eye toward being more intentional in our holdings. The updated facilities will better support plants from a variety of habitats around the world, and we are currently working to build out the living and research collections in
the space. Work to build a tropical carnivorous plant garden in the Teaching Greenhouse is currently underway, and we are also starting to build a fern cultivation workflow that will interface with BIO 1020 and also support a fern sale in the coming year.
Dr. Brandon Sinn and Dr. Jeff Lehman
Acoustic Rabies Identification (ARID):A Sound-Based Approach to Rabies Testing
Each year in the US, 25k+ bats are euthanized to test for rabies (the only way to test for the virus involves decapitation and brain sampling) a virus with a 99.9999% fatality rate upon infection. Our project hopes to reduce that number by producing a pre-mortem screening tool using audio recordings of both rabid and nonrabid bats in partnership with the Ohio Wildlife Center and ~20 wildlife rehab organizations around the US. These sounds would train a machinelearning audio classification model which, when given with enough sounds, will be able to distinguish infection without requiring brain sampling.
This would give a tool to wildlife rehabbers to make better decisions
about quarantine and non-invasively investigate rabies epidemiology in the field. My research partner in Georgia will be able to also screen the bats for additional pathogens, so we can un-
derstand more about non-rabies influences on bat health.
Dr. Andy Calinger-Yoak
Department
drhodeback@otterbein.edu