SMITH INSTITUTE NEWS ISSUE 04
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Study Aims To Save Birds A disease is killing pigeons in the United States, and research by a Johnson C. Smith University professor and her students could help save them. r. Alexa Rosypal, JCSU associate professor of Biology, and two students will spend the next two years studying the parasite Sarcocystis calchasi, which causes the deadly Pigeon Protozoal Encephalitis (PPE). Rosypal won a two-year grant from the National Science Foundation Research Initiation Award to study how pigeons are being infected, and she is working with Dr. David Lindsay at Virginia Tech and Dr. Dave Scott at the Carolina Raptor Center.
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Researchers have theorized that the parasite first appeared in a specific species of hawks in Germany several years ago. Now the disease caused by the parasite is infecting pigeons in the United States. However, the hawk species found in Germany is not here.
Continued Bird Study on page 2
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Photo Courtesy of Darling Media Group
Students Kashley Rishforth and Shaquana Douglas study a specimen in the lab at JCSU.
Dr. Alexa Rosypal and students are studying the parasite Sarcocystis Calchasi
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4-D Reception held at Mosaic Village
Photo Courtesy of Tanya Greene
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Winter 2015
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Rosypal and her students are trying to determine how pigeons are being infected. “They need to determine the life cycle of the disease, which has the potential to spread
to other birds and can kill birds in the psitticine group, such as parrots, cockatiels, and macaws,” Rosypal said. Along with trying to save pigeons, Rosypal says conducting the research offers invaluable experience to all involved. It allows her to hone her molecular biology skills so she can better train students. Researching the disease also will give students Kashley Rishforth, a sophomore Biology major, and Shaquana Douglas, a sophomore Biology and Chemistry major, real lab experience, which is uncommon for undergrads. “It’s giving them hands-on research experience,” Rosypal said. “They will be able to take what they’ve learned in class and apply it.” The students will extract DNA from muscle tissue samples that the Raptor Center supplies. They will also perform lab work at Virginia Tech next summer. Rishforth said she’s excited about the
Photo Courtesy of Darling Media Group
Bird Study
Dr. Alexa Rosypal and students Shaquana Douglas and Kashley Rishforth are studying a parasite that causes a fatal disease in pigeons.
chance to conduct research and experience a new school. Most importantly, however, she hopes their research can make a difference and save birds from the disease. This is Douglas’s second research project at a university. She wants to be a neonatologist, and she is excited because this research project is more related to the body.
Predicting Students’ Success igh school seniors with college aspirations understand that colleges heavily weigh their grade-point averages and standardized test scores. Some education activists, however, have argued that colleges shouldn’t rely so heavily on these predictors in determining whether to accept students, and Dr. Antonio Henley, Dean of University College at Johnson C. Smith University, agrees.
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Henley received a STAR grant to study Metacognitive Factors that Impact Student Success in an effort to determine whether traditional measures for college admissions should be jettisoned. The current standards have been in place for more than a century. Henley is conducting research to determine whether colleges should use non-cognitive and metacognitive skill sets to predict students’ success and therefore worthiness of admission. “There are others ways to assess potential, others ways to assess learning,” Henley said. Henley’s personal experience inspired his research. He watched as his older
brother, who he calls “brilliant,” became increasingly uninterested in grade school. He kept failing and eventually was kicked out of the school system. “I always thought, ‘that’s weird; that boy is brilliant, he is so smart,’ ” Henley said. “I watched that happen with countless others over the years. I watched the ways in which the school system disenfranchised some learners and I wondered, ‘Why is that?’ ” Schools need to take a more comprehensive approach to assess a student’s potential, he said. “We rely too much on standardized tests to tell us whether or not a student is learning at capacity. We need to take a more broadbased approach,” he said. The challenge, for higher education institutions is to be able to use the current measures to determine a student’s success in a college environment. His research analyzes whether resilience, self-efficacy, leadership, service, educational commitment, and motivation can also help predict a student’s success in college. Henley has been conducting his
research for the past two years by asking students to complete short essay questions during the admissions process. Faculty and staff members have also interviewed students. The STAR grant allowed them to analyze the data that has already been collected. He has asked his faculty to draft research articles and write papers on their results. “Our research suggests that motivation, self-efficacy and resilience are important indicators for student success,” he said. Henley will discuss the study’s findings at the 2015 Smith Institute Sixth Annual Invitational Symposium on Nov. 6 at the new Science Center.
The contents of this Smith Institute for Applied Research publication were developed under a Title III Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), award number PO31B100094, from the Department of Education. However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. 2
SMITH INSTITUTE NEWS
STAR Grant Program Research Highlights: Impact of Black Fathers ore than half of African American children are raised in singleparent homes, but a single-parent home doesn’t mean the child must endure a single-parent education. Johnson C. Smith tutorial coordinator Tanya Greene received a STAR grant for the study “How Does a Father’s Involvement Impact a Child’s Academic Progress in the Northwest Corridor: The 4-D Project.” In a five-month study, Greene worked with fathers with children attending schools in Charlotte’s Northwest Corridor. They met to discuss barriers that prevented them from becoming more involved in their children’s academic careers.
“They decided to spread the wealth. It turned out well,” Walker-Rhee said. “It opened their eyes. They got to see the challenges of mentorship and trying to assist someone else, particularly women.”
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Greene said barriers ranged from fathers’ lack of interest to perceptions and attitudes of teachers who don’t consult the dads but discuss issues with the mothers. “If more fathers were involved, think how great our children could be in the Northwest Corridor,” Greene said. Photo Courtesy of Tanya Greene
Parents who participated in the 4-D Project at the 4-D Reception located at Mosaic Village. L to R: Gerone Buchannon, Reginald Connor, Cameron Rainey, Darius Wallace. Photo Courtesy of Tanya Greene
4-D Project Participants, Presenters, Parents, Researchers and Family Members at the 4-D Reception located at Mosaic Village. SMITH INSTITUTE NEWS
Infected Raccoons r. Alexa Rosypal and her students are using a STAR grant to determine if a parasite that causes life-threatening cardiac diseases in humans and other animals is present in raccoons in the United States. Trypanosoma cruzi is a potentially deadly parasite that most commonly infects raccoons. JCSU students Pashaun Chisholm and Trynecia Smith used a canine test to examine raccoons from Tennessee for antibodies to the parasite. The results determined that raccoons were exposed to the parasite in Tennessee. Serum samples will be tested with the traditional antibody tests to confirm T. cruzi results using the rapid canine test. If validated, these rapid canine tests could be a useful serological screening tool that could be used as an alternative to traditional antibody tests in wildlife studies.
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Heart Disease Study eart disease is usually associated with older African-Americans, but a Johnson C. Smith faculty researcher is conducting a heart study to address risk factors in college students. Dr. Indhu Gopal received a STAR grant to conduct a pilot study titled “Biometric Measurements and Lipids Variables as Predictors of Cardiovascular Disease In College Students.” She is trying to prevent college students from becoming heart-disease statistics. Most college students don’t eat well or exercise, which makes them at risk for heart disease. The study evaluated cardiovascular disease risk factors among African-American college students at a historically black university. Forty-five students, ages 18 to 31, participated in a questionnaire at the beginning of the study and after attending an information session. They obtained biometric testing results and briefing about their numbers by Novant Health personnel.
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Students Helping Students When the Collegiate Sisters launched in 2010, the goal was to provide leadership and mentorship opportunities for women in higher education. It was mostly a chance for female faculty and students to receive mentorship from powerful women on and off campus. This year, the Collegiate Sisters become mentors. The group received a STAR Grant to launch a mentorship program with female students at Kennedy Charter High School, said Dr. Marsha Walker-Rhee, associate professor of English.
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& Notes
News
Opportunity for Students to Present Research he 30th Anniversary National Conference on Undergraduate Research will be held at the University of North Carolina at Asheville on April 7-9, 2016.
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is conference provides a great opportunity for JCSU students to present their research and gain valuable skills. Students abstract submissions and applications are due by December 2, 2015. Smith Institute may award scholarships for students to attend if their abstract is accepted. Please contact Dr. Sarah Minslow at sminslow@jcsu.edu or x1306 if you are interested in applying by November 15, 2015. Support to develop an abstract is available. 4
In Memoriam r. Magdy Attia, who served most recently as the chair of the Council of Deans, Dean of the College of STEM, and James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Engineering passed away on October 8. It is with deep sadness, yet gratitude that JCSU remembers the many ways Dr. Attia contributed to higher education.
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Dr. Attia’s contributions to the JCSU community spanned from the classroom to the city of Charlotte and abroad. Dr. Attia was the founding chair of computer science and engineering department, which has been ranked in the top 1% graduating African-Americans in computer science and information systems for the last seven years. He was also the founding director of the Technology Center. He was the 2006 recipient of the Dr. Richard Neel Career Achievement Award of the Information Technology Charlotte of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, the recipient of the Nations Bank Par Excellence Teaching award, the O’Herron Distinguished Faculty Award, the Carolinas Associate Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in the Carolinas, and the Distinguished Service Award at Johnson C. Smith University.
Learning Opportunity
Dr. Attia was an educator and a researcher in technology areas that cover electrical and computer engineering, microwaves and millimeter-waves technologies, wireless telecommunications systems, the solution of inverse problems, microwave measurements, nondestructive testing, computer networking, modeling, soware engineering and process design and analysis. roughout his career, Dr. Attia received federal and private grants in technology and educational areas from NASA, NSF, DOD, DOEd, UNCF, Duke Energy Foundation and Packard Foundation, in addition to other private sector grants. Dr. Attia also served on the Advisory Board of the College of Computing and Informatics at UNC Charlotte, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the Executive IT Summit, the board of trustees of Johnson C. Smith University, the advisory board of the School of Science and Technology of Benedict College, and the Steering Committee and several other committees of the Charlotte Chamber ITC. Additionally, he served as a reviewer for the Science and Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies. Dr. Attia will be greatly missed by the JCSU Community.
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ould you like to learn to use soware to do data collection and analysis? Please contact Dr. Sarah Minslow at sminslow@jcsu.edu or x1306 or Tiffany Taylor at ttaylor@jcsu.edu or x1080 to schedule a training session in the MACMAS Lab.
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