COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
DISCOVERY SPRING 2020
Uyen Lam, BS’08, MD’12
Mariar Tinshein, MD
REACHING OUT
Alumna and cardiologist Uyen Lam BS’08, pursues international medical relief missions
THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY’S COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
Dean Hagan, left, and research mentee Mac Cutler display a poster for the 2020 Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research.
Christianna Miles
Donna Barry
From the Dean MAURA HAGAN Dear Alumni and Friends, It’s been a struggle for me to write this message. We are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. So many people are suffering physically, emotionally and financially. I feel for you.
Some of you have lost loved ones to this unrelenting virus. I offer my heartfelt condolences to you and your family.
I know this pandemic will eventually subside. Thereafter, we will return to life as we know and love it. Nevertheless, these remain trying and unprecedented times. Dean Hagan, right, greets students at the “Hoagies with Hagan” event during Fall 2019’s Science Week. Nichole Bresee
This issue of Discovery magazine is filled with inspirational stories about remarkable Aggie achievements and commitments to outreach. An award-winning theoretical chemist in pursuit of work-life balance. A conservation biologist and children’s book author. New alumnae committed to sharing their passion for science and mathematics. Awardwinning educators. An alum, who never thought he’d go to college, who earned a doctorate and is using his skills to fight the pandemic. And, a Boston-based cardiologist engaged in international medical missions. Let our spirit be lifted, as you read about them!
Be well,
Dean Hagan, left, congratulates scholarship recipient Matthew DeAngelo at the college’s 2019 Fall Convocation.
Nichole Bresee
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MAURA E. HAGAN, PhD Dean, USU College of Science
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Spring 2020 MAURA E. HAGAN Dean GREG PODGORSKI Associate Dean
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Courtesy WHA
Reaching Out
Physician Uyen Lam BS’08 pursues international medical relief missions
MICHELLE BAKER Associate Dean SEAN JOHNSON Associate Dean MARY-ANN MUFFOLETTO Editor/Writer/Photographer/ Layout Designer SPENCER PERRY Online Edition NICHOLE BRESEE Student Photographer
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Lindsey Wilson
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Courtesy Jared Lazarus
Bees are the Best!
From an Alum
Conservation biologist Joe Wilson BS’05, PhD’10 explains bee diversity
Biochemist Bradley Hintze BS’17 explains the importance of curiosity
From the Dean .................................................................................. 2 Chemistry Alumna Awarded ACS Honor ........................................ 4 STEM Outreach ‘Rockstars’ ........................................................... 10 Three Alumni Receive Nation’s Top Teaching Honor ....................13 ‘Coming to Life’ Redux .................................................................. 23 Becoming a ‘True Aggie’ ............................................................... 24 Keep in Touch ................................................................................. 27
Discovery, the magazine for alumni and friends of Utah State University’s College of Science, is published twice a year. Please direct inquiries to editor Mary-Ann Muffoletto, at maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu. Graphic design assistance from Holly Broome-Hyer. Printed with Forest Stewardship Council certification standards.
ON THE COVER Alumna and cardiologist Uyen Lam, BS’08, right, with Mariar Tinshein, senior medical director of Mawlamyine General Hospital in Myanmar. Lam visited the hospital as part of a 2019 medical mission with Virginia-based World Health Ambassador. Courtesy Uyen Lam
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Chemistr y Alumna Awar ded 2020 American Chemical Society Honor
Anastassia N. Alexandrova PhD’05 (Chemistry) receives Early Career Award in Theoretical Chemistry from the ACS Physical Chemistry Division
USU alumna Anastassia N. Alexandrova (PhD’05, Chemistry), professor and vice chair for Undergraduate Education, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA. Courtesy Reed Hutchinson, UCLA
Anastassia N. Alexandrova, professor and vice chair for Undergraduate Education in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, is the 2020 recipient of the American Chemical Society’s Early Career Award in Theoretical Chemistry from the society’s Physical Chemistry Division. It’s not the first time the ACS has recognized Alexandrova’s accomplishments. In 2011, she received the society’s Younger Chemists Committee Leadership Development Award, along with the Rising Star Award from the ACS Women Chemists Committee in 2015. For the Early Career Award, the ACS Physical Chemistry Division cited Alexandrova for her
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“development of theory of catalysis on dynamic heterogeneous interfaces based on statistical ensembles of metastable states, and applications to surfacesupported catalytic clusters.” Her research endeavors are substantial. “My goal is to develop and to apply new methodologies to make detailed predictions of reaction and catalytic mechanisms for metallic nanoclusters,” says Alexandrova, a native of Russia, who completed her undergraduate education at Saratov State University in southeast Russia and the Vernaskii Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. “My next line of research involves the design of functional alloys.” With UCLA colleagues Richard Kaner and Sarah
Tolbert, she is investigating ultra-hard borated alloys. The “I benefited tremendously from a small research group I team has supplemented the older Kaner-Tolbert model was part of, where I could talk with my advisor, Professor by displaying how covalent metal-boron bonding is a key Alex Boldyrev, on the nearly daily basis,” she says. “I got element in determining the hardness of these materials. to see how he thinks; following him, I learned to trust my “One of the most interesting aspects of this work is we scientific intuition, to go after the problem until we beat it showed how the bonding easily changes from covalent to to the ground, to argue with a forceful scientific opponent.” ionic, with the model, thereby explaining unusual aspects Boldyrev encouraged her to publish, attend scientific of the materials, such as unique property responses to meetings, network and “kept my mind open.” pressure and isotopic substitution,” Alexandrova says. “He gave me an excellent start,” Alexandrova says. “This result is part of a grander scheme I’m developing, “Actually, everyone in his group gets an excellent start. Alex whereby bonding is based on high-quality cluster models is an incredible mentor, scientist and citizen of the world. that are stitched together.” His research is top class and his group is well taken care of, Still another research area the Aggie alumna is at the level that can make any student in pursuing is aimed at the in-silico design of metalloany university jealous.” proteins with specific, desired catalytic properties. Boldyrev, she says, taught her “My overall goal has been to design how to be “a good and caring advisor “If you are brave new artificial metalloenzymes analogous of my graduate students, now at to known, active metalloenzymes, but UCLA.” enough to believe with different metals in combinations Despite her many successes, not found in nature,” Alexandrova says. Alexandrova has experienced some you can change the “To that end, I’m working on the design setbacks. world, you will.” of new, in vitro enzymes that are inspired “During my postdoc years, I almost by in vivo enzymes, but gain higher quit science, twice,” she says, but she - Anastassia N. efficiency due to the use of alternate persevered. Achieving a work/life Alexandrova, PhD’05 metals not occurring in vivo due to balance has helped. biological constraints.” “For me, the balance is a central aspect of life,” says It’s an enormous task, she says, since it involves nested Alexandrova, a mother of two. “I think without family, I computational chemistry approaches ranging from high would go crazy and would never be a good scientist.” level ab-initio calculations for small systems to handle Science is not only about hard work and long hours, she the electronic structure of the metallic core, to more says, but also, even more about creativity. approximate density functional theory (DFT) methods “One cannot get truly fresh ideas or see new concepts for the protein environment in contact with the metal, staring at a problem for 12 hours a day,” she says. “On the and finally to quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics contrary, taking a break, such as going on a bike ride with (QM/MM) techniques to elucidate and to understand the the kids, can clear one’s mind and let one see new patterns secondary and tertiary structures of the surrounding or arrive at new ideas for research.” protein. Likewise, Alexandrova says, she wouldn’t be a happy In addition to her ACS awards, Alexandrova has person and hence, a good mother, without constant received repeated UCLA honors in research and Teaching, intellectual stimulation and excitement. as well as a 2014 National Science Foundation Faculty She also values friendships, old and new, with enriching Early Career Development Program (CAREER) grant and her life and helping her dream. a 2016 Fulbright Scholarship. “People in your life are resources,” Alexandrova says. With all of those accolades, plus completion of a “You never know when you might see an opportunity from postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University following teaming up with that one, old friend or when the expertise graduation from USU, Alexandrova considers her first of that one person would help your next step. If you are major career milestone her acceptance to Utah State’s brave enough to believe you can change the world, you graduate program. will.” n -MARY-ANN MUFFOLETTO SPRING 2020 I DISCOVERY MAGAZINE
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Lindsey Wilson
Bees are the Best! Conservation Biologist Joseph S. Wilson (BS’05, PhD’10, Biology) Teams with Storyteller/Illustrator Jonny VanOrman to Create Whimsical Story of Bee Diversity and Broadening One’s Horizons Conservation biologist Joseph S. Wilson is on a mission. The USU alum, and now a Utah State faculty member, wants to encourage efforts to protect bees, but he realizes a lot of people know little about them. “Most people have a bee sting story or they know some bees produce honey,” says Wilson, associate professor in the Department of Biology at USU Tooele. “Most are familiar with at least honey bees and bumble bees.”
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But those are just a few of the more than 4,000 bee species living in North America. “As an academic, I’ve taught college classes on bees and written scholarly papers, but I’d like to reach more people,” Wilson says. Among those people are children. “If we want to conserve bees, teaching our rising generation may be the best strategy,” says Wilson, himself a dad of young children. And what better way than through a storybook?
Wilson teamed with illustrator Jonny VanOrman to create Bees are the Best!, a colorful picture book geared to preschoolers through fourth graders. “Jonny is an artist and illustrator, as well as a storyteller, and he helped me convey important concepts about bee diversity in a welcoming, accessible format,” Wilson says. The story, he says, revolves around a young honey bee, appropriately named “Honey,” who ventures into the world and discovers not everyone is like her. “Along with our young readers, Honey learns about bee diversity and why her life, though wonderful, isn’t necessarily the only way to live,” Wilson says. “She discovers unexpected benefits of a community with members of varied talents.” Readers may recognize VanOrman’s style from his previously published works, including illustrations of characters in Nickelodeon’s Sanjay and Craig series and Amazon Originals’ Costume Quest. “Jonny and I experimented with characters that are fun and inviting, yet still somewhat scientifically accurate,” Wilson says. He says an added section at the end of the story provides facts and actual photos of the varied bees in the story, paired with their illustrated characters.
A Bee Book for “Big Kids,” Too
Bees are the Best!, available from Amazon.com, isn’t Wilson’s first foray into publishing or public outreach. In 2016, the Orem, Utah native, who earned bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from Utah State in 2005 and 2010, respectively, published The Bees in Your Backyard with fellow Aggie Olivia Messinger Carril ’00, MS’06. The North American field guide introduces adults, both novices and experts, to diverse bee species and offers tips on bee conservation. “Like kids, most adults think of honeybees, when they think of bees,” Wilson says. “But honeybees are actually an anomaly.” The Bees in Your Backyard features more than 900 images, most of them taken by the authors, to aid novices and experts alike in identifying the winged pollinators. Within the book, Wilson and Carril offer tips on how to attract bees to your own backyard.
(Hint: One of the most bee friendly plants is the annual sunflower.) In addition to books, Wilson delivered the TEDxUSU talk, “Save the Bees! Wait, Was that a Bee?,” now posted on YouTube, USU Biology alums Joseph Wilson in Fall 2016, (BS’05, PhD’10) and Olivia Messinger Carril (BS’00, MS’06), published and he’s also “The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide given public to North America’s Bees” in 2015. talks at venues throughout the state of Utah. Wilson also offers outreach through his website, www.beesinyourbackyard.com, which provides such information as how to build a bee hotel and a bumble bee house. “With our complicated jargon, we scientists sometimes ‘talk over’ people,” he says. “My goal is to make science communication more understandable.”
Bee Conservation Research And why is Wilson concerned with making sure people understand the importance of bee diversity? “Because bees play a pivotal role in our ecosystems,” he says. And Utahns, in particular, he says, might be surprised to learn the state’s critical role for the nation’s bee populations. Utah’s nickname, “The Beehive State,” refers to the state’s legacy of pioneer thrift, cooperation and industry. But Wilson adds the moniker is apt for another reason: One out of every four bee species in the United States is found in Utah, and the arid, western state is home to more bee species than most states in the nation. About half of those species dwell within the original boundaries of the newly reduced Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument. Continued
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“The monument is a hotspot of bee diversity,” says Wilson says who, with Carril, USDA entomologist Terry Griswold and USU emeritus professor James Haefner, identified 660 species identified in the protected region. They reported their findings in the November 7, 2018 issue of PeerJ. In a follow-up paper published Dec. 4, 2018, in the same journal, Wilson, Carril and New York-based free-lance journalist Matt Kelly, examined data on the 660 species to focus on what the newly reduced monument boundaries mean for the pollinators left out of protected USU alumna Olivia Messinger Carril (BS’00, MS’06, Biology), photographed at New Mexico’s areas. Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, collaborates with fellow Aggie Joe Wilson on A year earlier, President Donald research and co-authored the North American field guide, “The Bees in Your Backyard.” Courtesy Morgan Timms, Taos News Trump announced, in Salt Lake City, his intention to sharply reduce Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. What does this mean for pollinators inhabiting those areas? “This is significant because these are ‘edge’ “That’s exactly the question that should be asked, populations,” Wilson says. “That is, in the face of climate that’s not being asked,” says Wilson, lead author of the change, they could be the first to go extinct as the region latter paper. “So that’s what my co-authors and I, using gets hotter and drier, or the area could provide a refuge data from the first paper, have examined.” for populations of the same species now inhabiting the The good news is 87 percent of the 660 species Mojave desert.” identified by the USU scientists are found in the newly A broader concern, he says, is the lack of reduced boundaries of GSENM. consideration of pollinators in the monument’s new “But that leaves about 84 species no longer management plans. inhabiting protected land,” Wilson says. “This “Will the reduction in monument size affect the includes some new, undescribed species, as well as pollinators?” Wilson asks. “We don’t know. But if ‘morphospecies,’ which are unique individuals that don’t development is allowed in the unprotected areas, match known species.” say, mining, road development, more recreational Further, he says, some species known only in the development than, yes, pollinator habitat could be lost.” Mojave Desert are among the pollinators found in the He notes President Clinton specifically mentioned now unprotected area. pollinators, when he led the creation of the national At left: A view from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. USU conservation biologist Joseph Wilson says one out of every four bee species in the U.S. is found in Utah and the arid, western state is home to more bee species than most states in the nation. About half of those species dwell within the original boundaries of the newly reduced Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument.
monument in 1996. “Bees need to be a part of the management decisions,” Wilson says. n
-MARY-ANN MUFFOLETTO
Courtesy Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Managment
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STE EM Outre each Rock Stars
Science Scholars Randi Rasmussen BS‘20 and Vanessa Chambers BS‘18 Embody the College’s “Culture of Outreach” with Participation in Volunteer Service On and Off Campus Aggies throughout the College of Science enthusiastically volunteer their time and talents to share their love of science and mathematics with people of all ages. But two recent alumnas go above and beyond to share their passion for learning throughout the USU campus and Cache Valley, Utah community. Their motivations stem from early childhood experiences
Randi Rasmussen BS’20, Geology Rasmussen is among thousands of Class of 2020 USU graduates whose dreams of a traditional spring commencement ceremony were dashed by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Of course, I understand, but it’s still disappointing,” says the Heber City, Utah native, who graduated from Wasatch High School in 2009. “Still, it was a day I’d long looked forward to.” Rasmussen began her undergrad career immediately following high school, but completed just one semester before returning to her hometown, marrying and starting a family. Her dad, Randy, for whom she’s named, encouraged her to return. “He was my best friend and was always telling me to go back and get my education,” Rasmussen says. Sadly, Rasmussen’s father passed away in 2015. “With the loss of my dad, we didn’t have much to keep us in Heber, so I decided it was appropriate to return to school,” she says.
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Recent Geology graduate Randi Rasmussen prepares to share a geoscience activitiy she created for her blog, “Little Aggies Science,” at a Science Unwrapped event. Courtesy Randi Rasmussen
Rasmussen first considered marketing or graphic design as majors, but upon her return to campus she began to think about a future as a science teacher. “When I returned to school, I realized how much I loved my science classes,” she says. “I also loved teaching swimming lessons and coaching high school
swimmers, and that She credits student made me realize I could teaching with renewing teach science.” her enthusiasm. However, it was an “I have learned more assignment for her from student teaching English 2010 class, that than I could imagine sparked her idea of or put into words,” says developing a science Rasmussen, who outreach effort. completed her practice “The entire semester teaching at South Cache was focused on Middle School. “Teaching persuasive writing and is more than knowing a I chose, as my project, subject and telling creation of a blog to it to students. It’s a whole persuade parents to different level of making immerse themselves in a meaningful the world of science to relationship with Randi Rasmussen ‘20 guides children in a “dinosaur fossil-making” keep their children adolescents, who are activity at a Science Unwrapped event. M. Muffoletto curious about the world going through a huge around,” Rasmussen transition academically, says. emotionally and even She named the blog hormonally.” “Little Aggies Science,” She says teaching and delighted in writing about activities and requires understanding how to choose your battles experiments to encourage children’s interest in science. and “when to just laugh, when the lesson doesn’t go as “I continued the blog for about a year and a half, planned.” before I decided I needed to set it aside to focus more “I’m also so grateful I had two amazing mentor time on my family and my schoolwork,” says Rasmussen, teachers to guide me through the experience,” says a mother of two young sons. Rasmussen, who has received federal TEACH Grants Still, she lent her time and talents to the college’s to fund her education and was named the College of Science Unwrapped program and also volunteered Science’s Undergraduate Teaching Fellow of the Year. for the Department of Geosciences’ annual Rock and “I’m passionate about teaching children science,” she Fossil Day. Rasmussen also served as an Undergraduate says. “I’ve always felt the best teachers are passionate Teaching Fellow for the Deaprtment of Geosciences. about teaching and learning and those are the people I “These experiences reinforced how much I love want to emulate.” science and love teaching,” she says. To parents and grandparents who, with the When Rasmussen started student teaching this past pandemic, find themselves even more in the role of January, she restarted the blog as an Instagram account teachers, Rasmussen offers simple advice: “Let kids ask called “Ms. Randi Science.” questions and explore. If you don’t know the answers, “I use Ms. Randi Science to document fun things I’m research them together. Go outside and observe nature doing in my classroom and to share science facts and first-hand. Let kids get dirty, wet and make messes. memes,” Rasmussen says. “I’m much more laid back Let kids get bored and figure out how to entertain with it than I was was Little Aggies Science, which themselves. Go to museum and science events that never really took off like I wanted it to. I’ve learned revolved around science. Our world desperately needs that it’s tough to get the word out, but I’ve gained some science-literate citizens.” patience.” Continued SPRING 2020 I DISCOVERY MAGAZINE
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Vanessa Chambers BS’18, Physics If you’ve ever attended any College of Science outreach event, it’s likely you’ve encountered Vanessa Chambers. The Montpelier, Idaho native, who now serves as the staff assistant for USU’s Department of Physics, regularly volunteers for campus outreach activities, including Science Unwrapped, USU Physics Day at Lagoon, USU Observatory Public Viewing Nights and outreach activities coordinated by USU’s chapters of Society of Physics Students and Women in Physics. “I love doing outreach and talking about how science is fun and interesting,” says Chambers, who graduated from high school in 1996 and is the mother of two teens. “I waited a really long time to try physics, it was hard for me, but I did it and I enjoy it.” she says. “I just hope I can make a difference for even one kid; show them it’s always worth it to try something new. Chambers is currently working toward a master’s degree and hopes to pursue a career, where she can combine her science knowledge and writing skills. “I want to promote science education and make it more accessible and inclusive for traditionally underrepresented groups,” says Chambers, who is the recipient of a number of impressive recognitions, including the 2018 David and Terry Peak Outstanding Achievement in Physics Award and the 2018 Oustanding Graduating Senior for USU’s Department of Physics.
Physics alumna Vanessa Chambers, left, demonstrates a Van de Graaff generator to guests at Science Unwrapped. M. Muffoletto
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Physics alumna Vanessa Chambers, left, with American Physical Society CEO, Dr. Kate Kirby, center, and USU Physics faculty member, Dr. Maria Rodriguez, at the APS Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics held in January 2019 at Utah State. M. Muffoletto
One of Chambers’ motivations for getting involved in outreach was her own children. “My kids were in elementary school, when I first got involved in outreach, and I was excited to include them in what I was learning,” she says. “And what I’ve learned is kids, particularly young kids, are excited to learn. They are not afraid to ask questions and they are not afraid to answer questions. Somehow, as kids get older, they get the message that STEM subjects are ‘hard,’ and they stop asking and answering questions. We need to find a way to keep that from happening.” n -MARY-ANN MUFFOLETTO
T h r e e A g g i e s Re c e i ve P r e s i d e n t i a l Te a c h i n g A w a r d f o r M a t h , S c i e n c e Debbie Morgan BS’02, Mike Spencer BS’07, M.Ed’12 and Rachel Reeder Receive Nation’s Top Honor for K-12 STEM Teachers Three Utah State University Aggies are among four Utahns selected for the national Presidential Teaching Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Awarded by the White House and the National Science Foundation, the recognition is the nation’s highest honor for K-12 teachers of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science. Honorees are alums Deborah Stringham Morgan (BS’02, Geology) and Orson “Mike” Spencer (BS’07, Mathematics; M.Ed.’12) and USU doctoral student Rachel Checketts Reeder. The trio were honored in a Fall 2019 awards ceremony, which included both 2017 and 2018 awardees, in Washington, D.C. “We are very excited by this prestigious and well-deserved recognition for our Aggie STEM educators,” says Maura Hagan, dean of USU’s College of Science. “These awards are a testament to these exceptional professionals, as well as the education and preparation they received at Utah State.” A veteran educator of 17 years, Morgan teaches 9th through 12th grade science at rural Monroe, Utah’s South Sevier High School. She serves as the advisor to the school’s STEM Club and as the school district’s technology coach. Monroe, who earned a master’s degree in geosciences from Mississippi State University, was n amed the 2018 Teacher of the Year (K-12) by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. She’s among the first cohort of Utah educators selected as Utah Teacher Fellows, a program sponsored by the Hope Street Group and the National Network of State Teachers of the Year.
Debbie Morgan
Mike Spencer
Rachel Reeder
This award means the culmination of years of mentoring and collaboration from education professionals,” Morgan says. “Educators who taught me with passion instilled in me a desire to emulate that passion.” An educator for 12 years, Spencer teaches 11th and 12th grade calculus, statistics, college algebra and secondary mathematics at Juab High School in Nephi, Utah. He has conducted workshops for other teachers for the State of Utah and is a facilitator for the Mathematics Vision Project, a national, educator-driven initiative to support mathematics teachers. “This is a tremendous honor,” says Spencer, who serves as the high school representative for the Utah Council of Teachers of Mathematics. “It’s a tribute to the amazing educators who have supported and played a role in shaping my beliefs about mathematics education. It’s also recognition of the role my students have played in my growth as an educator.” A Cache Valley resident, Reeder earned a bachelor’s degree from BYU and is currently a doctoral student in mathematics education in USU’s Department of Teacher Education and Leadership. “This recognition validates and celebrates my role as a professional educator,” says Reeder, who has been a teacher for 13 years.“ The award adds esteem and credibility to my labor of love: teaching children mathematics.” n -MARY-ANN MUFFOLETTO
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Dr. Julie A. Robinson at Armand Bayou Nature Center, the nation’s largest urban wilderness preserve, near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in greater Houston, Texas. Robinson started her NASA career at JSC and currently serves as Chief Scientist of the International Space Station (ISS) at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Courtesy NASA
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Re a c h i n g O u t
Cardiologist Uyen Lam BS’08 (Biology/Public Health) delivers cardiac rehabilitative and disease prevention services in greater Boston, while pursuing international medical missions to underserved populations Uyen Lam wants to make a difference. The cardiologist, who graduated from Utah State in 2008 with degrees in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Public Health, is working toward that aim at divergent ends of the health care spectrum. Lam’s work traverses cultures, resources and continents, but her focus remains the same: Discerning patients’ needs, providing them with care and empowering them to make healthy lifestyle choices. “The old adage, ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,’ rings true,” says the 2012 graduate of the University of Utah’s School of Medicine. “I can employ cuttingedge medicine to keep you alive, but I can’t improve your quality of life without your partnership.” Her stern assessment takes on increased urgency in the midst of a global pandemic. “The complacency and lack of social responsibility we’re seeing in some areas of the United States is appalling,” Lam says. “Letting our guard down will have dire consequences.” At left: While traveling from Dawei to Myeik, Myanmar during a 2019 medical mission trip with Virginia-based World Health Ambassador, physician and USU alumna Uyen Lam, top right, and colleagues happened upon an elderly man hit by a motorbike. Using sticks, they splinted his broken leg and provided comfort until an ambulance arrived. Courtesy World Health Ambassador
Honors students Uyen Lam ‘08, left, and Sherry Baker ‘10, both College of Science Ambassadors, present their research at Undergraduate Research Day on Utah’s Capitol Hill in January 2008. Both alumnas completed medical school and are practicing physicians. (Baker is a graduate of the Medical College of Wisconsin.) M. Muffoletto
Becoming an Aggie Born and raised in Cache Valley, Utah, Lam attended Logan City schools and graduated from Logan High School in 2004. “From an early age, I knew I wanted to become a physician,” she says. “My favorite question was ‘Why?’ I loved peering into the microscope and entering the world of microbes, wondering how something so small could cause dramatic manifestations of disease in a perfectly healthy body.” Lam’s parents encouraged her to pursue studies at Utah State, which offered her an academic scholarship,
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noting her college savings “He was an would go further at the local extraordinary land grant university, and scientist and an enable her family to save extraordinatory more for her future medical mentor,” Lam says. school education. “Dr. Li meticulously “I had dreams of traveling taught us lab further for school, but they techniques, research were right,” she says. “I had design, the importance wonderful teaching, research of reading the and leadership development literature, how to opportunities at Utah State, collect and analyze and my parents’ wise data. But he also frugality made medical pushed us to school possible without present our research, Lam, center, with colleagues and pediatric patients during her service with Project Vietnam Foundation in July 2009. soul-crushing debt.” how to publish and Courtesy Uyen Lam Among the opportunities how to network. USU offered Lam was He created amazing undergraduate research with Biology Professor opportunities for us as undergraduates. I’m very Joseph K.-K. Li (1940-2015). With Li, Lam studied the glad a scholarship was established in his memory, Bluetongue virus, transmitted by midges, that causes to commemorate his dedication to undergraduate disease in sheep, goats, cattle and wild ruminants. research.” “Bluetongue doesn’t infect humans, but we Beyond the lab, Lam served as a College of Science demonstrated the virus’s ability to selectively infect and ambassadors and traveled to open houses throughout kill human cancer cells without causing serious side the state talking with high school students and effects,” Lam says. encouraging them to come to Utah State. Working with Li, she says, was a formative “I could say, with sincerity, that USU offered experience. outstanding opportunities for students, who wanted to make the most of their college years,” she says.
Becoming a Physician
Lam during her years as a medical student at the University of Utah. The Logan, Utah native graduated with her medical degree in 2012. Donna Barry
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After graduating with honors from Utah State in 2008, Lam entered the University of Utah School of Medicine. At the U, Lam continued to pursue research, including study of fluid resuscitation in pediatric burn patients, evaluation of acuity in deep vein thrombosis and investigation of whether or not calcium channel blocker medications, commonly used to treat hypertension, increase women’s risk of developing breast cancer. During her medical school years, Lam pursued her first foray into international medical missions. “I traveled as a medical volunteer to Vietnam in 2009 and with Project Vietnam Foundation,” she says. The California-based non-profit organization offers
reconstructive surgery in Saigon to children with cleft oversee the center’s patient care,” she says. “We have a lip and palates, and also offers medical, dental and vision wonderful team of skilled and experienced providers, care to patients in other areas of Vietnam. who look forward to helping patients on their pathway to “Initially, my interest in traveling to Vietnam was to recovery.” learn more about my parents’ home country and my ancestors,” Lam says. “I’d never been to Vietnam.” Pursuit of International Medical Missions The visit was not only fulfilled the med student’s Lam also continues to pursue international missions. original aim, but also fueled her motivation to participate Now affiliated with World Health Ambassador, (WHA) an in further missions. international medical relief group based in Annandale, “It was a moving and valuable experience for me,” says Virginia, she’s added further trips to her resume, while Lam, who made another medical mission trip to Vietnam assisting the non-profit organization with fundraising. in 2014. “It opened my eyes to the tremendous needs in In 2019, Lam traveled with WHA to Myanmar, where Vietnam and in other developing countries, starting with she was part of a 23-member team of physicians, dentists, such basic needs as clean water and access to even minimal health care.” During her med school years, Lam considered specialization in emergency medicine or oncology, but following graduation from medical school in 2012, she opted for a three-year residency in internal medicine with University of Utah Health. “I discovered I preferred adult patients to pediatric ones,” she says. “And I realized I found the physiology of the heart fascinating.” Upon completion of her residency, Lam chose to pursue a fellowship in clinical cardiology at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston. In a February 2020 ceremony, Lam, center, accompanied by Joyce Kosowsky and colleagues, “Moving to Boston has been cuts the ribbon at the opening of the Bernard D. Kosowsky, MD Cardiovascular Rehabilitation and Prevention Center at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, a Steward Family Hospital, exciting,” she says. “It’s such a in Brighton, Massachusetts. Lam is the center’s medical director. vibrant and diverse city.” Courtesy Uyen Lam And cardiology has proven to be a passion for Lam. Upon completion of her fellowship pharmacists and other professionals providing patient in 2018, she joined Steward Health Care, within St. care and training for health care personnel in varied parts Elizabeth’s, as a non-invasive, preventive cardiologist. of the southeast Asian country. Steward and St. Elizabeth’s recently open the Bernard “We hit the ground running” she says. “During our D. Kosowsky MD Cardiovascular Rehabilitation and two-week mission, our team saw almost 1,500 patients, Prevention Center, of which Lam serves medical director. including near 400 cardiology patients.” The center’s focus, she says, is providing rehabilitation Traveling between assignments, Lam and colleagues for patients recovering from heart attacks or also provided aid to victims of a motor vehicle accident. experiencing other cardiovascular disorders. “My training in emergency medicine came in handy,” “This is an exciting opportunity and I’m delighted to she says. Continued
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Medicine in the Midst of a Pandemic
the northern Italian city of Bergamo,” Lam says. “The current situation These days, Lam, like all breaks my heart.” of us, is watching an The city, located in unprecedented global Italy’s alpine Lombardy pandemic unfold. In fact, her region, which Lam 2020 medical mission to described as “a peaceful Myanmar was canceled. town with multi“Our sister hospitals are generational families pushing capacity with living under one roof,” has COVID-19 patients. To date, been devastated. As of early we’ve only had a few April, Bergamo had more COVID-19 patients in than 9,700 confirmed cases our facility, but we’ve noticed of COVID-19 and more than the shortness of breath and 2,200 deaths. chest pain can mimic a heart “I urge Americans to attack,” she says. “We know take a hard look at Bergamo, the virus can cause a New York City and their myocarditis.” During a 2019 trip to Myanmar with the non-profit World Health own communities,” Lam She stresses the need for Ambassador organization, Lam meets with a cardiac patient. says. “A civilized society Donna Barry everyone, across the United exists on the premise that States, to stay home as much each person has a duty to as possible. protect themselves and others. Our rates of infection “Some years ago, I attended a medical conference in are increasing and we need to heed the danger. It will Below: Lam, kneeling at far left, with fellow health care team take all of us behaving responsibly to weather this members on a 2019 trip to Myanmar with the Virginia-based pandemic.” n World Health Ambassador organization. Courtesy Uyen Lam
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-MARY-ANN MUFFOLETTO
USU’s Colle ge of Science looks forwar d to the 2nd annual ‘A’ Day of Giving during Fall 2020 Homecoming In Fall 2019, the College of Science participated in Utah State University’s inaugural, 24-hour “‘A’ Day of Giving Challenge.” We were gratefully heartened by the generous response of our alumni and friends. A lot has changed since last fall -more than we could have imagined. But we plan to participate in this new Aggie tradition with renewed enthusiasm. For the 2020 event, which will take place
over a 24-hour period during the Thursday of a date-to-beannounced Homecoming Week, alumni will have the opportunity to contribute directly to the academic department of their choice. Why do Aggies give to Utah State and what impact do these gifts have? Let’s hear from two of our Aggie Family members:
W hy I Give
Because You Give
“There are many charities and worthwhile causes that would benefit from one’s financial support. Why have I opted to generously support the Biology Department’s fund that benefits both undergraduate and graduate students? The quality of instruction within our Biology courses has always been impressive, but more recently has been enhanced by undergraduate research experiences in both the laboratory and the field. The superior students our scholarships support today are going to be teachers, public health workers, nurses, doctors, ecologists and citizens for the next several decades. Our investment in students today will hopefully reap unimaginable returns in the future. I cannot think of a more worthwhile beneficiary than the financial support of our superior students. Pay it Forward!” - Dr. Ivan J. Palmblad Professor Emeritus Department of Biology Utah State University
“Receiving the Dr. Ivan J. Palmblad Graduate Research Award has allowed me to pursue my graduate research freely by easing the financial and temporal restrictions that would otherwise be hampering it. Specifically, I spent my research award on genetic sequencing, covering the costs of DNA extraction, enzyme optimization, library preparation and sequencing. By paying for an advanced research center to run these technical procedures, I was able to minimize possible sources of error in my data, while freeing myself to more thoroughly explore the analyses used in my study. There’s no way I would have been able to accomplish as much as I have without this award. It’s hard to overstate how valuable the generous contributions, like those from Dr. Palmblad, are to students in all areas conducting research.”
- Austin Koontz Biology/Ecology Master’s Candidate Utah State University
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ALUMNI OF USU’s COLLEGE OF SCIENCE SHARE INSIGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES
Curious About Curiosity a theory of curiosity called curiosity drive. The theory states that curiosity is aroused when something in Spring 2020 Guest Columnist our environment doesn’t make sense and, in order to alleviate the unpleasant feelings of uncertainty, we gain knowledge through exploratory behavior. In other words, BS’09, Biochemistry to be curious is to be explicitly aware of one’s ignorance, a trait that children shamelessly possess. Curiosity Utah State University drive theory fails to account for when one seeks out curiosity in the absence of uncertainty in their immediate PhD’15, Biochemistry surroundings. Optimal arousal theory attempts to Duke University account for this. It states that there is an optimal amount of curiosity that is pleasurable. Explorative behavior is Senior Data Scientist engaged until the optimal arousal of curiosity is reached. Duke University For me, though, curiosity is more than an academic interest. After high school, I worked construction, Durham, North Carolina believing that college was for ‘smart people,’ not me. Yet, between high school and now, I’ve earned two biochemistry degrees: First, a bachelor of science degree “Curiosity killed the cat.” It is a popular refrain from Utah State in 2009 and then, a PhD from Duke in used to warn against having too much curiority. 2015. In 2017, I completed a fellowship in data science at I suppose in the extreme, under just the right the Veterans Health Administration. circumstances, the saying may have merit. But, I would I now hold a position at the Duke Institute for Health guess that these cases are quite few. Curiosity, I would Innovation, where I am an integral part of a small team argue, is more essential to survival than food, water or that applies cutting-edge machine learning technology to shelter. solve previously intractable problems in healthcare. I am As humans, we are highly dependent on our parents currently working on a real-time dashboard that brings for survival for an extended period of time. In the early critical data regarding the COVID-19 pandemic to Duke years, that dependence is complete. But even under that Heath leadership, allowing them to quickly respond to circumstance, we are curious and learning. My 7-monthan ever-changing situation. old son is learning to crawl. The motivation? Curiosity Each of these accomplishments requires solid about objects around him that he can’t reach. Certainly, confidence. So, I find it curious that I emerged from high this progression to walking is a crucial survival trait, school with little confidence in my academic ability to more so for humans in primitive times. earn a PhD. What was it that made this happen? Curiosity in children is obvious and nicely outlines
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USU College of Science alum Bradley Hintze (BS’09, Biochemistry) with wife, anesthesiologist Anne Cherry, and sons Alden, left, and Otto, right. Jared Lazarus
I attribute the foundation of my confidence to early academic successes at Utah State. One moment seems particularly seminal in establishing this foundation. It was during my second year in the beginning module of a large general biology course taught by Professor Keith Mott. The course started with what I would currently describe as a simplistic overview of chemistry focused on the properties of water. However, to me at the time, this was extremely overwhelming. I went to my advisor, Cathy Myers-Roche, in a panic — the material was just too difficult! She convinced me to stick with it. I went all in, devoting most of my evenings to studying the class material and reading the corresponding sections in the textbook. When I received the results of the first exam, they showed that I missed one question and my score was ranked third in the class. The memory of that moment is still with me, 15 years later. I couldn’t believe it! For the first time, I saw myself as smart, not because I
was innately smart, but I had worked to become smart in that one small area of general biology. This anecdote is emblematic of the larger overall personal change I experienced during my tenure in Logan. When I started at Utah State, I was apprehensive, thinking that I didn’t have the brains for college. After attending a while, I found success, building confidence along the way. Other vignettes from my days at USU follow the same pattern -- I think something is difficult, I then try it and find success. What was behind the motivation to try seemingly difficult things? It was curiosity. Curiosity about plant propagation in high school blossomed into a love that drove me to Utah State. The curiosity I gained while immersed in the general biology course material led me down a rabbit hole of curiosities. I first became fascinated with genetics, then the mechanics of DNA replication, and then, molecular mechanics in general. This led me to change my major to biochemistry. I had no idea what I was going to do Continued
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USU alum Bradley Hintze, right, with faculty mentor Sean Johnson, currently associate professor of biochemistry and associate dean for Graduate Studies, in 2008. Hintze was a Willard L. Eccles Undergraduate Research Fellow and was awarded the university’s Legacy of Utah State Award in Spring 2008. Donna Barry
with such a degree, but that truly didn’t concern me. My curiosity had been aroused — I needed to learn more. The rest is history, as they say. I fell in love with research and went on to complete a doctorate. So, how do we foster curiosity? In the age of social media, we tend to get our information in 280-character bite-sized morsels. We read the headline or hear the sound bite and we move on, mistakenly thinking we know it all. Consuming information in this way is bad for curiosity, perhaps even a mark of being incurious. Curiosity requires us to dig deep, understand every facet and nuance of a given subject. Digging deep is the first step of curiosity. How we find motivation to do that is the second step. If you think the world makes sense, you aren’t paying attention. In his book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman says, “Our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a secure foundation: our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance.” Curiosity requires a knowledge gap and for us to care enough about that gap to do something about it. The first
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step is to be skeptical of our own knowledge and the foundation of assumptions that knowledge rests on. We must acknowledge our ignorance, accept it, shamelessly embrace it. Doing something about it is up to us. The last essential facet of personal curiosity I’ll mention is asking why. I’m talking about the BIG why. If the answer you receive to the question ‘Why?’ is one sentence, you’re likely not asking a big enough why. For example, we can ask why society is so politically polarized at this point in history. The obvious answer is social media. But this really doesn’t answer the question at all. Why would social media have this effect? Are there other factors? Going down this rabbit hole leads to interesting social psychology concepts such as tribalism, confirmation bias and incuriosity. Going down rabbit holes and following the why takes time, patience and the willingness to accept messy complexity. But the reward is in the learning and coming out more informed. Done correctly, you’ll have more whys than you started with. n -BRADLEY HINTZE
Coming to Life Redux Biology-Natural Resources Building Renovation Nears Completion What a difference!
Renovation of the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Biology-Natural Resources Building, initially built in 1958, is nearing completion. From the outside, the newly refurbished facility features gleaming new windows and facades. With social distancing measures, the building is not yet open to advance tours, but promises much needed updates. Many alumni will remember biology classes and labs in the building, along with the building foyer’s “Untitled Mosaic, 1962” mural by Gaell Lindstrom and Everett C. Thorpe. That iconic art piece remains in place, as $23 million renovations refurbish outdated labs, classrooms and offices, and expand the building’s entry area, to more comfortably accommodate students. The renovation project is expected to be completed by Fall 2020.
View of the northwest corner of the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Biology and Natural Resources Building, as renovation nears completion. Nichole Bresee
Learn more about the renovation and view photos at comingtolife.usu.edu (Click on “BNR Building Remodel.”) n
Top: Detail of the exterior of the newly expanded foyer on the west side of the Biology-Natural Resources Building. Left: View of the northeast corner of the newly renovated Biology-Natural Resources Building. Nichole Bresee
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Lori Hennigan, senior director of development for the College of Science, poses with university mascot Big Blue atop USU’s iconic “Block A.” Nichole Bresee
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B e c o m i n g a Tr u e A g g i e College of Science welcomes new development leader, Lori Hennigan
As the College of Science greeted a new decade, we also greeted Texas native Lori Hennigan as our new senior director of development. Just a few months into her new position, she brings new energy and insights to our efforts. We invite you to get to know Lori through the following Q & A: Q: Tell us a little about yourself, Lori. Where are you from? Where did you go to college? What are your career highlights? A. I grew up in Sinton, Texas, which is a small town outside of Corpus Christi. After graduating, I attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where I double-majored in Communication Studies and English Literature, with a minor in Philosophy. Having grown up in south Texas, I always thought I’d end up in the oil and gas industry, like my dad. However, after graduation, I moved to Louisiana and began doing marketing for a casino! I spent three years doing what I would consider development at a for-profit company, then decided to pivot to non-profit development. I began my work in higher education at Tulane University in New Orleans, then moved to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. I started at Utah State University in January and have hit the ground running! Q: What three words would your family and friends use to describe you? A: 1) Bubbly -- I’ve very outgoing and love meeting new people! 2) Adventurous -- I love to try new things, whether it’s exploring new foods or traveling to somewhere off the beaten path. 3) High Achiever -- Some may also say competitive, but I really believe in doing the best I can at everything I do.
Top: At her first Science Unwrapped event in February 2020, Lori Hennigan, the college’s new Senior Director of Development gets up close and personal with a live snake at the Biology Graduate Student Association and USU Entomology Club’s outreach booth. Right: At the same event, Hennigan peers at aquatic creatures at the USU-based National Aquatic Monitoring Center (“The Bug Lab”) booth. Nichole Bresee
Q: How did you make your first dollar? A: Growing up, I raised and showed pigs through 4-H, something I will always attribute as the foundation for many life lessons. After my very first county stock show at age 8, I sold my pig in the auction and received the first check ever in my own name. While I was devastated to say goodbye to my pig, Sugar, it was an inspiring feeling to see all my hard work pay off! SPRING 2020 I DISCOVERY MAGAZINE
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Lori Hennigan, senior director of development for the College of Science. Nichole Bresee
Q: You’re an avid reader and also enjoy listening to podcasts. Tell us about one that had an impact on you. A: Shortly after I moved into higher education development, a donor told me about Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast, Revisionist History and specifically said I should listen to an episode called “My Little Hundred Million.” I won’t spoil the story, but it’s based on the role philanthropy plays in higher education. It has a compelling narrative that represents both the donor and the university’s interests. If I ever wonder if my work is meaningful, that episode always provides inspiration for me. Q: Why did Utah State University appeal to you? A: When I visited the campus during an interview, I immediately fell in love with the scenery! After living in Texas and Louisiana for my entire life, I was so impressed by the mountains and loved the idea of living somewhere with all four seasons. Then, after meeting with the leadership teams in both the College of Science and University Advancement, it was clear there were some exciting things happening here and this position had a lot of potential to be a part of that. USU has incredibly innovative leaders, who aren’t afraid to try new things and it’s really energizing to be part of this culture. Q: Word on campus is you have a list of goals and tasks in your new USU position that you’ve wanted to accomplish right away. What are some of the highlights of that list?
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A: I created a 90-day plan before I started, and was able to accomplish all of my goals within the first 45 days, which was great! Some of my top priorities included meeting every department had in the college to learn more about what exciting things were happening with their faculty and students and creating a threeyear strategic plan for development initiatives within the college. I’m continuing to get to know Utah State University and Cache Valley. Q: What has most surprised you about Cache Valley, since arriving at Utah State? A: I’ve been most surprised at how the valley feels like such a small town, which really makes it feel like home to me. After growing up in a very small town of 5,000 people, I’ve lived in larger cities for the past 11 years. It’s really refreshing for me to move into what I would consider a more tight-knit community, than where I’ve been in quite a while. Q: What are three local activities you’re dying to try? A: I have never been skiing, so that’s at the top of my list! As a big football fan, I’m excited to go to an Aggie football game in the fall. I’m also looking forward to taking hikes around the valley and experiencing the outdoors with my dogs.
Q: One more question: What’s your favorite flavor of Aggie Ice Cream? A: I haven’t tried them all (yet!), but Cookies & Cream is my current favorite. n -MARY-ANN MUFFOLETTO
Let Us Hear from You We invite you to stay in touch with us:
n Via the Web Visit our website at www.usu.edu/science n On Social Media Visit us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
n On Utah Public Radio Hear about our research during “Science by the Slice” mini-casts
n
Via Email: science@usu.edu
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Members of USU’s student-led Science Council gather to show gratitude, before welcoming new Aggie science and math majors at the college’s annual “Discover Science” event. M. Muffoletto
