NIKKI RENDON
Biology: Evolution, Ecology and Behavior
Summer 2011
Upon attending the annual Midwest Crossroads AGEP campus visit "Getting You into IU" (October 2009), Nikki Rendón discovered that Indiana University Bloomington was the perfect fit for her. This invaluable opportunity enabled her to have direct interactions with Biology faculty members as well as faculty from related departments with which she also shared common interests. Not only had she read about the research going on at IUB, but now she was experiencing it firsthand, seeing the resources available and getting a general feel for the University. Being able to discuss research interests and ideas with such a variety of professors and professionals enabled her to make the best decision in choosing a graduate school. This decision was not just Rendón being interviewed but was also she herself evaluating the school to see if it was right for her. Prior to coming to Indiana University, Rendón actively pursued science and sought out research opportunities where she could. Rendón was first in her family to attend college and during her time at Northern New Mexico College, she pursued many different disciplines within science and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Biology. Coming from a non-PhD granting institution, the mentors she interacted with here were vital to her continued pursuits of science and research. Rendón enjoyed investing time into exploring the unknown, investing much time into this exploration within several areas of study. Her mentors guided her through several research endeavors and inspired her with their passionate pursuits within biology that drove them daily to succeed. Ultimately, it was her mentors who inspired Rendón to dedicate her life to something she was passionate about with those questions that kept her up at night to drive her. Rendón realized that it was physiology that she kept coming back to and that indeed research was her passion. Rendón will be entering her second year in the Evolution, Ecology and Behavior Ph.D. Program at Indiana University this Fall (2011). She works in Dr. Gregory Demas' lab which specializes in ecological physiology and the interaction between the nervous, endocrine and immune systems and behavior. Rendón specifically focuses her research on behavioral neuroendocrinology. She states about Dr. Demas, "His lab, research interests and mentoring style were exactly what I was looking for. I found my academic home in his lab!" In addition to her research pursuits, Rendón is also the president of the IUB SACNAS Chapter, a member of the Women in Science Program (WISP), and a mentor for undergraduate students in STEM. Because she knows how important mentors have been in shaping her own life and career path, she strives to give back by mentoring students herself and promoting the sciences to other underrepresented minority students. Rendón states, "Mentoring is very important to me. I was once that kid who was walking along in the darkness with pure genuine curiosity. Mentoring lead me to where I am, it is the least I can do to pass it on to someone else." In the future, Rendón plans to continue her mentoring by becoming a faculty member at an institution of higher education and running her own research lab.
ADRIAN LAND
Microbiology
Spring 2010
Indiana University Bloomington Graduate Student Adrian Land has made it his life goal to research and find cures for infectious diseases.
He is currently in his sixth year and nearing completion of his PhD in Micro-Biology. Land works with his mentor Dr. Malcolm Winkler, who’s research emphasis is genomics and bioinformatics, microbial cell biology and environmental responses, and microbial interactions and pathogenesis.
Land is focused on the bacteria that cause deadly infectious diseases and hopes to use Dr. Winkler’s guidance and his own research to try and improve human health. Infectious diseases take millions of lives around the world each year. He hopes to not only understand these diseases, but also to find an anecdote or cure.
Land was raised in a small town in Lexington, Mississippi, and completed his Bachelor’s Degree at Alcorn State University, Mississsippi with a major in Biology.
Land’s life motto is a reflection of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Although he keeps busy, works hard, and is thoroughly involved both in his doctoral program and community he states, “Exhaustion is no reason to half do something. Always give everything that you decide to take on your very best effort.”
Outside of the laboratory, Land is a house parent for Stepping Stones, a group home for homeless teens. He is also an member of the Midwest Crossroads AGEP, and was a participant in the 2009 Compact for Faculty Diversity. He is an Emissary for Graduate Student Diversity through the Indiana University Graduate School, and serves as an ambassador for the Office of Diversity Education. Land is also a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and a representative for the Monroe County Commission for the Social Status for Black Males.
“Life is all about trying to help people,” Land said. “I can do my one small part.”
NATASHA CROSBY
Biology
Fall 2008
Natasha Crosby will graduate in January 2009 with her doctorate in molecular biology and genetics and a minor in biochemistry. A member of Professor David Daleke’s lab, her work focuses on the effect of diabetes (hyperglycemia) on red blood cell membranes, specifically looking into ways to reverse the effects of hyperglycemia by using antioxidant treatments. It is hoped that this research will contribute to therapies for diabetes.
As an undergraduate, Natasha majored in biology at Hampton University in Virginia (a long way from her home in Oakland, California). Participation in the university’s HBCU-UP program, a NSF-funded initiative to increase minority participation in the STEM disciplines, boosted her interest in scientific research. Additionally, Natasha studied abroad in Finland, where she worked in a lab studying brain diseases including Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s. This experience was sponsored by the NIH MIRT (Minority International Research Training) program, which funds international research opportunities in medical science for underrepresented students. (MIRT is now MHIRT – the Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training grant program.)
After graduating, Natasha will continue in research in her professional life, but also hopes to “give back” to the effort to broaden participation in science. She looks forward to the opportunity to advise and otherwise support minority students. Her advice to prospective doctoral students now is to “do your research” before choosing an institution and committing several years of your life to the degree. She cautions that “science doesn’t always work,” meaning that, in many cases, researchers don’t obtain the answers they wanted – and they have to spend the time and energy to figure out why.
MAYTÉ RUIZ
Biology and Animal Behavior
Fall 2007
Mayté Ruiz is a third-year graduate student at Indiana University-Bloomington. She is majoring in biology under the advisement of Dr. Emília P. Martins. Mayté received a Bachelor of Science in biology at Florida International University. She is working in the program for Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) as well as the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB). Additionally, she is a trainee of the NIH-funded Common Themes in Reproductive Diversity (CTRD) group at Indiana University.
Currently, she is researching trade-offs within and among courtship and immune function in sagebrush lizards, Sceloporus graciosus. From previous research she has found that individual male identity and female reproductive state are important predictors of variation in male display rate. However, males do not alter their display rate with respect to female quality.
In her upcoming research, she will consider the effects of hormones, namely testosterone and corticosterone, on the immune system of S. graciosus. Previous studies have determined that these hormones play a major immunosuppressive role; however, inconsistencies arise due to the utilization of a number of immune measures and due to the possibility of an interactive effect of hormones within an individual. She proposes to address these inconsistencies by determining the effect of testosterone and of corticosterone on multiple immune responses simultaneously.
She will also test the interactive effect that testosterone and corticosterone have on the immune system. Additionally, she will determine whether corticosterone produces similar immune responses in males and females since males and females have different hormonal physiology and thus interactions with corticosterone may lead to diverse effects between the sexes. Finally, she hopes to connect immunity and reproduction by analyzing how trade-offs between these processes are mediated.
Mayté volunteers her time as a “Big Sister” with Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana. She encourages and challenges her “Little Sister,” providing her with a friendship, support, and an example to which she can aspire.
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