Johnson Lab members present posters at 14th Annual Ecological Genomics Symposium
Six members of the Johnson lab presented posters during the two poster sessions at the annual Ecological Genomics Symposium, held in Kansas City, October 28-30, 2016. Jake Alsdurf presented, "Predicting Phenotypic and genotypic response to dominant prairie grass Andropogon gerardii to climate change in the Central US grasslands.
Matt Galliart's poster was entitled, "Experimental Natural Selection of Big Bluestem Ecotypes Across the Great Plains: Evaluating Local Adaptation Under Realistic Conditions."
Sam Sharpe, Paige Humphrey and Olivia Parrish presented "Rapid adaptation in a contaminated environment: Evolutionary adaptive response of old field grass Andropogon virginicus to heavy metals in an abandoned lead and zinc mine."
Kara Nielson, summer undergraduate from Grinnell, presented "Differential enzyme and physiological response to heavy metal stress in mine and old field populations of Andropogon virginicus."
Kara Nielson, summer undergraduate from Grinnell, completes her summer research.
Galliart and Sharpe Accepted Into Science Communication Fellowship at Sunset Zoo
Matthew Galliart and Samantha Sharpe were both accepted into the Science Communication Fellowship program at Sunset Zoo. The program, part of the Portal to the Public Network, and sponsored in part by the Kansas State University Graduate School, is a unique opportunity for area scientist and researchers to further their impact on today's society.
Matt and Samantha will complete a workshop and participate in a minimum of two public programs coordinated by the Zoo. At that point, they will become part of the second cohort of Certified Fellows of the program, which will take them through multiple professional development opportunities with an end goal of collaborating on a hands-on activity that will be used to engage the public about their work.
Congratulations to Matt and Samantha!
Galliart Bancroft Scholarship Winner
Matthew Galliart was recently awarded the Kansas Native Plant Society Mary A. Bancroft Memorial Scholarship. The title of his proposal was "Experimental natural selection of big bluestem ecotypes across the Great Plains." The award amount was $1,000.
Congratulations to Matt!!
Alsdurf and Galliart are K-State GRAD Forum Winners
Jacob Alsdurf and Matthew Galliart were recent oral presentation winners at the K-State Graduate Research, Arts, and Discovery (GRAD) forum. Jacob placed first in the agricultural sciences category and will be given a $500 scholarship. Matthew took second place in the agricultural sciences category, receiving a $250 scholarship. The scholarships will awarded at the 2nd Annual Kansas State University Graduate Student Awards and Recognition Reception on Tuesday, April 5. Both are Ph.D. students working in the lab of Dr. Loretta Johnson, professor in the Division of Biology. Congratulations to Jake and Matt!
Sharpe and Galliart recipients of KAS research grants
Samantha Sharpe and Matthew Galliart are both recent recipients of Kansas Academy of Science graduate research grants. The title of Samantha’s project is “Rapid adaptation in a contaminated environment: Evolutionary adaptive response of old field grass Andropogon virginicus to heavy metals in abandoned Lead and Zinc mines.” The grants supplies a $1,500 award for research. Matt’s project is entitled “Experimental natural selection of big bluestem ecotypes across the Great Plains: A novel test for the strength of local adaptation.” Matt’s grant will provide $1,000 for research. Both are graduate students working in the lab of Dr. Loretta Johnson, professor in the Division of Biology.
Matthew Galliart, a biology graduate student, recently became a dual award winner. First, Matt received notification from the KSU Provost office that he was the 2015 recipient of the Presidential Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Student in Research. He will received the award at the May 6 ceremony.
Less than 24 hours later, Matt received notification that he received a 2015 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Fellowship. His selection was based on his demonstrated potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the U.S. science and engineering enterprise.
Matt received his undergraduate degree in December 2014 and began his master's studies in January. He has been working in the Johnson lab since May 2012. For his graduate research, he will focus on the experimental field selection of big bluestem ecotypes across the Great Plains: A novel test for the strength of local adaptation.
Alsdurf receives KAS grant
Jake Alsdurf, a Biology graduate student, was awarded a Kansas Academy of Science (KAS) Research Grant. Jake's research investigating tall grass prairies in an "ecological genomics" context offers unique perspective to address two important questions; how will predicted climate change affect Great Plains grassland? How are plants adapted to drought at the genetic and ecological levels? His main research goal is to characterize how genetically adapted populations of big blustem might respond differently to predicted climate change.