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Scientist of the Month

The Biomedical Learning and Student Training (BLAST) program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (51��) highlights scientists from all biomedical fields through the Scientist of the Month articles. These articles are shared across the University of Alaska Fairbanks (51��) and University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) campuses, and all BLaST partner institutions which include Iļisaġvik College, Fort Lewis College, Diné College, Salish Kootenai College, and Alaska Pacific University. Below are the Scientists of the Month recognized by calendar years from 2015 to present. Click on their names to access their flyers.

Year-Month	Name	Role	Research Project	Mentors	Institution
2024-Nov	John Harley	FPP/Former GMRA	Investigating routes of mercury exposure for women from La Paz, and Assessing regional, morphometric, and toxicological significance of concentrations of organohalogen contaminants in Northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni)	Todd O'Hara, Kriya Dunlap	51�� Fairbanks
2024-April	Robin Masterman	Scholar	Hibernation biology; The benefits and drawbacks to using traditional healing in the treatment of behavioral health issues; Stable isotopes and human diet; and Food sovereignty and security in the YK-Delta	Kelly Drew, Hoshi Sugiura, Andrea Bersamin, Diane O'Brien, Nikola Nicolic, Emily Sousa, and Ellen Chenoweth	51�� Fairbanks
2024-March	Gabriel Miller	Scholar	Effects of Rabies Viral Glycoprotein Binding on Human and Dog α7 Nicotinic Receptors; and Effects of siRNA silencing on VDR expression and Oxidative Stress Tolerance in Microglia	Maegan Weltzin, Brittany O'Brien, Alireza Badei, Alex Cornwall, Nikola Nicolic, Emily Sousa	51�� Fairbanks
2024-February	Michael Martins	Scholar	Using HAARP to Measure Temperatures and Winds in the Ionosphere as a Function of Height	Mark Conde, JR Ancheta, Heidi Shepard, Evita Maniatopoulou, Eduardo Jany, Benjamin Keisling, Brenda Konar, Torin Hooge, Nikola Nicolic, Emily Sousa, Andrew Cyr	51�� Fairbanks
2023-December/ Jan. 2024	Maggie House	Scholar	Biomonitoring Cripple Creek’s Water Quality After a Reconstruction Through Macro-Invertebrate Diversity	Christi Buffington, Dr. Jeff Muehlbauer, Sarah Barcalow, Lori Gildehaus	51�� Fairbanks

Year-Month	Name	Role	Research Project	Mentors	Institution
2023-December/ Jan. 2024	Maggie House	Scholar	Biomonitoring Cripple Creek’s Water Quality After a Reconstruction Through Macro-Invertebrate Diversity	Christi Buffington, Dr. Jeff Muehlbauer, Sarah Barcalow, Lori Gildehaus	51�� Fairbanks
2023-October	Julie-Anne Brown	Scholar	Sustainable fish population management in the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) region	Dr. Kelly Drew, Maggie Harings, Hoshi Sugiura, Hannah Robinson, Sarah Barcalow, Dr. Andres Lopez, Eric Schoen	51�� Fairbanks
2023-May	Logan Ito	Scholar	Comparative Genetic Analysis of Herring	Andres Lopez, Don Larson, Emily Sousa, Arleigh Reynolds	51�� Fairbanks
2023-March	Shadrach Stitz	Scholar	Investigation into the role of zirconocene in mediating or catalyzing peptide bond formation	William (Bill) Howard, Emily Sousa, Nikola Nikolic	51�� Fairbanks
2023-February	Christian Bolton	Scholar	Examining warming temperatures in the Antarctic that affect marine wildlife	Kristin O'Brien, Andrea Bersamin, Andrej Podlutsky, Emily Sousa, Hannah Robinson	51�� Fairbanks
2023-January	Tirzah Bryant	Scholar	Behavioral patterns of snowshoe hares at salt licks	Knut Kielland, Emily Sousa, Andrew Cyr	51�� Fairbanks

Year-Month	Name	Role	Research Project	Mentors	Institution
2022-December	Daphne Mueller	Scholar	Microbial community diversity in sediment and water from the Chena River	Andrés Lopez, Mario Muscarella, Linda Nicholas-Figueroa, Andrej Podlutsky, Sasha White, Emily Sousa, Theresa Vertigan	51�� Fairbanks
2022-November	Laura Ekada	Scholar	Getting through a Pandemic: The Role of Culture and Traditions in a Rural Alaska Native Community	Jacques Philip, Inna Rivkin, Cathy Brooks, Janessa Newman, Emily Sousa	51�� Fairbanks
2022-October	Tyler Baker-Chapman	Scholar	Effects of bacteriophage on antibiotic resistance	Mario Muscarella, Theresa Vertigan, Emily Sousa	51�� Fairbanks
2022-September	Orlin Gologergen	Scholar, URE	Stable isotope analysis of bowhead whale skin and blubber	Jan Straley, Lauren Wild, Ellen Chenoweth, Emily Sousa	51�� Fairbanks
2022-August	Mario Muscarella	FPP	The Alaska Wild Berry Microbiome Project	None	51�� Fairbanks
2022-May	Jeramiah Brown	Scholar	DNA Repair Efficiency in Lung Cancer Cell Lines, and MinION novel technology-enrich for a specific target genome using adaptive sampling	Dr. Andrej Podlutsky, Dr. Devin Drown, Natalia Podlutskaya	51�� Fairbanks
2022-April	Daniel Dykes	Scholar	The effects of social isolation on OCD mice	Abel Bult-Ito, Thomas Kuhn, Natalia Podlutskaya	51�� Fairbanks
2022-March	Paul Larson	Scholar	Waterfowl ecology, population dynamics, and physiology	Diane O’Brien, Matthew Wooller, Andrew Cyr	51�� Fairbanks
2022-February	Samantha Wade	Scholar	Sequencing the genome of an oil-degrading bacterium from the Arctic Ocean	Mary Beth Leigh, Linda Nicholas-Figeuroa, Natalia Podlutskaya	51�� Fairbanks
2022-January	Natalia Podlutskaya	RAMP	Diabetes in Alaska Native People, Hibernation and DNA repair, and I'qmik toxicity	Andrej Podlutsky	51�� Fairbanks

Year-Month	Name	Role	Research Project	Mentors	Institution
2021-November	Megahn Reese	URE	DNA repair in ovarian cancer cell lines OV90 and SKOV3 in response to x-ray damage using the standardized comet assay procedure	Andrej Podlutsky, Robert Williams	51�� Fairbanks
2021-October	Shayna Matson	Scholar	DNA analysis of biofilms in 51�� water sources	Devin Drown	51�� Fairbanks
2021-September	Craig Chythlook	Scholar	Rural Water Services Impact on Subsistence	Barbara Johnson, Ellen Lopez	51�� Fairbanks
2021-June	David Harvey	Scholar	Human respiratory health hazards from volcanic ash impacting the village of Nelson Lagoon following the March 2016 Pavlof Volcano eruption; and Reconstructing plant communities through sediment cores in Kodiak, AK	Chris Maio, Nancy Bigelow, graduate student Lindsey Smith, Elisabeth Nadin, Sean Regan, and Ken Severin	51�� Fairbanks
2021-May	Tristan O-Donoghue	URE	Cancer cell lines and their affinity to undergo DNA repair after being exposed to UV and X-ray radiation	Andrej Podlutsky, Robert Williams	51�� Fairbanks
2021-April	Todd Brinkman	Faculty	Wildlife ecology on the North Slope, Interior, and Southeast Alaska, concentrating on large mammals such as deer, moose, caribou and bears.	none	51�� Fairbanks
2021-March	Tony Thompson	Scholar	the study of DNA (eDNA) and fish ecology, developing an eDNA assay that can detect and quantify Arctic Lamprey, Lethenteron camtschaticum, in freshwater aquatic systems	Andres Lopez, Cristina Hansen, Lori Gildehaus	51�� Fairbanks
2021-Feb	Michelle Quillin	Scholar	Bioaccumulation of mercury in northern fur seals from St. Paul, Island, Alaska, relative to rookery fidelity; Juvenile Chinook Salmon	Lorrie Rea, Stephanie Crawford, Erik Schoen, Todd Brinkman	51�� Fairbanks
2021-Jan	James McKay	URE	Examination of nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy associated mutations in subtypes of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors; and Computational Modeling of Wild-type and Sleep Related Hyper-motor Epilepsy Associated Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Using Single-Channel Patch Clamp Electrophysiology	Maegan Weltzin/Renate Wackerbauer	51�� Fairbanks

Year-Month	Name	Role	Research Project	Mentors	Institution
2020-Dec	Michael Castellini	RL5 Research Core Senior Director	Comparative vertebrate physiology, biochemistry and behavioral adaptations in diving marine mammals and birds, population health and response to climate change	none	51�� Fairbanks
2020-Nov	Brianna Lu	Scholar	Effects of Alaska botanicals as a naturopathic therapy for Parkinson's disease expressed in C. elegans and mice; and Effects of diet and aging on alpha synuclein overexpression in C. elegans	Malabika Maulik, Abel Bult-Ito	51�� Fairbanks
2020-October	Maegen Weltzin	FPP	Rabies glycoprotein interacts with neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in a subtype-selective manner; Microbiology	none	51�� Fairbanks
2020-June, July, August, September	none	none	none	none	none
2020-May	Ava Parrish	Scholar	Quantitative analysis of popular pre- workout supplements; and Social scaffolding between Milo the Robot and individuals with ASD	Joanne Healy	51�� Fairbanks
2020-April	none	none	none	none	none
2020-Mar	Shelby McCahon	Scholar	Effects of Photoperiod and Dopamine Disruption on Sleep and Mass Gain	Todd O’Hara, Marianne Lian, Andrew Cyr, Anusha Shankar, Cory Williams, Todd Brinkman	51�� Fairbanks
2020-Feb	none	none	none	none	none
2020-Jan	Samantha Haines and Sabrina Bishop	UREs	Transcriptomics of BCBL-1 Cell Line Following TPA Treatment	Andrej Podlutsky	51�� Fairbanks

Year-Month	Name	Role	Research Project	Mentors	Institution
2019-Dec	Jennie Humphrey	Scholar	Mobilizing Alaskan Genomics: Exploring Alaska's soil microbiome/ Prevalence of PQQ producing bacteria in Alaskan soil; and Chilkat Indian village food assessment in Klukwan, Alaska	Devin Drown, Anne-Lise Ducluzeau, Andrea Bersamin	51�� Fairbanks
2019-Nov	Kristian Rivera	Scholar	Genetic repair dynamics and gene expression in cancerous (HeLa) and healthy (HDFa) cells; and Lipid composition impacts MHCII assembly in Nanodiscs	Andrej Podlutsky, Robert Williams, Tynan Becker, Thomas Kuhn	51�� Fairbanks
2019-Oct	Andrea Bersamin	FPP	Tundra to table: Instruments and education pilot testing; Alaska Native Health and Subsistence	none	51�� Fairbanks
2019-Sept	Noah Khalsa	Scholar	Effects of ocean acidification on calcifying organisms; and Environmental conditions as drivers of fish abundance and distribution in the coastal Arctic	Andres Lopez, Amanda Kelley, Anne-Lise Ducluzeau	51�� Fairbanks
2019-August	Don Larson	GMRA	Ecophysiological parasitology, animal survival techniques, adaptations to winter influence parasites, seasonal variation and overwintering strategies of two trematode parasites		51�� Fairbanks
2019-July	Courtney Hill	URE	Validation of Reflection Spectroscopy as a Biomarker for Fruit and Vegetable Intake in a Yup'ik Community	Andrea Bersamin	51�� Fairbanks
2019-June	Stephanie Kennedy	GMRA	Immune pathways and mercury: human C3b and MeHg binding	Todd O'Hara	51�� Fairbanks
2019-May	Andrej Podlutsky	FPP	DNA repair in virally infected cells/Cancer Biology	none	51�� Fairbanks
2019-April	Melissa Clark	Scholar	Binding of hemagglutinin to Major Histocompatibility Complex II(MHC Class II)	Cristina Hansen, Tynen Becker	51�� Fairbanks
2019-Mar	Janessa Newman	Scholar	1-Stories and Images of Community Strength from a Youth Dog Mushing Program in Rural Alaska. 2-Intergenerational Dialogue Exchange and Action to Facilitate Youth Wellness	Jacques Philip	51�� Fairbanks
2019-Feb	Maggie Castellini	51�� lab technician	The effects of mercury on animals in aquatic environments and the links between environmental, animal, and human health	Todd O'Hara	51�� Fairbanks
2019-Jan	none	none	none	none	none

Year-Month	Name	Role	Research Project	Mentors	Institution
2018-Dec	Aline Collin	GMRA	Bridging the gap between in vivo and in vitro research	none	51�� Fairbanks
2018-Nov	Mackenzie Jenkins	URE	Neurochemical pathways of the brainstem involved in adenosine A1 receptor agonistinduced hibernation in the Arctic ground squirrel (Urocitellus paryii)	Kelly Drew, Carla Frare	51�� Fairbanks
2018-Oct	Ana Fiorella Carrasco	Scholar	Using next generation sequencing to detect hepatitis C virus infection in Alaska; and Immunology testing to detect HIV with the 5th generation; and BioPlex HIV Ag-Ab assay: Incidence of false positivity in a low-prevalence population and its effects on the current HIV testing algorithm	Jack Chen	51�� Fairbanks
2018-Sept	Kimi Yatsushiro	GMRA	Examining postpartum depression screening behavior of prenatal care providers	Kendra Campbell	51�� Fairbanks
2018-Aug	Annie Enderle	URE	Birch sap protein analysis and immunotolera nce	Tynan Becker	51�� Fairbanks
2018-July	Devin Drown	FPP	Mobilizing Alaskan genomics with nanopore sequencing/ Biology & Microbiology	Devin Drown	51�� Fairbanks
2018-June	Viktorija Podlutskaya	Scholar	DNA repair in virally infected cells	Andrej Podlutsky	51�� Fairbanks
2018-May	Christina Edwin	Scholar	The effect of organic, range- fed, dietary meat on human protein synthesis; and now Tl'eegho baabe' in Maneelghaadze T'oh (Native foods in Koyukuk Alaska)- a personal journey of reclaiming identity through the making of moose head soup	Charlene Stern	51�� Fairbanks
2018-April	none	none	none	none	none
2018-Mar	Malabika Maulik	GMRA	Effect of Alaskan blueberry on Parkinson's disease model of C. elegans	Barbara Taylor	51�� Fairbanks
2018-Feb	Mark Velasco	Scholar	The effects of hibernation on the rates of DNA repair in Arctic ground squirrels following DNA damage; and DNA Repair in Arctic Ground Squirrel Fibroblasts	Andrej Podlutsky	51�� Fairbanks
2018-Jan	Joanna Green	RAMP	Arctic microbes: Population abundance and the effects of a warming climate	Linda Nicholas-Figueroa	51�� Fairbanks

Year-Month	Name	Role	Research Project	Mentors	Institution
2017-Dec	none	none	none	none	none
2017-Nov	Jimin "Josh" Kim	Scholar	Yukon Arctic ultra, nutritional liver health; and Functional benefits of weight loss in overweight/obese elderly	Robert Coker	51�� Fairbanks
2017-Oct	Ellen Lopez	Faculty	Community-based participatory research in tribal organizations	none	51�� Fairbanks
2017-Sept	Sheri Coker	GMRA	The influence of organic, wild game versus commercial meat on protein synthesis in humans	Robert Coker	51�� Fairbanks
2017-Aug	Raven Shaw	URE	Understanding the seasonal abundance of HABs near Science Center Fish Hatchery in Sitka, Alaska	Esther Kennedy, Kitty LaBounty, Michael Jamros, Kari Lanphier	UAS Sitka
2017-July	Thomas Kuhn	Faculty	HIV-1 gp120- induced actin rod formation: A novel mechanism for HIV associated neurodegeneration	none	51�� Fairbanks
2017-June	Elena Vayndorf	Post-Doc	Neuronal aging and neurodegenerative diseases with ancillary interests in nutrition, toxicology and metagenomics	Barbara Taylor	51�� Fairbanks
2017-May	Farimang Touray Jr.	URE	Alaskan Botanicals effects on aging, muscle health and neurodegener ative disease in C. elegans	Barbara Taylor	51�� Fairbanks
2017-April	Jesse Klejka	Scholar	Diesel biodegradation potential of various birch and spruce rhizospheres; and Tumor Neoantigens (+ separate project) novel pathogen on Alaska's North Slope	Andrea Ferrante	51�� Fairbanks
2017-Mar	Paul Bahna	Faculty	Catheter/device-related infection/microbiology	none	UAS Sitka
2017-Feb	Gabriel Cartagena	Scholar	Cross-cultural comparison of HIV/AIDS survivorship in Alaska and Africa	Thomas Kuhn	51�� Fairbanks
2017-Jan	Andrew Cyr	GMRA	The chemical feeding ecology of Alaskan fish: Mercury accumulation fish consumers, and One Health	Todd O’Hara, Maggie Castellini	51�� Fairbanks

Year-Month	Name	Role	Research Project	Mentors	Institution
2016-Dec	Scott Jerome	GMRA	Biomarkers and cognitive function of trained endurance athletes at 64 degrees North	Arleigh Reynolds, Kriya Dunlap	51�� Fairbanks
2016-Nov	Abigail Moran	Scholar	Assessing the strengths and needs of our Alaska informal caregivers and Hepatitis C and G	Jack Chen	51�� Fairbanks
2016-Oct	Lauren Wild	GMRA	Diet and movement of male sperm whales in the Gulf of Alaska	Jan Straley	UAS Sitka
2016-Sept	Barbara Taylor	Faculty/PI	Aging, using a C elegans model examining neurophysiology and health issues	none	51�� Fairbanks
2016-Aug	Vanessa Santana	Scholar	Effects of caffeine on anxiety-like and compulsive- like behaviors in a non-induced OCD mouse model	Abel Bult-Ito	51�� Fairbanks
2016-July	Abel Bult-Ito	Faculty	The role of CREB signaling in mouse compulsive-like behaviors	none	51�� Fairbanks
2016-June	Rebekah Hare	LRTT	Arctic microbes population abundance and the effects of a warming climate	Linda Nicholas-Figueroa	51�� Fairbanks/Ilisagvik College
2016-May	Hugh Leonard	GMRA	Best clinical practices focusing on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in psychotherapy for individuals experiencing severe emotion dysregulation, more specifically efficacy and cultural responsiveness of DBT for Alaska Native Communities	Mike Worrall, Kendra Campbell	51�� Fairbanks
2016-April	Courtney Scerbak	GMRA	Focus on intricate relationship between genetics and diet with respect to aging: touch-receptor neuron aging processes within the worm model organism Caenorhabditis elegans	Barbara Taylor	51�� Fairbanks
2016-March	Linda Nicholas-Figueroa	Faculty	Arctic microbes population abundance and the effects of a warming climate	none	Ilisagvik College - Barrow/ Utqiagvik
2016-Feb	Amanda Grimes	Undergraduate	How specific environmental contaminants, accumulate in fish, the marine mammals that consume them, and the rest of the marine food web	Todd O’Hara	51�� Fairbanks
2016-Jan	Anne-Lise Ducluzeau	Post-Doc	Research in Alaska investigating microbes in the Arctic Ocean and sea ice	Eric Collins	51�� Fairbanks