This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Castleton State College (CSC) Highlights 2009-2010 In health and medical sciences, the College is in a rebuilding year. Lara Carlson who received several VGN awards left following spring 2009 to take a position at another college. Justin Carlstrom was hired to replace her. He is not yet doing research that can be funded through the Vermont Genetics Network, but is hoping to launch a research program next year. In fall 2009, we also hired a new geneticist. Deborah Alonghi's interests include molecular evolutionary genetics and genomics. She is knowledgeable about, and interested in bioinformatics, particularly as a portal to 21st Century Biology Education. We expect that she will take advantage of the opportunities offered by the VGN grant. Deborah will have a VGN pilot award pending VGN's renewal. In spring 2010, we hired a new microbiologist. Preston Garcia's interests include everything relating to microbiology and immunology. Preston impressed the search committee with his concrete plans to continue research here, at the college. He was excited to hear about the opportunities to use proteomics in laboratories for his course work as well as his research with students. If the VGN grant is renewed, we will encourage Preston to apply for a pilot award next year. In spring 2010, we searched for a new chemist. One criterion the search committee used was interest in maintaining a research program that involves undergraduates. We were unsuccessful, but will renew the search next year. Finally, in spring 2010, we hired a candidate for a new faculty line in health, hosted in the Physical Education Department. Katy Culpo has research interests in nutrition and obesity. She, too, will be encouraged to consider applying for a VGN award. ___________________________________________________ Green Mountain College Highlights 2009-2010 + Jennifer Sellers, Associate Professor in Psychology, received a $25,000 pilot award for PY6 pending renewal + All three of the outreach programs have evolved to stand alone + 1-credit biology courses now offered biennially at GMC and these appear in our catalog + A new student research laboratory is now in Ackley + A new molecular/cellular biology laboratory is now in Ackley + We now have an IRB and IACUC in place + Biology Students are able to get competitive summer REUs or comparable internships + Nearly 100% acceptance rate for graduates to preferred postgraduate institutions ___________________________________________________ Johnson State College Highlights 2009-2010 + VGN Grant Awards 2 Pilot Awards Dr. Gina Mireault Dr. Elizabeth Dolci 1 Project Awards Dr. Hans Haverkamp + Faculty attended the 8th annual VGN retreat on August 12, 2009. + Dr. Robert Genter worked with two JSC undergraduates, Greg Perry and Ben Kirchner, and an undergraduate from Sterling College, Jake Vangorder, on a project that compared impacts of agricultural, urban, and forested land uses. They conducted microbial source tracking of E. coli and monitored concentrations and discharge of total phosphorus in 19 tributaries of the Lamoille River. + The three students listed above presented a poster of their research at the VT-EPSCoR Conference on March 10, 2010. + The science faculty are continuing development of the department research project, an interdisciplinary study of the Lamoille Valley watershed integrating the geology, ecology, biology, chemistry, and climatology of this ecosystem. The focus this academic year is development of an NSF S-STEM grant proposal with Dr. Leslie Kanat taking the lead on this initiative. + Four faculty attended the Fourth Vermont Genetics Network Professional Development Seminar on Saturday, January 23 at St. Michael's College. + Dr. Gina Mireault presented her research on infant humor at : o the 2009 VGN annual retreat in August. o International Conference for Infant Studies, Baltimore, MD in March 2010. + Dr. Gina Mireault will present her research on infant humor at the International Summer School on the Psychology of Humor &Laughter, Zurich, Switzerland in July 2010. + Dr. Elizabeth Dolci was named a Vermont State College Faculty Fellow for the 2009-10 academic year for her work on building a student-oriented culture of research at JSC. + The Department of Environmental &Health Sciences hosted an evening pizza and seminar event for science majors in October 2009. Four students presented summaries of their summer internships. + Science students are participating in the fourth annual Extended Classroom Experience Day on April 16. Twenty eight students in the sciences are presenting posters at this College-wide event. + The Fundamentals of Ecology class monitored total phosphorus concentrations in 24 sections of four tributaries and two sections of the main stem of the Gihon river. The data was collected for the Lamoille County natural Resources Conservation District, Morrisville, VT and the Department of Environmental Conservation. + Dr. Leslie Kanat completed writing the Geology Field Trip guide for the 2010 National Speleological Society Annual Meeting. Approximately 800 people will attend the week-long August event that will be based at the Champlain Valley Expo, Essex Junction, VT. + Dr. Leslie Kanat reviewed part of an upcoming college textbook by McConnell et al. "The Good Earth: Introduction to Earth Science" for the McGraw-Hill Companies. + On 2 Mar 2010, Dr. Leslie Kanat travelled to Washington, DC, to meet with the VT Congressional delegation (Leahy, Sanders and Welch) to advocate for support of Fragile X research and funding. I will be one of about 120 people -- the only one from VT -- coming from all over the US to advocate for Fragile X. + Dr. Tania Bacchus has continued work on the weather project that evaluates the changing weather patterns across the northern tier of Vermont (JSC [unreadable]Burlington, BTV [unreadable]Morrisville, MVL stations primarily). The National Weather Service has expressed interest in accessing the JSC weather data. + Dr. Hans Haverkamp served as a reviewer for the Vermont Genetics Network most recent round of funding. + One undergraduate student presented a poster at the VGN career day on April 15th, 2009, in Burlington, VT. + Dr. Hans Haverkamp presented his research at: o the annual VGN retreat on August 12, 2009, in Burlington, VT. o at the Northeast Chapter's American College of Sports Medicine annual fall meeting in Providence, RI. + Dr. Hans Haverkamp will present his research at the annual national meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine. This meeting will take place in Baltimore, MD on June 2 -5. The abstract will be published in the annual abstract edition of the journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. + Three undergraduate students will present posters at the upcoming Vermont Genetics Network Career Day, in Burlington, VT on April 14th. ___________________________________________________ Lyndon State College Highlights 2009-2010 + VGN Awards [unreadable]None + LSC named as a new Baccalaureate Partner Institution in VGN's grant renewal application. + Assistant Professor of Biology, Alan Giese, named as LSC's BPI Coordinator. + BPI coordinator attended the 8th annual VGN retreat on August 12, 2009. + Two VGN outreach modules (Microarray and Bioinformatics) in a class of eleven LSC undergraduate students. + BPI Coordinator attended the Third Vermont Genetics Network Professional Development Seminar, Balancing Teaching, Research and Service on Saturday, January 23 at Saint Michael's College. __________________________________________________ Middlebury College Highlights 2009-2010 VGN Grant Awards Project Grants Awarded Mark Stefani Student Academic Year Grants Awarded Evan Masseau (Mark Stefani, mentor) William Tyler Prince (Mark Spritzer, mentor) Leanne Shulman (Mark Spritzer, mentor) Highlights Awards, honors, major grants, service, non-scholarly publications, workshops [unreadable] Professor Grace Spatafora (Biology Department, Program in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry) was awarded an NIH Director's Bridge Award (R56) that supplies one year of funding to continue research on Streptococcus mutans and its role in the formation of dental caries. These awards provide continued funding for new and established grantees who have submitted a competing renewal grant application that describes a highly meritorious project. This grant includes funding for equipment and support for at least three undergraduate students. [unreadable] Professor Barbara Hofer (Psychology) was elected a Fellow of the American Psychological Association for "outstanding contributions to the science and profession of psychology." [unreadable] VGN 2009 student awardee Daniel Rosmarin '10 (Feb) was awarded a two-year scholarship to pursue an MPhil degree in Translational Oncology at Oxford by the Keasbey Memorial Foundation. [unreadable]Professor Kim Cronise participated in two Middlebury Community Television (MCTV Channel 15) broadcasts to educate the community regarding alcohol addiction, risk factors for the disease, prevention, and treatment strategies. The broadcasts were organized and sponsored by the Addison County Prevention Partnership and the Foundation for Alcoholism Research. The first presentation (1/19/2010) Professor Cronise served as the featured expert and guest speaker. The second presentation (3/23/10) featured a panel of experts on alcoholism including psychologist Devon Jersild, Ph.D., Mark Logan, M.D., and Kim Cronise, Ph.D [unreadable]Professor Kim Cronise's students Michael Stefanik (2009) and Charles Henschen (2010) successively won Undergraduate Research Awards for their presentations at the 4th and 5th Annual Neuroscience Research Forum sponsored by the local chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT. Peer-Reviewed Publications (*denotes student collaborator) Arndt, J. (2010). The Role of Memory Activation in Creating False Memories of Encoding Context. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 36, 66-79. Guillet, R. &Arndt, J. (2009). Taboo words: The effect of emotion on memory for peripheral information. Memory &Cognition, 37, 866-879. Campbell, S., Collaer, M. (2009). Stereotype threat and gender differences in performance on a novel visuospatial task. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 33(4), 437-444. Hofer, B.K., Sinatra G.M. (2010). Epistemology, Metacognition, and Self-regulation: Musings on an Emerging Field. Metacognition and Learning, 5(10): 1556-1623. DOI: 10.1007/s11409-009-9051-7. Hofer, B.K., *L. Wildenger, *J. Burr. (2010). Epistemological Development in Very Young Knowers. In L.D. Benedixen and F.C. Feucht, eds., Personal Epistemology in the Classroom (Cambridge University Press). Hofer, B.K., *C. Souder, *E. Kennedy, *N, Fullman, *K. Hurd. (2009). The Electronic Tether: Communication and Parental Monitoring During the College Years. In M.K. Nelson and A.I. Garey, eds., Who's Watching? Practices of Surveillance in Contemporary Families (Vanderbilt University Press). Landis, M., Grogan, J. (2009) Growth history and crown vine coverage are principal factors influencing growth and mortality rates of big-leaf mahogany Swietenia macrophylla in Brazil. Journal of Applied Ecology, 46: 1283-1291. Larrabee, J. A.;*Johnson, W. R.;*Volwiler, A. S. (2009) Magnetic Circular Dichroism Study of a Complex with Mixed 5- and 6-Coordination: A Spectroscopic Model for Dicobalt(II) Hydrolases. Inorganic Chemistry, 48, 8822-8829. Hadler, K. S.;Mitic, N.;Ely, F.;Hanson, G. R.;Gahan, L. R.;Larrabee, J. A.;Ollis, D. L.;Schenk, G. (2009). Structural Flexibility Enhances the Reactivity of the Bioremediator glycerophosphodiesterase by Fine Tuning its Mechanism of Hydrolysis. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 131, 11900-11908. *O'Rourke, K., Spatafora, G., *Shaw, J., *Pesesky, M., *Cook, B., *Roberts, S. (2010). Genome-wide characterization of the SloR metalloregulome in Streptococcus mutans. Journal of Bacteriology. 192(5):1433-43. Kelly, S.J., Leggett, D.C. &Cronise, K. (2009). Sexually dimorphic effects of alcohol exposure during development on the processing of social cues. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 44(6), 555-60. Conference and Invited Presentations (* denotes student collaborator) Choi, Sunhee. Department of Chemistry, Dartmouth College, NH, April 8, 2010. "Stories of Platinum Anticancer drugs". Choi, Sunhee. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Southwestern university, March 26, 2009. "Stories of Platinum Anticancer drugs". Choi, Sunhee;Michelle Personick* The 14th International Conference on Biological Inorganic Chemistry, Nagoya, Japan, July 25-30, 2009."Oxidation of Guanine Derivatives by Pt(IV) Complexes". M. Stefanik*, L. Sethi*, T. Bowen* &K. Cronise (2009) Blocking or facilitating ethanol tolerance with neurosteroids: A means to assess the impact of tolerance on ethanol consumption in mice? Society for Neuroscience, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT. K. Lee*, L. Sethi*, T. Bowen*, K. Maletsky*, K. Brown*, F. Saeed*, K. Cronise (2009) The impact of ethanol tolerance on consumption: does tolerance provide a preference or an ability to consume ethanol? Society for Neuroscience, Chicago, IL. K. Cronise, M. Stefanik*, L. Sethi*, T. Bowen* (2009). Blocking or facilitating ethanol tolerance with neurosteroids: A means to assess the impact of tolerance on ethanol consumption in mice. Research Society on Alcoholism, Chicago, San Diego, CA. C. Henschen*, K. Brown*, K. Lee*, A. Morrison*, N. Dupre*, A. McNally*, A. Sullivan*, K. Cronise, (2010) Modulation of chronic alcohol tolerance by epipregnanolone and pregnenolone sulfate in alcohol-preferring mice on measures of fine and gross motor coordination. Society for Neuroscience, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT. K. Cronise, C. Henschen*, A. Sullivan*, K. Brown*, N. Dupre*, A. McNally*, K. Lee*, A. Morrison*, F. Saeed* (2010) Neurosteroids modulation of chronic alcohol tolerance in preferring mice on measures of fine and gross motor coordination. International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, Sardinia, Italy. Grace Spatafora. Investigating the SloR:SRE interaction in Streptococcus mutans. 9th Annual Mark Wilson Conference/ 20th Annual Meeting of the Oral Immunology/Microbiology Research Group. February 6, 2010, Cancun, Mexico. Pesesky, M.W.*, E.G. Smith*, K. P. O'Rourke*, and G. Spatafora. 2010 . Characterizing the SloR:DNA binding interface in Streptococcus mutans. 110th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, San Diego, CA. Schwartzman, J.A.* and G. Spatafora. 2009. The S. mutans per gene product is a transcriptional regulator of peroxide stress genes. 109th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Philadelphia, PA. E. Ayala, J.S. Downey, W. Hendrickson*, G. Spatafora and S.D. Goodman. 2009. Accumulating evidence implicates VicK as a cognate histidine kinase for the GcrR orphan response regulator in Streptococcus mutans. 109th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Philadelphia, PA. O'Rourke, K.P.* and G. Spatafora. 2009. Genome-wide characterization of the SloR metalloregulome in Streptococcus mutans. 109th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Philadelphia, PA. Grants Awarded Sunhee Choi, NSF-RUI "Oxidation of Guanosine Derivatives Coordinated to Pt(IV) and Ru(III) Complexes" 6/1/09-5/31/12 ($210,000). Molly S. Costanza-Robinson. Measurement and Microtomographic Imaging of Air-Water Ingerfacial Areas and Morphology in Unsaturated Porous Media. National Science Foundation, Supplement. $9,700.00. Kim Cronise. The use of neurosteroids to disrupt the homeostatic processes that escalate voluntary alcohol consumption. Foundation for Alcoholism Research. $2,000.00. Kim Cronise. The role of tolerance and sensitization in alcohol consumption. National Institutes of Health, AREA. $199,428.00. James A. Larrabee. RUI: Magnetic Circular Dichroism of Dicobalt(II) Enzymes and Complexes. National Science Foundation. $300,000.00. Sallie P. Sheldon and Stephen Trombulak. Student Research Projects: Sea Lamprey, Brook Trout. U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service. $10,000.00. Grace A. Spatafora. Investigating SloR virulence gene metalloregulation in S. mutans. National Institutes of Health, R56 Bridge Funding. $341,336.00. Grants Submitted During the past fiscal year, Middlebury's Sponsored Research Office processed the following grant proposals from faculty in Biology, Chemistry, and Psychology, which were either not funded (D) or are currently pending (P). Faculty Member Status Sponsor Collaer, Marcia P NASA-EPSCoR Choi, Sunhee D National Institutes of Health, AREA Combelles, Catherine M. D National Institutes of Health, Supplement Goetz, Jennifer L. P Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation Gurland, Suzanne T. D National Science Foundation, CAREER Lloyd, Andrea H. P National Science Foundation (U. of Alaska-Fairbanks) Oster, Stephen S. P Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation Root, Thomas M. D National Science Foundation, CCLI Sandwick, Roger K. P National Institutes of Health, AREA Sandwick, Roger K. D National Institutes of Health, AREA Sontum, Stephen F. P National Institutes of Health, NIGMS R-15 AREA Spatafora, Grace A. P National Institutes of Health, RO1 renewal Spatafora, Grace A. D National Institutes of Health, Supplement Spritzer, Mark D. P Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation Spritzer, Mark D. P National Institutes Of Health, R-15 AREA Spritzer, Mark D. P Vermont Genetics Network, Student Project (UVM) Spritzer, Mark D. P Vermont Genetics Network, Student Project (UVM) Spritzer, Mark D. D National Institutes of Health, AREA Velez-Blasini, Carlos P National Institutes of Health, AREA ____________________________________________________ Norwich University Highlights 2009-2010 VGN Awards for the Current Year Project Awards Dr. Natalia Blank Dr. Alison Fisher Dr. Elizabeth Wuorinen Pilot Awards Dr. Kevin Fleming Dr. Karen Hinkle Activities In addition to all of the funded VGN research PIs listed above, 2 more faculty members applied for VGN funding this year, both applications have been rejected. Dr. Scott Page, BPI coordinator, facilitated a VGN-sponsored Career Panel on Thursday, April 1, and Norwich University. The event was well attended, with some 40 primarily biology and biochemistry majors present. VGN funded faculty, the BPI coordinator, Norwich University's grant writer, Karen Andreson, and Norwich University's Associate VPAA, Dr. Joseph Byrne, attended the VGN Annual Retreat in August, 2009, in Burlington, VT. All VGN funded faculty, Dr. Joe Byrne, the BPI Coordinator, and the university grant writer attended the annual professional development seminar in January, 2010, at St. Michael's College. Dr. Natalia Blank gave the following presentations: "Synthesis of Chiral 1,2-diamines via Asymmetric Addition of Phenyllithium to 1,2-diimines", poster, presented at VGN annual retreat, August 12, 2009, Burlington, VT. Dr. Blank's student, Anthony Sassi, gave the following presentations based on VGN-funded work: "Mechanistic Studies of PhLi Addition to N,N'-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-ethylenediimine", poster, presented at Norwich Scholarship Celebration, October 2009, Northfield, VT. "Synthesis of Chiral 1,2-diamines via Asymmetric Addition of Phenyllithium to 1,2-diimines", poster will be presented at National Conference on Undergraduate Research, April 14-18, 2010, Missoula, MT. The following students have worked with Dr. Blank: Anthony Sassi, NU'11, major: biology, aspirations: medical school;wrote a proposal to investigate the mechanistic studies of PhLi addition to diimines, received Norwich Summer Research Fellowship for summer 2009. He was able to isolate and fully characterize the reaction intermediate, aminoimine, new compound. Nicole Szczepanski, NU'11, major: biology, aspirations: graduate studies in biology;worked as laboratory technician during summer 2009. She screen several bis(oxazoline)s with pyridine bridges to assess their potential as chiral ligands in addition of PhLi to 1,2-diimines. Kaitlyn Doolittle, NU'10, major: chemistry, aspirations: graduate studies in chemistry. Kaitlyn worked as laboratory technician during the summer 2009. She was able to confirm the absolute configuration of the chiral diamine product produced in the addition of PhLi to 1,2-diimine in a presence of (-)-sparteine. Dr. Alison Fisher mentored and worked with Quinn Conklin (NU biology major) and Jennifer Lermond (St. Michael's College, biochemistry major) last summer characterizing the expression of the ethylene biosynthetic 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase (ACS) genes of Arabidopsis plants during the floral transition. Dr. Fisher is working on her VGN-funded research while on sabbatical in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Macknight in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Otago in Dunedin, NZ. Dr. Macknight's lab studies the genetics of plant flowering. Dr. Fisher received NSF funding this year and is now considered a graduate of VGN funding. Dr. Kevin Fleming continued his research on PTSD in military veterans and cadets. Dr. Fleming's VGN funded work resulted in the following publications this year: Fleming, K., Bandy, C., &Kimble, M. (2009). Decisions to shoot in a weapon identification task: The influence of cultural stereotypes and perceived threat on false positive errors. Social Neuroscience. (In press). eVersion available through Psychology Press and PubMed. Kimble, M., Fleming, K., Bandy, C., Kim, J., &Zambetti, A. (In Press). Eye-tracking and visual attention to traumatic stimuli in veterans of the Iraq war. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. Kimble, M., Fleming, K., &Bandy, C. (In Press). Novelty P300 in trauma survivors: A replication and extension. Psychiatry Research. Kimble, M., Fleming, K., &Bennion, K. (Manuscript under Review). Hypervigilance: A normal reaction in the returning soldier? Military Psychology. Dr. Fleming and/or his collaborators gave the following presentations: Fleming, K., Bandy, C. &Kimble, M. (2010). Perceiving Osama: Pupil Dilation to Images of Middle-Eastern Males. Paper accepted for presentation at the 23rd Annual Conference of the APS in Boston, Massachusetts. Bandy, C., Fleming, K., &Kimble, M. (2008). Physiological, behavioral, and cognitive measures of implicit attitudes toward Middle-Eastern men as perceived by military cadets at Norwich University. Poster presented at the 21st Annual Conference of the APS in Chicago, Illinois. The following students have worked or are working with Dr.Fleming on his VGN-funded research: Andrea Zambetti, co-author on the JAD paper. Yuliya Omarov and Will Dorion, acknowledgements in Social Neuroscience paper. Jordan Northrop Quinn Conklin Marina Aronson Samantha Stape Nicole Nelson Dr. Karen Hinkle and/or her students has given or will be giving the following presentations based on her VGN-funded research: "Analysis of Petite Colony Abundance Among TFM-treated Yeast";Vermont Genetics Network Annual Retreat, August 12, 2009 "Investigation of Growth and Gene Expression Alterations in TFM-treated S. cerevisiae";Faculty Scholarship Celebration, October 19, 2009 "Investigation of programmed cell-death inducing genes in TFM-treated Saccharomyces cerevisiae"; Faculty Scholarship Celebration, October 19, 2009 "Analysis of programmed-cell death morphology in lampricide-treated baker's yeast";Faculty Scholarship Celebration, October 19, 2009 "Investigation of programmed cell-death inducing genes in TFM-treated Saccharomyces cerevisiae";National Conference for Undergraduate Research, Missoula, MT, April 15-17, 2010 The following students worked with Dr. Hinkle either over the summer or during the school year on her VGN-funded research: Chad Anderson Kelsey Cone Clayton Brittingham Benjamin Bernier Brett Andrews Heidi Kunkel Dr. Elizabeth Wuorinen made the following presentations regarding her VGN-funded research: Wuorinen, E. "Varied exercise intensity and the effects on appetite and food consumption in middle- aged women." Department of Biology and Physical Education, Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont. Vermont Genetics Network 8th Annual Retreat, August 2009, Burlington, Vermont. Wuorinen, E. "Middle-aged overweight women consume more kilocalories than overweight young women when sedentary, but not following exercise of varied intensity." Department of Biology and Physical Education, Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont The Obesity Society Annual Meeting, October 2009, Washington, D.C. Wuorinen, E. and Newton, C. "If we are all so fat, we do we want to be thin?" Department of Biology and Physical Education, Department of Social Sciences, Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont. Norwich University Annual Faculty Celebration. Northfield, Vermont, October 2009, The following students have worked with Dr. Wuorinen as either paid research assistants or for the experience: Kylie Cowen [unreadable]June 1 on. Kylie has worked as an Exercise Leader and lab technician (paid). Stefan Wuorinen [unreadable]June 1 on. Stefan has worked as a phlebotomist, lab technician, and Exercise Leader (paid). Jeff Wuorinen [unreadable]September 1 on. Jeff has worked as a phlebotomist, lab technician and Exercise Leader (paid). Sophie LeClerc [unreadable]Independent research as a Lab technician Clarissa Wynn [unreadable]Independent research working on data reduction Paul Majka [unreadable]Independent research working on data reduction Natalie Marchese [unreadable]Internship working as an Exercise Leader and data collection __________________________________________________ Saint Michael's College Highlights 2009-2010 VGN Awards: Dr. Ari Kirshenbaum: VGN pending renewal Dr. Shane Lamos: VGN pending renewal Participation in VGN Outreach: Fall 2009: Proteomics module was incorporated into Biochemistry I lab;will become a regular component of Biochemistry II lab (Prof Alayne Schroll) Professional Development Activities: 12 August 2009: VGN Retreat. Attended by a number of Saint Michael's faculty;SMC Prof Ari Kirshenbaum presented a talk titled "Response Disinhibition Evoked by Cholinergic Activation and Contextual Conditioning" 23 January 2010: VGN Professional Development Seminar: Integrating Teaching, Research and Service Hosted by Saint Michael's College. Keynote Speaker: Dr. Thomas Wenzel (Bates College);Panelists: SMC Prof Ari Kirshenbaum, SMC Prof Shane Lamos, SMC Prof Malcolm Lippert, and Norwich Prof Karen Hinkle. SMC faculty and administrators in attendance: Dr. Doug Facey, Dr. Ari Kirshenbaum, Dr. Shane Lamos, Dr. Alayne Schroll (BPI Coordinator), Dr. Adam Weaver, Angela Irvine (Grants Coordinator), and Dr. Karen Talentino (VPAA). Total attendance: 39 10 March 2010: Science Career Panel at SMC: Sponsored by VGN and Saint Michael's Student Resource Center. Panelists: 2 Saint Michael's alums, the College's Environmental Coordinator, and Tim Hunter (UVM), discussed their training and experiences pursuing careers in science. 70 Saint Michael's students attended. Upcoming Events: 14 April 2010: VGN Career Day. Will be attended by all Saint Michael's faculty and students currently supported by VGN, several prior recipients of VGN funding, and Alayne Schroll (BPI Coordinator). Upcoming Events Related to the "Culture of Research" Initiative: Dean's Reception: This year we will continue the practice, begun spring 2008, of recognizing student work at our annual Dean's Reception. At the reception students will display posters and other forms of original scholarship for parents of and students on the Dean's List. Undergraduate Research Symposium: This year on April 30th Saint Michael's will host its second annual college-wide Student Research Symposium. This all-day event will feature poster and oral presentations by students from all disciplines, detailing their research and other forms of scholarship. The faculty Committee on Undergraduate Research organizes this event. President's Annual Reception to Recognize Faculty Scholarship: President Neuhauser will continue the long-standing practice of recognizing faculty scholarship at an event hosted by him and the College's Faculty Development Committee. At the reception, faculty members display articles, books, and other forms of original scholarship completed in the last year. Internal Grants to Support Undergraduate Summer Research 2010 The Vice President's Office awarded 13 grants to undergraduates in various disciplines to perform research projects with a faculty mentor during the summer of 2010. The Biology Department awarded 2 biology majors Hartnett grants for summer research. Faculty Engaged in Grant Review: More than a quarter of our MSTC faculty (at least 10 of 35) served on review panels for external granting organizations.