Dr. Anahita Izadyar, associate professor of chemistry, is principal investigator for a research project funded by Arkansas Biosciences Institute. The goal is development of a fast, sensitive and reliable biosensor for detecting glucose. She and her colleagues have introduced a novel enzymatic biosensor using recombinant plant-produced manganese peroxidase (PPMP), a corn enzyme produced in the lab of Dr. Elizabeth Hood, co-PI.

Congratulations to Dr. Hideya Koizumi, associate professor of chemistry, who is author of an article that has been published in Chemical Physical Letters. Koizumi re-examined electronegativity introduced in the general chemistry course, using modern quantum mechanical methods. He concluded the power of an atom to attract electrons from hydrogen atoms to itself is quantified by direct computations. The article also is available online.

Dr. Than Boves, associate professor of wildlife ecology, is co-author of an patent article published in Conservation Biology. Researchers in three countries analyzed bird collisions into buildings, estimating almost a billion birds die annually as a result of flying into windows. Assisted by several A-State students, Boves and associates in Canada, Mexico and the United States gathered data to identify the species most at risk, along with habitat variables.

Dr. Jennifer Bouldin, professor of environmental biology and director of the Ecotoxicology Research Facility, and Rebecca Cooper, research assistant at the facility, are founding members of the Aquatic Toxicology Testing Interest Group (ATTIG) within their professional group, the Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry. They are co-chairs for an ATTIG session at the annual SETAC meeting at Fort Worth in November. Bouldin also is on the SETAC planning committee.

A proposal by Dr. Mohamed Milad, assistant professor of statistics, has been selected by the Faculty Research Awards Committee to receive support from the Faculty Research Fund. Milad's research project develops a parametric statistical approach for epigenetics, based on logistic regression to detect predefined deferentially methylated genes or regions. He will compare the performance of this approach with alternative methods.

Congratulations to Porsha McGregor, academic coordinator, College of Sciences and Mathematics, who received an Arkansas Council for Women in Higher Education Scholarship for 2020. McGregor is completing a master's degree in psychological science at A-State. As coordinator, she assists sciences and mathematics majors, and also coordinates the college's ambassadors and tutoring center. A staff member since 2010, she serves on several shared governance committees.

Dr. M. Abrar Alam, associate professor of chemistry, and co-author Dr. David F. Gilmore, professor of microbiology, have had two manuscripts accepted describing the synthesis and antimicrobial properties of novel compounds. The articles, in Journal of Antibiotics and in Molecules, describe the synthesis and effectiveness of two families of pyrazole derivatives including compounds that are highly effective against drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Results are based on a patent awarded in March.

Dr. Anahita Izadyar, associate professor of chemistry, has been invited to review a textbook manuscript, Introduction to Green Chemistry, published by CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. Izadyar developed a graduate-level green chemistry course in 2017 for Ph.D. and M.S. programs in environmental science. The interdisciplinary nature of the course helps students recognize how to apply principles and methods from one field to another.

Dr. Paul Sikkel, associate professor of aquatic biology, is co-author of a paper in Scientific Reports documenting changes in population genetic structure of a marine parasite after back-to-back hurricanes. With National Science Foundation support, the study also examined the impact of major bleaching events in these same organisms on the Great Barrier Reef. The researchers are believed to be the first to document these effects on marine parasites.

Dr. Brook Fluker, associate professor of aquatic ecology, co-authored an article in Conservation Genetics with Brittany McCall, an environmental sciences Ph.D. researcher in his lab. This work, part of McCall’s research as a master's student in biology, describes genetic diversity of the Caddo Madtom, a species of catfish found only in the Ouachita River drainage in Arkansas. It is being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

Congratulations to Dr. Jeongho Ahn, associate professor of mathematics, whose research has been published in the international Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics. In the article, Ahn presents a mathematical and numerical analysis of a differential equation system that describes the motion of elastic buckling bodies with an irreversible growth of a symmetric edged crack. His article is now available online through Springer Nature.

Welcome to Dr. Stephen J. Mullin, who becomes chair of Biological Sciences, effective July 1. Mullin completed his undergraduate degree at the University of California, his master’s at the University of South Florida, and his Ph.D. at the University of Memphis. Since 2015, he has served as a professor and department chair at Stephen F. Austin State University. More details on Mullin and his research are online.

Dr. Tanja McKay, professor of entomology and director of programs in environmental science and molecular biosciences, is co-author with her graduate student, Sofija Todorovic, of an article just published in Veterinary Parasitology. Based on research Todorovic conducted, their work examines how mosquitoes tend to aggregate at doorways, and their potential to transmit heartworm disease to animals. Todorovic is now in her second year of vet school.

An article co-authored by Dr. Fabricio Medina-Bolivar, professor of plant metabolic engineering, was published in Molecules. The first authorship is shared by Medina-Bolivar’s research assistant Lingling Fang and former molecular biosciences student Dr. Tianhong Yang. Their online article describes an improved method for the production of prenylated stilbenoids, natureal products with applications in human health, in hairy root cultures of peanut and its wild relative species.

Dr. Travis Marsico, professor of botany and interim department chair, Dr. Chelsea Cunard, postdoc researcher, and graduate student Jennifer Reed are co-authors of an article published in PLOS One. The researchers partnered with various federal, state and private interests to evaluate the floristic composition at the Garden City Terminal of the Port of Savannah in Georgia. They conducted the study to demonstrate the collaborative relationship building between researchers and industry, and to develop a framework for biodiversity conservation.

Ashley N. Schulz, a Ph.D. candidate in the environmental sciences program, is lead author, and her adviser, Dr. Travis Marsico (left), professor of botany and interim department chair, is co-author of a paper that is published in the journal NeoBiota. Their research involved development of a standardized protocol and scale for aiding managers and policymakers with more consistently determining the impact of invasive non-native insects.

Dr. Argelia Lorence, James and Wanda Lee Vaughn Endowed Professor, and professor of metabolic engineering, was elected to serve on the executive board of the North American Plant Phenotyping Network (NAPPN) for 2021-22. NAPPN is an association of scientists and researchers in the rapidly evolving area of plant phenomics. Among its major goals, NAPPN seeks to accelerate the impact of advanced plant phenotyping research and facilitate research collaboration.

Dr. Ross Carroll, associate professor of physics, has been selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to serve as a Solar System Ambassador for 2020. JPL Ambassadors provide public engagement in space science and solar system exploration primarily through outreach events. Carroll, along with the Red Wolf Space Program student club, will hold a series of astronomy and astrophysics demonstrations at A-State and Northeast Arkansas.