Biology Department

Senior Theses

All seniors at Reed College must complete a year-long thesis project as a part of their final academic year. For Biology students, the senior thesis offers an opportunity to fully engage a research question with the assistance of a faculty advisor. The diversity of topics and questions pursued by Biology seniors spans the breadth of the biological sciences. All students must identify a focused problem within their area of interest and then design experiments, collect and analyze data, and provide both a written document and oral defense of the finished thesis.

The range of research topics engaged in by Biology seniors can be seen below in the list of thesis titles from our most recent group of seniors. Thesis titles are listed in alphabetical order by the senior's last name. The abstract for a thesis can be viewed by clicking on the Abstract link (if provided). The faculty member advising each student is listed with the abstract, and includes a link to his/her home page.

Thesis Research Support

The Biology Department has available a number of sources of financial support for thesis research. While modest projects are sometimes supported from regular Department funds, many of our Seniors find support for their expenses from research grants to their faculty thesis advisor or from institutional grants from foundations like HHMI and the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation. Research funds from institutional grants are awarded on a competitive basis to seniors who prepare a written proposal in support of their request. These foundation grants have provided critical support, allowing Reed seniors to develop research projects that are more ambitious and sophisticated than might otherwise be possible. In addition to developing critical research skills, the seniors learn the important process of supporting their research through the development of written research proposals. Senior theses listed below (or on the links above for earlier years) that were supported by such grants are designated with a label in blue.

You may be wondering just how many Biology and BMB majors we graduate each year. We wondered that as well, so in 1996 we began weighing the graduating class to determine the official "biomass" of the Department's seniors. We can now quantitatively answer the question of how many seniors we graduate, with our answer given in units of metric tons. You can see the results at the BIOMASS homepage.

 

2011 Senior Thesis Titles

(CLASS OF 2011: If your thesis abstract is not currently included on this page and you would like it to be, please follow this link.)

  • The Effect of MARCH IX on MHC Class I Localization in Lung Epithelial Cells by Orissa Juliana Agnihotri

  • Replication of Barley yellow dwarf virus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by Kaileigh Djanaba Ahlquist

  • The effect of PinX1 fusion protein on telomerase activity of Xenopus laevis in vitro by Giancarlo N. Bruni - Abstract

  • Allelopathic effects of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) by Austin Chase Campbell

  • Effects of IHF on the Inducibility of LEE5 by Ler in Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli by Peter Keenan Cawley

  • From Stress to Depression: Immunity as the Meddling Middleman by Camille Rose Charlier

  • CYCLOIDEA Expression and the Development of Floral Symmetry in the Ranunculaceae by Holly Cho

  • The role of non-floral pigments and environmental plant stress in the divergence of two Delphinium species by Charlene Margaret Grahn - Abstract

  • Exogenous Ribeye-NAD(H) Binding Domain in Sensory Hair Cells Disrupts the Basal Aggregatio of Endogenous Ribeye by Matthrew Walker Hagen

  • Maternal Mouthbrooding and Metabolism Regulation in Astatotilapia burtoni by Michelle Chiyeko Ichikawa - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program)

  • Crouching p53, Hidden Mdm2: An Exploration and Visualization of p53-Mediated Apoptosis in Xenopus laevis by Lanlan Jin

  • Variation in Developmental Patterns in Two Geographically Separated Populations of Bombina orientalis in the Republic of Korea by Advait Mahesh Jukar

  • An Investigation of Tomatoes in Cadmium Phytoextraction and the Plant-Growth-Promoting Properties of Burkholderia by Emily Jo Kastrul

  • Hybe and go Seq: application of genomic tools to sociogenomic questions in the cichlid genus Julidochromis by Quinn K. Langdon - Abstract

  • Characterization of yqeF, a Gene Upregulated by the Virulence Regulator PerC of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli byEmily Rose Lawrence-Pine - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program)

  • An Investigation into the Secretion and Processing of GFP-tagged ELH Prohormone from Transgenic Bag Cells by Tyrone Lee - Abstract - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program)

  • Small Fish in a Small Pond: Observed Declines in Genetic Diversity Across Successive Generations of A Captive Astatotilapia Burtoni Lineage, Using Microsatellite Markers by Sean Kenneth Maden - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program)

  • Telomeric localization of shelterin protein xTRF1 in somatic Xenopus laevis cells by Sophie Mayer - Abstract - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program)

  • Microbial Diversity on the Anode Surface of a Reed Lake Sediment Fuel Cell by Charles Morse - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program)

  • The role of calcium and cyclic adenosine monophosphate signaling in neurohormone mRNA localization in Aplysia californica by Laurel Marguerite Oldach - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program)

  • An investigation of the ELH sescretory pathway through the immunoisolation of neuroendocrine dense-core vesicles by Briana Perry Patton - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program)

  • The Expression of microRNA in Cancer by Chuck Free Pham

  • Arrested Development: Inhibition of mitosis blocks inversion in the spiders Zygiella x-notata and Loxosceles laeta by Molly Kathleen Radany

  • The Ozone Effect: Measuring physiological stress indicators in Pseudotsuga menziesii by Amy Elizabeth Schomaker

  • The relation of xTERT transcript abundance to relative telomerase activity in adult Xenopus laevis tissues by Ella Marie Stern - Abstract - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program)

  • Characterization and Mechanisms of Zinc Acetate Mediated Downregulation of Virulence Genes in Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli by Katherine Fisher Thomas

  • Anti-estrogen effects of melatonin on gene regulation and MAPK signaling in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells by David Everett Toffey - Abstract - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program)

  • Probing Vesicle Membrane Recycling in Aplysia californica by Michael James Weingart

  • TISll-Mediated Upregulation of Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus Stop Codon Readthrough in Yeast: A Potential Link Between mRNA Decay and Translational Termination by Nicholas Milan Wilson

  • Evolving Dispersal and Survival: Simulating Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics in Rana aurora by Ross Charles Young - Abstract