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.

 

2009 Senior Thesis Titles

(CLASS OF 2009: If your thesis abstract is not currently included on this page and you would like it to be, please follow this link.)

  • Growth and Viability of the Red-legged Frogs (Rana aurora) Introduced in the Reed College Canyon by Xeno Acharya
  • Inhibiting Secretion during Stimulation Increases Localization of Pro-Egg Laying Hormone mRNA in the Neurites of Bag Cells by Laura Anne Bradley - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Examination of GFP-tagged ELH Prohormone with Peptide Specific Antibodies by Austen Allen Brown
  • Ecological Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Distribution and Abundance of Fishes in the Reed Canyon Stream by Laila Rose Bryant - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Testing the Role of the Cellular Organizer of a Spider Embryo by Marion Jessica Burrill - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • One Bad Mother: Functional Genomics of Maternal Aggression in Asratotilapia burtoni by Julia Beth Carleton - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Mechanisms of Estrogen-Mediated Gene Repression by Emmeline Lea Chuu
  • Production and Purification of X. laevis PinX1, a Putative Telomerase Inhibitor by David Angus Constant
  • Pollen Viability and Effects of Flavonols in Two Native Larkspurs of the Pacific Northwest, Delphinium leucophaeum and Delphinium nuttallii by Tiffany Anne Cook
  • Of Granules and Gastropods: Toward the Isolation and Characterization of Neuronal Ribonucleoprotein Particles Containing a Prohormone mRNA by Todd Michael Dembo - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Flower Color in Delphinium: Sequencing and Expression of Flavonol Synthase by Jennifer Ruth Eng
  • Toward the Identification of the Retinal Bipolar Cell Antigen in Melanoma-Associated Retinopathy by Celia Elizabeth Gellman - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program)
  • Ingestion by Caenorhabditis elegans Provides Protection Against Chemical Treatment to Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli by Daniel Henry Glaser - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Ragamuffin to Riches, Gulch to Glen: The Restoration of an Urban Ecosystem and Long Term Amphibian Monitoring in the Reed College Canyon by Vimal Golding
  • Isolation of Large Dense-Core Vesicles toward Identification of Novel Vesicle-Associated Proteins by Benjamin Daniel Greenberg - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Conservation Genetics: Quantifying Genetic Diversity in South Korean Populations of the Oriental Fire-Bellied toad (Bombina orientalis) by Josie Ann Griffin
  • Is the Interaction between Human Telomere Proteins TIN2 and TRF1 Conserved in Xenopus laevis? by Eugene Jin - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Classification of Indoleamine-2, 3-dioxygenase in Xenopus laevis as Compared to Humans by Candice Hoi-yan Kam - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Effects of Abiotic Niche on the regional population distribution of Delphinium leucophaeum and Delphinium nuttallii by Melati Kaye
  • Production of Polyhydroxybutyrate in Euphorbia pulcherrima by Hyeon Jeong Kim - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • An Investigation into the Interaction of X. laevis Telomeric Proteins TRF1 and PinX1 by Molly McCarthy King - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • The Putative Testis-Differentiating Gene, Dmrt1, is Expressed in Both Males and Females during Sex-Determination in Threesprine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) by Jordan Neil Kohn - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Glucosinolates and Selenium Might Interact in the Face of Adversity to Form an Anti-Herbivore Superpower Coalition, But I Can’t Figure it Out, So Let’s Go Play Basketball by Lillian Miller Kuehl - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Introduction of Several Populations of a Species of the Endangered Wildflower Delphinium leucophaeum into Two Different Parks in the Northern Williamette Valley, Oregon by Jennifer Marie Leonard - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Aggression in Lab Stock and Wild Stock Male Astatotilapia burtoni by Helen Lillian Magee - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Sixteen Fragments: A Structural Study by David Carl Mavor
  • Astatotilapia burtoni Maternal Mouth-Brooding Cichlids As a New Model for Appetite Regulation by My Linh Thi Nguyen - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Transcriptional Regulation of the Tumor Supressor Protein p53 and the Procto-Oncogene Mdm2 in Xenopus laevis by Jonathan David Packer - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Sex and Violence in Juveniles: Size, Aggression, and a Possible Social Mechanism for Sex Determination in Astatotilapia burtoni by Clare Elise Parker
  • A Phosphoinositide 3-kinase Like Kinase Blocks Transcription of Cyclin G2 in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells by Meera Yogendrakumar Patel
  • The Role of Soybean Biotin Production on Poly-ß-hydroxybutyrate Degradation and Rhizobial Root Nodule Colonization by Elana Esther Peach-Fine - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • In Situ Hybridization of Glutathione-S-Transferase 9 in Glycine max Root Nodule by Kamesh Chandra Regmi
  • Diversity and Distribution of Fish in the Reed College Canyon: Using Fish Assemblages to Assess Water Quality and Ecosystem Health by Annika Nordin Saltman
  • Testing Protein Synthesis in Axons with Probe of Local Vesicle Cycle by Charles Kelly Scanlan
  • Gene Expression, Hormones, and Behavior in a Sex-Role Conventional and Sex-Role Reversed Cichlid Species Pair (Julidochromis) by Molly Esther Schumer - (This study was funded in part by a grant from the Reed College Biology Undergraduate Research Program) - Abstract
  • Zinc Non Specific Effects on Inhibiting Ler Binding Activity by Patricia Snarski
  • Challenges in Motherhood: Support for the Challenge Hypothesis in Maternal Astatotilapia Burtoni by AmearaCatherine Whitney Tanner
  • Regulation of Virulence in Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli: In Search of a Consensus DNA Binding Sequence for Ler by Jeannette Lynn Tenthorey
  • A Nematode Model for an Inconvenient and Deadly Disease: Using Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate the Pathogenesis of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli by Emily Jo Warschefsky
  • Predicting the Potential Distribution of the Invasive Species Brachypodium sylvaticum According to the Niche Conservatism Theory by Angeline Renee Wolski - Abstract