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 research expenses from grants to their faculty thesis advisor or from institutional grants from foundations like HHMI and, most recently, the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation. Research funds from the institutional grants are awarded on a competitive basis to seniors who prepare a written proposal in support of their request. Both the Miller Foundation and the HHMI Undergraduate Research Program 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 either the Miller Foundation funds or Reed's HHMI Undergraduate Research Program awards 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.

 

2007 Senior Thesis Titles

(CLASS OF 2007: If your thesis abstract is not currently included on this page and you would like it to be, please follow this link.)

  • Divergence and Local Adaptation in Brachypodium sylvaticum by Loren Parker Albert
  • Metapopulation Dynamics and Marine Reserves: Modeling the Effects of Catastrophe and Population Management on a Species of Rockfish (Sebstes caurinus) in Hood Canal, Washington by Linsey Meredith Arnold
  • Variable Temperature Effects on Embryonic Growth in the Oriental Fire-Bellied (Bombina orientalis): Complex Interactions of Plastic Responses by Juliana Marie Arrighi - Abstract
  • Genetics of Body Composition: An Investigation into Relationships of Polymorphisms in the Melancortin-4 Receptor Gene to Body Composition in Three Human Populations by Ayesha Batra
  • Characterization of SsmR, a DtxR homolog by Rhoda Araba Tawiah Brew-Appiah (BMB)
  • The Effect of Mutated Host Ribosomal Protein Genes on Barley yellow dwarf virus Stop Codon Readthrough in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by Amy Erin Campbell [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • Isolation of Intact Secretory Vesicles with Magnetic Particles by Courtney Myfanwy Chapman
  • Phenotyping Activated T Cells in the NOD Mouse: Investigating the Relationship between TR3, CD25, and CD134 Expression by Lana Margolis Chisholm
  • The Effect of 17-ß Estradiol on FoxA1 Localization in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells by Leigh Ann Curran - Abstract
  • Ideal Observer Analysis of the Direction-Selective Ganglion Cell Spike Response by Daniel James Denman
  • GABAergic Signalling Regulates Growth Cone Motility in Newborn Neurons of the Dentate Gyrus by Cooper Andrew French - Abstract
  • The Role of Dopamine Reuptake and Degradation on the Amplitude and Kinetics of Dopamine-Mediated Inhibitory Postsynaptic Currents by Stephanie Christine Gantz - Abstract
  • PINX1: A Potential Telomerase Inhibitor in Xenopus laevis by Jayne Taylor Gaubatz [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • Tankyrase in Xenopus laevis by Angela Maria Gibbs [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • Manganese, Glutamate, and the Pursuit of Specificity: Origins of Metal Binding Selectivity in the Manganese Transport Regulator MntR by Kristen Dawn Grauer-Gray (BMB)
  • Failure of a Chimeric Egg Laying Hormone in an Endogenous System by Meridith Amanda Griebeler [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • Comparative Phylogenetic Analysis of 5.8S rRNA Hairpin Variation by Ginger Chin-Chi Jui [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • Immunomodulatory Effects of Sex Hormones in Humans by Darya Cathryn Khalili
  • The CfaR Positive Regulator of the Colonization Factor Antigen I (CFA/I) Pili is Necessary for Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Infection of the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans by Rebecca Jean Kreston [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • The Ontogeny of Phenotype in a Thermally Fluctuating Environment: Effects of Temperature Variation on Hatchling Morphology and Performance in the Frog Bombina orientalis by Ezra Samuel Lencer - Abstract
  • Ontogeny of Loxosceles ambo and pisco Phylogenetic Context by Judith Emily Patudith Levine - Abstract
  • Proliferation of Primordial Germ Cells and Sex Differentiation in Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) by Zachary Robert Lewis - Abstract
  • Steroid-Induced Transcriptional Regulation of IL-10 in Macrophages: Understanding the Effects of Sex Hormones in Mitigating Th1-Mediated Autoimmune Disease by Alison Emilia Mahan [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • Reconstructing Higher-Level Phylogeny of Modern Birds (Neornithes) Using Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequences by Antonia Mayer
  • Localization of Pro-ELH mRNA to Neurites in Aplysia california Bag Cells by Mariah Rose McKay (BMB) [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation]
  • Ecological Structure of a Newly Discovered Population of Newts, Taricha granulosa, in the Reed College Canyon by Beth Mendelsohn
  • Isolation of Insulin in Aplysia californica Provides Insight as to Its Role as a Hormone and Neuropeptide by Gretchen Elise Metzenberg [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • Clinal variation in ribosomal RNA in the Northwest Larkspur Delphinium nuttallii: Selection or Drift? by Brooke Taylor Moyers [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • The Nile Perch Fishery in Lake Victoria: Management Proposals for Fishery Sustainability and Biodiversity Conservation by Leah Nevada Page - Abstract
  • Xenopus laevis Pot1 OB Fold Expression in E. coli and siRNA Construction byMikella Marie Procopio
  • Die Embryonalentwicklung des Arsch Endes der Spinnen Zygiella x-notata by David Alan Rasmussen [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • An Attempt to Characterize the Function of a Telomere Protection Protein in Xenopus Laevis by Jacob Aaron Schwartzman  [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • Red Fish, Blue Fish. One Fish, Two Fish: Testing Speciation by Sexual Selection in Astatotilapia burtoni byJessica Lauren Thompson - Abstract
  • The Cloning and Attempted Purification of the Manganese Binding Domain of Man S, a Histidine Kinase by Chelsea Karin Thornburg (BMB)
  • Social Regulation of Neuropeptides in Astatotilapia burtoni by Cadence Aleece True [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • Groundwork on the Analysis of Glutathione S-transferase in Root Nodules by Zachary McClendon Turner
  • Constitutive Expression of the Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 in Xenopus laevis by Daniel Morris Walker [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • Microsatellite Analysis and Parentage in the Violet Green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) by Julianne Weisz
  • Repertoire Usage of the Southern Resident Community of Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) by Monika Wieland - Abstract
  • Creation of a proU—LEE5 Hybrid Gene to Elucidate the Regulatory Mechanics of Ler in Enteropathogenic E. coli byTrevor Matthew Young [Supported by a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation] - Abstract
  • A Comparative Study of Sex Roles in African Cichlid Fishes of the Genus Julidochromis: Implications for Sexual Selection and Sexual Conflict by Victoria Halley Zero - Abstract