Month: June 2021

Categories
Accolades Announcements IGC Interfaces of Global Change IGEP

Congratulations to Interfaces of Global Change IGEP 2021-22 Global Change Interdisciplinary Graduate Assistantship Awardees!

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

June 28, 2021

 

The Interfaces of Global Change IGEP awards four Ph.D. fellowships every academic year, each covering tuition and stipend. These graduate research assistantships are awarded based on the student’s professional credentials, the student’s level of engagement in the IGC IGEP, pertinence of the student’s research to global change, the interdisciplinary nature of the work, and the student’s plan for using the one-year fellowship.

Please join us in congratulating Chloe Moore, Luciana Alves Pereira, Meredith Semel, and Sara Teemer Richards – recipients of this year’s IGC Fellowships![/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]

Redundant or complementary? Identifying patterns of multifaceted anuran biodiversity in the United States

 

Chloe Moore

Department of Biological Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Meryl Mims

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”56364″ img_size=”500×500″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]“I am interested in disentangling the processes underlying patterns of biodiversity and identifying why species occur where they do to improve biodiversity conservation efforts. Many species’ habitats are under threat from global change, such as habitat loss, climate change, and invasive species. Through my research, I aim to inform local communities on the complexities of biological variation around them. To build species distribution models predicting where anuran (frog and toad) species occur, I use community science occurrence databases, such as iNaturalist. In Spring 2019, I was the herpetology leader for the Blacksburg City Nature Challenge, the local contribution to a global iNaturalist event. Using the Hidden Rivers event as inspiration, my plan is to further involve the Blacksburg community by facilitating an event combining community focused occurrence collection and discussions of how we can measure and conserve our local biodiversity.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Receiving this fellowship will allow Chloe to expand her interdisciplinary research by incorporating genetic data into her investigation of biodiversity. It will also aid her in planning the iNaturalist outreach event with the Blacksburg City Nature Challenge and VT Science Festival.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]

Movement, population structure, and growth of shovelnose catfishes Pseudoplatystoma in the Amazon Basin

 

Luciana Alves Pereira 

Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation

Faculty Mentors: Dr. Leandro Castello and Dr. Eric Hallerman

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]“My research is interdisciplinary and relates to global change as it integrates ecology, genetics, and conservation to help solve the problem of overexploitation and habitat degradation in the Amazon Basin. I am studying the migration of two Amazonian species of catfish, Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum, and P. tigrinum. These catfish are threatened by widespread illegal fishing and construction of hydropower dams that block their migratory movements. Despite these threats, their migrations have not been studied. I am addressing two questions: 1) What is the migration ecology of P. tigrinum and P. fasciatum and, 2) do P. tigrinum and P. fasciatum possess homing behavior? My research will thus produce knowledge needed to develop science-based policies to sustainably manage and conserve these catfish.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”56362″ img_size=”500×500″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The IGC fellowship will enable Luciana to more rapidly advance her research, coordinate field sampling of catfish in the Amazon, and build expertise and knowledge towards completing her thesis. She also plans to apply communication skills gained through the IGC to develop a workshop with the purpose of informing results from her research to key stakeholders, including the fishing community, government officials, and hydropower companies.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]

Conservation of wild lemurs: using poop, technology, community outreach, and entrepreneurial activities to conserve a critically endangered species

 

Meredith Semel

Department of Biological Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ignacio Moore

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”56363″ img_size=”1200×900″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]“My strong desire to work at the interface of science education and international conservation (specifically in Madagascar) drove me to attend graduate school at Virginia Tech and to engage with the IGC program. The IGC program has provided me with the science communication and policy skills needed to be successful. My graduate research investigates the influence of environmental and anthropogenic factors on lemur social behavior, movement, stress physiology, and conservation planning with a focus on the critically endangered golden-crowned sifaka (Propithecus tattersalli). To that end, I have completed four field seasons in the Loky-Manambato Protected Area of northern Madagascar, during which I collected over 2,000 fecal samples, 110 plant samples, and 4,000 hours of behavioral data from sifaka groups across their entire global range.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This fellowship will allow Meredith to complete three new collaborative projects directly related to her dissertation work: 1) understanding the structure of the golden-crowned sifaka gut microbiome, 2) designing specialty housings for novel lemur GPS collars, and 3) continued local outreach in Madagascar and initiation of new entrepreneurial activities.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]

Effects of temperature on behavior and disease transmission in house finches

 

Sara Teemer Richards

Department of Biological Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dana Hawley

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]“Widespread transmission of infectious disease has the ability to bring the world to a devastating halt, and simple interactions between healthy and infected individuals can alter life for millions. Yet, we still know little about which behaviors influence infectious disease spread in non-human animals, and how those change with environmental factors. My work uses a contact tracing method–fluorescent powder that can be detected in trace amounts with a UV light–to reveal the links between environmental factors, behavior, and contact rates in a wildlife host system subject to outbreaks of a deadly infectious disease. House finches are a common songbird species in the United States that experience seasonal outbreaks of conjunctivitis caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma gallisepticum. However, little is known about the factors affecting transmission of this disease. Understanding the nuances of conjunctivitis transmission in finches can give insight to other diseases, especially when considered in the context of a rapidly changing world.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”45564″ img_size=”600×600″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The IGC Fellowship will provide Sara much needed financial and logistical support and will allow her to focus on interdisciplinary research and science communication efforts. Outside of the experiments and lab work, she looks forward to presenting her work at local and national conferences, as well as mentoring and training new undergraduate and graduate students joining the lab.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”shadow”][vc_column_text]The Interfaces of Global Change (IGC) program is an innovative interdisciplinary graduate education program designed to address the multidimensional aspects of global change.  Funded by the Virginia Tech Graduate School with additional support from the Fralin Life Sciences Institute (FLSI), this program is one of several Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Programs (IGEPs). These programs address a variety of complex societal issues requiring interdisciplinary teams of scholars. Participants (Ph.D. Fellows) typically enter the program at the beginning of their graduate studies and continue to participate throughout their time at Virginia Tech.

The Interfaces of Global Change program is closely aligned with the Global Change Center, one of four campus-wide research centers housed within FLSI, which focuses on the social, economic, and environmental causes and consequences of rapid global change.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Blog Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Research Student Spotlight

Interfaces of Global Change Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Heather Govenor

The Wisconsin River from Ferry Bluff

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

June 25, 2021

[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”56297″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

Cave exploring, rambling over moss-covered rocks, and weekend hikes with her sister and father are some of the cherished childhood memories of Interfaces of Global Change (IGC) alumna Dr. Heather Govenor. For as far back as she can remember, Heather has been “interested in how living things interact with their environment” she says. She credits these family trips as instilling a deep appreciation of nature and an interest in how changes in the environment are ultimately a reflection of human activity. This early fascination with the paradoxical fragility and resilience of nature fueled her research and career efforts to reduce society’s impact on the environment.

Before joining the Virginia Tech community, Heather earned her BS in Biology from Penn State University where her research focused on insect populations. While there, she developed a passion for science communication that paralleled her work as a researcher, ultimately leading her to the IGC Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program (IGEP) and the Global Change Center (GCC).

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]From coordinating elementary school enrichment programs in Erie, PA to developing and leading English as a Second Language (ESL) curricula for children and adults, Heather recognized the importance of communication skills and advocacy. “I’ve always been interested in helping someone achieve their goals,” Heather reflects, “and strived to cultivate a more collaborative environment for research and outreach.”

Heather then moved west and entered Michigan State University’s Master’s in Entomology program, with a focus in Specialization Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. While there, she evaluated the impacts of abiotic (e.g., light, nutrient) and biotic (e.g., prior season’s defoliation) stressors on the defensive chemistry and growth of paper birch and sugar maple tree populations and the health of insects feeding on those trees. After successfully defending her MS, she joined an international engineering and consulting firm as an environmental specialist in the Blacksburg area. There, she applied federal and state risk assessment guidance on projects through legislation like the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Heather’s work focused on assessing soil, water, and sediment in sites contaminated with organic compounds and metals. Heather says, “I enjoyed the work because it allowed me to solve real-world problems, assessing contaminants that cause issues for both environmental and human health.” During this time, she continued to participate in STEM education both as a General Education Diploma (GED) Instructor at Virginia’s New River Community College and an ecology and conservation tutor for Biology majors at Radford University. Heather joined the environmental consulting firm EnSafe, an environmental services firm that provides engineering, environmental, health & safety, and technology services to clients worldwide, in 2013 as a Risk Assessor. However, soon after, she began to “assess” what she envisioned her long-term contribution to the scientific community to be and looked towards Virginia Tech for potential opportunities.

[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_separator style=”shadow”][vc_column_text]

Read more about Heather’s doctoral research featured in a Fralin Life Sciences Institute Spotlight in spring 2017!
Filling in the gaps: a Ph.D. student researches how sediment affects aquatic communities in the NRV and beyond

[/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

Seeking to build upon her already impressive resume, Heather first joined the Biological Systems Engineering Department in January 2014 under the co-advisement of GCC affiliates Drs. Leigh-Anne Krometis and Cully Hession. Under their guidance she was able to investigate the influence of human activities on streams through the StREAM Lab at Virginia Tech. The StREAM Lab runs along 1.3 miles of Stroubles Creek adjacent to the campus and is a full-scale stream lab equipped with high-resolution monitoring capabilities for studying hydrologic, ecological, and societal questions related to the restoration of streams and their watersheds. Heather’s dissertation research focused on the impacts of fine sediment on aquatic invertebrate community health and related policy implications for sediment management under the US Clean Water Act. Sediment input into aquatic systems has increased with human population growth, urbanization, and habitat disturbance. According to a 2017 report she published based on data collected through the Clean Water Act, sediment is the second largest stressor to surface waters nation-wide. To address these knowledge gaps, Heather examined the effectiveness of current sediment management approaches in order to design more appropriate remediation plans.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”56293″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][vc_single_image image=”56291″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”56290″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][vc_single_image image=”56292″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]

Heather was awarded multiple fellowships during her PhD including the Cunningham Doctoral Scholar Award, the IGC Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program (IGEP) Fellowship, and the Jean B. Duerr Scholarship. And yet, with all of these commitments, she continued her outreach work. When asked about her favorite memories from her time at Virginia Tech (aside from the research, of course) she said, “The IGC-sponsored trip for students to Washington D.C.; the outreach programs; and the inclusive, interdisciplinary nature of the program in general.” As both a member of the IGC Graduate Student Organization (GSO) and President of the Alpha Epsilon Agricultural Engineering Honors Society, she was able to collaborate with students and faculty from across the university.  After successfully defending her dissertation, “Sediment Management for Aquatic Life Protection under the Clean Water Act” in 2017, she continued her work at EnSafe in nearby Radford, Virginia.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Now, as a Certified Senior Ecologist with over 20 years of consulting experience, Heather continues to work in interdisciplinary teams composed of geologists, chemists, and engineers to determine appropriate remedial actions to protect ecological resources. Through her work, she aims to incorporate advanced approaches to ensure effective, practical, and defensible stewardship of environmental resources throughout Virginia and Appalachia. The aspect of her work that she enjoys the most is, “working with a variety of people from different backgrounds. Every project brings something new with it so each is a learning experience. It’s a collaborative environment similar to that at Virginia Tech.” Heather continues her work as an educator and science communicator outside of work as well, tutoring ESL students and working as a freelance copyeditor. Along with fellow alumnae Drs. Laura Schoenle, Cathy Jachowski, and Gifty Anane-Taabeah, she also recently participated in an IGC career development discussion through the IGC Third Seminar course. She hopes to participate in similar alumni activities in the future and remain active in the Virginia Tech community. True to her initial interest in the natural world, Heather plans to continue instilling a wide appreciation of nature through her work so that future generations will be able to walk the same paths and climb the same rocks that she did as a child.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”56302″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”56289″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Read previous Alumni Spotlights from these IGC Graduates!

 

Dr. Laura Schoenle, Assistant Director and Coordinator of Undergraduate Research and Honors within the Office of Undergraduate Biology (OUB) at Cornell University, July 2020

Dr. Cathy Bodinof Jachowski, assistant professor at Clemson University in the Forestry and Environmental Conservation Department, April 2019[/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Announcements Research Student Spotlight Undergraduate Experiential Learning

GCC Undergraduate Research Grant Awardees Present at Dennis Dean Research Conference

Panorama of crystal clear mountain lake in Alps

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

June 25, 2021

 

In a year complicated by the global pandemic, three recipients of Global Change Center Undergraduate Research Grants succeeded in conducting impactful research and presented their work at a campus conference attended by hundreds of Virginia Tech students and faculty. Omar West, Tess Alexander, and Ash VanWinkle displayed their ability to communicate complex research by presenting at the Dennis Dean Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship Conference held in April 2021. Each student, under the mentorship of a GCC-affiliated faculty member, showcased their creative and scholarly accomplishments on three diverse research projects.

Please join us in commending Omar, Tess, and Ash on their remarkable research accomplishments!

[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]

Omar West

double majoring in Biology and Nanomedicine

The effect of pH and symbiont density on a cleaning symbiosis

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”56260″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]“Omar is the glue that holds everyone in the lab together,” commented GCC affiliate Dr. Bryan Brown, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences. “As a freshman he worked at McDonald’s to support himself, but the funding from the GCC allowed him to instead focus on his research.” As a Roanoke native and an accomplished Eagle Scout, Omar West first became fascinated by science at a young age. “Watching science fiction shows and movies opened my eyes to all of the possible technologies that could be created from science,” he commented, noting that the importance of research is that it can ultimately benefit humanity.[/vc_column_text][vc_tta_accordion active_section=”0″ collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Read more about Omar’s research project…” tab_id=”1624564233128-8e054a0b-031f”][vc_column_text]Now entering his senior year at Virginia Tech, Omar first joined the Brown lab as a freshman in 2018 as a Biology and Nanomedicine double major. Research conducted in the Brown lab broadly focuses on community ecology in aquatic systems by conducting experimental tests of ecological theory, most notably through field experimentation. Initially contributing to many of the lab’s ongoing projects, Omar developed his independent research project almost two years ago. The research focused on the cleaning symbiosis between crayfish and worms known as ecosymbiotic annelids. Knowing that worms inhabiting the crayfish play a hygienic role for the crayfish that is mutualistic at low and intermediary levels, Omar wanted to investigate whether changes in pH affect the overall health of a crayfish by shifting the worms to high, or parasitic, levels. The results of the study revealed that relatively basic pH of 8 in combination with an intermediary worm count of 6 led to the greatest survivability of the crayfish and the overall fitness. Omar is currently participating in a summer REU program with the University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience in the lab of Dr. Sandra Loesgen. There, he will conduct assays on microorganisms from jellyfish and bacterial strains from Antarctica. As for Omar’s long-term goals, he plans to enter a graduate program upon completion of his degree next year. “Better keep a close eye on me. Because I’m going to change the world someday.” [/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]

Tess Alexander

majoring in Biology, with a minor in National Security & Foreign Affairs

Does big data bring opportunity, bias, or both for conservation? Exploring open access species occurrence data

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”56264″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]The phrase “community scientist” has become ubiquitous in modern parlance. Whether it’s sampling water from your local reservoir, scanning hours of footage for an elusive endangered species, or simply uploading photos of spring blooms to a plant identification app, the public have become the largest producers of natural history data in history. But do these data have downsides? And how might those downsides affect the ability to use these data to understand the risks of climate change to many different species? These are the questions that Tess Alexander posed as part of a continuing research project in the lab of GCC affiliate Dr. Meryl Mims, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences since 2017.[/vc_column_text][vc_tta_accordion active_section=”0″ collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Read more about Tess’s research project…” tab_id=”1624564854200-355d8127-b06c”][vc_column_text]The Mims Lab investigates how biological and environmental factors influence the vulnerability of species to climate change. They use data from diverse sources, from population genetics to publicly collected natural history data. Joining the lab in 2019 as a Biological Sciences major with a minor in National Security & Foreign Affairs, Tess excelled in the lab environment, both as an integral team member and later as an independent researcher. “Tess approached her research with curiosity and initiative much like a graduate student,” says Meryl. Working closely with IGC fellow Chloe Moore, Tess sought to determine whether occurrence data (or a record of a species’ exact location in space and time) used in combination with environmental data to develop species distribution models (SDMs) can be used to predict where a species likely occurs without inherent bias. She used R programming to compare occurrence points of two frog and one toad species in the United States from two publicly sourced databases to examine the quality and potential biases of these data. When asked why this research was significant, she said, “It is crucial because these species play a major role in food webs, consequently impacting humans.” Her results suggested that occurrences derived from these databases are biased towards human collection efforts in areas such as parks and population centers, and SDMs using these data need to account for these biases to better predict distribution of biodiversity. “Being able to evaluate the reliability of large-scale, opportunistically collected species data will allow us to examine questions related to data over- and under-representation across space, the extent and spread of invasive species, and changes in species distributions over time,” says Meryl. The next steps of the project will include exploring other species and occurrence databases and correcting for the biases Tess discovered. And while Tess has graduated this year, she plans to continue using her analytical skills in the public sector, not too far from her hometown of McLean, Virginia. [/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]

Ash VanWinkle

majoring in Biochemistry, with a minor in Chemistry

Development of an attractive toxic sugar bait for the control of Aedes j. japonicus

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”56268″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]From trapping the tooth fairy as a young child to trapping mosquitoes for research in order to better understand the impacts of climate change on disease vectors, Ash VanWinkle has always examined the world through the lens of a scientist. Her initial scientific curiosity was sparked many years ago, after receiving a circuit set as a Christmas gift. “I used it to build an alarm to catch my dad being the Tooth Fairy when I lost a tooth, and from then on I was curious about all the things (mischievous and otherwise) science could do,” she recalled. This natural interest in science eventually led her to join the Virginia Tech community as a Biochemistry major with a minor in Chemistry. Ash joined the lab of Dr. Chloé Lahondère in 2020 and began working with graduate student Lauren Fryzlewicz (a previous recipient of a GCC Undergraduate Research Grant), researching how climate change can impact disease vectors such as mosquitoes.[/vc_column_text][vc_tta_accordion active_section=”0″ collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Read more about Ash’s research project…” tab_id=”1624565235196-a573edb2-829a”][vc_column_text]“I am really grateful to the GCC for supporting undergraduate research and for supporting Ash’s project in particular,” Chloé remarks. “Ash’s project focuses on an invasive mosquito species for which no control method currently exists.” The invasive species Aedes j. japonicus is a potential vector of West Nile virus, a disease with no approved treatment or vaccine that impacts millions worldwide, and is competent for several other viruses including dengue. “With warming climates,” Ash said, “the active range for mosquitoes is growing, and we hypothesize that drier climates will encourage more mosquito activity.”  Using the GCC grant funds, she has been able to address this problem by creating and testing novel attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSBs) for mosquito control. To test this, boric acid, which is lethal to mosquitoes, was mixed with various solutions of sucrose and various fruit sugars to use in feeding assays. Ash found that survivability was much lower in mosquitoes fed solutions containing boric acid compared to those who weren’t, proving the efficiency of ATSBs in this invasive species. The next steps for this project will be to couple the ATSBs with a suitable trap and test its efficiency in the field during warmer months. Graduating this year with a publication in the works and the Dennis Dean Undergraduate Research Symposium Policy Award in tow, Ash intends to enter VT’s Master’s in Biochemistry program. Ash reflects back on one of her most important influences, “I wouldn’t have had any opportunity to do any of this without my dad. It was his funds received through the Post-9/11 GI-Bill that allowed me to go to college, and he has supported me in more ways than I can count over the past three years.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Global Change Center at Virginia Tech, with support from the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, is proud to sponsor undergraduate students and their research projects that align with our mission for advancing collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches to address critical global changes impacting the environment and society. Supported projects address basic and/or applied aspects of global change science, engineering, social science and the humanities and are sponsored by a GCC Faculty mentor.

Read more about the GCC Undergraduate Research Grant program here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Accolades Announcements Faculty Spotlight

Congratulations to two GCC affiliates promoted in 2021!

Congratulations gold golden word texture text suitable for card, brochure or typography design

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

June 11, 2021

Congratulations to two GCC affiliated faculty members who have earned tenure and promotion in June 2021 as a result of their outstanding achievements in teaching, research, and service. Tenure and promotion marks an important milestone in their academic careers, so please join us in congratulating our colleagues![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”37459″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][vc_column_text]

Todd Schenk

now associate professor with tenure

School of Public and International Affairs

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”56081″ img_size=”200×200″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][vc_column_text]

Brian Strahm 

now professor

Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Announcements Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Student Spotlight

Congratulations to 2021-22 Rural Environmental Health Fellows, Amanda Darling and Charles Sterling

The father gives the child a glass of water. Selective focus. nature.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

June 11, 2021

Please join us in congratulating Charles Sterling and Amanda Darling, and in welcoming Amanda to the Interfaces of Global Change (IGC) Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program this fall 2021!

 [/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

Through her research, Amanda Darling aims to contribute toward improvements for safe drinking water resources in rural communities, and provide data for policy-makers to better inform decision making on water and sanitation issues.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”56078″ img_size=”250×250″ style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Amanda began her PhD research in spring 2021 working with Dr. Alasdair Cohen in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her research interests include drinking water quality and treatment methods with a focus on rural areas of Central Appalachia. For her PhD dissertation, she will first conduct a systemic review and meta-analysis on drinking water quality and associated health outcomes in the Appalachian Region to identify key exposures of concern. Next Amanda plans to initiate a field-based study, in collaboration with local stakeholders, to evaluate and better characterize drinking water contaminants and associated health outcomes in a low-income rural region of Southwest Virginia.

Click here to read more about Amanda on her IGC profile page[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

Working at the intersection of environmental engineering and environmental justice, Charles Sterling aims to identify and quantify potential links between social identities, local geology, and drinking water quality in rural Appalachia.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”54070″ img_size=”250×250″ style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

Charles Sterling began his PhD research in fall 2021 working with Dr. Leigh-Anne Krometis in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, and joined the Interfaces of Global Change program in spring 2021. His research aims to examine relationships between private well water quality and demographic factors such as race and poverty; specifically, whether minority and/or underserved individuals are more likely to rely on contaminated drinking water. The first part of his doctoral work includes a collaboration with the Virginia Household Water Quality Program, a Cooperative Extension program that provides low-cost household water quality analysis and system maintenance education, to provide point-of-use water quality testing to residents in several southwestern Virginia counties.

Click here to read more about Charles on his IGC profile page

 [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_accordion active_section=”0″ collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Read more about the Rural Environmental Health Fellowship here” tab_id=”1623260070284-31e8bd3f-baf1″][vc_column_text]The Rural and Environmental Health (REH) Fellowships are awarded to Ph.D. students working at the nexus of environmental and health sciences in rural settings, providing them with a 12-month assistantship and tuition. REH Fellows will also participate in the Interfaces of Global Change Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program.

Roughly one-fifth of the US population is considered “rural”; however, these rural landscapes comprise 90% of the nation’s land area, and provide the overwhelming majority of the country’s food, energy, water and other natural resources. Simultaneously, rural residents face many health disparities compared to their urban counterparts. Virginia Tech is well positioned to provide a rich training environment for examining environmental health in rural landscapes, with top programs in agriculture, natural resources and environment, and engineering, and growing programs in public health and translational biology and medicine. With support from the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, the Global Change Center has awarded two Rural Environmental Health Fellows per year with Graduate Research Assistantships and research support. Two additional fellowships will be offered in 2022-23 with a request for proposals released in December 2021; interested applicants and faculty sponsors will find more information about the Rural Environmental Health Fellowship here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][gap size=”40px”][vc_separator style=”shadow” css=”.vc_custom_1623260901950{margin-top: 8px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row]