AWest Virginia Universitystudent has won an internationally competitive research fellowship from theAmerican Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB)to solve a biological mystery.
Molly Simis of Fairmont, an undergraduate in WVU s Department of Biology, wants to know why the bunchberry dogwood (Cornus canadensis), a small flowering plant related to the dogwood tree and typically found in more northern areas like Canada, is growing onIce Mountainin Hampshire County. Her research may help shed light on how plants respond to climate change, said WVU biology professorStephen DiFazio, her mentor on the project.
Mollys research will help tell us how these plants have adapted to their environment, and how plant populations and the range of plants are altered with climate change,DiFazio said.
Simis is among 15 students who won the ASPB s2008 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship(SURF). Simis is the first student from WVU to win the fellowship since the program began in 2001.
The ASPB received approximately 40 applications for the fellowship this year, but many more are screened at the university level, making the award very competitive, said Katie Engen of the ASPB Education Foundation. Most of the applicants and winners are from the United States, but a few are from other countries such as Argentina and Germany.
The SURF award includes $3,000 in undergraduate student summer research funding, a one-year student membership to ASPB , and $500 for student travel to Plant Biology 2009, a conference in Honolulu, where Simis will present her research.
This fellowship will better my WVU undergraduate experience by allowing me to completely focus on my project this summer,said Simis, who credits former WVU Division of Plant and Soil Sciencesprofessor Dale Karlson for starting her on the project.
During 2007, Simis took part in the WVU Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, working on the Ice Mountain projectin Karlsons lab in WVU ’s Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences.
Im excited to represent WVU at the ASPB conference, where I will share my project with and learn from plant biologists from all over the world,she said.I plan to be both a research scientist and an educator, and a connection with ASPB and associated resources will be invaluable to both trajectories of my career plan.
Ice Mountainis notable among West Virginias mountains for a geologic quirk that keeps the mountains talus (a sloping collection of rocky debris at the base of the mountain) cold enough to support northern climate plants even in the middle of summer. Throughout the winter, ice forms deep in the crevices of the talus. When the West Virginia weather turns warm, the dense, cold air wafts up from the trapped ice and escapes through approximately 60 natural vents, creating the refrigeration effect.
The bunchberry dogwood population on Ice Mountain is in a place it really shouldnt be,DiFazio said.It lives there because of the cold air that comes out of the ground.
Simisresearch project,Genetic analysis, characterization of freezing tolerance and population distribution of Cornus canadensis,will help answer the question of whether the bunchberry dogwood population on Ice Mountain is very different genetically from other populations, he said.
Were trying to find out where this population came from and how it occurred on Ice Mountain, using genetic analysis,DiFazio said.The Ice Mountain population may be a remnant from a past ice age. Its a mystery as to how long its been there and how it has adapted. We want to see if the Ice Mountain population has diverged genetically from other populations.
Simisresearch also hopes to answer questions about the bunchberry dogwoods reproduction and how plants respond to their environment. The WVU student has already gathered plant samples from Ice Mountain and will spend the summer examining them in the biology labs at WVU .
Molly is a remarkable student,DiFazio said.Her project is very ambitious, especially for a sophomore.
Simisproject will be used as her honors thesis in WVU s Honors College, directed by Eberly Family Professor and biology faculty memberKeith Garbutt.
The goal of the ASPB SURF program is to provide opportunities for students to pursue meaningful research in plant biology at their home institutions early in their college years. The program targets students who have just completed their sophomore year of their undergraduate studies.
WVU s Department of Biologyin theEberly College of Arts and Sciencesis dedicated to the study of living organisms and the processes of life. Its staff and programs train students in the rapidly expanding field of biology and pursue discovery through focused and collaborative research activities. The department offers two undergraduate degree programs, the Bachelor of Science and the Bachelor of Arts in biology. An environmental biology track is also available in either degree program. The department also offers graduate courses and research that lead to masters and doctoral degrees in ecology and evolutionary biology, forensic biology, genetics and genome biology, and neurobiology and endocrinology.