WHAT DID THEY DO, AND WHERE ARE THEY NOW?


[In order, Undergraduate students, then Postdoctoral fellow(s), and then Graduate students are listed below]

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (in chronological order).  Poster presentations are indicated only for the students who actually presented them.  Comments on publications and manuscripts refer to students who are or are expected to be coauthors on specific publications. 

1. Kendall Powell.  Kendall was the first student in my laboratory here.  Her project was an analysis, using museum specimens, of early development and life histroy strategies of a Megachiropteran bat.  A paper based on this work, "Age-specific reproductive strategies and delayed embryonic development in an Old World fruit bat, Ptenochirus jagori (Megachiroptera)" was published in 1998.  (Graduate School in Cell & Molecular Biology at UCSD and Salk Institute)  Kendall was awarded one of the most prestigious of graduate fellowships in molecular biology--a Howard Hughes Predoctoral Fellowship.  After 3 years of graduate school & a summer internship doing science journalism, Kendall entered a science writing graduate program in fall 2001, and began a 6-month internship with the prestigious journal 'Nature' in summer 2002.  Currently a free-lance science journalist based in Colorado.
2. Laura Gomez (January 1995 - December 1995).  Laura trapped white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus)  in the wild (in College Woods) and began a study of the genetic basis of seasonal responses to photoperiod.  She started a very long-term study for me, beginning artificial selection for or against reproductive suppression by short photoperiod in two lines of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus).  Laura is acknowledged in the publication on this work in 1999.  (Med School??; Lost contact)
3. Adrianna Weaver (January-May 1995).  Adrianna was a coleader and founder of the animal rights activist group on campus (Kindred Species), and she worked with me and another student (Mara Roebuck, see below) on a  project to evaluate the literature on pedagogical alternatives to dissection in classroom use.  She produced a very well-written paper with an an excellent critical review of the methods available.  I encouraged her to continue work to publish the manuscript, but she decided to pursue other interests.  (Earned Masters at Longwood Gardens in Integrated Pest Management; planning to start own farm in western VA; also interested & may be working in field of sustainable development)
4. Mara Roebuck (January-May 1995; continuing informally to May 1996).  Mara worked with Adrianna on the project above, producing her own independent report.  She continued work with me to develop a clear and well-considered policy toward students with ethical objections to the use of animals in teaching laboratories.  She aided me immensely in putting together an internal college proposal to provide pedagogically sound alternatives in my physiology course and in developing the materials to implement the successful proposal.  (Entered Nursing School at UVA in spring 98 or fall 99)
5. Karen Vine (May-December 1995).  Karen worked with graduate student Erin Ahn (see below) on a field study and laboratory analysis of water use in white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus).  Karen did not continue with an independent project of her own, but did carry out pilot experiments in a field study that may be continued by another student in the future. (Vet school at VA Tech)
6. Lisa York (September 1995 - May 1997).  Lisa worked with graduate student C. J. Sylvester (see below) on a study of reproductive responses to seasonal changes in photoperiod in rats.  Over the summer of 1996, Lisa developed her ideas for a senior honors thesis, in which she tested the effects of hormonal perturbation of the organizing influences of testosterone on the response of Fisher 344 rats to photoperiod.  Her project tested the way in which the developing brain can modify its response to environmental signals.  Her project became one half of a research paper (Heideman, Deibler, and York, 1998).  (Med School at UVA)
7. Jeremy Smedley (December 1995 - July 1996).  Jeremy continued a project begun by Laura Gomez.  Jeremy conducted the first portion of a selection experiment on reproductive responses to photoperiod and carried out a quantitative genetic analysis study to assess heritability of the ability to inhibit reproduction in short photoperiods in white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus).  He finished with a paper that has been incorporated into a manuscript in press (Heideman, Bruno, Singley, and Smedley, 1999).  (Vet School & Master's at VA TECH)
8. Richard Diebler (May 1996 - May 1997).  Richard carried out a senior honors project testing the effects of mild food restriction on the response of rats to short photoperiod.  His project tests how rats integrate inputs from different sources to regulate reproduction.  His project became the second half of a paper in press (Heideman, Deibler, and York, 1998).  (Grad School in Cell & Molecular Biology at Baylor Medical College studying topoisomerases; Postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard.)
9. Andrea Goodnight (May 1996 - May 1997).  Andrea carried out a senior honors project testing the hypothesis that differences in the response of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) to photoperiod might be due to differences in the location or abundance of melatonin receptors in specific regions of the hypothalamus. Her results were unclear.  Her project was extended by Stephanie Kane (Heideman, Kane, and Goodnight, 1999).  (Vet School at NC State completed in 2001, began internship/residency in Massachusetts in June 2001; internship as veterinarian at the Indianapolis Zoo in 2003/4; two-year clinical  residency in zoo veterinary medicine at the Columbus Zoo in Columbus, Ohio from 2004-2006; moved as veterinarian to the Oakland Zoo in 2006)
10. Jeff Singley (September 1996 - May 1997).  Jeff worked on the genetic analysis of reproductive responses to photoperiod in white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), continuing Laura Gomez' and Jeremy Smedley's project, (Heideman, Bruno, Singley, and Smedley, 1999)  (Med School at VCU)
11. Shannon Sullivan  (September 1996 - May 1998).  Shannon carried out an ambitions honors thesis in which she examined the interaction between photoperiod, food and the 'fat' hormone, leptin, in the regulation of reproduction in our two selected lines of white-footed mice.  One paper based on her work is published (Avigdor, Sullivan, and Heideman, 2005).  Another paper based o her major findings are in manuscript form, and we hope to publish them soon.  Jarret MacDonald, a freshman, began work on this project in July 1998.  (Med School at UVA; carried out research with Sue Moenter).  Shannon applied to the MD/PhD program at the University of Virginia Medical School in the fall of 1999, and was admitted with a Dean’s Fellowship for the year 2000, working with Sue Moentor.  She finished her Ph.D. in November 2003, and her MD in 2005. Currently doing her residency.
12. Todd Bruno (September 1996 – May 1999). Todd continued work on the genetic analysis of reproductive responses to photoperiod in white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) and worked particularly closely with me on writing the paper (Heideman, Bruno, Singley, and Smedley, 1999). (Med School at MCV; Captain in the armed forces (Navy, we think) in 2003)
13. Cynthia Bierl (October 1996 – May 1999).   Cindy tested the hypothesis that the effects of photoperiod on reproduction in the Fischer 344 strain of rats was due to the effects of melatonin, and went on to determine the critical photoperiod (the photoperiod below which reproduction in suppressed) in F344 rats.  Cindy completed her senior honors thesis in 1999.  Minor research grant from HHMI.  Two papers from her research are published (Heideman, Bierl, and Galvez, 2000; Heideman, Bierl, and Sylvester, 2001).  Cindy took a CDC internship in Atlanta, assisting in research on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and then entered the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in Fall 2000 to earn Masters in the Biology and Control of Disease Vectors; she entered medical school at the University of Sydney, Australia, in 2003.)
14. Stephanie Kane (November 1996 – May 1999).  Stephanie refined the methods used by Andrea Goodnight (following suggestions made by Andrea as well as her own improvements), and tested Andrea's hypothesis on more highly differentiated mice in our two selected lines.  The results were positive, and the combined work has been published (Heideman, Kane, and Goodnight, 1999). (Ph.D. program in Washington State University; completed her M.S. in 2001, I believe, and began work as a research tech for Mark Dybdahl at WSU.  Steph started an MS program in Biostatistics in Fall 2003, and finished in 2005.  In 2005, Steph took a position in biostatistics with the Social Science Research Unit at the University of Idaho.
15. Linda Popels (August - December 1997, August – December 1998).  Linda worked on a project to determine the genetic basis for photoresponsiveness in F344 rats (as compared to a non-responsive strain, the Harlan Sprague-Dawley).  She completed a short paper summarizing her results in December 1997.  This large project had intriguing results, but not quite clear enough to submit as a paper.  Linda entered  a  Ph.D program in Marine Biology at University of Delaware, and completed her Ph.D. in 2003; I heard recently (2004) from Craig Cary, one of her committee members that she was about to start a new post-doc.
16. Alex Wurm (January 1998 – December 1998).  Alex worked on two projects--the continuation of the project on the genetics of photoresponsiveness in F344 rats, and circadian variation in white-footed mice.  (entered Med School at UVA)  Summer research at UVA med school in 2000.
17. F. Ryan Jennings (January 1998 – May 1999).  Ryan  helped with the continuation of the project on the genetics of photoresponsiveness in F344 rats.  (entered Vet School at VA Tech, and was finishing in 2002/2003)
18. Tracy Evans (May 1998 - April 00).  Tracy tested the hypothesis that adult white-footed mice are less responsive to photoperiod than are young mice.  (Graduated in Dec 99; entered the Pre-medical Basic Health Science Certificate program in Physiology in the Health Sciences Center at the Medical College of Virginia, but decided not to pursue Med School and is considering options)  Worked in NOVA doing computer programming with Information Management Services, Inc.; Tracy works on a contract with National Cancer Institute on Colon Cancer research doing SAS statistical programming on a multiyear study with 150,000 people analyzing & reporting on the results.  Tracy finally followed his interests into law school Case Western Reserve law school in fall of 2003, and I tried not to say ‘I told you so’.
19. Jarret MacDonald (Summer 98 - 1999).  Effect of leptin or mild food restriction on reproductive photoresponsiveness in white-footed mice (continuation of S. Sullivan's project). 
20. Vasundara Tummala (November 98 - December 00).  Histology & metabolic rates in responsive and noresponsive white-footed mice.  Entered medical school in Georgia in fall 2000.
21. Michael Cicchetti (May 99 - April 00)  Effect of lesions in the hypothalamus in areas high in IMEL binding in white-footed mice.  (Entered UVA med school in fall of 2001.)
22. Hilary Koyanagi (August 99 - Jan 00) Aging and photoperiodism in F344 rats.  Entered Med School in Fall 2000; was in a Neurology Residency at Duke University in 2005
23. Moore Benjamin Shoemaker (Summer 98 - 2002).  "A Test for a Circannual Rhythm of Photoresponsiveness in F344 rats.  M. Benjamin Shoemaker and Paul D. Heideman.  Society for Research on Biological Rhythms Meeting, Jacksonville, Florida, May 2000."  Poster presentation at SRBR in summer 2000 (Travel Award); Hughes in summer 99, GTE in summer 2000.  Highest Honors in sp 2001.  Part of his research is published in Lorincz, Shoemaker, and Heideman 2001, and the rest in Shoemaker and Heideman 2002.  Ben entered medical school at the University of Virginia in fall 2002.
24. Mark Eric Galvez (October 98 - May 01).  Critical daylength of F344 rats & effect of gradually-changing photoperiod.  Poster presentation at SRBR in summer 2000 (Travel Award).  Hughes award in summer 2000; Alumni Prize in Organismal Biology sp 2001.  High Honors in Sp 2001.  Part of his work is published in Heideman, Bierl, and Galvez, 2000, and his honors thesis work formed half of the preliminary data and 1/3 of the experimental design for an NIH AREA proposal in 2001.  That work is now in press (Price, Kruse, Galvez, Lorincz, Avigdor, and Heideman, 2005).  Eric spent one year doing public health work with MEDBANK/Americorps (featured by the Corporation for National Service as the "Service Hero" in one issue of their newsletter), and then entered MD-MPH at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Med medical school in the fall of 2002. Eric switched into law school at Emory in fall 2005 in order to pursue interests in Health Policy from the legal side.
25. Bani Taneja (January 99 – April 99) Circadian variation in white-footed mice (Bani was killed in a tragic car accident, 5/99;  had she not passed away, Bani would certainly have been able to contribute enough to her project to be a coauthor on at least one paper.  That paper, Majoy and Heideman, 2000, is dedicated to Bani's memory)
26. Sarah Reilly {formerly Joiner} (April 99 - May  01)  Interaction between food and photoperiod in P. leucopus, and also luteinizing hormone secretion during development in white-footed mice.  (Supported by Cummings ?? Fellowship in summer 2000).  To UVA to work as tech with Janis Antonovics 2001-2002; entered Ph.D. program at Cornell in fall 2002.  High Honors in Sp. 2001.  A paper on her work is in review (Reilly, Oum, and Heideman, submitted to Oecologia in summer 2005).
27. Kristin Schubert (March 99 - May 01)  Test of photoperiodic regulation of reproduction in a strain of laboratory mice (results were negative, with high statistical power), and also luteinizing hormone secretion during development in white-footed mice. Highest Honors in sp 2001.  To MS program at Queens in Ontario in summer 2001; plans Ph.D, perhaps studying evolutionary physiology in birds.  Her Honors research is being continued by Christen Raymond.  (Earned Honorable Mention for an NSF Graduate Fellowship in the spring of 2003).  Kristin is doing her PhD on a DAAD fellowship at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, studying energetics and aging in birds and mammals.
28. Jessica Bonzo (August 99 - May 01)  Effect of NMDA and MK801 on maturation in responsive and nonresponsive white-footed mice (High Honors on thesis in Dec 2000), and started project on cloning of Mel1a receptor in P. leucopus in December 2000.  To graduate school in biochemistry and molecular biology at UC San Diego in fall 2001.  High Honors in fall 2000.  Her work was continued by Abby Tatum.
29. Kristi Black (August 99 - May 01)  Selection experiment on white-footed mice and test of whether lesions of MBOA or BNST affect photoresponsiveness in P. leucopus (supported by GTE Fellowship in summer 2000).  Entered EVMS medical school  in Fall 2001; in spring of 2005 she was in her fourth year and getting ready for residency.  I'm told that our Kristi helped run the EVMS talent show.
30. Robert Oum (August 99 - 2003)  Freshman research program on HHMI.  Individual variation in reproductive photoperiodism in rats and mice.  Took over Sarah Joiner's project on food and photoperiod in P. leucopus (Cummings Memorial Summer Scholarship in the Sciences in summer 2001; supported on NSF grant in summer 2002); Presentation at SRBR in summer 2002: Oum, RE, Joiner, SE, & Heideman, P.D. Metabolic and reproductive adjustments of white-footed mice to periodic food restriction.  Society for Research on Biological Rhythms, 22-26 May 2002.  A paper based on this work is review (Reilly et al).   Robert entered a Ph.D. program in evolutionary psychology (at U Hawaii--we're jealous) in 2004.
31. Sarah Brooke Tanksley (August 99 - December 00; volunteer) Selection experiment on white-footed mice.  Sarah has been working at the NIH in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), as a lab manager in the flow cytometry division of the Laboratory of Immunology. She plans to start part-time in a Master's Program at Johns Hopkins in biodefence.
32. Annaka Lorincz (formerly Begley) (December 99 – May 02)  Photoperiodism in Brown Norway rats, hormonal responses to photoperiod in rats, maternal photoperiod effects on rats.  Beckman Fellowship in 2000-2001.  Annaka played the major role in designing and writing up her research for Lorincz, Shoemaker, and Heideman 2001, and for Lorincz and Heideman, in review.  Her research contributed about 1/3 of the preliminary data for a successful NIH AREA proposal in 2001.  Annaka received an Honorable Mention for an HHMI graduate fellowship in 2002.  She graduated in Dec 2001 with Honors, then worked as a technician for Emmett Duffy at VIMS from early spring until summer 2002, and entered a Ph.D. program in Pathology at Johns Hopkins in the fall of 2002.  Her research has been published in Lorincz, Shoemaker, and Heideman (2001), and Price, Kruse, Galvez, Lorincz, Avigdor, and Heideman, 2005.  We hope a third paper based on her work will be published soon (Lorincz and Heideman, in prep.).
33.  Laura McClung (March 00 - Dec 00) IMEL binding in P. leucopus  (Supported on NSF grant in summer 2000).  Laura has been doing research and functioning as the lab manager for Bruce Appel's lab at  Vanderbilt since 2002. She also tells me that she's STILL trying to decide between biology and art history, both of which she likes.  She was expecting to move in 2005, and says that might help force a decision.
34.  Inder Paul Singh (June 00 - May 01) (Supported on NSF grant in summer 2000).  Test of rhythms in F344 and HSD rats.  Inder contributed to research that was part of the preliminary data for an NIH AREA proposal in 2001.  Inder began attending medical school at VCU (in 2002)
35.  Tamara Glover  (June 00 - May 01) (Cummings Memorial Summer Scholarship in the Sciences in summer 2000).  Test of rhythms in F344 and HSD rats.  Tamara contributed to research that was part of the preliminary data for an NIH AREA proposal in 2001.  Tamara contributed to research that was part of the preliminary data for an NIH AREA proposal in 2001.  Tamara went to Tanzania in the summer of 2002 to teach teenagers how to protect themselves from HIV infection and to shadow doctors in the city of Arusha.  She began attending EVMS for the MD and Master of Public Health combined program. In spring 2005 she was in her third year, preparing to take the USMLE step 1, and only 3 credits away from earning her Masters degree (and, in her spare time, fell in love and got engaged….).
36.  Jason Tomik (Sept 00 - May 01).   Freshman research program on HHMI.  Individual variation in reproductive photoperiodism in rats, testing for circadian rhythm differences between F344 and HSD rats.  Jason contributed to the same body of research that was part of the preliminary data for an NIH AREA proposal in 2001.  Jason became highly enthusiastic about teaching, and was teaching Science at Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach in 2005. 
37.  Katherine Reding (Sept 00 - May 01).  Freshman research program on HHMI.  Individual variation in reproductive photoperiodism in P. leucopus, testing for adult photoresponsiveness. Katherine ended up majoring in Neuroscience, and entered a a graduate program leading toward a Ph.D. in psychology, if my information is up to date!
38.  Christen Raymond (Oct 00 - May 03).  Test of whether lesions of MBOA or BNST affect photoresponsiveness in P. leucopus, and also test for photoresponsiveness in an inbred strain of rats; also test of steroid negative feedback in white-footed mice, continuing Kristen Schubert's project.  She also carrying out experiments on photoresponsiveness in rat strains.  That paper (Francisco, Raymond, and Heideman) was published in "Reproduction" in 2004.  Beckman Fellowship in 2001-2002.  Honors completed in Dec 2002 on steroid negative feedback project.  Christen entered law school at UC Berkeley with interests in health policy and patent law.
39.  Abigail Tatum (May 01 – May 03).  Took over Jessica Bonzo's project on NMDA receptors and photoperiod in Peromyscus leucopus, and added her own experiments in the hope that we could finally finish this project and publish it.  She did finish it, successfully, and we're going to be writing it up for publication.  (Supported on NSF grant in summer 2001; HHMI fellowship in summer 2002).  Abby took a job as a technical trainer for a medical device company, Synthes.
40  Paul Zelensky (May 01 - May 02).  Studied the relationship between social cues and photoperiod in P. leucopus, finding that urinary pheromones from adult females accelerates puberty in Nonresponsive males, but NOT Responsive males.  Paul also tested whether testis size actually is closely related to sperm production, and also began some preliminary work on whether testis size was correlated with reproductive behavior.  Honors in sp 2002 (note that Biology stopped assigning levels of Honors in 2002).  (Supported on NSF grant in summer 2001).  Entered medical school in fall 2004.
41. Cheryl Seroka
(Sept 01 – May 05); began research as part of HHMI freshman program, working on rhythms in rats.  She worte up a manuscript based on a comparison of HSD and F344 rats, which Cyndie Johnson is working on to finalize for submission for publication.  Supported by College funding for housing during summer research in 2002.  Entered VA Tech Veterinary School in  Fall 2005.
42. Michael Semanic (Sept 01 – 02) began research as part of HHMI freshman program, working on adult photoresponsiveness in P. leucopus.  Mike is applying to medical school for fall of 2006
43. Greg Faucher (Sept 01 – May 05); began research as part of HHMI freshman program, working on adult photoresponsiveness in P. leucopus. In 2003 and 2004, Greg also worked with Kathy Rathbun on her behavior project.  Greg is considering either medical school or graduate school.
44. Jessica Tate (Feb 02  - May 04) Supported by College funding for housing during summer research in 2002; HHMI in summer 2003; Honors on heritability of GnRH neurons.  Great results!  Jessica started medical school at West Virginia in 2004.
45. Alanna Chesney (02-03);  Alanna worked with Kathy Rathbun comparing behaviors of our selected lines of P. leucopus in winter and summer photoperiods.  Entered Cornell Vet School infall of 2004.
46. Jennifer Bowles (March 02 - May 04) Test of steroid negative feedback in white-footed mice, continuing Kristen Schubert's & Christen Raymond’s project.  Entered VA Tech Vet School in fall 2003.
47. Sean Lowe (March 02 – June 2004);  Sean took over the LH steroid negative feedback project from Jenny, Kristen, and Christen, and is trying to finish it off!  It's still not done, and Sean is still working on it....  Sean started in the Biomedical Masters program at Eastern Virginia Medical School in fall 2004.  Sean entered medical school in fall 2005 at EVMS, in the class of 2009.
48. Meredith Billings (April 02 - May 04) Summer 2003 on PDH grant; her research was first on IMEL in rats, and then on the heritability of NPY neurons.  If I have the right person, Meredith was working with Americorps and Vista out of Middlebury College on poverty-related issues in 2005, and was planning to enter graduate school in policy for a Masters.
49. Nicole Francisco (April 03 – Dec 2004); 1/2 summer 2003 on Cummings Fellowship; finished rat strain variation project and is first author on our paper from this project—(Nicole, Raymond, and Heideman, 2004).  Nicole is in graduate school (for an MBA in Health Administration at Regent University), and planning on medical school (or maybe professional singing) after that.
50. Melissa Park (January 03 – May 2004) (though not summer 03); assisted on 6-sulfatoxymelatonin project on HSD & F344 rats.  Melissa is planning on medical school.
51. Kiran Johal (February 03 – Dec 2004) (NOT summer 03) assisted on 6-sulfatoxymelatonin project on HSD & F344 rats.  Kiran is planning on medical school.
52. Christina Sigur (February 03 - May 04) NOT summer 03; assisted a great deal in Kathy Rathbun’s Peromyscus behavior project. Christina entered podiatry school in fall 2004.
53. Evan Hartman
(April 03 - May 04) summer 2003 on HHMI fellowship; worked on a project on the whether F344 rats could respond to changes in photoperiod presented at 4 week intervals.
54. Matt Price (April 03 - present); summer 2003 on PDH grant; took over sulfatoxymelatonin project and took over Sean’s Mel 1a Receptor variation project.  Matt wrote up the sulfatoxymelatonin data for publication, finding that HSD rats appeared to secrete less melatonin and have poorer rhythms of melatonin. That manuscript has been published (Price, Kruse, Galvez, Lorincz, Avigdor, and Heideman, 2005).
55.  Christy Wahle (Sept 03 – May 2004) Christy tested the hypothesis that timed feeding can entrain HSD rats to short photoperiods--it can't.  We need to write up that paper.  She is spending a year with Americorps, working with the health department in Joe Davis (sp?) County, Illinois, to get experience public health, and decided on another year of experience.  She plans to enter a graduate program in fall 2006, and wants to continue work in public health.
56.  Emily Flannagan (Sept 03--May 04) continued the project on the whether F344 rats could respond to changes in photoperiod presented at 4 week intervals (they can).
57.  Patrick Lohman (Sept 03 – May 04) was working mostly on the rat sulfatoxymelatonin project.  More recently, he decided he's happier as a computer science major, but we're hoping to keep him interested in biology related problems in his computer science career.
58.  Salehin Rais (Dec 03 – May 2005) Peromyscus seasonal behavior with Kathy Rathbun.  Sal is working in science as a technician with Emilie Rissman at UVA for a year (2005-6), and will begin at UVA or MCV Med school in fall 2006 (accepted to both)
59.  DanDan Li (Jan 04 – present) worked with Christy Wahle on the timed feeding project on rats.  Now she's designed follow-up experiments for work on NPY neurons and feeding in Peromyscus.  She's hoping to be here over summer 2005.
60.  Julie Barnes (Jan 05 – May 2005) Julie began research in the lab in spring 2005, doing immunocytochemistry on mice.  She switched to a kinesiology major (and research), having found her interests much higher in that area.  She is actively continuing research.
61.  Caitlin Weber (Jan 05 – May 2005) Caitlin began research in the lab in spring 2005, assisted in a range of projects, and decided not to continue in the laboratory.
62.  Jessica Robertson (Jan 05 – present) Jessica began research in the lab in spring 2005.  She is working on GnRH neuronal development, and writing to finish and publish our project on photoresponsiveness in adult mice (Robertson, Broussard, Evans, Semanik, Faucher, and Heideman).  She was here for the first half of summer 2005.
63.  Christina Adkison (Jan 05 – present) Christina began research in the lab in spring 2005.  She is work on GnRH neuronal development in neonatal mice.  She was here for the summer of 2005.
64.  Cynthia Johnson (Aug 05 – present).  Cyndie took over the project on mRNA differences in SD and LD in F344 rats, and then continued on in 2005/6 to work on writing up Cheryl Seroka’s project for publication.
65.  Will Rhymes (Summer 05 – present).  Will wanted research experience, and began research in the laboratory in the baseball off-season in fall 2005, working on counting GnRH fibers in different regions of the brains of our Peromyscus selected lines.  He plans to play baseball as long as he’s competitive, and then will decide between medical school and graduate school.
66.  Tara (Penny) Mahoney (Jan 06 – present).  Tara began as a freshman researcher reading and assisting in various projects in spring 2006.
67.  Connie Gibbons (Jan 06 – present).  Connie took over the Rat mRNA project from Cyndie Johnson in spring 2006. 

High school: Arjun Muthu
  (Summer 2003) Arjun will be entering College at Hopkins, Duke, or …?  in fall 2004.
Samantha Silva (Summer 2005) Samantha helped us with perfusion, brain slicing, and immunocytochemistry of white-footed mice
Sungmin Song (Summer 2005)  Sungmin started a collaborative project with Peter Morgan’s laboratory on differential mRNA expression in F344 rats in SD and LD; entering W&M in fall 2006

Eight students (listed below) assisted in projects as informal research assistants in my laboratory.  They did not have independent projects and did not receive research course credit, and so I have not described their projects individually:

Jeanette Beasley (entered work force; then to medical school, I think), Sarah Elliott (grad school in kinesiology), Geeta Padyiar (lost contact), Loretta Immel (entered Physical Therapy School in fall 98), Susan Putz (entered Dental School), Sarah Bruhl (entered vet school), Jennifer Brown (entered graduate school at Princeton), C. LeeAnn White (entered masters program in Ecology and Conservation)
 
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW:

1. Dr. David Broussard completed his PhD (2005) at Auburn University studying life history strategies of ground squirrels in the field in Canada.  He started in our lab in May 2005, and played a HUGE role in helping to run the lab, manage our mouse colony, and work on manuscripts and his own new projects.  He will be a coauthor on at least two manuscripts, and is working on additional projects. 


GRADUATE STUDENTS  (in chronological order)


1. H. Erin Ahn (now Chae) (August 1994 - defended in June 1996; final few changes for formal completion of thesis in summer of 1997)  Erin examined how changes in water balance affected neurons in the brains of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), and identified a daily (circadian) rhythm of sensitivity to changes in water availability.  Her thesis was published as Chae and Heideman, 1998.  (Research Technician at Bayer; strongly considering earning an MBA & continuing in management in biotechnology or pharmaceuticals)

2. C. John Sylvester (August 1995 - July 1997).  C.J. examined reproductive responses to photoperiod in the Fischer 344 strain of laboratory rat.  His thesis work was published as Heideman and Sylvester, 1997.  C.J. carried out additional thesis work on the mechanism of photoperiodic responses; those results were included in Heideman, Bierl, and Sylvester, 2001.  (Pharmaceuticals analyst at Paine-Webber; now with Bank of America)

3. Sean Majoy (Fall 1997 – defended thesis in Fall 99; also worked for one year as my research technician).  Sean tested for differences in circadian rhythms in our selected photoperiod responsive and nonresponsive white-footed mice.  He found some significant differences.  His test of whether those differences were the cause of differences in photoresponsiveness showed that they were not, as he had predicted, work that we published in the Journal of Biological Rhythms in 2000.  In addition, Sean partially cloned the melatonin 1a receptor in white-footed mice (working in a collaboratotive project with Dr. Margaret Saha).  Research at Aventis in 2000-2001; began at Holy Cross in August 2001 as Biology Lab Supervisor, "…teaching a bunch of the labs and doing (hopefully) some academic advising."  Started in the veterinary medical program at Tufts University in fall 2002.

4. Michelle Rightler (Fall 1998 - Spring 01; worked from fall 00 to August 01 as my research technician).  Michelle tested the role of metabolic rate changes in winter adjustments of photoperiod reproductive-responsive and reproductive-nonresponsive white-footed mice.  She found that food intake and metabolic rate differed in the two strains.  In addition, she found that these changes were not due to differences in reproductive maturation.  Poster presentation at SRBR in summer 2000 (Travel Award); Michelle defended her thesis in 2001.  One paper based on her work is published (Heideman, Rightler, and Sharp, 2005).  Michelle taught HS biology in Newport News) and in 2005 began as an adjunct professor in the Biology department, Division of Natural, Health, and Social Sciences at Thomas Nelson Community College.

5. Mauricio Avigdor
(Jan 01 – May 04; then stayed on as our lab tech).  Mauricio was testing for differences in GnRH neurons in responsive and nonresponsive P. leucopus.  This is another test for brain variation in our population that might be related to variation in the photoresponsiveness pathway.  In addition, he's testing the heritability of variation in numbers or location of GnRH neurons.  This will provide the first data we're aware of on genetic variability in the neurons regulating fertility.  When he learned how to stay focused, he's finished some terrific stuff.  He completed his thesis in May of 2004, and has one paper completed from his thesis (Avigdor, Sullivan, and Heideman, 2005).   He gave a poster presentation at SRBR in summer 2002.  Beginning in summer 2004, Maurcio began working with me and John Griffin, collaboratively, as a technician on a project to figure out where GnRH neurons project in Peromyscus, and if our selected lines differ in some way.  He is a coauthor on another paper (Price, Kruse, Galvez, Lorincz, Avigdor, and Heideman, 2005), and on a paper submitted for publication (Heideman, Broussard, Tate, and Avigdor).  We expect to submit at least one more paper based on his work. (Moved in summer 2005 to a position at the Monell Chemical Senses Laboratory in Philadelphia)

6. Chris Fetsch (Sept 01 – June 2003).  Chris is working in a collaborative project with John Griffin's lab on the regulation of cells in the hypothalamus by melatonin and temperature.  He is conducting extracellular recordings from hypothalamus slices in the ventromedial preoptic area (VMPO).  Chris is comparing our Responsive and Nonresponsive strains of mice, and testing whether there are cells that (a) respond to melatonin with a change in firing rate, (b) respond to temperature changes with a change in firing rate, and (c) both. He found effects of melatonin on temperature sensitive cells, providing the first direct link between melatonin and temperature regulation.  He did not find differences between our two strains of mice.   He gave a poster presentation at SRBR in summer 2002.  Chris defended his thesis in summer 2003, and is now in a Ph.D. program at Washington University in St. Louis.  Chris submitted one manuscript from his thesis (Fetsch, Heideman, and Griffin; 2006).

7. Julie Kruse (Jan 02 – May 03; withdrew without completing degree).  Julie has been continuing (with Christen Raymond) some of our ongoing experiments testing rat strains for photoresponsiveness.  As the main part of her thesis, Julie was following up Eric Galvez' studies of melatonin secretion in our photoresponsive and nonresponsive strains of rats.  She developed our ELISA methods to assay 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (the primary urinary metabolite of melatonin) from rat urine in order to infer 24 hour profiles of melatonin secretion in F344 and HSD rats.  Julie left our program in summer 2003 to enter Chiropractic School in California.  One paper based in part on Julie's work is published (Price, Kruse, Galvez, Lorincz, Avigdor, and Heideman, 2005)

8. Kathleen Sharp {formerly Rathbun} (Jan 02 – summer 2005).  Kathy continued Michelle's studies on metabolic rate changes in white-footed mice.  We're hoping that these results combined with Michelle's will produce a clear picture of metabolic rate variation in winter and summer photoperiods and in our Responsive and Nonresponsive lines of mice. A much larger part of Kathy's thesis had turned out to be her development of sex behavior measures linked to measures of fertility to test for effects of short photoperiod and our artificial selection in white-footed mice.  Her thesis will help to inform our understanding of how (and if) genetic variation in fertility is actually correlated with variation in sex behavior.  One paper based on Kathy's work is published (Heideman, Rightler, and Sharp 2005).


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Last updated  1/10/2006
College of William and Mary, Department of Biology
pdheid@wm.edu