Research Opportunities in Biology

The focus on investigative skills in Lewis and Clark's biology courses prepares students well to undertake independent research projects. Over half of all biology majors at Lewis and Clark become involved in research. Some students work as assistants to or collaborators with a Lewis and Clark faculty member for a summer, a semester or longer. Some students earn credit for this work (Biology 244 or 499) and others receive support from faculty research grants or from the John S. Rogers Undergraduate Summer Research Program. Other students carry out their own completely independent
projects, with a Lewis and Clark biology professor as their mentor. Some spend a summer doing research at another college, university, or research institution, e.g., through the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Students with strong research skills and a GPA of at least 3.5 are invited to conduct an honors thesis during their senior year, a year-long independent investigation that culminates in a written thesis, an oral presentation to the department, and a defense to department faculty.

All Biology faculty encourage undergraduate participation in their research programs. Undergraduates co-author faculty research publications and presentations at regional and national meetings.

Here are a few examples of recent senior theses and student-faculty collaborative research that have been published in scientific journals or presented at meetings (for additional examples of student-faculty research, please scroll through the program descriptions below):

Current Biology Research Programs:

Dr. Kellar Autumn

Our research focuses on biomechanics, physiology, and evolution of animal locomotion. A central project in the Autumn Lab is the study of adhesive setae in geckos and the design of biologically inspired adhesive nanostructures and climbing robots. In 2002 we discovered the molecular mechanism of adhesion in geckos and and in 2005 showed that the adhesive setae on their toes form the first known self-cleaning adhesive. We also study the effects of running speed, temperature, body size, and phylogeny on aerobic metabolism in geckos and other lizards. In 1999 we found that geckos have evolved metabolic fuel economy 2 to 3 times greater than that of other legged animals, which permits activity at very low temperatures. In 2005 we discovered that, contrary to predictions, all-female gecko clones have greater aerobic capacity, and can outperform their sexual relatives. Read student co-authored papers here, here, and here.

Dr. Paulette Bierzychudek

My students and I have been collaborating with the Oregon Nature Conservancy to develop a plan for the management of Oregon’s Cascade Head preserve, which hosts one of the last remaining populations of the threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly. Through collecting demographic data on Viola adunca, the butterfly’s food plant, and using these data in a transition matrix model, we’ve been evaluating how the violet population is likely to respond to mowing, prescribed burning, and other possible means of habitat management. The predictions of these models are guiding the Nature Conservancy’s management of this preserve. In addition to this project, we’ve been starting to explore conifer regeneration patterns in Portland’s many urban parks.

Dr. Greta Binford

The chemical richness and diversity of spider venom cocktails make them interesting subjects for understanding how evolution generates novelty. My research program uses integrative, evolutionary approaches to better understand patterns of diversity in spider venoms. In my lab, students have the opportunity to participate in evolutionary analyses of spider venoms at all levels of the process. This includes collecting a range of spiders in the field, doing protein analyses of the venoms, and using molecular approaches to study the genes that code for the venom proteins. Students also analyze the effects of venoms on insect prey and observe spider foraging behavior. These data help to better understand the role venom plays in immobilizing prey and how that varies across spider species. My research has discovered that the toxin in brown recluse venom is also present in venoms of closely related Sicarius spiders. This means this toxin likely originated in an ancestor of these two types of spiders. This helps us better understand the range of species related to the brown recluse that is capable of causing lesions when these animals bite people and may help to facilitate development of broadly effective treatments.

Dr. Kenneth Clifton

My field studies of behavior examine the environmental and social determinants of dispersion: where do organisms occur, how do they interact, and does this influence the phenology of reproduction? Working primarily in coral reef habitats, my students focus on species of fish and algae that show intermittent bursts of reproductive activity.  This research provides insight into the ecological factors that ultimately generate patterns of distribution and abundance within tropical marine habitats.

Dr. Edwin Florance emeritus

Development and germination success of threatened endemic plant species.

Dr. Greg Hermann

Studies in my lab focus on two aspects of organogenesis: the formation of specialized organelles that in part define organ function and programmed cell death which sculpts organ morphology. We are studying these processes in the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. C. elegans has emerged as a powerful system to identify and characterize genes controlling important evolutionarily conserved developmental processes. Students in my lab have discovered C. elegans genes controlling the formation of intestinal specific lysosomes whose homologues in humans are implicated in Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome. Further studies in the nematode C. elegans should lead to greater insights into the cause and treatment of this human genetic disease.

Dr. Deborah Lycan

Our research focuses on how ribosomal subunits are assembled in eukaryotic cells. We use the yeast S. cerevisiae as a model organism to study this essential and highly conserved process. Ribosomes are among of the largest and most complex macromolecular particles assembled in cells. In eukaryotes, the 40S and S0S subunits are assembled from four rRNAs and over 80 ribosomal proteins in the nucleolus, are released and modified in the nucleoplasm and then exported through the nucleus pores in a process requiring the nuclear export receptor, Crm1. Over 150 proteins that do not end up as constituents of the mature ribosome are necessary for this assembly and export process. The molecular details of how most of these non-ribosomal proteins function is unknown. We are characterizing two that are specifically necessary for the assembly and export of the small 40S subunit. A novel outcome of this research has been our discovery that these proteins are also important for cell growth under environmental stress; read a student co-authored paper on this here. We are investigating how ribosome biogenesis and the stress response might be coordinated through these molecules.

Dr. Gary Reiness

My students and I study the processes that underlie development of the vertebrate nervous system, especially the formation of synapses. We have recently focused on the signaling molecule, ciliary neurotrophic factor or CNTF, a protein that is known to be involved in proper embryonic development of several parts of the chicken nervous system, and probably the nervous systems of mammals as well. Because signaling molecules carry information from one type of cell to another, they are normally secreted by the cells that synthesize them, but CNTF lacks the typical identifying features of secreted proteins. We have recently shown that CNTF is secreted by an unusual pathway, distinct from that used by most secreted proteins. We are now working to identify the portions of CNTF necessary for it to be secreted and to learn more about which intracellular structures participate in its release from cells.

Dr. Steven Seavey

Evolutionary implications of inbreeding by plants.