University of Minnesota Biology Colloquium

BCQ Coordinator Emily Weyenberg is majoring in Biology, Society, and Environment with a minor in Public Health. Her goals are to pursue a dual degree: both a PharmD and MBA. She is a pharmacy technician at CVS Pharmacy and is also a part of Dr. Andres Gomez' lab working specifically in human microbiome research. She is currently the secretary for the Pre-Pharmacy Club and the treasurer for UMN Chaarg which is a fitness group on campus. She is in her last semester of the American Sign Language course series.

BCQ Coordinator Magan Aziz is pursuing a major in Physiology with minors in Italian and Chemistry. Her goal is to attend medical school. She has worked as a scribe at St. Joseph’s Hospital and a tutor for students in Organic Chemistry. She has volunteered at a nursing home/transitional care unit and with a domestic abuse crisis hotline. Her undergraduate research experience includes positions in the Lillehei Heart Institute working on muscular dystrophy and in a Neuroscience lab working on genetic components of ALS. She is proficient in Italian.

The BCQ program is excited to announce the BCQ Coordinators for 2020-2021. Both Magan Aziz and Emily Weyenberg are rising seniors with extensive experience as student leaders for BCQ. They are looking forward to helping Student Leaders and Biol 1020 students explore biology related resources at UMN in fall semester.

Thank you to Wangensteen Historical Library for hosting Maggie’s and Anne’s small groups this week! Such a unique opportunity to experience the history of medicine, natural science, and biology first-hand.

Congratulations to former Biology Colloquium Student Coordinator, Sarah Weatherman, who just received the 2019 College of Biological Sciences Alumni Emerging Leader Award! Sarah is a 2015 CBS Microbiology major. As an undergrad, she was a student in BCQ and completed a BCQ project. Later serving as a BCQ Student leader and Student Coordinator helped her leadership trajectory. Since graduation she served as a fellow at the National Institutes of Health where she helped develop a vaccine for the Nipah virus. Currently she is finishing her Master of Healthcare Administration and MBA at the U of M.
She is just one example of how BCQ can help students explore, find a career path, and gain leadership skills.
Kathryn Hanna, former BCQ faculty advisor.

We are excited to announce the new faculty advisor for Biology Colloquium! Welcome to Dr. Valery Forbes, Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, and Dean of the College of Biological Sciences. Dr. Forbes brings to BCQ a wealth of knowledge as well as insights into future opportunities in the biological sciences. Beginning this fall, Biol 1020 students will have a unique opportunity to interact with Dr. Forbes as they explore careers in biology.

Recognition event, April 2019. The BCQ leadership team gathered to celebrate the outstanding contributions of Coordinators and Student Leaders during the past year. Back row: Kat Hoffmann, Sabrina Ratanpal, Dr. Carolyn Silflow, Maggie Aziz, Alex Gross, Dr. Cliff Steer. Front row: Anne Krone, Michaela Muza, Ashley Gooden, Emily Weyenberg. Not shown: Jack Hartmann. Anne and Sabrina will be Coordinators for 2019-2010. Dr. Silflow and Dr. Steer are retiring as faculty advisors.

Thanks to the staff at bio-techne for an informative and fun tour for students in Kat's BCQ class

Dr. Sehoya Cotner from the Dept. of Biology Teaching and Learning described her research methods and findings related to helping all students reach their potential. Here she is with BCQ students.

Dr. Heather Zierhut from the GCD department is a faculty member in the Genetic Counseling program. She explained the exciting opportunities currently available for genetic counselors.

Dr. Andres Gomez from the Dept. of Animal Science told the class about his interesting career path and his current research on animal microbiomes. Here he is talking with Student Coordinator Kat Hoffman.

BCQ students visit with Dr. Suzanne McGough from the Dept. of EEB. She spoke about her undergraduate research at UT Austin and how it led to her current research on the evolution of blind cavefish in northern Mexico.

BCQ Coordinator Michaela Muza shown here with Dr. Kelly Searle from the Dept. of Epidemiology. Dr. Searle related her fascinating path from study of Pathobiology as an undergrad to being a Peace Corps volunteer in Mozambique to her faculty position at the U of MN where she leads a research program on understanding and combating malaria.

BCQ Coordinator Kat Hoffmann poses with Dr. Brian Sweis who spoke about his experiences as an undergraduate researcher and as a student in the Univ. of Minnesota Medical Scientist Training (MD/PhD) Program where he completed a PhD in Neuroscience.

A speaker in Michaela's class this week was Professor Bonnie LeRoy, Director of the Graduate Program of Study in Genetic Counseling. She described the training and personality traits needed for this career. It's a rapidly growing field with diverse job opportunities.

Kat's section took advantage of the beautiful weather for a walk to the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital. They heard from staff members who explained their career paths and how they work with patients. Thanks to this group of inspirational and dedicated speakers!

Michaela led her section on a tour to Be The Match where we learned about matching donor and patients for blood stem cell transfusion.

Dr. Michael Kyba from the Dept. of Pediatrics spoke to Kat's class about his work on one form of muscular dystrophy and his effort to generate genetically modified skeletal muscle stem cells to repair damaged muscle tissue.

Kelsey Griffin, Interpretive Naturalist, led Michaela's class in a tour of the Raptor Center. She graduated from CBS! Students posed with Lois, the great horned owl.

Dr. Kathryn Hanna spoke in Michaela's class, explaining the many career paths available in the field of forensics.

Dr. Feng Zhang explained how the CRISPR-Cas9 technology was used at Calyxt to develop a better soybean oil. He compared working at the company to his academic position in the Dept. of Plant and Microbial Biology at UMN.

Dr. Megan Walsh spoke with students in Michaela's class about the training and experiences along her path to becoming Chief Academic Officer at HCMC. She spoke with Nick Berg after class.

In Kat's class this week, Dr. Dan Cariveau described his fascinating path to a career researching wild bee species. He's in the Dept. of Entomology.

The BCQ leadership team is happy to announce the BCQ Coordinators for 2018-2019. Senior Michaela Muza (left) is pursuing a double major in Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development and Political Science. Senior Katerina Hoffman is majoring in Neuroscience.

BCQ thanks terrific coordinators for interesting and fun Biol1020 courses during the 2017-2018 academic year. From Left, Emily Rankine, Carolyn Kalinowski, advisor Dr. Clifford Steer, Drake Lindholm.

Spring 2018 BCQ students enjoyed the tour of ongoing experiments at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Reserve led by Caitlin Barale Potter.

Carolyn Kalinowski did an outstanding job as BCQ coordinator in Spring of 2018.

Drake's class had a tour of the bio-techne company in Minneapolis. Thanks to staff there who guided our tour!