Songbirds boast vocal abilities rivaling those of humans, but how exactly do young birds and humans learn to sing and to speak? Understanding such vocal learning and plasticity is the research goal of neurophysiologist Mimi Kao, who was recently appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology.

Kao’s research uses songbirds as a model system to examine the neural mechanisms underlying vocal learning. Conveniently, the process through which birds learn to sing is quite similar to how humans learn to speak. “During a sensitive period when they’re young, both songbirds and humans need to hear adult vocalizations,” explains Kao. Then, during a sensorimotor learning phase, they both require auditory feedback to shape their own immature voices into something resembling that of adults.

Like humans, songbirds also possess specialized circuits in their brain that enable them to learn vocalizations. Combining neurophysiological, behavioral, and computational

“We study vocal learning in songbirds because it helps us understand the neural mechanisms underlying how experience shapes behavior,” says Mimi Kao.

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

“During a sensitive period when young, both songbirds and humans need to hear adult vocalizations,” explains Kao.

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LEARNING TO SINGNew Neurophysiologist Joins Tufts Biology

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IN THIS ISSUE

From the Chair ...............2

Research Highlights ......3

Quick Hits ......................3

BIONews ........................4

Graduates ......................5

Alumni Updates .............6

independent research projects in our laboratories! Eleven outstanding stu-dents wrote senior honors theses, and ten undergraduates helped to co-author peer-reviewed scientific articles.

Last year, we were honored by a $10 million grant to establish a Paul Allen Discovery Center at Tufts, led by devel-opmental biologist Michael Levin, that will address fundamental questions at the intersection of embryogenesis, computation, evolution, and synthetic morphology. Research at the Allen Discovery Center will focus on reading and writing the Morphogenetic Code, which orchestrates how cells communi-cate to create and repair complex tissues and structures. In addition, faculty members Elizabeth Crone, Catherine Freudenreich, Mitch McVey, Barry Trimmer, Eric Tytell and Ben Wolfe received major NIH, NSF, DOD and ARO awards in recognition of their research. And we’re thrilled to welcome an outstanding new faculty member, physiologist Dr. Mimi Kao, who joins us from University of California San Francisco (see page 1 for more about her research).

On the teaching front, we continue to strive to maintain the highest teaching standards for which Tufts is so well-known. We have extensively revised our Introductory Biology sequence, using new methods to enhance student

Dear Alumni and Friends,

We’re delighted to bring you all the latest news from Tufts Biology in this issue of our Alumni Newsletter! As our department continues to expand in exciting new directions, we especially value this chance to stay in touch with our terrific graduates.

The Department of Biology maintains an active, highly productive research enterprise led by faculty who are leaders in their field. Our research endeavors are supported by externally funded grants that exceeded $36.5 million last year. This support allows our students the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research, one reason that Biology continues to be such a popular major at Tufts. Last year, over 100 undergraduates completed

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Notables…Professor Michael Levin was awarded a $10 million grant from the Paul G. Allen Foundation, which funds research at the frontier of the life sciences. Levin will direct the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts, one of only two in the nation, which will focus on bioelectrical control of tissue growth and regeneration.

Assistant Professor Eric Tytell won a NSF CAREER Award to study the neural control and biomechanics of fish swimming. He also presented a Tufts TEDx talk, Floppy Fish and the Mystery of Muscle.

Rachael Bonoan, Ph.D. candidate in the Starks Laboratory, was selected to present a Tufts TEDx talk, Embracing Science as a Verb.

Kaylinnette Pinet, Ph.D. candidate in the McLaughlin Laboratory, won first prize in the graduate poster award competition at the Society for Developmental Biology’s conference held in Woods Hole, MA.

Justin Robbins, A17 Biology & History major, gave a Tufts TEDx talk, Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Autism?

Justine Epiney, A17 Biology & Community Health major and 2016 Summer Scholar, and Biology major Hannah Harris (2016 Carpenter Summer Fellow) won first prize for Best Undergraduate Poster at the Society for Developmental Biology & International Society for Development conference in Boston.

WELCOME FROM THE CHAIRlearning and to increase retention and diversity. In recognition of our efforts, we received an Inclusive Excellence award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for undergraduate science training that will help us more effectively engage all students.

Finally, we’ve bid a fond farewell to our department’s long-time home in Barnum Hall and Dana Laboratories. During summer 2017, Biology faculty and staff moved into the newly renovat-ed 3rd floor of Robinson Hall, adjacent to state-of-the-art teaching facilities and research labs in the new Science & Engineering Complex. This move now allows Tufts Biology to span our entire Medford campus, from 200 Boston Avenue to 200 College Avenue. Please come visit us in our new locations!

Of course, we owe all these achieve-ments to the many talents and hard work of our faculty and students. While we’re proud of our accomplishments, Tufts Biology has even higher ambitions for the future. With support from our alumni and friends, we hope to continue sharing the process of discovery with the next generation of students!

With warmest wishes,

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approaches, the Kao lab focuses on how cortical–basal ganglia circuits contribute to motor learning and performance, with special emphasis on how experience guides performance and modification of learned motor skills. These studies will help us better understand cognitive and motor impairments associated with disease or damage to these brain circuits, and hopefully contribute to our ability to repair or enhance brain function.

Kao’s fascination with biology began in childhood, when she became intrigued by how animals’ form and behavior is shaped by their environment. In college she started exploring the neural basis of behavior—“not just how the brain affects behavior, but also how behavior affects the brain,” explained

Kao. Since then, Kao has received multiple honors, including a Fulbright Grant and a fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and has given a TEDx talk. In 2013, Kao and her colleagues received the Cozzarelli Prize from the National Academy of Sciences.

At Tufts, Kao teaches Bio 116 General Physiology II and is enjoying the intellectually diverse community and interacting with students pursuing all areas of academic study. “Working with undergrads in classes and in the lab has really broadened my interests and reinforced the notion that experience shapes both brain and behavior to give rise to our unique abilities and differences,” she says. n

Duct Tape for the Genome Research in Professor Mitch McVey’s lab investigates how DNA gets repaired when both strands of the DNA double helix are broken by radiation, chemicals, or normal cellular processes. A few years ago, the lab showed that DNA polymerase theta (Pol theta) can bind to broken DNA ends and promote annealing of short, complemen-tary sequences. Once Pol theta has a secure hold of both ends, it synthesizes new DNA to fill in single-stranded gaps, leading to inaccurate repair of the break. Using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the lab recently discovered that females lacking Pol theta lay eggs with very thin eggshells, which leads to early embryonic death. A team led by graduate student Kelly Beagan showed that the thin eggshells are due to defective break repair at genomic sites undergoing rapid DNA copying. Why is this important, you may ask? Because Pol theta levels are elevated in many human cancers, the new results suggest that Pol theta may be used by highly proliferative cancer cells as a “duct tape” method for break repair that promotes their survival. Thus, the use of small molecules that impair Pol theta activity may be an effective cancer therapy. n

Climate, Tea and CoffeeClimate change is impacting tea and cof-fee production worldwide, due to elevated temperatures and altered rainfall patterns. Professor Colin Orians and his research team are working to quantify exactly how these crops respond to environmental stress, and to help local farmers cope with these changes. In China they’re working with an interdisciplinary team to find out how climate affects tea quality and economics. Spring tea is highly prized, while in the summer hotter temperatures and heavier rains reduce tea quality and promote insect pests. While in the past many farmers did not bother harvesting summer tea, others cultivate a special “bug-bitten” oolong tea called Oriental Beauty. Graduate student Eric Scott has been measuring how climate impacts the bug population, which in turn affects tea chemistry and taste. Meanwhile, coffee farmers in Costa Rica face similar challenges. In a new project, graduate student Gabriela Garcia is investigating how both coffee plants and coffee farmers can become more resilient in the face of increasing climate variability. n

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Learning to Sing Continued from page 1

Assistant Professor Ben Wolfe received an NSF grant to pursue an innovative approach to understanding how

microbial communities get assembled and how they evolve. Focusing on the relatively simple microbiomes used to make fer-mented foods—kombucha, sourdough, and cheese—this Wolfe lab research will provide assembly instructions that could be used to manipulate and design microbial ecosys-tems in medicine, agriculture, and industry. Results will be shared publicly through MicrobialFoods.org, a forum dedicated to the understanding the microbiology of artisan fermented foods.

Professor Sara Lewis wrote an award-winning popular science book, Silent Sparks: The Wondrous World of Fireflies (Princeton

University Press 2016), exploring the science and wonder of these luminous creatures. She also gave a TED talk on firefly evolution.

Professor Mitch McVey won the 2017 Faculty Teaching & Mentoring Award from Tufts Graduate School of Arts

and Sciences for his outstanding support of graduate students during training and post-degree placement.

QUICK HITS

Credit: The Banner

Ecologist Francie Chew Retires After 41 Years

For decades, nearly everyone passing through Tufts Biology has known the warmth and smiles of the ecologist Francie Chew. Professor Chew (known to us as Francie) earned world renown for her pioneering work on how butterflies coevolve with their host plants. She joined the Tufts faculty in 1975, after attending college at Stanford and earning her Ph.D. from Yale. At Tufts she taught Bio 14 (Introductory Biology), Bio 143 (Population Ecology), among many other courses, and mentored scores of students who did research projects in her laboratory. Her expertise and cheerful presence will be greatly missed!

We caught up with Francie before she retired in June 2016 to hear more about her Tufts experience:

Q: What are your most memorable teaching moments?

A: I’ve always loved bringing students out into the field. No matter what the weather, doing fieldwork side-by-side while collecting butterflies and plants is a terrific reminder that science is a collaborative endeavor.

Another thing that’s sheer bliss for me is watching students take an idea and make it their own. At Tufts, I’ve been privileged to see this magic transformation again and again. I saw it happen when seemingly unrelated concepts in Bio 14 suddenly click together, and when a student in Ecology gets inspired by a new idea, and when my research students obtain a novel and surprising result in the lab. And every time, the glint in their eye has no match!

Q: What will you miss most about Tufts?

A: When I first arrived Tufts was a modest institution with only a handful of women or Asian faculty. It’s changed a lot! Tufts has been a wonderfully nurturing yet stimulating place to spend my academic career: to teach, get grants to fund an active research group, and to help advance the science of ecology. I’ve worn many different hats at Tufts, and been lucky to be part of Tufts’ transfor-mation into a world-class institution. I also feel honored to have made so many good friends among Tufts students and faculty; their minds, hearts, and spirits are what make Tufts so special.

Q: In just a few words, how would you describe Tufts Biology?

A: Tufts Biology…it’s demanding, diverse, collegial, caring, collaborative, and also up-and-coming! n

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BIONews

A Familiar Face in Tufts BiologyOur own Liz Palmer—who served as Administrative Assistant in the Biology Department for the past 15 years—is also retiring after working at Tufts for 30 years. Quite a familiar face in the Barnum Biology Office, Liz always stood ready to help students and faculty. She is leaving Tufts with a smile and a tear, and is looking forward to traveling and spending quality time with her family during her retirement. n

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Congratulations to Our 2016–2017 Graduates

2016 Doctoral RecipientsNooria Al-Wathiqui Thesis: “Postcopulatory reproductive processes: The role of female and male reproductive genes and proteins in speciation and sexual selection” Advisor: Sara Lewis

Kelly Beagan Thesis: “The mechanism of Pol Theta mediated DNA repair and its use throughout the genome during development in Drosophila melanogaster” Advisor: Mitch McVey

Crista Burke-Wadsworth Thesis: “The mechanisms and consequences of evolution in phenology” Advisor: Erik Dopman

Robert Burns Thesis: “The control of metamor-phosis in the pollution-indicating polychaete Capitella teleta” Advisor: Jan Pechenik

Jennifer Mortensen Thesis: “Multifaceted characteriza-tion of extinction risk in the en-dangered, cooperatively breeding Whitebreasted Thrasher (Ramphocinclus brachyurus)” Advisor: Michael Reed

Jennifer Nguyen Thesis: “Roles of the Srs2 helicase and the Ctf18 clamp loader in replication of structure-forming CAG repeats in S.cerevisiae” Advisor: Catherine Freudenreich

Xiaofeng (Allen) Su Thesis: “Replication-coupled relo-cation to the nuclear pore complex and transcription-coupled R-loop formation influence expanded CAG repeat fragility and instability” Advisor: Catherine Freudenreich

2016 Award RecipientsSara Fuhrman Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award

Maya Emmons-Bell Benjamin Brown Scholarship

Evan Balmuth, Catherine Donlon, Maya Evans-Bell, Tyler Wise Carmichael Scholarships

Michael Bird Victor Prather Prize

Ellen Osborne Nancy Anderson Award for Environmental Sustainability

Katherine Kurth &   Amy Xinruo Guo Lily Glidden Award

Michael Bird & Marissa Rodenstein Durkee Scholarships

Marissa Rodenstein Angell & Durkee Prize

2017 Award RecipientsStacey Fair Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award

Albert Park Benjamin Brown Scholarship

Jason Shaffer, David Rose, Jonah Zarrow, Albert Park Carmichael Scholarships

Shana Gallagher Nancy Anderson Award for Environmental Sustainability

Luca Guadagno Lily Glidden Award

Xizhao Chen Victor Prather Prize

Kira Tomlinson, Xizhao Chen Durkee Scholarships

Ritah Chumbermpadetsuk Angell & Durkee Prize

2017 Doctoral RecipientsClare Parker Fischer Thesis: “How do wild birds adjust to captivity: Impacts on stress physiology and behavior” Advisor: Michael Romero

Amanda Franklin Thesis: “Visual signaling, chemical cues and camouflage in a stomatopod crustacean” Advisor: Sara Lewis

Kelsey Graham Thesis: “Estimating the impact of the European wool-carder bee, Anthidium manicatum, in North America” Advisor: Phil Starks

Emily Pitcairn Thesis: “Bioelectric regulation of embryonic pattern formation in Xenopus laevis” Advisor: Kelly McLaughlin

Master of ScienceAlexandra Exner Thesis: “Advantage of instability in maintaining function within the repetitive CTD of RNA Polymerase II” Advisor: Steve Fuchs

Julia Pilowsky Thesis: “The behavioral ecology of a wasp invasion” Advisor: Phil Starks

2016 Senior ThesesTeresa Dinter Advisor: Sergei Mirkin

Catherine Donlon Advisor: Michael Levin

Nicolas Dorian Advisor: Elizabeth Crone

Maya Emmons-Bell Advisor: Michael Levin

Miriam Gladstone Advisor: Dany Adams

Jennifer Hammelman Advisor: Michael Levin

Martin Ma Advisor: Dr. Giuseppina Tesco, TUSM

Diana Mojahed Advisor: Dr. Timothy Ford, MGH

Lauren Redosh Advisor: Elizabeth Crone

Alexander Schmidt Advisor: Mitch McVey

Tyler Wise Advisor: Eric Tytell

Katherine Wu Advisor: Catherine Freudenreich

2017 Senior ThesesMaimuna Ahmad Advisor: Dr. Shiv Pillai, Ragon Institute

Justine Epiney Advisor: Kelly McLaughlin

Stacey Fair Advisor: Catherine Freudenreich

Michaela Gold Advisor: Catherine Freudenreich

Imtiyaz Hossain Advisor: Dr. Joerg Ermann, BWH

Luke O’Connor Advisor: Phil Starks

Albert Park Advisor: Dr. Marcia Haigis, HMS

Erik Poppleton Advisors: Barbara Brodsky, BME & Stephen Fuchs

Martha Rimniceanu Advisor: Barry Trimmer

Rachel Rubinstein Advisor: Sergei Mirkin

Gina Tomarchio Advisor: Mitch McVey

Credit: Matthew Healey / Tufts University

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ALUMNI UPDATESDanae Schulz A04, who earned dual degrees from Tufts in Biology and from the New England Conservatory in violin performance, fondly remembers her trip to Hummingbird Cay with George Ellmore, when she nearly lost her violin to a sinking boat. While at Tufts, Danae was the first-ever Carpenter Fellow and did research in Catherine Freudenreich’s

lab, identifying new factors needed to prevent chromosome breaks and genome instability. After graduating Tufts summa cum laude, Danae went on to earn a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology at University of California, Berkeley. She worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Rockefeller University and then, in January 2016, moved back to California to become Assistant Professor at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont. She studies African trypanosomes, parasites transmitted through tsetse flies that cause sleeping sickness. Her research examines how these parasites adapt to different environments in the fly and mammalian bloodstream, aimed toward finding ways to fight this disease. n

Wilson Andres Acuña A13, Biology and Environmental Studies, inspired by the research in insect ecology that he conducted as an undergraduate, began twisting paper tissues into the shapes of different insects. Wilson makes intricately detailed insect creations that are sculpted entirely from paper. These miniature sculptures offer a unique perspective on arthropods, encour-aging viewers to look closely and to appreciate their beauty. He has exhibited his artistic creations several places, including at Tisch Library in 2012, at the Linden Street Gallery in September 2015, and at the Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick in November 2016. Wilson does environmental education at the Massachusetts Audubon Society and at the Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary in Bolyston, Massachusetts. n

After a chance meeting on an airplane, Rebecca Autenried A10 landed in the University of Iowa’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) where she is pursuing a MD/PhD in biomedical science. Having completed her medical education, Rebecca is now working on her PhD in the laboratory of Dr. Dale Abel, where she studies the molecular mechanisms underlying heart disease associated with diabetes. Under-standing such mechanisms may lead to drugs that will prevent cardiomyopathy in patients with Type II diabetes. She encourages those curious about entering physician scientist training to contact her at rebecca-autenried@uiowa.edu. n

Biology Alumni Mingle!In case you missed it, Tufts Biology has a new tradition! Every year, we throw a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres party for all of our Biology, Biopsychology, and Biochemistry alumni. Timed to coincide with Tufts Back-to-the-Hill Young Alumni Reunion in early June, this lively event welcomes all Biology alumni, including graduate as well as undergraduate students. So come meet up with friends old and new, reconnect with Biology faculty, and browse posters showcasing the exciting research happening now in Tufts Biology.

Check out the photos from past Mingles, and mark your 2018 calendar now for Friday, June 8th to join the Mingle tradition! Stay tuned for more details. n

STAY IN TOUCH• E-mail BIO_Aumni@tufts.edu with your news, stories, and

updated contact information. We would love to include you in our next issue!

• Did you know that you can keep in touch and hear all the latest news from the biology department via our brand new Facebook Page? Search Tufts Biology or check us out here:

/Biology-Tufts-University-574698379587425/

Catching up with friends old & new at the annual Biology Alumni MingleCredit: Glenn Kulbako/Tufts University

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