Why Should I Be Involved In Research?

  • If you were actually convinced that all learning came from books, you wouldn't have gone to a liberal arts college.
  • It helps you get re-excited about your major
  • It can really challenge your brain without wrecking your GPA
  • Opportunities to travel to conferences
  • Helps you focus in on a future career
  • The chance to interact with faculty on a different level
  • Increases your attractiveness to employers and professional schools

What Kind of Research Can I Do With Dr. Carlin?

I am very willing to help those who “just don’t know what to do” but you will get a lot more out of independent and honors research (and life, for that matter) if you can focus your likes and talents into specific areas. Often times, students just don't know what sort of thing constitutes a good research project, nor do they have an idea of my expectations. That is solved by simply talking to me. I love talking about research!

Directed research, Independent Study and Honors Thesis research requirements will vary by project type, scope, and the number of credit hours enrolled. Minimally you will be turning in a plan of work, a final paper, a c.v. and have an exit interview. There are three types of undergraduate research studies:

Review Studies – You must synthesize and critique the state of knowledge for a particular question. That is, you must 1) define your question and establish relevance, 2) summarize the main points of all work that directly addresses your question, and 3) critically evaluate our current knowledge.

Project Studies – Here you conduct a project designed with the help of your mentor that forces you to acquire a skill that you wish to learn. You do a bit of review (as above), but you mainly focus on becoming proficient in mastering laboratory or field procedures, as well as the statistics required to assess the results properly.

Experimental Studies – This project is designed around the idea that you may already have some data you wish to analyse, or you want to conduct a small-scale version of your thesis in order to test out its feasibility. The results would be written as a scientific paper.


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Current and Past Student Research Projects

Eel systematics and biogeography. With A. Hamilton (NOAA Pascagoula). The deceptively simple morphology of eels is a headache for those trying to identify them. Research includes collection of marine eels (esp. morays) from the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Morphological and molecular systematics will be utilized to create a dichotomous key for area marine biologists. This project is currently under development.

Student activities include:

Coughlin K. 2009. Bottomfish collection along the Texas and Louisiana coastlines.

Genetic stock identification in the American monkfish Lophias americanus. With A. Johnson (U. Maryland Eastern Shore) and A. Richards (NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Maryland). Genetic stock identification and effective population size estimation in what may be two separate stocks of a commercially valuable marine fish. Supported by a 2008 NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center Research Grant.

Student activities include:

Nguluwe B. (U. Maryland Eastern Shore) and D. Follis (Gustavus Adolphus). Genomic DNA isolation, microsatellite optimization and analysis.

Conservation genetics and habitat assessment of a Washington Species of Special Concern, the margined sculpin Cottus marginatus. With J Schwartz (Fisheries Program, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation). Field surveys of 26 sites completed, sequencing of two mtDNA genes and one microsatellite locus characterized. Supported by 2007 Greater Gustavus Fund for Summer Research, 2007 and 2005 Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid, 2005 Perry Fund Award and 2005 Washington NASA Space Grant. Three undergraduate theses and five independent studies completed. Manuscript in prep.

Gustavus Adolphus College student activities include:

Betzler S. Microsatellite optimization and mtDNA phylogeny. Presented at 2008 Sigma Xi Student Undergraduate Research Symposium and Summer Research Fall Symposium. Coauthor of presentation at 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Soceity, Ottawa ON.

Consoer M. Multivariate analyses of fish habitats. 2008 independent study credit. Coauthor of presentation at 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Soceity, Ottawa ON.

Molitor R. Microsatellite variation. Presented at 2007 Summer Research Fall Symposium. Coauthor of presentation at 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Soceity, Ottawa ON.

Freeman D. Clear-and-stain procedures, comparative skeletal anatomy. 2007 volunteer.

Schultz J. Comparative skeletal and morphometric anatomy. 2007 volunteer.

Hanson K. Age-growth analysis. 2007 volunteer.

Whitman College student activities include:

Hagan C. Mitochondrial DNA variation. Presented at 2007 Oregon Chapter meeting of the American Fisheries Society, Eugene OR. Poster presented at 2006 American Genetics Association special symposium The Genetics of Speciation, Vancouver BC.

Johnson M. Ecological surveys. 2006 student research intern with Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Presented at 2007 Oregon Chapter and 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society. Poster presented at 2005 NASA Summer Undergraduate Research Program Conference, Seattle WA.

McDermet J. Ecological surveys and mitochondrial DNA variation. 2007 student research intern with Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Presented at 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, San Francisco CA.

Sprague L. Sculpin meristics. 2006 independent study credit.

Watanabe Y. DNA isolation. 2005 volunteer.

The chemical and biological fates of a water-borne pesticide. With E. Elias (Biology) and A. Nienow (Chemistry). Creation of methodologies that allow undergraduate researchers to rapidly assess the toxicity of UV-photolysed pesticides. In summer 2008 we optimized testing procedures and successfully demonstrated laboratory toxicity of the pesticide dimethenamid and its photolysed breakdown products in fathead minnow Pimephales promelas. Support pending from Research Corp’s Cottrell College Science Award. Supported by a 2008 Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program grant.

Student activities include:

Kesty K. 2008. Merck/AAAS summer research student. Presented at 2008 Summer Research Fall Symposium.


Additional Undergraduate Projects at Gustavus Adolphus College

Deuvel M. 2007. Viral-mediated gene transfer in Arabidopsis evolution.

Kesty K. 2008. Genomic isolation techniques for DNA recovery from dogfish shark Squalus acanthias.

Magnusson A. 2007. Developing a biotic integrity baseline and regional reference for southeastern Minnesota and the Seven Mile Creek Watershed.



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Rochelle Molitor (Bio) gains molecular biology experience that can be applied to conservation, medicine and forensics while investigating the conservation genetics of a freshwater fish population.





Angie Magnusson (EnvStu/Geography) tests water for pollutants as part of her research on the ecosystem integrity of Seven Mile Creek's watershed.





Kat Coughlin (Bio) learns to extract otoliths while on a marine research cruise in the Gulf of Mexico.





Rose Follis (Bio) looks for microsatellites on an agarose gel to determine the population genetics of the valuable New England monkfish.





Kendra Kesty (Biochem) fixes fish livers from organisms that have, or have not, been exposed to a UV-photolysed pesticide.





Miles Johnson (Whitman College EnvStu/Bio) collects tissue samples for DNA analysis after electrofishing for salmonids with the Umatilla Tribal Fisheries Dept.





Celia Hagan (Whitman College Biochem/Biophysics) and Yuri Watanabe (Biology) learn DNA amplification and DNA sequencing of an endangered streamfish population.