Margaret C. Bloch Qazi

Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
Gustavus Adolphus College
800 W. College Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082

Education

1991 B.A. cum laude with honors in Biology
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA. (Advisor Dr. Nick Rodenhouse)
Thesis title: Fitness advantage of female mate choice by flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum) in different environments.
1999 Ph.D. in Biology
Tufts University, Medford, MA. (Advisor Dr. Sara Lewis)
Thesis title:  Sperm precedence in a flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum)

Research Experience

1999-2000 Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA. (Mentor Dr. Barry Trimmer)
Project title: Interneuronal mediation of the proleg withdrawal reflex in the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta.
2000-2003 Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. (Mentor Dr. Mariana Wolfner)
Project title: How male accessory gland protein Acp36DE influences sperm storage in female Drosophila melanogaster.

Teaching Experience

Tufts University
1993 - 1999 Laboratory Instructor or Teaching Assistant for the following classes:
Introduction to Cells and Organisms
Society, Science, and the Social Contract
Experiments in Biology
Introduction to Organisms and Populations
1999 Laboratory Coordinator: Introduction to Organisms and Populations

Cornell University
2002 Discussion Leader: Freshman orientation reading project (Frankenstein by Mary Shelly)
2001, '02 Instructor: Explorations in Biology (an afternoon lab for 8 students from the introductory biology class, Biological Sciences 101-104, Cornell University)

Gustavus Adolphus College
2003 - present
Assistant Professor of Biology
Course taught include:
Directed Research (Bio396)
Entomology (Bio376)
Developmental Biology (Bio382)
Invertebrate Zoology (Bio241)
Organismal Biology (Bio102)
First Term Seminar (FTS 100-009)

Service at Gustavus Adolphus College

2003 - present Secretary for campus chapter of Sigma Xi
2003 - present Prevet advisor
2006 Faculaty Development Committee
2006 Campus Coordinator for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Program

Awards and Honors

1991 Associate member of Sigma Xi
1996, '97 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award Biology Department, Tufts University.
1997 Animal Behavior Society Research Award
1999 Outstanding Contribution to Undergraduate Education, Tufts University.
2000 NRSA postdoctoral training award, declined for ACS fellowship
2000-2003 American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Research Fellow
2003 Full member of Sigma Xi
2005 Presidential Faculty/Student Collaborative Grant (Gustavus Adolphus College)

Employment

1991-1993 Ninth grade physical sciences teacher in Pitt County School System, Greenville, NC. Member of Teach For America, a national teachers corps.
1992-1993 Summer campground educator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (Northern Highlands American Legion State Forest).

Publications

1. Bloch Qazi, M.C., Herbeck, J.T., and Lewis, S.M. 1996. Mechanisms of sperm transfer and storage in the red flour beetle (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Ann Ent. Soc. Amer. 89: 892-897.

2. Bloch Qazi, M.C., Boake, C.R.B., and Lewis, S.M. 1998. The femoral setiferous glands of Tribolium castaneum males and production of the pheromone 4,8-dimethyldecanal. Entomol. Exper. Applic. 89:313-317.

3. Bloch Qazi, M.C., Aprille, J.R., and Lewis, S.M. 1998. Female role in sperm storage in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Comp. Biochem. & Physiol. A. 120:641-647.

4. Bloch Qazi, M.C., Tram, U., Lung, O. Wolfner, M.F. 2001. Fluorescing flies: examining protein targeting and insect reproductive behavior using Green Fluorescent Protein. Dros. Inf. Ser. 84: 224-226.

5.  Bloch Qazi, M.C. 2003. A potential mechanism of cryptic female choice in a flour beetle. J. Evol. Biol. 16:170-176.

6. Bloch Qazi, M.C., Heifetz, Y. and Wolfner, M.F. 2003. The developments between gametogenesis and fertilization: ovulation and female sperm storage in Drosophila melanogaster. Developmental Biology 256: 195 – 211.

7. Bloch Qazi, M.C. and Wolfner, M.F. 2003. An early role for the Drosophila melanogaster male seminal protein Acp36DE in female sperm storage. The Journal of Experimental Biology 206: 3521 – 3528.

8. Muller, J.L., Ram, K.R., McGraw, L.A., Bloch Qazi, M.C., Siggia, E.D., Clark, A.G., Aquadro, C.F., Wolfner, M.F. 2005. Cross-species comparison of Drosophila male accessory gland protein genes. Genetics, 171:131-143.

9. Bloch Qazi, M.C. and Wolfner, M.F. 2006. Emergence of sperm from female storage sites has egg-influenced and egg-independent phases in Drosophila melanogaster. Biology Letters, 2(1): 128-130.

Reviewer For

Animal Behaviour, Journal of Insect Behavior, Journal of Insect Physiology

Presentations

Talks and Posters at Meetings:

1996. Talk. Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting. Flagstaff, AZ.
1997. Talk. Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting. College Park, MD.
1998. Talk. Soc. for Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting. Boston, MA.
1998. Talk. International Society of Behavioural Ecology Meeting. Pacific Grove, CA.
1999. Talk. Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting. Louisberg, PA.
2001. Poster. 42nd Annual Drosophila Research Conference. Washington, D.C.
2002. Talk. Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting. Fort Lauderdale, FL.
2004. Talk. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. New Orleans, LA.

Invited Seminars (extradepartmental):

2000. Department of Biology. Wellesley College.
2001. Department of Biology. Syracuse University.
2002. St. Olaf College
2002. Gustavus Adolphus College
2003. Ithaca College