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Concordia STEM students earn research grants, attend scientific conferences

Concordia College biology students were recently awarded four $500 grants for investigating microplastics and human bacteria in squirrels, monitoring bat populations, and analyzing urbanization’s impact on local wildlife.

The undergraduate research grants came from Sigma Zeta, a national honor society that fosters scholarly activity and academic scholarship in the natural and computer sciences, as well as mathematics.

  • Caitlin Haasser ’28, “Understanding the impact of urbanization on Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) foraging near anthropogenic food sources”
  • Delia Denis ’27 and Makena Hedlund ’27, “Bat Detection in Minnesota Urban and Rural Areas Using AudioMoth Recorders”
  • Eleanor Puzzo ’26 and Mame Diarra Bousso ’26, “Investigating the impacts of microplastic exposure on diversity and abundance of gut microbiome species on Sciurus carolinensis (eastern gray squirrel) and Ictidomys tridecemlineatus (thirteen-lined ground squirrel)”
  • Ella Shinn ’26, “The presence of human-associated bacteria in the microbiomes of three species of urban and rural squirrel ceca”

The students are preparing to present their research at a number of scientific conferences, including the Minnesota Chapter of the Wildlife Society in Duluth, the local URSCA Symposium at Concordia, and the Sigma Zeta International Convention in Indianapolis.

Concordia’s chapter of Sigma Zeta, Gamma Gamma, has a long history of excellence in the sciences, particularly in ecology and often with a focus on wildlife. As such, a number of other Cobbers are set to attend the international convention along with the presenters in March, including Chloe Fiske, Tierney Stevenson, Riham Jameel, Peter Weinzierl, Kate Hemmer, Al Sterling, Felipe Masuch, Kadar Yusuf, Chloe Nyberg, Malorie Anderson, Lydia Holmgren, Emily Torgerson, Madi Van Binsburgen, and Peace Nanyonga.

Last year’s grant recipients were:

  • Katie Waugh ’25, Peter Weinzierl ’26, and Heidy De Leon Escobar ’27, “Assessing the Impact of Elm and Ash Tree Mortality on Concordia’s Campus Squirrels’ Foraging Behavior and Dreys”
  • Fatima Mohammed, Yuden Dorji ’24, Favziya Rasulova ’25, and Mubina Rasulova ’25, “Assessing Microplastic Concentrations and Composition in the Gastrointestinal Tracts of Urban and Rural Tree and Ground Squirrels (Sciuridae)”
  • Yuden Dorji ’24, “Exploring the Origins and Impact of Microplastics on Squirrel Gut Microbiomes: Investigating Bacillus subtilis and the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes Dynamics in Urban and Rural Squirrels”

Waugh, Weinzierl, Dorji, Puzzo, and Shinn, as well as Alex McPhee, Kylie Brenny, Maddi Barlage, and Gavin Groshelle all attended last year’s national Sigma Zeta conference in Campbellsville, Kentucky. Accompanied by Dr. Joseph Whittaker, associate professor of biology, and Dr. Graeme Wyllie, assistant professor of chemistry, the students presented their research, toured Mammoth Cave, and stopped at the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium in Chicago on their way back.

“Our students get to communicate with other motivated students from across the country and beyond,” Whittaker said. “Students get practice presenting in a professional setting with supportive and interested students and faculty. They can hear about and discuss research with colleagues and potential career options. The students also get published abstracts.”

Sigma Zeta’s activities at Concordia go well beyond funding student research. Gamma Gamma also invites speakers to campus and collaborates with other student groups, and even hopes to host the national convention in 2027, in celebration of the Concordia chapter’s 15th anniversary.

At the international level, Sigma Zeta is planning to launch an undergraduate research journal, which will offer students additional opportunities to publish research. Wyllie is serving as the journal’s editor, and Whittaker as its publicist.

For more information, visit SigmaZeta.org.

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