Author Archives: Adrian Gallo

Paul does it all: Is there hope for the amphibian taxa?

Everyday there is a constant battle between healthy immune systems and parasites trying to harass our bodies. In the case of buffalos in South Africa they cannot simultaneously fight off a tuberculosis infection and a parasitic worm. Their immune system has to choose which of the adversaries it will fight; this decision has consequences for the individual and the health of the entire population of buffalos it encounters. This situation is not unlike those for humans. We are not fighting one immunological disease at a time, but many at once and they can interact to influence how we feel. Our guest this evening specializes in disease ecology, which focuses on how the spread of pathogens interacts with humans and non-human organisms.

Paul while working as the Ezenwa Lab manager at the University of Georgia

Paul Snyder has worked on tiny ticks in New York to wild buffalo in South Africa, but he’s had a very colorful life before beginning his studies at OSU. Even though he loved everything science and technology growing up, there was limited exposure to those fields in high school and he never thought of being a scientist as a career path. To put things in perspective, he wasn’t allowed to buy any video games growing up; instead he programmed his first working computer game at the ripe age of 6, yes six, years old! Paul continued his illustrious career as a 13-year old paperboy, then burger flipper, and eventually working his way up through the ranks to the manger of a Toys R Us store. He realized he wanted to focus on science and pursued his schooling at University of South Florida doing research on the interaction of parasites and tadpoles, then New York counting ticks, and finally University of Georgia as a lab manager. Oh yeah, somewhere in-between he successfully mastered the bass guitar with his band mates and learned how to program virtual reality simulations, but I digress.

In his downtime Paul works on virtual reality apps for us to enjoy

Back in the world of science, Paul is working with Dr. Blaustein’s Integrative Biology lab group in the College of Science that he first became aware of from his work with South African buffalo’s. Rather than beginning his disease ecology research with human trials, Paul is focusing on the #1 declining vertebrate taxa in the world. Amphibians have been sharply declining since the 1980’s and there have been no shortage of guesses, but sadly few answers as to why this is happening. Paul’s current project has identified a species-virus interaction (e.g. the number of species present impacts how the infection spreads). But Paul’s real interest and ongoing research lies in the very young field of ecoimmunology: how do the immune systems of organisms change over time in response to the environment they experience.

You’ll have to tune in to hear how he plans to rectify the molecular-scale view of immunology, with the large-scale controls from the environment. You can listen tonight September 18^th 2016 at 7PM on the radio at 88.7FM KBVR Corvallis, or stream live at 7PM.

Get out and Play with Friends!

As the Rio Olympics gets underway we are reminded just how far a human being can push their body to shave off ¼ second, or jump the extra inch; we tend to envision exercise for purely physical benefits such as burning calories, bigger muscles, and a stronger heart. Think about how much more enjoyable it is to play basketball with friends or run with a buddy instead of trudging through mile after mile by yourself.

Our guest this evening sees the physical benefits of exercising, but wants to remind us of social bonding and psychological well-being that can be produced from exercising with a group of people. Jafra Thomas is a Ph.D. student in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences focusing on how health should be viewed as a social phenomenon, instead of purely an anatomical process. Not only is Jafra interested in the effects of exercise on the individual, but also how these activities can strengthen the social fabric with our peers, how values can develop from these experiences, and how this can promote a positive personal identity.

Think back to your (probably very awkward) early high school days, some may have been on the dance team, band group, or some other sports team. Your very first practice was really scary because you were not physically ready and you’re surrounded by lots of new people you don’t know! Fast-forward to the end of high school you realize what you learned about team-bonding, inclusion, perseverance, and hopefully developed a life-long personal identity through those long and grueling practices.

Jafra Thomas is currently a PhD student in the College of Health and Human Sciences

While going through his undergraduate degree at the University of Pacific in California, Jafra spearheaded a program to encourage community members of diverse backgrounds to participate on a rowing team. This rowing program helped the participants overcome some of the many barriers that often limit participation in these unique sports. The program made sure to provide equally accessible events and create an inclusive environment so kids can learn more about themselves and others. This is the kind of healthy development we should be promoting in tandem with the physical benefits of exercising.

Jafra has already received some prestigious awards, and in the future plans to become university professor who hopes to strike a balance between research, teaching and service. In the mean time, he’s keeping himself busy by being a part of the Black Graduate Students Association (BGSA), Graduate Certificate in College and University Teaching Program (GCCUTP), and recently got back into rowing through the Corvallis Rowing Club.

Tune in Sunday, August 7th at 7PM PDT on KBVR, 88.7 FM or stream live at http://www.orangemedianetwork.com/kbvr_fm/ to hear Jafra’s story.

The hurdles for a college education are not the same for all students

The majority of college students today had the privilege of transitioning from high school to college in a year or less, making the transition to higher education easy. I think it’s safe to say our freshman-selves would’ve argued with the term “easy transition”. But what happens if you needed a gap year to decide what major to pursue, or needed to work and save money so you could even pay for college. Unfortunately, this gap year (often years) for many students leads them to pursue a career without a higher education limiting their potential achievements in the long-run. Furthermore, many in disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds don’t even consider the possibility of obtaining a college degree because it’s fiscally impossible, or they simply don’t know anyone who has a higher degree so they can’t relate to anyone. A college education has become a necessity in the job market, and in order for everyone to have a fair fight towards the American dream we need to level the playing field.

Our guest tonight focuses on how social policy influences the accessibility of higher education to people of lower incomes, non-traditional, and first generation students. Terese Jones, a 4^th year Ph.D. student in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences, explores the institutional and personal hurdles that prevent many people from obtaining a higher education. Imagine trying to pay for college when most scholarships are geared towards the younger demographic, or trying to adjust to a rigorous 10-week quarter system from a “9-5” job. You begin to see a picture of why going back to school after a career, or even a few years away from school, can become difficult to transition back into.

Terese and Quinlan painting together at the 2016 Bring Your Kid to Campus Day. Terese chairs the Student Parent Advisory Board at OSU, and works with the office of Childcare and Family Resources to advocate for affordable and accessible childcare for OSU students. There are many benefits to having children on college campuses, for both kids and college students.

One of the theories Terese is exploring is called the cumulative advantage theory as a potential explanation for why students of lower socioeconomic status do not succeed to the same degree as their more affluent counterparts. Think about moving to an entirely new city where you don’t know anyone and need to find a job. If you have money in the bank you can get an apartment and start looking for a job in your field; however if you’ve moved with no money you’re likely to take the first job coming your way to pay for an apartment before you ever think of looking for a job you will enjoy. 30 years later the person who had money has advanced in their career far quicker compared to the person who arrived empty handed. The benefits of a small advantage at the beginning of ones life, produces a disproportionate benefit through their life-course when compared to someone who did not have the small advantage at the beginning.

Terese also remembers her mother going back to school to finish her GED when she was only 12, but the difficulty her mom had with finishing school while maintaining a full household was extremely challenging. Even though Terese has extensive experience with the social system working in Chicago with the homeless, and Seattle at a women’s shelter, she still found that some applications and processes were just plain confusing and hard to fit into her schedule. This troubling experience led her to realize even though she’s familiar with the paperwork, the process was not trivial which gave her the motivation to pursue a higher degree at Oregon State.

Quinlan and Terese, after completing the Turkey Trot! The family that runs together gets leg cramps together!

Tune in tonight to hear this terrific story of how Terese aims to continue helping others as she focuses on some programs at Linn-Benton Community College can increase the chances students attend and finish a college degree. You can listen online here or on 88.7FM at 7PM!

Oops that’s a mistake.. No, that’s a new detox pathway!

It’s graduation season and for those folks who think grad school isn’t for them, take a look at this week’s guest who is one of the first to participate in the 4+1 Bioresource Research program in the College of Agricultural Sciences allowing students to complete their undergraduate and graduate degrees in 5 years! Taylor Hughes is an Oregonian native who grew up testing the river through his backyard for organic pollutants that would eventually lead him to Oregon State University scholarship. Like most recent graduates, high school and college alike, he didn’t know exactly which career path to take. He was looking towards environmental sciences after a pivotal class in high school that forced him identify an ecological system and develop a method to test a hypothesis; essentially he was a scientist in the making!

Chasing giant Fall Chinook on the Umpqua River in my hometown

Fast-forward through the pre-requisite classes, and four years at OSU, and Taylor is now a recent graduate of the Bioresource Research degree focusing on toxicology. The degree requires some research hours where he worked on a senior thesis focusing on how naturally produced bodily chemicals were influencing our bodies’ endocannabinoid receptors system that work to keep our internal functions stable. This was Taylor’s first exposure to the “-omics” branch of science, some common examples include genomics and metabolomics.

This research focuses on biomolecules of specific functions or from specific species, however the vast number of molecules produced by our biology leads to massive datasets that tend to be hypothesis generating research rather than hypothesis driven research. What does this mean for the rest of us? It leads to unintended discoveries, answers to questions we didn’t know we had. Now that Taylor has returned to OSU and focusing on lipidomics, he has found as a potentially new detoxification pathway that has previously been unknown!

Tune in on tonight, June 5^th at 7PM on 88.7FM or online to listen to us talk to the Roseburg-native Taylor Hughes about new understandings in how our bodies can remove toxic by-products.

Competing at a BBQ Cook-off fundraiser that raises money for Doernbecker’s Children’s hospital

How to make grass greener on the other side

Clint is showing us how his field trials are set up and the major benefits his applications are having on the grass.

Turfgrass managers are responsible for the beautiful playing surfaces you are accustomed to seeing for sports including football, soccer, tennis, baseball, rugby, lacrosse, golf, well you get the picture!

The smell of freshly cut grass can lead an unlucky bunch to reach for Kleenex and the allergy meds, while others get a smile on their face as they prepare for game time. Little did you know, those ‘wet-green’ smells are organic compounds to help the grasses (among many other functions) recover from decapitation and fungal infections. Minimizing fungal infections on your lawn are manageable, but what if you were in charge of keeping an entire golf course in perfect shape all year long? This week our guest is Clint Mattox who has worked in Europe and the US in pursuit of managing turfgrass to its highest potential while also being cognizant of the environmental and economic impacts of pesticides and fungicides. Clint is now a PhD student in the College of Agricultural Sciences working with Dr. Alec Kowalewski in the Department of Horticulture focusing on turfgrass management in the Pacific Northwest. You can also follow Clint on Twitter @mattoxgolf.

Clint Mattox does integrated pest management and fungicide research on turfgrass at Lewis Brown Horticulture Research Farm in Corvallis, Oregon.

If growing a perfectly uniform surface wasn’t hard enough, a constant hurdle turfgrass managers are facing are the detrimental impacts of a fungal pathogen, commonly called Microdochium Patches, that can have an annual cost of approximately $20,000 for each golf course! To add insult to injury, certain areas limit the type and quantity of fungicide than can be applied forcing turfgrass managers to seek new solutions.

Clint recently finished a Masters of Science with some promising results for how we can effectively manage the infection of Annual Blue Grass (the primary grass for golf courses in this climate) from this formidable fungus while also moving towards organic methodologies. Using a combination of old and new practices he’s fine-tuning current management strategies with the hopes of being able to eliminate the use of fungicides on golf courses.

Tune in on Sunday April 3^rd at 7PM on 88.7FM, or online, to hear about the pursuit of fungicide-free turfgrass management.

**All photos are credited to Steven Ward from the OSU Extension Service.

Earth, Water, and Fire (& Politics too)

What does it mean to be at the intersection of science, policy, philosophy, and cultural norms? This week our guest Brian Trick, a Masters student in the College of Forestry, will discuss some tremendous hurdles we Oregonians have with how we perceive and need healthy forests for the most important resource of all.

Sometimes you get sent out on a fire, spend two days on it, and then it rains on you. Trying to stay warming until it's time to leave. This my best Wilson brother, "behind enemy lines" look.

Sometimes you get sent out on a fire, spend two days on it, and then it rains on you. Trying to stay warm until it’s time to leave. This is my best Wilson brother, “behind enemy lines” look.

We need water to live; considering Oregon receives about 80% of its freshwater from forests it only makes sense to protect areas that carry water from mountaintops to our taps. There are federally mandated safety boundaries (riparian buffers) that surround rivers and streams in forests applied on public and private lands alike. These buffers restrict activity to help minimize erosion losses, temperature spikes in water, as well as sediment and chemical inputs to keep ecosystems functioning. Most of the water purification process happens (literally) upstream. Research projects suggest larger riparian areas will keep ecosystems functioning at a higher level; perfect you might think, lets make the riparian buffers extra wide right?

Not so fast, what happens if you own a small parcel of forest and there are so many streams the riparian buffers prevent you from doing anything on your own property? How much of a buffer zone around a stream is needed for a healthy ecosystem, while simultaneously allowing small land-owners to manage forests? Can we arrive at a ‘one size fits most‘ for protected riparian areas? This is policy at its best, if it works!

This is a complicated intersection of forest management and domestic policy and Brian Trick will help discuss some current events and what this could mean for a judicial precedent. In the event we help Brian save the riparian-buffer world, we’ll also delve into his upcoming job as a Forest Service smokejumper, but don’t worry this isn’t the first time he’s jumped out of aircrafts!

Tune in on Sunday, March 27th at 7PM PST on 88.7 FM in Corvallis or stream us online at http://kbvr.com/listen to hear exactly why Brian is (literally) a Hotshot!

Brian working for the USDA Forest Service in a rappel operation located in Salmon, ID.

Brian working for the USDA Forest Service in a rappel operation in Salmon, ID.

Orange you glad you have scientists?

Although many students know the Linus Pauling building, few know of the ridicule he faced towards the end of his career for pursing the effects of high dose Vitamin C on the human body and its implications for cancer treatment. Fast-forward a few decades and the tune has changed in scientists around the world as we begin uncovering the mechanisms of how Vitamin C influences cancer cell propagation. One of these projects is led by our guest this week Matt Kaiser who began this research project as an undergraduate which has helped make sense of why these pharmacological dosing levels of Vitamin C aid in targeting tumor cells while simultaneously allow the functioning of normal cells to remain uninhibited.

Matt has already presented at a professional conference in Boston, was an invited speaker at OSU’s TEDx event in 2015, helped start a philanthropy to donate money to OHSU, and pursued a six-month internship with one of the largest medical institutions in the country.. and he’s not done yet!

Currently Matt is working under Nancy Kerkvliet in the department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology on a new project that can have breakthrough immunotherapy applications to help treat individuals with autoimmune diseases such as diabetes or multiple sclerosis.

You can see some of Matt’s photography work that helped contribute to Phil Knight’s Cancer Challenge by finding him on Instagram @backyard_oregon or on his website.

Join us Sunday, January 10^th at 7PM to hear more about Matt’s research and his astonishing undergraduate career that has launched him to fame on the TED stage. Tune in to KBVR Corvallis 88.7FM or stream the show live!

The Sweetest Genes

Tonight we have the pleasure of speaking to Natalia Salinas who comes all the way from South America to work on producing more (and delicious) strawberries! Think about how often you see strawberries in the grocery store, but strawberries typically only produce one harvest per year. Some of Natalia’s work focus on identifying if the seeds’ DNA have the perpetual flowering characteristic so there are more potential harvests throughout the year. Just as important as quantity is quality; a second aspect of Natalia’s work is searching DNA markers to try and predict the sugar content in strawberries.

Ideally growers would like many harvests and sweeter strawberries, so tune in tonight at 7PM Pacific time to 88.7FM KBVR Corvallis or stream the show live at http://kbvr.com/listen to find out how Natalia can help your next milkshake be even more delicious!

Natalia is working to amplify the DNA sequences in strawberries to identify desirable traits.

The fruits of Natalia’s labor. Yum!

Modifying Textile and Design to Make a Modern Hijab

The hijab is a veil, covering the head and chest typically worn by Muslim women’s as a symbol of modesty and privacy around the world. Although it is usually only worn for short periods of time in Saudi Arabia, there are more dynamic situations they face in western countries where this attire can hinder everyday actions like navigating a fall thunderstorm, driving a car, and playing sports. A group of Muslim women in the US have thus modified the traditional hijab for comfort and fashion. Our guest today is Elham Maqsood who will describe her tremendous journey from Saudi Arabia to the US where she seeks to introduce these designs to other Muslims and help increase the quality of life of the next generation of Muslim women. Elham is entering the last year of her Ph.D. program in Design and Human Environment and will return to Saudi Arabia to become a university teacher to potentially start her own fashion line!

Tune in tonight at 7PM Pacific Time to 88.7FM KBVR Corvallis or stream the show live at http://kbvr.com/listen and hear how Elham is helping a new generation of Muslim women feel more comfortable in their own skin and how textile modification can make all the difference!

Inspiration Dissemination

Inspiring Stories From Oregon State Graduate Students on 88.7 KBVR FM