Graduate Research Opportunities
for the Department of Biology
Dr. Corey Anderson
Dr. Brad Bergstrom
Dr. Mark Blackmore
Dr. Christina Calestani
Dr. Emily Cantonwine
Dr. Richrad Carter
Dr. Eric Chambers
Dr. Teresa Doscher
Dr. John Elder
Dr. Timothy Fort
Dr. Robert Gannon
Dr. Russell Goddard
Dr. Timothy Henkel
Dr. Leslie Jones
Dr. Jonghoon Kang
Dr. J. M. Lockhart
Many potential graduate student thesis opportunities exist in my laboratory. I have three main research foci:1. Gopher tortoise disease and demography studies
Currently, we have ongoing projects studying various parameters from a local gopher tortoise population, including evaluations of plasma chemistry, presence/absence of Salmonella sp., and presence/absence of Mycoplasma sp. (causative agent of Upper Respiratory Tract Disease – URTD). We have ongoing studies to evaluate demographic parameters of the population utilizing remote frequency identification (RFID). A tremendous backlog of data from this project exists and needs to be evaluated. Another project to be done is to genetically fingerprint each animal from stored samples and compare subpopulations and identify potentially translocated animals. We also hope to evaluate the impact (if any) that the military mission at our study site may have on the gopher tortoise population.
2. Diseases of mesomammalian predators of bobwhite quail
From 2003-2006, our lab was responsible for the necropsy of 3,700 mesomammalian predators collected by the Department of Agriculture – Wildlife Services from quail plantations in southeast Georgia and north Florida. We have banked nearly 40,000 blood and tissue samples from the animals and are analyzing samples for selected disease agents. We have continuing disease studies on canine distemper virus and Trypanosoma cruzi. Many potential projects exist with the predator removal study including evaluating specific age data in regard to disease status, geographic information system analysis of predator/disease data, predator species-specific disease studies, and various disease surveys such as Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Bartonella, and tularemia, among others.
3. Tick-borne disease ecology
My original training was with Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the causative agent of human monocytotrophic ehrlichiosis, a tick-borne disease most prevalent in the southeastern United States. My work involved the relationship between E. chaffeensis, lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) and white-tailed deer. In south Georgia/north Florida, we have opportunities to study various tick-borne disease pathogens including Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, and Borrelia.
Dr. Colleen McDonough
Dr. James Nienow
Dr. Brian Ring
Dr. Jenifer Turco
Dr. Ted Uyeno
Department of Biology
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Room 2035, 2nd Floor
Bailey Science Building -
Mailing Address
1500 N. Patterson St.
Valdosta, GA 31698 - Phone: 229.333.5759
- Fax: 229.245.6585
Monday - Thursday
8:00AM until 5:30PM
Friday
8:00AM until 3:00PM
Saturday - Sunday
Office Closed