Hello everybody! The Biological Sciences Department blog is back in business! Thank you for your patience.

Now that the blog is up and running again, we are making a call for student submissions. We want to hear from you, the students, about your experience as a DePaul BIO (or NEU) major. Submissions can be about past or current research opportunities, how your first week of Spring Quarter went, any fun activities over the past Winter Break, and much more! Use the blog Archive to preview past submissions for some ideas of what to write about. 

If you would like to submit your writing, please send it as an email attachment to the Biology Department student assistants, Mia Frost (mfrost6@depaul.edu)  or Franca Lolos (flolos@depaul.edu).  Feel free to reach out to us if you have any further questions about the blog.

We can’t wait to hear from you!

– Mia

Hello, everyone!

It’s certainly been a while, but the Biology Department Blog is currently under construction. We want this blog to be a place for students to share their experiences as well as have access to BIO/NEU resources. Student submissions will continue to be the focus of the blog, but there will be an addition of pages for students to access department student guides, internship guides, department contact information, and more. 

Thank you for your patience as we restructure this blog. Later in the quarter, we will be reaching out to students for submissions (see previous posts for inspiration). Your submissions can be about where you worked last summer, how you spent this past winter break, how you stayed entertained at home during these past, interesting weeks. 

Once again, thank you for your patience, and we hope to hear from you soon!

Michaela Jacob, Biological Sciences, Alumna 19’

Michaela Jacob, Alumna 19′, at her graduation ceremony showing off her decorated cap reading, “found my porpoise”.

My first year at DePaul University was terrifying. I found myself questioning my decision to attend a city school as well as choosing to study Biological Sciences. As a first-generation student, I felt lost and like I was falling behind my peers. Additionally, the city itself scared me. I did not enjoy taking public transportation alone, being outside of my apartment after the sunset, nor did I want to commute to areas unfamiliar to me. With the extremely difficult course load, hours of what felt like unsuccessful studying, adjusting to life away from home, and slowly but surely gaining that freshman fifteen, I did not think I made the right decision in attending DePaul.

Fortunately, my experience at the university drastically changed as I progressed. Throughout the years, I made life-long friends (shout out to my Chem Squad), had the opportunity to learn under brilliant faculty, and I gained experience at locations uniquely available in Chicago. At the end of my first year, I worked as an Animal Specialist at Chicago Canine Rescue. This job opened my eyes to the issue with strays in cities, and confirmed my passion for helping animals in need. Working at CCR also helped me to become more comfortable traveling through the city. Though the bus ride was long and my feet were always aching, this job helped me to grow and appreciate the city as well as DePaul for helping me find this position.

I spent my second year at DePaul University working at Jewell Animal Hospital as a Veterinary Technician Assistant and at the Shedd Aquarium as a Marine Mammal Volunteer. As a student pursuing aquatic medicine, both of these work experiences fit into my career goals perfectly. I am extremely grateful to have attended a city school where opportunities such as these became available to me. With my time spread thin, I would rush home from the Shedd Aquarium each week and have twenty minutes to scarf down a sandwich before I headed to a three-hour lab. I apologize to all of my lab mates my second year as I always showed up exhausted and smelling fishy. On top of having less time as I dedicated so much of each week to work, this was my most academically challenging time at DePaul. If it were not for my friends dragging me through my classes and my professors refusing to give up on me, I would not have made it through this stressful time. My successes my sophomore year speak a lot about DePaul. Students are able to gain work experiences instrumental for receiving a job post-graduation while making it through difficult classes because the DePaul community is student focused; professors, friends, and advisors worked to help me through this strenuous period.

Since students have the month of December free of classes, DePaul offers unique opportunities during this long break. I was especially thankful for this time because my schedule was jam packed each quarter. In the December Intersession of my second year, I was fortunate enough to participate in a study abroad trip. I spent two weeks studying Roman Catholicism in Rome-arguably the perfect place to do so. We attended guided tours through locations such as the Vatican library and St. Peter’s Basilica, were given time to explore the city on our own, ate delectable food for every meal, and were immersed in Italian culture. My two weeks in Rome were unforgettable, and I owe the memories to DePaul.

The summer after my sophomore year, I worked as a Nutrition Research Intern at the Brookfield Zoo. For anyone who knows me, this was truly a dream come true. I spent my childhood visiting Brookfield Zoo with my family every summer, and these visits are what sparked my interest in conservation and animals. I drove three hours one way for the entire summer, and I do not regret one second. With this job, I learned how a zoo operates, what happens behind the scenes, and how well cared for the animals are. I received this position through the Dean’s Undergraduate Fellowship through the College of Science and Health. At the end of the summer, I presented my research on the consumption trial I put together for the Myrmecophaga tridactyla, commonly known as giant anteaters, at the Undergraduate Research Showcase for DePaul University STEM students. I would not have had the chance to work at such a prestigious location or present personal research if it were not for DePaul, and I am forever thankful for this internship.

My third year was a blur. It included laughing with friends, crying over exams, and figuring out how to pass Biochemistry. Spring break of my junior year, I spent a week at Island Dolphin Care in Key Largo as a Marine Mammal Medical Student learning what a day in the life of an aquatic veterinarian is like. I was able to see first-hand what I was setting myself up for, and it could not have gone any better. My time at Island Dolphin Care solidified my decision to pursue aquatic medicine, and it sparked a greater interest in conservation. Issues with single use plastics are beginning to gain popularity in Chicago, yet they were very real in Florida. To be so near to the ocean and see the issues for myself opened my eyes to how drastic of a change everyone would need to make to combat years of negligence. Since then, I have done my best in reducing my use of single use plastics by carrying around my own set of eating utensils; reducing plastic in my home by buying bar soap, reusable deodorant containers, and bamboo toothbrushes; using reusable containers and bags for my food and drinks; and signing up for a composting service in the city. There is still more I can do to reduce my waste, but I strongly believe that these simple changes, if done by everyone, will positively affect the world. I hope you will see yourself make some of these changes in the near future.

Though I have described positions that became available to me because I was in Chicago, I also took advantage of a few jobs offered on campus. For three years, I was an Honors Mentor through the Honors Program. Every fall quarter, I mentored a group of incoming freshmen students through their first year. I am grateful for the chance to help students in the way others helped me. I found a home in the Honors Program through this leadership position, and I am so thankful for the friends I made and the mentorship I received myself through my Honors Advisor, Nancy Grossman. I also accepted a role on the e-board for the Pre-Veterinary Club as Treasurer my sophomore and junior year, and as President my senior year. This club taught me how to make the most of my time as an undergraduate to make my dream of becoming a veterinarian a reality. I am thankful to the people I met in PVC who guided me through my four years and helped me to gain the experience I needed to feel confident in applying to graduate schools. Finally, in my third year at DePaul, I applied to work for the Biological Sciences Department as their Student Assistant. I did not completely comprehend what this job would entail, but I never dreamed I would get as much out of this position as I did. I want to thank everyone in the Biological Sciences Department for giving me such a friendly place to work in between classes. I felt supported and appreciated my two years as the Student Assistant, and leaving in August is going to be a hard goodbye.

There are a few people within the Department of Biological Sciences I want to thank before wrapping up this long goodbye. I want to thank my old supervisor, Justine Amato, for always having a listening ear for my latest struggles with the veterinary application process. You were always so attentive and reassuring throughout some of the most stressful years of my life. I would not be where I am today if it were not for your words of encouragement and great advice. Dr. Carolyn Martineau, you have been a part of my path at DePaul from the beginning. From being my first laboratory instructor at DePaul, to writing many letters of recommendation for the Dean’s Fellowship and graduate schools, I am so thankful for everything you have done for me in my time at DePaul. I would not be where I am today without your guidance and kind words when I decided to pursue a M.S. before a D.V.M. – thank you! I also want to thank Dr. Margaret Silliker for being the best mentor a person could ask for. I have really looked up to you these last two years. I would not have made it through my dozen applications, graduate school interviews, and difficult decisions without your help. I am so thankful for everything you have done for me and taught me during my time here; articulating my level of gratitude seems an impossible task, so I will leave it at that. So many professors and staff shaped my time at DePaul; I hope each one of you knows how impactful you were, and that I will be forever grateful for the wisdom you instilled in me.

My final year at DePaul flew by. I have never felt so sure of myself, and I owe this to the people I met and the experiences I had at DePaul University. I spent my last year living in Wrigleyville with some of my closest friends, and the fact that it is time to leave is surreal. With the help of my DePaul and biological family, I have decided to next pursue a M.S. in Medical Physiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. After I receive this degree, I plan to apply to the University Of Illinois College Of Veterinary Medicine to pursue a D.V.M. to one-day work with zoological and aquatic animals around the world to focus on repopulation and conservation. I started as an eighteen-year-old who had no idea what to do. I knew I wanted to work with animals and that medicine was interesting, but how much I would accomplish because of DePaul would have been unfathomable. I have graduated as a twenty-two year old woman with aspirations to change the world, and a direct plan on how to accomplish this. I am grateful to DePaul for my unforgettable experiences, the courses that challenged me and pushed me to be my best academic self, and the life-long friends I made. Writing a farewell to DePaul University is bittersweet considering I will miss it dearly, but I wanted the opportunity to properly express my gratitude. Take care DePaul.

Valerie Tafoya
Biological Sciences, Freshman

Tafoya’s dogs Canela (left) and Baby (right)

On October 31^st, 2016 I rushed my puppy, Canela, to an emergency animal hospital because she had been acting strange, was not eating and was having digestive problems. She had been quiet and tired for a couple days which did not alarm me because puppies tend to sleep a lot. It was not until my sister, Marsha, told me about Canela having digestive issues that Marsha and I decided to take her to a veterinarian as soon as possible. Canela was examined and tested for different diseases. After waiting for a dreadful ten minutes, one of the tests came back positive, canine parvovirus. The veterinarian, Dr. Sullivan, explained to me that parvovirus is a virus attacking her intestines and affecting her body from being able to absorb any nutrients. He also warned me that because of the stage Canela was at, she had a poor chance of surviving the virus. I immediately burst into tears and could not control the wave of emotions I felt: fear, guilt, and worry. Dr. Sullivan explained to us the cost of the treatment, which was out of our budget. Dr. Sullivan and I shared glances and without having to explain to him how desperate I was to get Canela treated, he left the room and came back with two options. One option was to pay an expensive amount to have Canela treated overnight. Another option was to allow Canela to be given IV fluids for twenty minutes and take her to another clinic he recommended where they had lower prices for treatments.  I decided to go to the clinic Dr. Sullivan recommended and I left with Canela in my arms, comforting her.

I never realized until now what Dr. Sullivan did; he empathized with me and looked for more affordable solutions for Canela and me even though it meant a different doctor would be treating her. Dr. Sullivan did not have to recommend another clinic, but he shared the same worry I had for Canela. I always assumed he was just doing his job and Canela was simply another patient. I never thought that he might have been equally as worried for Canela as I was. Dr. Sullivan was able to do his job so well because he used a powerful tool, empathy. To be a veterinarian, you must care about animals. In order to care, you must have empathy- the action of understanding the feelings, thoughts and experiences of another. What is not talked about is the emotional cost of empathy. Caring is a double-edged sword and can lead to what is known as compassion fatigue. This is something many veterinarians experience where they are emotionally drained due to the stressful work they do. Although it is a great tool to connect with clients, it requires veterinarians to enter their client’s world and in turn experience their emotions.

Compassion fatigue is the result of taking on the emotional burden of clients and patients. For compassion fatigue to occur, a caregiving relationship must exist. In this relationship there must be an exchange of emotions and information between the veterinarian and the patient. The veterinarian must be determined to help lessen the suffering and pain of the client and patient. This relationship is known as the human-animal bond. When the human-animal bond is intense, the veterinarian empathizes for the client and patient strongly. Having this human-animal bond with various clients and patients can lead to a lot of negative emotions. When owners take their pets, who are often seen as more than a pet, they are stressed and worried. Veterinarians not only have to find out what is wrong with the animal and figure out how to heal but also figure out how to comfort the owners. Being a veterinarian does not mean just working with animals but also with people. This adds emotional and physical pressures onto veterinarians. Veterinarians have multiple emotional relationships with different owners and their pets and are constantly feeling pressured. Animals are taken to veterinarians because they are injured or ill which could have been caused by various reasons. There are injuries that can result from being hit by a vehicle, dog fighting, malnutrition, abandonment, etcetera. Veterinarians are constantly being exposed to trauma. Being exposed to pain and suffering every day can lead to a lot of negative emotions which can lead to emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual exhaustion resulting in compassion fatigue.

Despite being exposed to trauma and pain, veterinarians are still working hard every day to heal animals. Veterinarians are motivated to continue to go to work every day because of compassion satisfaction, the pleasure derived from being able to do their work. With compassion satisfaction, veterinarians feel positive about their ability to contribute to the work setting and to owners and their pets who need help. One-way veterinarians increase their compassion satisfaction is by remembering the cases where animals were saved. Another way is stress management through various techniques such as breathing exercises, peer support, etcetera. Through self-care, many veterinarians are still encouraged to get up and work hard with patients. I believe another force that motivates veterinarians is their passion. That strong, uncontrollable desire to help animals and their owners is what pushes veterinarians out of their beds every morning.

Passion is what drives people’s actions. My passion is animal welfare and conservation. It is what pushes me every morning to work hard in school so that one day I can become a veterinarian. I have been passionate about animal welfare since I was in middle school, but I was pushed towards veterinary medicine when I saw how influential veterinarians can be. Through my experience in the emergency animal hospital, I was able to see first-hand how deeply veterinarians care about their patients. It helps them be amazing caregivers like Dr. Sullivan who is a veterinarian that cares deeply about his patients, like Canela. He may have not realized it, but Dr. Sullivan educated me that day about parvovirus and influenced me to look up more about why vaccines are important and what kind of diseases they help prevent. It helped me realize that veterinarians are also educators who teach their clients how to give medications or aid to their pets, what certain behaviors might mean, how to take care of their pets, and how to be sure their pets live their best healthy life.

This passion has led me to DePaul University and pushed me to join DePaul University’s Pre-Veterinary Club where I can learn more about the veterinary career. I am excited every day because it is a new day to gain more knowledge that will push me closer to my goal of becoming a veterinarian and educate the public- especially in low-income neighborhoods. I know from living in a low-income neighborhood, that many people cannot afford medications for their pets. I want to teach people that there are ways to prevent their pets from becoming sick as they are like family. I know that the professors at DePaul University will teach me everything they can and push me to connect with the Chicago community and all the opportunities the city has to offer. I am excited each day because I know there is something new out there for me to learn and a new opportunity waiting for me to grab. I cannot wait until the day I can save animals’ lives and teach others they can help save their animals’ lives just as Dr. Sullivan did with me.

Katie Czervionke
Senior, Biological Sciences

This is one of Brookfield Zoo’s ambassador animals, Sheba. Sheba is a binturong, common to south and southwest Asia. She was hand-raised by the keepers at Brookfield Zoo and absolutely loves attention. Here she is giving my face a little sniff before trying to climb on my shoulder.

My name is Katie and I am a senior at DePaul University studying Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Evolution. I spent this past summer working as the Dean’s Undergraduate Fellow at Brookfield Zoo. During my time at Brookfield I worked under the Director of Nutrition, Dr. Jennifer Watts, as she planned and prepared the diets for all 300+ species of animals at the zoo.

Part of my job as a Nutrition Intern consisted of working in the zoo’s commissary where the food for the animal areas are prepared and delivered from. I spent two of my ten weeks working there. My first week I was in the kitchen- cutting and chopping the fruits and veggies that went into the pan diets for most of the animals. You can only imagine how much chopping goes into preparing diets for over 300 different species that live at the zoo. During my second week, I helped with deliveries of food and browse to all the animal areas. For those of you who do not know what browse are, these are large branches from trees cut by ComEd from local neighborhoods around the zoo. Twice a week, ComEd brings these browse to the zoo as a type of enrichment for the animals. Animals like giraffes and bison are just crazy about them!

When I am not working in the commissary, I am assisting Dr. Watts with body condition scoring of the animals. About three to four times a year the animals are observed to see if there are any signs of obesity or malnutrition. This can either be done from a distance while the animal is in its exhibit or up close at the hospital where we can physically examine the animal to see what its body condition score is. The scoring is taken on a scale from one to nine, where a score of nine means the animal is extremely overweight. The most unique animal I had the chance to evaluate was the zoo’s female lion, Isis, when she was getting a CT scan at the hospital. It is so easy for an animal to become overweight when living at a zoo; however, just a small adjustment of their diet could make a huge impact on their health and overall lifestyle at the zoo.

As you can see, I have had a wild adventure working at Brookfield Zoo this summer. Every day, I had the chance to work with a new animal and had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the animals, as well as the keepers that care for them. There is a lot of work that goes into being an animal nutritionist. It is true that all species require different changes in their diet to keep them living a healthy lifestyle; I have also learned that each individual animal is different and sometimes requires personalized changes to their diet. As difficult as it might be to plan the diets for so many different animals, the team at Brookfield Zoo is dedicated to taking care of these animals and has built a community to ensure these animals live the healthiest and most relaxed lifestyle they can.

Ana Chernova
Biological Sciences, Alumna 18′

Ana Chernova (left) with her sister at the 2018 CSH graduation ceremony

Walking across stage and receiving my diploma a few months ago has made me reflect on the time I spent at DePaul and how far I have come as both a person and a student. First and foremost, my time went by way too fast. I feel like freshman year was just yesterday as I was learning the ropes of balancing classes and meeting new friends from club tennis. No matter how difficult the journey was, how many nights I spent crying in the library over organic chemistry, and how many times I have felt like giving up I will have nothing but wonderful memories of my time at DePaul. This is all because of the amazing people that I have met on my journey. A number of my friends also studied science and had goals similar to mine of becoming medical professionals. We formed study groups, struggled through the hardest classes, and got to watch each other grow through the challenges. I truly believe that I found friends that are going to change the world because of the limitless potential I see in every single one of them. The love and support I received from my friends during challenging times is what kept me going when I felt like giving up; after all, they are the ones who convinced me of my strength in times of doubt. DePaul was an amazing opportunity academically and there are many reasons why I chose to take my undergrad education here, but I believe the people I met are what made my experience so significant. There are not many schools that represent people from all walks of life so well. The love, acceptance, and encouragement of everyone being themselves is something that has made me proud to call myself a Blue Demon. At DePaul, people are celebrated for being individuals and I feel like it was the environment that made me comfortable enough to explore my interests and ultimately find my passion of becoming a veterinarian. My time at DePaul has come to an end and while no one knew what to expect on this journey, I always had faith that I would end up exactly where I needed to be. Thank you DePaul for giving me amazing memories to hold on to and lifelong friends that have turned into family. Together we are going to make the world a better place, one Blue Demon at a time.

Santanna Patterson
Biological Sciences, Senior

Santanna Patterson

Since I started at DePaul, I always knew I wanted to apply to medical school. After learning more able the application process and talking to my pre-health advisor, I learned that obtaining a committee letter of recommendation is an important document to have in your application. Lucky, DePaul has the Pre-Health Advising Committee, otherwise known as “PAC”, where you can go through an application process to receive a committee letter of recommendation. Because I am applying for medical school, my PAC application process mimicked the application process for medical school. The process included: creating a portfolio, doing an online interview, and having an in-person interview.

After signing up for PAC during fall quarter 2017, I began to design my portfolio. The portfolio contains all academic information, all of your relevant experiences and activities, short essays, and a personal statement. At first, I thought that creating my portfolio would be simple because I was compiling information I already knew. However, creating the portfolio took weeks to perfect because writing about yourself is very difficult. I kept asking myself, how do I tell my story to someone who does not know me at all? I found that there was so much to say, but that I was limited with how many characters I could use. I decided to use the Writing Center in order to help me stay within my character limit without taking away the information I thought to be important. For any future PAC applicants, I would highly suggest starting your portfolio as early as possible because it will take longer than you expect to complete it.

After I submitted my portfolio, I was sent a link to complete the online interview. The interview consisted of 4 or 5 questions and you are given 3 attempts to record yourself answering the questions. This part of the process was very nerve-racking because I am not used to talking in front of a camera. Fortunately, you are able to watch the video you recorded and determine if that video should be kept or re-recorded before it is submitted. I found that after answering the first question, I become more comfortable with the platform and my answers began to flow more naturally. In hindsight, I think it would have been a great idea to record myself answering practice questions before this stage in the process.

The last step in PAC (and in my opinion, the scariest part of the process) was the in-person interview. During the interview, the interviewers ask a wide variety of questions, ranging from questions about yourself to questions about the current policies in the medical field. I spent the entire week leading up to my interview preparing for any possible question that might be thrown my way. Dressed for success, I felt confident going into my interview. It was not nearly as stressful as I thought it would be since I was well prepared.

After all of the stages of the process were complete, I met with my mentor to get feedback on my performance during the entire PAC process and to see if I received a committee letter. Doing PAC not only helped me prepare for medical school applications and interviews, but it also allowed me to see just how much I have accomplished in my four years at DePaul. Seeing how much I have learned and experienced as an undergraduate student was fascinating and made me excited for what I will experience in the future!

To learn more about the Pre-Health Advising Committee, visit: https://csh.depaul.edu/student-resources/advising-student-services/pre-health-advising/pre-health-advising-committee/Pages/default.aspx

Michael Guerrero

Biology, Junior

Going into college, I did not know much about the research opportunities available at DePaul University. It was not until classes started that I learned about these opportunities through professors; they would mention their research labs during lecture. This opened my eyes to the new opportunities available to me. One of the most difficult parts of the research process was finding professors with availability in their labs as there is limited space in each one. At first, I tried simply asking different professors, even if I had not had them in lecture before. During my freshman year, I only had one professor, Dr. Grice, for more than one quarter, and a friend and I decided to ask him if he had any availabilities in his lab. At first, I was not so sure about joining the lab simply because it was in the chemistry department and I am a biology major. I thought it would be too different from biology, but when I looked up the research online I saw it really was not all that different. Once I set up a meeting with Dr. Grice, I learned a lot more about his research, and I learned how his experiments related to my major of biology and interest in medicine.

I started working in Dr. Grice’s research lab in December of 2016 and have continued to work for him. I first started on a CO₂ reduction project in an attempt to change CO₂ into a different form that would have beneficial functions. After a few months, Dr. Grice had the other students and myself work on a collaborative project with Rosalind Franklin University Medical School. Our lab worked on characterization of a new compound that could have potential health benefits for those who have cirrhosis of the liver and other conditions. This was the first large scale project I had worked on that involved two different groups. It was an eye opening experience to see how the collaborative process between two fields at two different institutions functioned.

This collaboration was able to publish a paper in December of 2017. I was able to learn everything that goes into writing a paper involving a variety of people. There is a lot of back and forth with communication being the key to it all. Good communication between the collaborators was very important. If one person was not efficient, then it had the potential to set other people back. I was able to learn all of this while being lucky enough to be an author on a paper as an undergraduate student.

I also had the privilege of presenting my publication with my classmates at the 15^th Annual Science & Mathematics Undergraduate Research Showcase in December of 2017. I really enjoyed this experience. We had to take what we had in the published paper and somehow decide what points were most important that needed to be included on the poster, which was a fun challenge. It was also the first time I had the opportunity to present information relating to chemistry, and that was a challenge on its own. My group had to determine a method that could be used to explain the experiments without using chemistry heavy terms so a greater number of audience members could better understand the experiments. It truly was a great experience to present and see a lot of my peers present the research they were working on. I find it amazing how many students at this school are involved in research labs.

Michael Guerrero (left) and two co-workers presenting their lab research at the 15th Annual Science and Mathematics Undergraduate Research Showcase in December of 2017

Working in a research lab has greatly increased my knowledge and understanding of this side of the chemistry industry and how it is of great importance to many related fields such as biology. It has also taught me a tremendous amount about being productive, efficient, and staying organized. One never knows when something they did could have a potential impact with the outcome, whether the outcome was desired or not, so I learned the importance of keeping good logs of my experiments to give out the information and recreate them if needed. It also helps to be very organized, as organization reduces the number of times an experiment needs to be repeated because the original data could not be found. Some resources used in the experiment can be easily acquired at a low price, and others can be expensive and very limited, so there is a great importance in managing the available resources properly.

I really enjoy working in Dr. Grice’s research lab, and it has taught me a lot through first-hand experience. I think doing this extra research alongside my organic chemistry lab greatly improved my chemistry knowledge. It really helped me better understand the techniques being applied during these labs, and I have a greater understanding in class. I have met a great group of people who create a great working environment that makes me want to continue doing research here. I look forward to continuing my research in this lab by taking CHE 397 for my Experiential Learning Requirement in the spring quarter of 2018.

Mike’s Research Paper: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/nj/c7nj03724d#!divAbstract