The Anatomy of Science at USF

THE ANATOMY OF SCIENCE AT USF

University of St. Francis was founded by the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate in 1920 with an anchor in science through nursing and education. In 1932, the Sisters, who first operated a boarding school for high school girls, developed a college curriculum that included a biology degree. Shortly after, in 1935, a course affiliation program with the St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing was established, and St. Francis’s original college of nursing was born.

In 1935, some noteworthy advancements in science were also witnessed in our world: nylon was first produced by DuPont Chemicals, and English botanist Arthur Tansley introduced the concept of the ecosystem. (Babe Ruth retired from baseball and Elvis Presley was born that year, too, but that’s a different story!) Since then, a lot of life changing scientific discoveries and technological advances have been made, and a new focus has been placed on STEM education. STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics—the academic disciplines that are responsible for most of our world’s continued progress and advancement.

One of the key aspects of a liberal arts education is a curriculum enriched by the sciences, so USF takes the “science” part of STEM seriously. USF’s programs have been designed to improve science literacy in students, while enriching them with critical analytical thinking and creative problem-solving skills. Courses are designed to prepare students to excel in the most competitive of scientific fields.

Currently, USF offers six science bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry, biology, radiation therapy, radiography, medical technology and nuclear medicine technology. The biology major prepares students for professional programs including dentistry, medicine, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, athletic training and veterinary medicine. Biochemistry is another degree obtained by those interested in health professions, especially medicine and pharmacy.

The science department added a biochemistry major this fall to attract and retain stronger students interested in chemistry, while also building on USF’s strengths in biology. The addition illustrates how USF is addressing STEM and looking at the future. In short, the biochemistry degree is greatly strengthening STEM education at the University of St. Francis.

A preface to the launch of biochemistry was the revision of the existing biology major in 2016. The biology curriculum was updated to meet the changing vision and needs of modern students. The department created goals and outcomes for the program to align with core concepts and competencies as outlined in “Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action,” a national movement to change undergraduate life science curriculum to meet demands of the 21st century in STEM careers.

The new biology curriculum was designed with strong components that were a perfect foundation for the new biochemistry major, including multiple semester-long research experiences. While chemistry is the study of the structure, properties, and changes in matter, biochemistry is, more specifically, the study of the chemical processes and molecules present in living things. Inside a living cell, an astounding number of carefully regulated chemical reactions are going on all the time. Biochemistry works to bridge the gap between biology and chemistry.

USF science faculty members felt that employment trends, student interest, existing department strengths and expertise, and the construction of the new LaVerne & Dorothy Brown Science Hall made 2017 the perfect time to push the degree forward, and biochemistry was launched. The science hall supports chemistry and biochemistry studies and will allow USF to add a chemistry degree in the near future.

Professor Lisa Hedrick feels the new degree will really benefit USF students. “Through both their classes and research experiences, our students will develop a solid understanding of biochemistry and be prepared for the careers they choose,” she said.

THE NEW SCIENCE HALL

The dedication of the LaVerne & Dorothy Brown Science Hall on February 8 was a memorable occasion—not only because it celebrated the first new construction on main campus in 30 years, but also because it took place as a huge winter snow storm was hitting the Joliet area. Despite the weather forecast, guests crowded into the new building and marveled at the new and modern labs and learning spaces.

Supporters were addressed by Art Scheuber, USF Board of Trustees president; Larry Walsh, Sr., Will County executive; Sr. Dolores Zemont, OSF, Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate president; Frank Pascoe, USF provost and Bill Bromer, USF biology professor. The space was also blessed by the Most Rev. Daniel R. Conlon, bishop of the Diocese of Joliet. Reflections about the student experience were shared by current biology student Meghan Price and alumna Julie (Torres) Manner ’06,

who both spoke about the university’s demanding but rewarding science curriculum and how it prepared them to succeed (see Manner’s comments on page 16).

The crowd was especially delighted to hear comments from Dorothy “Dottie” Brown, on behalf of the building’s namesake and lead donor for the project. “LaVerne would have been so proud to be a part of this project,” she commented. “I know he is here with us today.” Donors then posed for photos in front of the beautiful glass donor recognition by the building’s entrance.

The entire science hall floor plan was well thought-out in advance, inclusive of “clusters” of learning spaces, separated by floor—only excluding ecology, botany, ethology and zoology, which will remain on the first floor of Tower Hall’s north wing near the USF bookstore.

“The new science hall program clusters were created to foster interdisciplinary connections between courses and undergraduate research. It also helps students see the connections between different areas of biology, physics, and chemistry. For example, in Molecular Biology, students complete a semester-long project where they must create a piece of DNA from different sources (molecular biology), insert it into E. coli (microbiology), and then characterize its gene expression and the proteins being produced (genetics and biochemistry). It was also helpful to do this because most of the programs in the same clusters share the same equipment,” explained Jackie Wittke-Thompson, associate professor and chair of the Department of Natural and Health Sciences, who has been teaching at St. Francis since 2009.

Another important and impressive addition was the M. Therese Southgate, M.S. ’48 Cadaver Laboratory. Cadavers come from the Anatomical Gift Association of Illinois and are studied on campus for two years. What makes USF’s cadaver research so unique, according to longtime assistant professor Patti Pascoe, is that students do the work instead of hiring a prosector (someone who dissects so others can examine). Rather, the students in the Human Dissection Anatomy class do the dissecting, then serve as prosectors for students in the

lower-level biology course that’s mandatory for allied health and pre-nursing majors, and those studying biology to pursue a pre-professional program.

Pascoe talked about the dissection class, which she teaches, and its tie-in to the USF mission. At the beginning of this semester, for example, USF Chaplain Fr. Terry Deffenbaugh talked to enrolled students about the Catholic stance on body donation (the Catholic church fully supports it), and the group prayed over the individual. Pascoe said that students maintain strong reverence for the individual and his or her sacrifice to science education throughout the course.

What’s the ultimate goal? The curriculum and course outcomes suggest that successful learners should be able to utilize and understand anatomical terminology, identify tissue types and anatomical structures, and understand muscle function, organ function and circulation principles, among other things. Students might also discover a variation, defined as something unusual or uncharacteristic of normal anatomy, like extra or missing ribs or vertebrae, duplicate muscles, abnormal nerves or arteries, and so on. In 2013, discoveries made by Pascoe and her students on this topic were published in the “International Journal of Anatomical Variations.”

EXTRACURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENT GROWTH

Students can apply in the spring for a number of Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) grants, rewarding selected proposals with a stipend for summer research. (A list of this year’s SURE recipients and their proposals are

listed on page 8 of this magazine.) Students can also participate in clubs and organizations like the Council for Environmental Awareness, the Tri-Beta national biological honor society or the Lambda Nu honor society for radiologic science majors.

To attract more students in the science field, the science department also recently reenergized the USF Science Fellows Program, which offers $3,000 fellowships to biology and biochemistry majors in return for scholarly work and service. Fellows work 6–8 hours per week in department teaching labs or as science tutors. There are currently 18 fellows. In addition to their required work hours, they must maintain a 3.25 GPA and demonstrate a quality of leadership to stay in the program.

Eric Essick, who moderates the fellows program with instructor Scott Gruenbaum, said, “This is a chance for our biology and biochemistry majors to take their educational experience one step beyond. Really, the goal is to provide the student with a unique opportunity to enhance their education and experience and to establish close friendships and professional relationships with other students and faculty.”

Perhaps one of the greatest things the fellows are able to “give back” is their knowledge— to their fellow students—by way of tutoring. The old proverb, “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime” rings true for fellows Maria Macias-Bedolla and Cory Schneider. Both serve as tutors in the new science building.

Macias-Bedolla, a junior biochemistry major, enjoys tutoring in chemistry. She finds many students need help visualizing mechanisms in science—for example, some students have issues rotating molecules or visualizing 3D objects drawn on 2D surfaces. After her work is done, she loves witnessing the “ah-ha!” moments in the students she works with and appreciates it when they come back after a tutoring session to say that they earned a good grade, or to tell her that they understood the material better than when they first came in for help.

Schneider, on the other hand, finds that many students have a hard time applying the material they learn. “When it comes to memorization, a lot of people know how to do it. However, if a teacher asks the students to take two different ideas and explain how they are related, or use those ideas in a unique situation, they have trouble,” he said.

Schneider, also a junior biochemistry major who loves tutoring in organic chemistry, wanted to be a tutor because of how much his own tutors helped him during his first year at USF. He wanted to be able to offer to other students

what his tutors were able to offer him—a helping hand during stressful times of the semester. Both students feel that the new science building makes tutoring easy and accessible.

Said Macias-Bedolla, “Having the tutoring room in the science building is convenient for us the science tutors because the professors are close if we were to have any questions that we can’t answer for the tutees. The science students know where the tutoring room is located, and it is a nice quiet area with multiple white boards that allow us to have larger groups come in for tutoring.”

OUTREACH

Finally, the science faculty also reaches out to others beyond their work with USF students. For instance, as this magazine is being printed, Hedrick, Gruenbaum and assistant professor Dan Schwert will be teaming with the College of Education to provide chemistry demos for a group of local fifth graders. In addition, long-time professor Bill Bromer, known in local circles for his environmental work and research at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, will be coordinating RiverWatch training at USF. RiverWatch is the only Illinois-wide

biological monitoring program that educates and trains volunteers to collect high quality data on wadeable streams. Bromer, a certified RiverWatch trainer, arranged for the university to host training workshops and open labs for those volunteering as “citizen scientists.”

All scientific hypotheses and theories aside, one thing is certain at the University of St. Francis. No matter how you categorize, classify, observe, examine, inspect or dissect it, the St. Francis science program is top-notch. It keeps evolving like our ecosystem, is as durable as nylon, as strong as Babe Ruth and as everlasting as…Elvis.

If you’re curious to know more, take a tour of the new building and chat with our faculty, or visit stfrancis.edu/science-hall to learn more.

Fascinating Facts

“Hot peppers get their heat from a molecule called capsaicin. While the molecule acts as an irritant to mammals, including humans, birds lack the receptor responsible for the effect and are immune to the burning sensation from exposure!” Maria Macias-Bedolla, Junior Biochemistry Major

“The reason soap removes oils from your hair is because it is amphipathic. Little molecules that are charged at one end and uncharged at the other end form little shells around the oil molecules, and then wash away with the water.” Cory Schneider, Junior Biochemistry Major