Spring Break
Biology student presents research in Chicago
Daniel Pettis
Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
UW-Whitewater senior Gwynne DeBoer spoke at the Plant Biology and Botany Joint Congress in Chicago, a rare honor.
DeBoer, who is majoring in honors biology and Spanish, was one of the only undergraduate students allowed to speak with the council.
"When I showed up for the speech I felt very honored because everybody else had a Ph.D. or were masters students, and in my symposium I was the only undergraduate speaker," DeBoer said. "I definitely felt honored that they were willing to spend 15 minutes of their time to listen to me, because they're all busy."
DeBoer's current research focuses on leaf polarity. Through it she has discovered a new way to date trees by discovering new characteristics of tree branch points.
Robert Kuzoff, an assistant professor of biological sciences at UW-Whitewater who works closely with DeBoer, said the current quality of her research surpasses work done at other universities.
"In 2006 two significant papers were published on the area that Gwynne researches, the HDZ gene family," Kuzoff said. "One of these studies was done at the University of Michigan, the other at U. C. Davis. Gwynne's work now surpasses those studies in terms of completeness of sampling and sophistication of her computational analyses. She is doing a remarkable job."
DeBoer said her research drew at lot of attention at the Congress because of how it is connected with the study of micro RNAs, which help regulate our gene families.
"It was interesting to hear about other people's research and to hear how it really is intertwined with the research I am doing," DeBoer said. "The work that they do depends on my results, and my results can improve by better understanding their results. It really showed how science is tied together."
DeBoer found out about the congress through her work with Kuzoff. He told DeBoer about the conference in Chicago, and he convinced the panel to allow DeBoer to speak.
A year ago, when Kuzoff first started teaching at UW-Whitewater, he discovered needed a teaching assistant for his introductory biology course. A colleague recommended DeBoer for the job.
Later on, DeBoer asked Kuzoff if she could aide in the research he was doing in his lab.
DeBoer attributed her success to the time she has spent learning under Kuzoff. She said his teachings were primarily responsible for her excelling in her studies.
"I came in pretty weak in my plant biology," DeBoer said. "He took me from square one, all the way to where I am now, teaching me and helping me out a lot."
As a freshman, DeBoer attended UW-Madison, but transferred to UW-Whitewater after a semester, seeking a smaller class setting. She also said she was seeking closer interaction with her professors.
"I really like it here; I wouldn't have been able to get this type of connection between a student and a research professor at any other school," DeBoer said. "He's been invaluable, and I really appreciate the time he's offered."
DeBoer, who is majoring in honors biology and Spanish, was one of the only undergraduate students allowed to speak with the council.
"When I showed up for the speech I felt very honored because everybody else had a Ph.D. or were masters students, and in my symposium I was the only undergraduate speaker," DeBoer said. "I definitely felt honored that they were willing to spend 15 minutes of their time to listen to me, because they're all busy."
DeBoer's current research focuses on leaf polarity. Through it she has discovered a new way to date trees by discovering new characteristics of tree branch points.
Robert Kuzoff, an assistant professor of biological sciences at UW-Whitewater who works closely with DeBoer, said the current quality of her research surpasses work done at other universities.
"In 2006 two significant papers were published on the area that Gwynne researches, the HDZ gene family," Kuzoff said. "One of these studies was done at the University of Michigan, the other at U. C. Davis. Gwynne's work now surpasses those studies in terms of completeness of sampling and sophistication of her computational analyses. She is doing a remarkable job."
DeBoer said her research drew at lot of attention at the Congress because of how it is connected with the study of micro RNAs, which help regulate our gene families.
"It was interesting to hear about other people's research and to hear how it really is intertwined with the research I am doing," DeBoer said. "The work that they do depends on my results, and my results can improve by better understanding their results. It really showed how science is tied together."
DeBoer found out about the congress through her work with Kuzoff. He told DeBoer about the conference in Chicago, and he convinced the panel to allow DeBoer to speak.
A year ago, when Kuzoff first started teaching at UW-Whitewater, he discovered needed a teaching assistant for his introductory biology course. A colleague recommended DeBoer for the job.
Later on, DeBoer asked Kuzoff if she could aide in the research he was doing in his lab.
DeBoer attributed her success to the time she has spent learning under Kuzoff. She said his teachings were primarily responsible for her excelling in her studies.
"I came in pretty weak in my plant biology," DeBoer said. "He took me from square one, all the way to where I am now, teaching me and helping me out a lot."
As a freshman, DeBoer attended UW-Madison, but transferred to UW-Whitewater after a semester, seeking a smaller class setting. She also said she was seeking closer interaction with her professors.
"I really like it here; I wouldn't have been able to get this type of connection between a student and a research professor at any other school," DeBoer said. "He's been invaluable, and I really appreciate the time he's offered."
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