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Department of Biological Sciences College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics

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Recent Publications & Awards

Faculty research and scholarly activity covers diverse topics, including the microbiology, cell biology, development, evolution, ecology, conservation biology, and biology education. Below are recent news of publications and awards and tables show faculty selected publications and awards.

Publication News

  • Dr. Mulligan with 15 Sac State student authors, Sac State faculty (Dr. Rob Crawford and Physics and Astronomy's Drs. Eliza Morris and Mikkel Jensen) and in collaboration with Dr. Wendy Lee from the Department of Computer Science at San José State published a paper titled Kismet/CHD7/CHD8 affects gut microbiota, mechanics, and the gut-brain axis in Drosophila melanogaster in Biophysics Journal: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38902926/
  • Dr. Lopez and Sac State student Eileen Garcia-Fuentes published a paper titled Draft genome sequence of Metabacillus indicus strain EGFCL74 isolated from spontaneously fermented apple cider in Food Microbiology: https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01023-23
  • Drs Kneitel and Davidson and former graduate student, Sean O'Brien published the article Invertebrate community composition differs between restored and natural vernal pools in Restoration Ecology: https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14080
  • Dr. Gleason recently published in the Journal of Experimental Biology. Second author is Florian Fekete who is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Penn State. Gleason LU, Fekete FJ, Tanner RL, Dowd WW. Multi-omics reveals largely distinct transcript- and protein-level responses to the environment in an intertidal mussel. J Exp Biol. 2023 Nov 15;226(22). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37902141/
  • Dr. Davidson published a paper testing the Enemy Release Hypothesis with mangroves in Hawaii and Florida. The paper was published in Biological Invasions: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-023-03120-5
  • Dr. Kneitel along with graduate students, Jasmine Rios, Melanie Dibbell, and Emely Flores published a paper on how vernal pool plant communities respond to climate patterns and other changes in the environment. It was published in the journal Diversity: https://doi.org/10.3390/d15070832.
  • Dr. Mukerji with student co-authors published a paper on assessing student understanding of the molecular basis of evolution, here is the link: https://iubmb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bmb.21697
  • Dr. Mulligan with 10 Sac State student authors, Sac State faculty (Dr. Visger and Chemistry's Dr. Miller-Schulze), and other collaborators published "Bisphenol a affects neurodevelopmental gene expression, cognitive function, and neuromuscular synaptic morphology in Drosophila melanogaster" in NeuroToxicology
  • Former graduate student Angela Haas, Dr. Kneitel and Dr. Sara Kross (formerly of Environmental Studies), published the article “Avian community composition, but not richness, differs between urban and exurban parks in Sacramento County, California” in the Journal of Urban Ecology. This article was based on Angela’s Master’s thesis assessing bird biodiversity of different park types.
  • Dr. Davidson is the lead author on a new publication: Timothy M. Davidson, Chasmin Sokoloski & Celia M. Smith (2020) Leaf detective: using evidence of damage on mangrove leaves to measure the effects of different herbivores, Science Activities, DOI: 10.1080/00368121.2020.178666
  • Former graduate student Beth Parvis and Dr. Coleman published research based on her MS thesis: Parvis, Elizabeth Sarah and Ronald M. Coleman (2020) "Sexual Dimorphism and Size-Related Changes in Body Shape in Tule Perch (Family: Embiotocidae), a Native California Live-Bearing Fish.” Copeia 2020:12-18.
  • Dr. Gonzalez-Orta was co-author on a paper based on research during her recent sabbatical.
  • Drs. McDonald and Landerholm, along with graduate students Allison Martin and Cody Watters published a paper based on the SIRIUS Program: K.K. McDonald, A.R. Martin, C.P. Watters, T.E. Landerholm. “A Faculty Development Model for Transforming a Department’s Laboratory Curriculum with Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences.” 2019. Journal of College Science Teaching, 48: 14-23.

Faculty Publication  Publication
Robin Altman Hilt S, Altman R, Kalai T, Maezawa I, Gong Q, Wachsmann-Hogiu S, Jin L-W, Voss JC. 2018. A Bifunctional Anti-Amyloid Blocks Oxidative Stress and the Accumulation of Intraneuronal Amyloid-Beta. Molecules 23(8)  
Tim Davidson TM Davidson, AH Altieri, GM Ruiz, ME Torchin (2018) Bioerosion in a changing world: a conceptual framework. Ecology Letters 21: 422-438  
Lani Gleason Gleason LU, Strand E, Hizon B, Dowd WW (2018) Plasticity of thermal tolerance and its relationship with growth rate in juvenile mussels (Mytilus californianus). Proceedings of the Royal Society B 285: 20172617.   
Jamie Kneitel Epele, L.B. Grech. M.G., Williams-Subiza, E.A., Stenert C., McLean, K., Greig, H.S., Maltchik L.,          Marques Pires, M., Bird, M.S., Boissezon A., Boix, D., Demierre E., Garc, P.E., Gascon, S., Jeffries, M., Kneitel, J.M., Loskutova, O., Manzo, L.M., Mataloni, G.M., Mlambo, M.C.,Oertli, B., Sala, J., Scheibler, E. E., Wu, H., Wissinger, S.A., & D. P. Batzer. 2022. Perils of life on the edge: climatic threats on global diversity patterns of wetland macroinvertebrates. Science of the Total Environment 820: 153052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153052 Kido, R. R. & J. M. Kneitel. 2021. Eutrophication effects differ among functional groups in vernal pool invertebrate communities. Hydrobiologia 848: 1659–1673.          https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04554-5
Kelly McDonald K.K. McDonald, A.R. Martin*, C.P. Watters*, T.E. Landerholm. “A Faculty Development Model for Transforming a Department’s Laboratory Curriculum with Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences.” 2019. Journal of College Science Teaching, 48(3), 14-23.*CSUS graduate students N.V. Dang, E.J. Chiang, H.M. Brown, and K.K. McDonald. Curricular activities that promote metacognitive skills impact lower-performing students in an introductory biology course. 2018. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education, v19(1) 
Drew Reams Reams, A. B. and J. R. Roth, 2015.  Mechanisms of Gene Duplication and Amplification In DNA Recombination, Vol. 7(2), Editors: Stephen Kowalczykowski, Neil Hunter, and Wolf Heyer, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY. 2)  Roth, J. R., E. Kugelberg, A. B. Reams, and D.I. Andersson, 2006.  “Origins of mutations under selection - the adaptive mutation controversy” Annual Reviews of Microbiology, 13(60), 477-501.
Clayton Visger Folk, R.A., C.J. Visger, P.S. Soltis, D.E. Soltis, and R.P. Guralnick. 2018. Geographic range dynamics drove ancient hybridization in a lineage of Angiosperms. The American Naturalist. DOI: 10.1086/698120 Visger, C.J., G.K.-S. Wong, Y. Zhang, P.S. Soltis, and D.E. Soltis. (in press). Divergent gene expression levels between diploid and autotetraploid Tolmiea (Saxifragaceae) relative to the total transcriptome, the cell, and biomass.  

Award News

Faculty Award Award
Robin Altman 2018-19 CSUS RCA Award (project title: Potential ability of a signaling lipid, sphingosine 1 phosphate, to protect against the brain endothelial cell damage characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease)  
Jamie Kneitel Bureau of Reclamation/US Fish & Wildlife Service Central Valley Project Conservation Program: Longhorn Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta longiantenna) Habitat Research in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, CA (2016-21) Fulbright Scholar Award (2017-2018) University of Haifa (Israel): A Synthesis of Seasonal Wetland Ecology in Mediterranean Climate Regions & Fulbright Regional Travel Grant (2018) University Mohammed V (Rabat, Morocco) 
Clayton Visger  National Science Foundation Award, NSF-IOS Collaborative Research: RUI: Understanding the effects of ploidal level on responses to global change in plants