There are many researchers and scholars in the field of biology. Research is the heart of biology and is what most biologists do in one way or another. One researcher I was interested in was Esther Angert. She is a biology researcher who focuses mainly on microbiology but has other interests that included bacteriology, developmental biology, and molecular biology. Angert went to Indiana University where she received a B.S. in Biology. She had been in the laboratory training under Dr. Norman Pace where she then earned her Ph.D.
Most currently, Angert and other colleagues developed an undergraduate course in microbiology specifically for non-science majors. In her research, she focuses on Epulopiscium which are some of the largest known bacteria and intestinal symbionts which can get up to about 0.6 mm in length. This organism is a great model for showing the general concepts of microbial biology. They are intestinal symbionts of a specific species in tropical marine fish and are able to provide a deeper understanding of the role they play. This will lead to a greater appreciation of nutritional ecology involved with endangered animals such as coral reefs that are found in low-nutrient tropical seas.
She has a lab named after her called Angert Lab and there they look at the characterizing cellular modifications that support a bulky cell size in the bacterium. These members of the Angert Lab are involved in numerous outreach programs that share ideas with the K-12 generation about their enthusiasm for biology. Other things they are trying to look at are the identification of the molecular mechanisms in internal offspring formation and the development.
From this research she wants to mainly observe how these cells are able to surmount the restrictions that keep most other bacteria small. So why is this bacterium able to grow to such a significant size? Also, the development of the unique reproductive program that is observed in these bacteria and others is also an interest to Angert and her team.
Retrieved from http://biology.cornell.edu/search-research/userprofile/era23
Retrieved from https://micro.cornell.edu/people/esther-angert
Esther Angert seems a very respectful biologist and enthusiast to her career field. Great job on choosing her to introduce in your blog post 3 on why she is relevant to your career path. Her biography reminds me a lot like Rachel Carson. She may be Rachel Carson herself =)! She identifies the problem on how Epulopiscium are able to grow so big, and uses this to describe the concept of how microbial biology works. I’m wondering if deeply knowing about Epulopiscium would help improve our whole ecology system, or is it simply just to understand these bacteria. Are these bacteria a threat to the marine life?
ReplyDeleteI think it is great that Dr. Angert and her colleagues collaborated in coming up with a class specifically for students that are not science majors. Not only does it expand the student’s knowledge of microbiology, but also sparks an interest in a topic they might not have looked at before. Maybe after taking the class they decide to switch majors because they really enjoyed learning about it. Everyone knows college is the place to explore and learn about new things. This class exemplifies that idea. However, the same goes with school children and Dr. Angert also contributed to that with the Angert Lab’s K-12 outreach program.
ReplyDeleteI always love to hear when professors are actively participating in research of their own. I think that it really is an encouragement to the students that they teach that getting a job doesn't always have to be end game in life. I think that you chose a great researcher to emphasis on for this blog post. She seems to be very competent and passionate about her role in the science community.
ReplyDeleteI always love to hear when professors are actively participating in research of their own. I think that it really is an encouragement to the students that they teach that getting a job doesn't always have to be end game in life. I think that you chose a great researcher to emphasis on for this blog post. She seems to be very competent and passionate about her role in the science community.
ReplyDeleteI believe that bacteria is a good subject for studying basic ideas of biology. Ester Angert must be the one that promotes biology study for many students all around the country because she has done many researches on patterns of bacteria. Those students would be able to know more about the outcomes from studying patters of bacteria. Also she must have focused on study of bacteria so that she can now teach how bacteria can affect ocean. Great detail of what she has done and you drew my attention to biology subjects.
ReplyDeleteIt seems kinda crazy to me that a bacteria could grow to be 0.6 mm in total size. That would be like nearly visible to the human eye! The research she has been conducting on Epulopiscium seems super interesting. I like how she is actively collecting field data while conducting her research as opposed to just coordinating her grad students to collect all of the data. She seems like a super interesting persion!
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