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Research

You will have many opportunities on campus to team up with professors on cutting-edge research projects.

Each year, the science summer research program supports dozens of students doing full-time research on topics that include the effects of pollution on Great Lakes waterbirds, characterizing the gut bacteria of cephalote ants, and how HIV remains as a latent reservoir in resting T helper cells in patients who have undergone antiretroviral therapy.

Biology professors receive extensive funding from sources such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to support research. This allows them to involve students in these projects as paid assistants during the summer and throughout the year. Explore their projects and opportunities to get involved below.

Current and past research and scholarship

PROJECTTIMELINERESEARCHERSFUNDED BY
Phage ResearchOngoingRandall DeJong 
Rare Disease Research & SupportFeb 2017–presentRachael Baker 
Conspecific Attraction: Are Birds Attracted to Their Own Species Songs?2014–present The Andrew Family Foundation, Calvin University Science Division
Historical Field Botany: A 100-year retrospective assessment of Emma Cole’s Grand Rapids Flora (1901)2014–2018Garrett Crow 
Restoration of Native Plants and Habitats in Urban Areas2014-presentGail HeffnerCalvin University Biology Department, Calvin University Science Division
The Effects of Sound on Songbird Behavior and Management2013–to present HHMI, MDEQ Clean Water Act 319 Funding, Plaster Creek Watershed Restoration Project, Pierce Cedar Creek
Dimensions: Identifying how the Ecological and Evolutionary Interactions between Host and Symbiont shape Holobiont Biodiversity2013–presentJohn WertzNational Science Foundation
Specificity of Frankia Bacteria in Symbiosis with Native Speckled Alder and Non-Native Autumn Olive2013David DornbosHHMI
Management of the Bear Creek Watershed2012–presentRandall Van DragtGreat Lakes Innovative Stewardship through Education Network
Productivity of Switchgrass and Corn Grown in Specific Environments2012David DornbosPierce Cedar Creek Institute
Flat Iron Lake Summer Phenology2011–2014Randall Van DragtRottman Student Research Fellowship
Genomic and Niche Characterization of Bacteriophages in the Microbial Communities of the Aquatic Snails2011–2014Randall DeJongRosema Fellowship, Jansma Family Research Fund, HHMI
HTMAD: Software Design for MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry-Based Microbial Community Analysis2011–2013Serita NelesenHHMI
Investigating the Antimicrobial Effects of the Non-Toxic Microbiocide SafeWaterDrops2011–2013Arlene HoogewerfSafeWaterDrops, LLC
The Roles of Endothelial Cells on HIV Infection2011 - presentAnding ShenNIH and the Star fellowship
Potential Value of Autumn Olive as a Tool to Restore Degraded Soils2011David DornbosHHMI
Restoration of Coastal Outwash Prairie on Whidbey Island, Washington2011Randall Van DragtCargill Environmental Science Grant
Land Management of Calvin's Ecosystem Preserve2010–presentRandall Van DragtEcosystem Preserve, Cargill Environmental Science Grant
Restoring Native Habitats in Urban Landscapes2010–presentGail HeffnerJansma Family Research Fund and William and Celia Dornbush DeVries Family Fellowship
Leveraging Laboratory Activities to Achieve STEM Education Reforms2010–2016Herbert FyneweverNational Science Foundation
Potential for Woody Invasive Plants to Produce Biomass for Ethanol and Improve Soil Quality2010David DornbosHHMI, Visser Fellowship
Relationship between Nitrogen Fixation Rate, Apparent Photosynthesis Rate...2010David DornbosPierce Cedar Creek
Restoring a Degraded Stream: Reconciliation Ecology in the Plaster Creek Watershed2009–presentGail HeffnerPlaster Creek Watershed Restoration Project, MDEQ
Effects of Climate Change on Flowering Period of Native Species at Flat Iron Lake Preserve2007–presentDave WarnersRottman Student Research Fellowship
Investigation of Symbiotic Bacteria and Bacteriophages in Termites2007–presentJohn WertzCalvin College Science Division, Calvin Research Fellowships
HIV as a Latent Reservoir in Resting T Helper Cells2006–2011Anding ShenCalvin College, Rozema, Star fellowships
Biofilm Bacteria and Their Mechanisms to Evade Host Cell Defenses2006–2010Arlene HoogewerfNational institutes of Health grant and Calvin College Science Division
Propagating Native Plants for Conservation and Restoration2005–presentDave WarnersCargill Foundation, Biology Department
Effects of pollution on Great Lakes colonial water birds2000–PresentKeith GrasmanUS Fish and Wildlife Service, Jansma Fund, Star Talen Fellowship
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