Senior Theses in Biology

Students select a topic related to their concentration and submit their thesis proposal in the spring of their junior year. Under the regular guidance of faculty advisors and evaluators, students continue to research, write, and develop the study over the course of their senior year. The result is a significant piece of research and an established skill set that will enable independent research studies going forward.

Past theses in Biology include:

• Maria Presti, "One Question, Two Approaches; An Examination of the Role of Myosin 1e on Focal Adhesion Dynamics in Podocytes" (2016)
• Nathan Sadowsky, "Two Accounts of History: A Phylogenetic Approach to Reconstructing Gene Trees and Species Trees; or Ninety-Five Theses on Species: A Tree-tise" (2016)
• Nathaniel Shoobs, "A Conchologist's First Book: The Systematics, Ecology, and Distribution of the Non-Marine Mollusks of Montserrat, Lesser Antilles" (2016)
• Lee Hayes, "Trap Snake" (2015)
• Regan Gray, "Analysis and Contextualization of Automobile Versus Pedestrian Trauma: A John Peter Smith Hospital Case Study" (2014)
• Courtney Groh, "Annexin I and its Potential for Remodeling the Blood Brain Barrier in Multiple Sclerosis Disease States" (2014)
• Bianca Johnston, "A Short Comparison and History of Veterinary Medicine in the United States and France" (2014)
• Taylor Polster, "Assessment of Non-Native Green Sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) Populations in Western Massachusetts" (2014)
• Molly Ziegler, "Skeletal Ontogeny in Larval Stage American Toads" (2014)