Integrative Biology is an emerging paradigm identified by the National Academy of Sciences. Because biological systems are so complex, solving life science problems requires linking concepts and information between disciplines and organizational scales. The curriculum of Kennesaw State's Master of Science in Integrative Biology (MSIB) advances understanding by providing integrative courses and experiences specifically designed to foster connections across the life sciences spectrum. This approach prepares our students as scientists well-equipped to address pressing issues in the biosciences.
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Theses from 2026
The Role of Akirin and Its Conserved SYLS Motif in Muscle Development, Shaila Akter
Morphological Variation of Lingual Glands in Wild American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) Populations, Benjamin Angalet
Molecular Sponge Reveals Ecdysone’s Role in Regulating Salivary Gland Morphology in Drosophila Melanogaster, April Ford
S-Adenosylmethionine Synthases Differentially Modulate Inherited Histone H3K4 Methylation and Developmental Delay in Caenorhabditis elegans, Sundas H. Johnson
Describing the Regulatory Network of the Homeobox Transcription Factor ceh-27/Nkx2.1 in Nervous System Development, Lindsey Knight
Biochemical and Structural Approaches to Anthelmintic Drug Discovery: From Caenorhabditis elegans to Necator americanus, Walter McReady
Spatial and Hydrologic Effects of Climate Change and Urbanization on Freshwater Fish Communities in North Georgia Watersheds, Mayuko Mizutani
Effects of Quinolinimines on the Cell Biology of Trypanosoma brucei, a Microbial Eukaryote, Abu Obyda
Finding Novel Arsenic-Containing Antibiotics, Minh Bao Phung
Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation with Chitinase and Glucanase genes against Aspergillus flavus in Georgia Peanuts, Saima Shafique
Improved Methodologies to the Sustainable and Scalable Production of Specialty Mushrooms, Mark Sheehan
Peptide-Based Strategies to Combat Infectious Diseases: From Arsenic-Containing RiPP as Antibiotics to Anti-Parasitic Inhibitors Targeting PMT, Md Tanjil Islam Shovon
Determining the Role of Maumee River Sediments in Microbial Nitrogen Transformations and Net Fluxes, Ashlyn Stanalonis
Theses from 2025
Comparative Analysis of Phyllosphere Microbiota in American and Chinese Wild Type Chestnuts as well as Their Hybrids, Katherine B. Dobson
Regulation, nuclear retention, and organization of long-non-coding RNA hsr-omega into nuclear domains, Sharar Naiarin Haque
Comparison of STEM Student Reflections of their Undergraduate Research Experiences: CUREs vs. Apprentice Model, Chazzidy Harper
Tricolored Bat (Perimyotis subflavus) Population Genetic Structure in the Southeastern United States, Laura Henderson
Impacts of Halophila stipulacea invasion on organic matter dynamics in Thalassia testudinum dominated seagrass meadows, Puerto Rico, Jonathan D. Herald
Assessment of Spatial and Temporal Variation in Relative Frequencies of Alternative Reproductive Tactics in Blue Ridge Two-Lined Salamander (Eurycea cf. wilderae), Cooper A. Kework
The Inappropriate Inheritance of Histone Methylation Disrupts Muscle Morphology and Function in C. elegans, Josh Labus
Landscape and Environmental Characteristics that Shape Bat Assemblage Activity Across Varying Levels of Development in North America, Kerrigan Larkin
Endocrine Responses to Two Distinct Foraging Contexts in the Bonobo (Pan paniscus), Lauren Mitchell
Effects of urbanization on the population genetics and morphology of the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) across an urban–rural gradient, Sydney A. Morton
Genetic Influences on Individual Variability in Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) Social Behavior, Hadley Mueller-Hill
A Fixed Cell Fungal Catalyst for Production of Melanin in Submerged Fermentation, William James Murphy
Combined Effects of Nano- and Microplastics, Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS), and Temperature on the Development of Aedes albopictus, Christina M. Roth
Pollinator Plant Communities within restored Montane Longleaf Pine Ecosystems, Hanen van Rossem
Theses from 2024
Assessment of Georgia’s Royal Catchfly (Silene regia) Along a Forest-Edge Gradient in a Remnant Prairie Community, Megan Brooks
Spatial and abiotic effects of urbanization on small mammal communities, Bri Casement
Antimicrobials produced by ants: chemical properties and microbe specificity, Katy Chon
Primate Social Behavior and Embodied Action, Maria Elbon
Limiting Postharvest Losses of Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster Mushrooms), James M. Flanagan
Analysis of Social Behavior of the African Great Apes During Feeding and Non-Feeding Contexts, Jessica Hale
Characterization and Evaluation of Bacteriophages ΦPa-C and ΦPa-Tc Infecting Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Joanne Harrison
Characterization and Evaluation of Bacteriophages ΦPa-C and ΦPa-Tc Infecting Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Joanne Harrison
Patterns and Potential Mechanisms of Phenotypic Changes in Urban Small Mammals, Leslie Lopez
Regulation of intracellular sorting of the Bruno protein in Drosophila flight muscles, Travis Main
Melanin Production Using Food Grade Fungi, Joseph Mercure
Soil Bacterial Community Shifts in a Montane Longleaf Pine Restoration Site: Effects of Dominant Herbaceous Species Removal, Prescribed Burn, and Changes in Season, Isabella K. Vahle
Theses from 2023
Influence of Woody Vegetation Composition and Structure on Fuels and Prescribed Fire in Mountain Longleaf Restoration, Collin J. Anderson
Long non-coding RNA Hsr-omega provides scaffolding for the nuclear domain B-body, SooBin An
Early Stage or Curable Cancer Diagnoses in Minorities: A Journey of Survivors, Lora Asberry
Testing the Urban Dulling Hypothesis in an Iridescent Passerine Bird, Joanna Gresham
Proximate Causes of Alternative Reproductive Tactics in Blue Ridge Two-Lined Salamanders (Eurycea cf. wilderae), Yatin Kalki
Comparing four indices of physiological stress in an urban-adapted songbird between urban and rural habitats, Rachel Kaplan
Novel collective prey evasion response of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 to soil micropredator Myxococcus xanthus DK1622, Joshua Lummus
The Polycomb Complex 2 contributes to developmental delay when histone methylation is inappropriately inherited, Sydney Morgan- Benitez
Variation in Salamander Life History and Community Composition Across an Urban Gradient in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Leah Rittenburg
MICROBIAL COMMENSALS OF TRICOLORED BATS IN GEORGIA AND THEIR PROBIOTIC POTENTIAL, Jordyn Upton
Resistance Responses in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 in Response to Surface Predation by Myxococcus xanthus DK1622, Sarah Joie Wilson
Theses from 2022
Colocalization between Akirin, the NuRD Complex, and Histone Modifications, Sarah Anglin
Validating ngn-1 transcriptome targets in C. elegans, Amber Baldwin
Sustainably Generating Value-Added Products Using Food-Grade Fungi & Agricultural Waste, William Beeson
The evolution of honeycomb, Grace Cope
Fire and periodical cicadas: impacts on soil nutrients and understory plant germination, Andrea Gamache
Investigation of Akirin Nuclear Localization and the Molecular Interaction between Akirin and Taf4 in Drosophila, Samantha Gibson
Studying Tissue Specific Diversity of Splicing Regulator Muscleblind, Davron Hanley
Ant cuticle microsculpture: diversity, classification, evolution, and function, John Paul Hellenbrand
Noxious Cellular Injury Triggers an Oxidative Stress Gene Response, Shawyun Khoshneviszadeh
Sex Ratios and the City: Is parental corticosterone a mediator of the relationship between urbanization and offspring sex allocation?, Denyelle Kilgour
Physiological costs of total cholesterol in European starlings across an urban to rural gradient, Courtney Linkous
Phylogeny of the Resistance-Nodulation-Cell Division (RND) Superfamily, Daisy McGrath and Tsai-Tien Tseng
Connecting above- and belowground effects of climate warming on bumble bee health, Francis Mullan
Heavy Metal Distribution Across Three Georgia Estuaries Using Coastal Sharks As Sentinel Species, Allyson Stiles
A Neuromuscular Look Into Genetics of Muscle Aging, Christina Talley
Interaction of akirin and pannier during embryogenesis of Drosophila melanogaster, Georgette-vanelle Wandji
Theses from 2021
The Evolutionary Origins of Autism Associated Genes and Their Role in Great Ape Socio-Communicative Behavior, Azeeza Abdulrauf
Probing Interactions Between Canonical NOX Domains, Akua Acheampong
Exploring the biofilm of Candida auris as it relates to persistence in clinical setting and susceptibility to antimicrobials, bethany Butts
Assessment of Non-Saccharomyces Yeast Species as Secondary Fermenters in Beer, Paul J. Clark
A 10-year post-analysis of the Maya Health Toolkit for Medical Providers, Lorenna Garcia-Bochas
Development of a Real-Time Cell Imaging Assay to Characterize the Delivery of a Cell-Penetrating Peptide Adaptor and its Associated Cargo, Schuyler Gentry
The contribution of the pectoral fins, body, and the ribbon fin to turning maneuvers of a gymnotiform swimmer, Olivia Hawkins
Yakety sacs: laryngeal air sac usage in great apes, Chelsea Trenbeath
Quantifying Resource Use Among Insectivorous Bat Species with Overlapping Distributions, Shannon Whitney
Investigation into the Akirin Subcellular Localization and Developmental Interactions, Riley Wildeman
Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities Influencing Obesity Amongst Middle-Aged Women, Morgan Woods
Analysis of the Role of Akirin Interactions with Nuclear Body Proteins During Myogenesis, Laura Yorke
Theses from 2020
Drosophila Model to Study Muscle Atrophy, Aaron Aghai
Utilization of the Cell Penetrating Peptide TAT-CaM in New Biological Systems: Fungal and Bacterial Cell Lines, Krista Barbour
High-Resolution Mapping of Fish Conservation Priorities within the Mobile River Basin, James R. Carl
Chemically Induced Phytoextraction of Lead (Pb) Contaminated Soil by Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), Austin Gilly
CBD & Ethanol Disrupt Early Embryonic Development, Janasha Goffigan-Holmes
Comparative Whole-genome and Phenotype Analyses of Virulence Factors and Lethality in Nematode Challenge Assay among Aeromonas isolates, Pyeongsug Kim
Evaluating Regional Agricultural Wastes as Substrates for the Mycelial Growth and Fruiting Body Yield of Pleurotus ostreatus, Daniel Rhiner
The Neuroinflammatory Effects of Chronic Unpredictable Stress on Zebrafish, Danio rerio, Brandon Stewart