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 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 and Clint A. Penick
Primate Social Behavior and Embodied Action, Maria Elbon
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
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
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
Isolation and Characterization of Bacteriophages Infecting Enterobacter cloacae to Reduce Bloater Defect in Cucumber Fermentations, Samantha Thompson
The Historic Fire Return Interval and the Ecological Effects of Fire Suppression on Montane Longleaf Pine Dominated Ecosystems in Northwestern Georgia., Christopher Waters
Theses from 2019
Neural Development to Neurodegeneration Through the Mind of a Worm, Miranda Arnold
The Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Crotalus atrox Venom-induced Cell Death, Lindsay Brown
Unraveling the neurogenin/ngn-1 gene regulatory network of C. elegans using classical genetics and comparative transcriptomics, Elyse Christensen
Using instream stationary antennas to monitor the movements of warm water fishes in a reach of stream bisected by a culvert, William Commins
Delivering Signal-Altering Bacterial Effector Proteins to Mammalian Cells Using Cell-Penetrating Peptide Technology, Robert Dickson
Ecology of Upland Snake Communities in Managed Montane Longleaf Pine Habitats of Georgia, Miranda Gulsby
The Developmental and Behavioral Effects of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol on a Spastic Mutant, Victoria Mendiola
Health and social disparities influence opioid misuse among adult females living in rural areas, Tequila Porter
UNDERSTANDING HOW MAP KINASES INFLUENCE ENDOTHELIAL NITRIC-OXIDE SYNTHASE ACTIVITY, Xzaviar Solone
Theses from 2018
The role of cnd-1/NeuroD1 in C. elegans nervous system development, Wendy Aquino Nunez
Evolution of Voltage-gated Ion Channels, Kevin Gregory Bennett and Kevin Bennett
Transcending the Cell Fate Stereotype: Cell Penetrating Peptide Technology helps Induce Pluripotency in Multiple Cell Types, Kelsey Clearman
Selective Muscle Degeneration in a Drosophila Model of Cachexia; A Role for the Transcriptional Regulator cabut, Matthew Giedd
Evaluating in situ Grazing Patterns of Lytechinus variegatus and their Effects on Seagrass Beds of Thalassia testudinum, Adrianna Parson
Novel Applications of Biolayer Interferometry to Investigate Molecular Interactions, Mareena M. Pitts
Investigating the molecular function of Akirin during skeletal myogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster, Kristina Rowland
Modeling and Mapping Addiction in the Zebrafish, Danio rerio, Bradley Serpa
Effects of drift macroalgae on sediment nitrogen cycling in Thalassia testudinum beds of St. Joseph Bay, FL, Erica Strope
An Integrative Approach to Evaluating Radiocesium Contamination in Fukushima Prefecture, James Thornhill
Reproductive Life History and Shell Shape Variation of Three Species of Elimia (Pleuroceridae) in the Lower Etowah River Basin, Ellen Winant
Novel use of a cell-penetrating peptide-adaptor system to characterize Akirin constructs and investigate activity of bacterial effector proteins, Shaquanna Young
Theses from 2017
Investigating the Role of Long Distance Dispersal in the Response of Stream Fishes to Urbanization, Andrea Davis
Effects on Campostoma oligolepis Digestive Morphology and Gut Microbiota Composition across a Gradient of Urbanization, Hannah Grice
Ephrin Receptors, AIY Interneuron Physiology, and Behavior, Tyler Hill
Profiling Bat Activity and Species Presence in Managed Longleaf Pine Landscapes, Margaret Hunt
Transcriptional Regulation of kal-1 in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, Zachery E. Mielko
Population Genetics and Host Specificity of a Rare Parasitic Plant, Cuscuta harperi, Brandy N. Rogers
Evidence of Language Prerequisites in Pan: Orofacial-Motor and Breath Control in Chimpanzees and Bonobos, Natalie Schwob
The Adaptive Value of Complex Socio-Communicative Behavior, Sara A. Skiba