AWRI Researcher Receives Environmental Award

Dr. Sarah Hamsher joined GVSU this fall as an assistant professor in a joint position between the Biology Department and AWRI. Sarah received her B.S. in Writing and Environment from Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA and her M.S. in Environmental and Plant Biology from Ohio University in Athens, OH.  She completed her Ph.D. in Biology at the University of New Brunswick, Canada.

Sarah is a phycologist (studies algae) and is most interested in diatoms, a group of algae with silica cell walls that are often used as indicators of water quality. She’s drawn to questions of speciation and evolutionary relationships, the structure of genomes, and the use of algae as indicators of water quality. In the next year, she’ll be investigating the diversity of Nitzschia, a diatom genus that often serves an indicator of organic pollution, in local watersheds. Sarah’s also interested in studying the role of mixotrophic protists (microorganisms that can take energy from a variety of sources to take advantage of different environmental conditions) in the environment, water quality in the region, diatom genomics, and developing molecular tools to answer biological and ecological questions.

Bopi Biddanda attended and co-chaired a session of the Michigan Space Grant Consortium’s Fall Conference at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on November 10^th.

Charlyn Partridge attended and led an Open Access Roundtable on Open Data and Open Publishing that was part of the Open GVSU Symposium on October 22^nd.

Charlyn Partridge attended an NSF grant writing workshop in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 8^th and 9^th.

Rick Rediske met with the Michigan Center of Lifestage Environmental Exposures and Disease at the University of Michigan to discuss PFAS blood testing and epidemiology studies for Kent County on November 6^th.

Rick Rediske was a PFAS Senate Field Hearing Witness at an event hosted by U.S. Senator Gary Peters held at GVSU on November 13^th.

Carl Ruetz served as a science fair judge at Western Michigan Christian High School in Norton Shores on November 8^th.

Al Steinman participated by phone as part of the Ottawa County Groundwater Executive Team with Michigan’s Office of Great Lakes staff on the groundwater issues facing the County on November 28^th.

AWRI staff are bolded, undergraduate students are denoted with a single asterisk*, graduate students are denoted with two asterisks**, and post-doc researchers are donated with three asterisks ***.

Publications

Igor Mrdjen had a paper recently published in the journal Toxins:
Mrdjen, I.***, M.A. Morse, R.J. Ruch, T.J. Knobloch, S. Choudhary, C.M. Weghorst, J. Lee.  2018.  Impact of Microcystin-LR on liver function varies by dose and sex in mice.  Toxins 10 (11), pii: E435.  doi: 10.3390/toxins10110435

Rick Rediske and co-author Dalila Kovacs (GVSU Chemistry Department) have a paper accepted to Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews:
Kovacs, D. and Rediske, R.  In press.  Contemporary concepts in toxicology, a novel multi-instructor general education course to enhance green chemistry and biomedical curricula.  Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews.

Presentations

(Presenter listed first)

AWRI was represented at the 2018 Ottawa County Water Quality Forum held on November 19^th.  Mike Hassett and Maggie Oudsema each presented:
Hassett, Mike.  Oral.  A Spring Lake Phosphorus Budget Analysis based on internal and external loading studies.
Oudsema, Maggie and Dan Callum (Outdoor Discovery Center).  Oral.  Project Clarity update and live monitoring on Lake Macatawa.

Matt Allen, graduate student in the Rediske Lab, and Igor Mrdjen, new postdoctoral researcher in the Rediske Lab, each gave presentations based on their work on Little Flower Creek at a Little Flower Creek public meeting held on November 13^th.

Jim McNair attended the American Water Resources Association annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland from November 4^th – 8^th.  He gave a presentation while there:
McNair, J. and J. Zuidema**.  Oral.  Comparison of alternative estimators of stream metabolism derived within a common modeling framework.

Igor Mrdjen was an invited guest lecturer on the topic of aquatic pollution in Bopi Biddanda’s class BIO 370, Marine Biology, on November 19^th.

Charlyn Partridge gave a presentation at the University of Windsor - Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research titled “A tale of two transcriptomes: Using gene expression profiles to explore patterns of trait variation and invasion success” on Oct 19^th.

Rick Rediske presented “PFAS hazards in drinking water” for the Science On Tap series, held at Speak EZ Lounge in Grand Rapids on November 8^th.

Rick Rediske gave a presentation titled “PFAS: Problems and concerns for drinking water” at the Ottawa County Water Quality Forum on November 18^th.

Al Steinman gave an invited presentation at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Midlothian, Scotland on November 1^st titled “Restoration of three aquatic ecosystems in West Michigan.”

Al Steinman gave an invited presentation at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Midlothian, Scotland on November 11^th titled “Large scale restoration in the USA: from the Everglades to the Great Lakes.”

Janet Vail presented three sessions at the GVSU Science Update conference held in Allendale on November 14^th.  There was a session on Air Quality with Amy Haack from WMRSDC and two sessions on GLOBE with Kelly Heid from the GVSU Geology Department.

Janet Vail was a guest lecturer for a GVSU Environmental Studies 201 class on November 14^th. Her topic was air quality.

Branden Wilson, graduate student working with Charlyn Partridge, gave a presentation at the Cell & Molecular Biology Student Symposium on November 2^nd.  Charlyn attended this event.
Wilson, Branden**.  Oral.  Differential gene expression of endocrine genes in bluegill sunfish alternative reproductive tactics.

Dan Myers, recent graduate student in the Rediske Lab, received 2 awards at the Graduate Showcase Fall 2018; Graduate Dean’s Citation for Excellence Award in Leadership/Service to GVSU; Graduate Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Master’s Thesis in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Kim Oldenborg, recent graduate student in the Steinman Lab, received the Graduate Dean’s Citation for Excellence Award in Outstanding Publication, Graduate Showcase Fall 2018.

There were no new grants or contracts for this issue. Check again next month!

“GVSU researcher awarded for PFAS work”
NewsEdge (online), October 27, 2018
Rick Rediske received the 2018 CR Evenson Award from the West Michigan Environmental Action Council for his long-term dedication and contribution to environmental protection in Michigan.
Also in: My Zeeland

“Sen. Peters to convene Field Summit on PFAS contamination in Michigan”
NewsEdge (online), November 2, 2018
Rick Rediske was an expert witness regarding PFAS at a Senate subcommittee field summit convened by U.S. Senator Gary Peters.

“DEQ expert who warned of PFAS to testify before U.S. Senate”
MLive.com, November 3, 2018
Rick Rediske is mentioned as being a member of the panel for this senate hearing convened by U.S. Senator Gary Peters.
Also in: Grand Rapids Press
NewsEdge

United States: Peters to convene Field Summit on PFAS contamination in Michigan”
NewsEdge (online), November 6, 2018
Rick Rediske is mentioned as being a member of the panel for this senate hearing convened by U.S. Senator Gary Peters.

“AWRI researcher testifies at PFAS hearing”
GVNext, November 13, 2018
Rick Rediske is mentioned as being a member of the panel for this senate hearing convened by U.S. Senator Gary Peters.

“DEQ expert was ‘looking into hell’ after PFAS discovery”
MLive.com, November 13, 2018
Rick Rediske is mentioned as being a member of the panel for this senate hearing convened by U.S. Senator Gary Peters.

“PFAS water crisis hearing held on Pew campus”
Grand Valley Lanthorn, November 19, 2018
Rick Rediske was a panel member at a hearing convened by U.S. Senator Gary Peters.  Rick was also quoted regarding PFAS and water contamination.

“MSU’s PFAS pulverizer is cleaning water”
WOODTV, November 28, 2018
Rick Rediske attended a lecture by MSU researcher Cory Rusinek, who has worked to develop a method for breaking down the elements of PFAS to make it safe.  Rick shared a comment in this article.

“Open letter to the Golden Township Trustees”
Shoreline Media Group, November 28, 2018
AWRI is mentioned as for conducting research in Silver Lake.  The area is considering a sewer system to protect the lake.

LMC Events

Nov 1
The Brickley DeLong accounting firm held a tax update meeting at the Lake Michigan Center.

Nov 8
The Michigan Irish Music Festival organizers held a “Thank You” reception for their sponsors at the Lake Michigan Center.

Nov 9
Seminar Speaker: Dr. Chuck Krueger, Director of Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System,
Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University, presented: “Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System: Prying into the Secret Lives of Fishes”

Nov 26
The Muskegon Area Intermediate School District hosted a meeting for investors of the Muskegon Promise Scholarship at the Lake Michigan Center.