Research

Genome sequencing of bloom-forming cyanobacteria in western Kansas

Funder: Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence
Duration: 2025 – ongoing

This project uses genome sequencing and bioinformatics to identify cyanobacteria that have cause harmful algal blooms in western Kansas. By cultivating axenic strains and sequencing their genomes, the research aims to detect toxin-producing genes and discover potentially new cyanobacterial species.

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Enabling data quality assessment of organelle genomes archived on GenBank through novel open-source software tools

Funder: National Institutes of Health
Duration: 2024 – ongoing

The project aims to enable scientists from various biomedical disciplines to make informed, evidence-based decisions on the reuse of archived organelle genomes. It aims to give scientists the computational means to evaluate data quality among the thousands of mitochondrial and plastid genomes stored on the sequence database GenBank.

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Uncovering change catalysts: Examining community of practice members as they leverage individual course improvements to achieve systemic departmental change

Funder: National Science Foundation
Duration: 2024 – ongoing

Systemic change in STEM education is being advanced through collaborative communities of practice and incremental course reforms. In this research project, numerous course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are being implemented to strengthen student engagement, scientific reasoning, and learning outcomes across diverse learning environments.

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