Christine Broussard, Ph.D.
A professor of biology and the Natural Science Division Chair at the University of La Verne. She has two main research foci, STEM higher education reform, and developmental immunotoxicology. The ultimate goal of her research and work in STEM higher education reform is not only to develop highly effective, dynamic teaching approaches that are relevant and exciting to learners and that broaden participation in science, but also to leverage policy and practice in the domain of meaningful assessment of inclusive and effective teaching to promote institutional transformation on a national and international scale. Her second research focus, developmental immunotoxicology, studies the impact of environmental toxicants, particularly the class of molecules termed endocrine-disruptors (EDCs), on the embryological development of the immune system. Working alongside undergraduates in these endeavors inspires her to continue innovating and reforming STEM education, and provides a means to learn from the students themselves how people learn, become engaged, and persist in STEM. She has received funding from the W.M. Keck Foundation, the Ahmanson Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health. In addition to her own research efforts, she has served the broader STEM Education community in several capacities. For almost a decade she has served as the Chair of the Southern California Project Kaleidoscope (SoCal PKAL) Regional Network, an organization that provides support and professional development to STEM faculty in Southern California under the auspices and guidance of AAC&U’s National Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL). She has also served as an Advisory Board member of National PKAL for the last three years. In 2016, she joined the Accelerating Systemic Change Network (ASCN), an organization dedicated to accelerating the systemic transformation of STEM higher education, to co-lead the working group on Aligning Faculty Work with Systemic Change. Dr. Broussard earned a B.S. in microbiology and M.S. in immunology from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. in immunology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
Past Projects
- Katy Pierce – The Effects of the Endocrine Disruptor Methoxychlor metabolite HPTE on the Developing Immune System T-Cells.
- Sergio Sandoval – An Investigation of the Mechanism of Methoxychlor Impact on the Development of Thymocytes.
- Joyce DeLeon – Diethylstilbestrol Inhibits Development and Promotes Apoptosis in Embryonic Thymocytes.
- Alma Parada – An Investigation of the Effects of Methoxychlor on the Embryological Development of T cells in C57BL/6 mice.
Stacey Darling-Novak, Ph.D.
Seed development, germination, and seedling establishment in maize and orchid.
Research in our lab focuses on two plant systems that have important commercial value, maize, a major crop plant and orchid, a medicinal resource. The long-term objective of the maize project is to elucidate mechanisms responsible for regulating death of kernel storage tissue in hopes of finding ways to increase grain productivity. The orchid research aims to understand the unique physiological and cellular requirements of orchid seed during germination and seedling establishment.
Maize Project:
Grain productivity is a quantitative characteristic that agricultural breeders struggle to improve. Since there are many genes that influence this trait, it is difficult to optimize through traditional crosses. Work done in our lab focuses on understanding pathways that permit grain fill in maize. We hope to pin-point key genes, hormones or specific cellular events that will provide a unique approach to the problem. During kernel development, endosperm tissue undergoes programmed cell death (PCD). Death begins in the central region and proceeds towards the cap and down the kernel. Concurrently, grain fill begins in the periphery and moves centrally; thus many cells die before they are able to acquire starches. We are using a culture system and differential transcript expression studies to identify physiological agents and genes that promote or inhibit PCD.
Orchid Project:
Typical angiosperms possess seed embryos with distinctive polarity which is evident in primordial roots and shoots. In contrast, mature orchid seed are unusually small and comprised of a group of undifferentiated, storage-deficient cells. During germination, orchid seed produce protocorms, larger spheres of non-specific cell types, which gradually generate first leaves. Research done in our lab on the orchid species Spathoglottis plicata strongly indicates that nearly half of the embryo can be non-living and still produce a viable seedling. Currently we are studying the role of hormones in first leaf formation and seedling establishment of S. plicata.
Past Projects:
The Role of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in Maize Endosperm During Programmed Cell Death (PCD); Effects of Hypochlorite Treatment on Protocorm Development and Germination in Spathoglottis plicata; Mannitol and Jasmonic Acid Induce DNA Fragmentation in Maize Endosperm; A Study to Develop a Procedure for Protoplast Fusion and Regeneration of the Orchid Dendrobium.
Jay Jones, Ph.D.
My research interests are broad. Given my current position, it is hard to be as professionally active as I would like. However, I maintain significant interest and some activity in a variety of fields including the following: sustainability; anatomical assessment of grafting and budding unions in Juglans and Auraucaria; characterization of a halophilic cyanobacterium, (pigmentation, protein profiling, internal osmoticum assessment, cell wall chemistry and ultrastructure); floral changes in the phytoplankton of a stream after impoundment; leaf architecture and cuticular morphology of the Fagaceae; paleobotanical analysis of fossil leaves; biogeochemistry, including stable isotope studies as a window on the biochemistry and physiology of fossil plants, the chemistry and structure of modern and fossil cuticle; detection of plant stress, as reflected in PSII and PSI fluorescence and reflectance; anatomical analysis of fossil woods, for insights into paleofloristics and paleoclimate; plant population geostatistical and geochemical methods of oil and gas exploration; influence of heavy metal soil loading on trace element content of leaves and roots (an investigation of the chemical signature of geochemical cells); analysis of plant volatiles as a function of geochemical environmental changes; lead (Pb) in the environment; and more recently transdisciplinary approaches to establishing sustainable systems and collaborations with others on projects ranging from fuel cell design to mechanisms of thermal tolerance and development of nanoparticle based radio contrast agents.
Past Projects:
An analysis of local drinking water contaminants not covered in standard government tests; a non-comparative open label study of gatafloxacin in the treatment of respiratory tract infections; anatomical and geochemical studies of fossil cuticle; and analysis of fossil woods.