Dr. Christine Ramsay, Mitchell College life sciences professor, recently secured more than $44,000 in grants from the Southeastern New England Educational and Charitable (SNEC) Foundation. The award will fund three separate projects for Mitchell’s marine research program, including a laboratory upgrade, research on marine invasive species, and a beach restoration project – to the benefit of the college’s student researchers and the local environment. Dr. Ramsay plans to incorporate additional science students into her lab as student research assistants this year.
Founded in 2016 through a gift from the estate of Richard A. Grills of Ashaway, Rhode Island, with target giving areas of historical restoration and environmental conservation, the SNEC Foundation is led by daughter Sharon Grills Jackson, MAT, foundation president. Her husband Stephen Leal Jackson, PhD, is the director of the foundation. The Jacksons’ commitment to Mitchell continues from their time spent as members of the campus community – both worked as adjunct professors and Sharon worked in the Bentsen Learning Center.
Mitchell College, also awarded a grant from the SNEC Foundation in 2018, is grateful for its continuing support of student engagement in learning.
Students will benefit from the laboratory upgrade, creating a new aquarium room in Bingham Hall with bigger tanks and upgraded tank systems to facilitate larger research projects, as well as in-class learning.
Research on the impact of marine invasive species, specifically marine fouling organisms, is part of an ongoing project that Dr. Ramsay conducts with student researchers each year. While the overarching project remains the same, the questions studied each year change.
“We are continuously investigating new questions, but these individual student research projects are designed to be completed before students graduate so they have the opportunity to write up and present their research in a formal scientific setting. For example, two years ago, I took one of my research students to present his research at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology’s annual meeting in Florida. This is a national conference that allows students to be recognized and gives them opportunities to network with professionals who may be able to help them in grad school and/or industry. Additionally, this student (Peter Abate ’19) and I have submitted this paper to a peer reviewed scientific journal for publication,” said Dr. Ramsay.
The beach restoration project using discarded Christmas trees, started in 2014 by two Life Science students under the direction of Dr. Victoria Brennan, has already yielded noteworthy results.
“I took over the project from Dr. Brennan and since then have established plots and documented that these Christmas trees have successfully increased dune heights by 15cm only 3.5 years after the trees were installed. Remember, this is a significant increase when we are talking about sand dunes, if you think about the size of sand particles!” Dr. Ramsay said.
