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UWM Department of Biological Sciences

I am mainly a stay-at-home mom, and in my spare time I volunteer at the International Crane Foundation performing animal care on crane species, and I coordinate the crane count for my county every April (if anyone wants to count-check out the website).

I have completed my Ph.D. in genetics at the University of Iowa in the spring of 2005. My thesis was on endosymbiosis and genome evolution in algae and protists, particularly dinoflagellates. I received an 18 month postdoctoral fellowship from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute to work on dinoflagellate genomics. I will start in September 2005. Thanks for the great education UWM.

I am currently a research scientist at Univ of California Berkeley working on community genomics and microbial ecology. I have good memories of my time at UWM and will always remember what my advisor Chuck did for me and many others.

After UWM I went to Ann Arbor and got my PhD in Biochemistry, and did post-doctoral work at Penn State. Since 1986 I have been a research scientist in the Biochem/Biophysics Department at Texas A&M, working on the structure and regulation of the aromatic amino acid hydroxylases, with special respect to their involvement in CNS disease. I have two grown children, one a grad student in physics at Harvard, the other a English/French major at Macalester. In 1996 I did a sabbatical year in Madison; really miss the Midwest and Wisconsin!

After working as a tenured Associate Professor of Biology at Carroll College in Waukesha, WI, from 1986 - 2004, I was recruited away to Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) where I teach A & P courses. I still regularly work on various research projects in collaboration with colleagues at UWM and have formed new affiliations with colleagues at a few other institutions (UWW, UIC, etc.); these ties have allowed me to continue to publish slowly but surely. Best advice to new grads: don't burn bridges and never close your eyes to opportunity, you never know where life will lead you.

It's been a long and winding road since UWM days! Can't believe that so many of you are still there! After UWM, I did a postdoc in plant population biology at the University of Georgia, then went on to a number of positions (including Argonne National Lab) before landing my present job at Director of Research at The Morton Arboretum (western suburbs of Chicago).

I've been at the Arboretum for 10 years now and, despite being in an administrative position, still manage to do some publishing in plant ecology and obtain grants (NSF, IMLS, esp.).

I have colleagues at a fine botanic garden in Ukraine and have been spending a fair amount of time developing a joint program in grassland restoration and am hoping to include studies of invasive species in the future.

Currently have 2 graduate students at University of Illinois-Chicago, serve on the Board of the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta (yes, we're considering a shorter name!), and on the American Assocation of Museum's task force on ethics. Keeping busy.

This entry was stimulated by the request for support I just received from Art Brooks. I'll do what I can, as my experience at UWM was extremely formative and one that I both value and cherish.

Best to all...
Christopher  

After completing my degree in 1995, my husband and I moved to Cincinnati, where I completed a Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati, Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology IN 2001. My husband and I still live in Cincinnati, where I am a microbiologist with the FDA.  

I currently am working in a Neuroscience lab at NIH where we are studying what happens to brain neurons when there is an injury event like a stroke. I am putting all of my microscopy skills to use with this job looking at cells from other organisms and ignoring bacteria for the time being. The DC area has so many things going on around town that there is always something to see and do, plus the winters are not as snowy and cold as in WI.  

I visited the campus this past summer and all of the wonderful memories came rushing back. My son Nick II intends to matriculate there this fall. He's very excited and I'm excited for him. After I graduated in 1973 I went to Marquette Law School. I was subsequently a Law Professor at Marquette. I also have an LL.M. degree from De Paul University Law School in Chicago and I'm currently a partner in the 400 lawyer Phoenix Arizona law firm of Snell & Wilmer. As you can see, my 4 years at UWM was a spring board to a wonderful life and a rewarding career. Thank you!  

4th year med student at Des Moines University - Osteopathic Medical Center. Have no regrets about attending UWM. Received a great foundation in biological sciences for med school.  

I am enjoying my dream career as a water quality specialist with the Gallatin Local Water Quality District in Bozeman, Montana. My job duties include stream assessments, ground water studies, ground-water/surface-water interactions, wetland inventories and the full range of education/outreach to the public from kindergarten to 60+!! I also serve on the state-appointed "Montana Wetlands Advisory Council" and work with state-wide watershed groups. My work with the Wisconsin DNR and my education from UWM provided the strong foundation of knowledge I needed to work in this field. Also, my education in microbiology and molecular biology from UWM was just the right mixture for me to obtain a position as a research assistant in a virology lab in the Veterinary Molecular Biology Dept. at Montana State University when I first moved to Bozeman. My 2.5 years of research work have even been published! Thanks UWM and all the faculty in the Biological Sciences Department who provided me with the tools needed to enjoy TWO successful careers!  

podiatric physician with one solo publication in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery as a student and one pending publication in the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association as a podiatric orthopedic resident  

I recently completed an M.S. in Biological Sciences at the University of Iowa. I am currently teaching at Parkland Community College in Champaign, IL.  

Upon completion of my degree at UWM, I have done a 1-year accelerated Master's of Public Health program at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. I work at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Public Health as a Health Program Analyst.  

I have done my Ph.D. degree att the University of East Anglia, England.I have worked in the University of Salahaddin, Iraq as lecturar and researcher in the field of fresh water ecology and poublished som work in this field. In the same time I was engaged with teaching few courses, for exampel Limnology, Phycology and general ecology. I have participated in some national and international conferences.  

I'm now a Ph.D. student at the Medical College of Wisconsin working with the physiology dept. at the moment. If you're looking into going to grad school, you should definitely check out MCW! I didn't even know that they had a grad program there until, by chance, I submitted my GRE scores there and was sent info from the school.

If anyone wants any info on MCW grad studies, drop me a line!

James  

I currently work at Iowa State University and will be moving back to Wisconsin this summer. I'm in need of some advice for looking for employement in the Milwaukee area. Thanks!  

I am currently a Ph.D. student in Oregon Health & Science University, Dept. Physiology & Pharmacology  

Second-year Medical Student at KCOM  

I am the director of the Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network (WIN). WIN is a non-porfit agency that awards grants to watershed improvement projects for the Root, Pike and adjacent Lake Michigan watersheds. I'm actually using the Limnology, Phycology and Benthic Ecology knowledge I gained from UWM! Thanks!  

Chief Biologist at the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission  

After graduating in 1999, I worked at UW-Madison for 14 months doing assembly and annotation of bacterial genomes. I am currently a student in the Genetics PhD program at the University of Iowa.  

Starting a job in April working in Wildlife rehabilitation.  

Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, Medical College of Georgia  

I graduated from UWM in '95 with Biology degree with intentions of going to Medical or Dental School. I am employed with 3M Microbiology products as a territory sales manager covering 5 states representing a product called Petrifilm that helps the food industry perform all of their micro testing so they can be confident that their finished food product is safe for human consumption (ie: free of Ecoli, Coliform, Staph aureus, etc). Our customers love the product and the position has been very rewarding!

My background with micro and biology from UWM helped me get to where I am and I don't regret any of the decisions that I have made.
Best Regards,

Ian Fownes  

I graduated from UWM in '95 with Biology degree with intentions of going to Medical or Dental School. During my last semester, I took a position in a local Dairy Plant doing various micro testing and quality control work. The money and experience was fantastic, but I came accross an opportunity for an outside technical sales position with a company out of Boston with a sales territory of about 6 states. I was with this company for 4 years. About 1 year ago I was able to secure a position with 3M Microbiology. I am now a territory sales manager covering 5 states representing a product that helps the food industry perform all of their micro testing so they can be confident that their finished food product is safe for human consumption (ie: free of Ecoli, Coliform, Staph aureus, etc). Our customers love the product and the position has been very rewarding!

My background with micro and biology from UWM helped me get to where I am and I don't regret any of the decisions that I have made. If anyone is interested in speaking with me further about some of the career decisions I have made or what opportunities lie ahead for Biology or Micro Majors, please feel free to email me.

Best Regards,

Ian Fownes  

I have been an Assistant Professor at Carroll College in Waukesha, WI for the past 4 years. I hold joint appointments in the Departments of Allied Health and Biology. My primary teaching responsibilities involve human gross and comparative anatomy, as well as those in our 3-semester undergraduate research series. I also lecture within a number of courses in my area of specialty, endocrinology (especially as relates to the practice of physical therapy). I hold positions on the college Asessment Committee and am Coordinator of Assessment within the departments of Allied Health and Biology. Research-wise, I am continuing my work in the area of growth endocrinology and have expanded into educational pedogogy. I still collaborate with UWM faculty and enjoy maintaining close ties to the university.  

After spending a year as a Student Conservation Associate in northeast Pennsylvania with the National Park Service and a short stint in Washington,DC with American Rivers, I am presently working for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. I am working in the Coastal Watershed Division doing stream assessments as part of a state-wide watershed restoration intitiative. I am also doing outreach/education work by teaching the MD Conservation Corps how to conduct these surveys and get them involved in the environmental movement. The field-work intensive classes in the Bio Sci department really prepared me for a career in conservation.  

Principal Biologist at Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission  

I am a Board Certified Toxicologist working for the Monsanto Company in the Chicago area.  

I am an assistant curator in the Zoology section of the Milwaukee Public Museum, working with noninsect invertebrates.  

After earning my Ph.D. from UWM I was hired by Ohio Wesleyan University to teach courses in microbiology. I teach Introductory Microbiology, Medical Microbiology, Bacterial Physiology, Molecular Genetics, and Molecular Biology of Viruses.  

I'm currently employed at MS BioScience's Research and Developement facility in Madison. We are researching a competitive exclusion principal bacteria culture that virtualy eliminates Salmonella in chickens. I am in charge of inventory, involved in drug production and process developement, and I'm researching the effects of culture off gases on the production of volatile fatty acids by isolates from our culture. Please visit our website to learn more about MS BioScience (www.msbioscience.com)  

Currently living in Danville, California with husband (Jim) and two children (Paul and Julia)  

I'm currently teaching high school physics in Brockport NY. I'm still an active ornithologist and continue to band birds for a few projects. Please send along my regards to my favorite professors, Drs Ficken, Dr Brooks, and Mrs Mooren.  

Associate Clinical Professor Pediatrics-MCW
Private Practice Pediatrics in Milw for 15 years
1998 MCW Marvin Wagner Clinical Preceptor Award  

Same as always -. Hello to all !  

I live in Windom, Mn and continue to enjoy flowers and especially forest ecology. Was in the Center for Great Lakes Studies and did my research on Diatoms on Isle Royale National Park. Am looking to find my friend, Diane Lindsley, who also was in the Botany Dept. I think she might have married someone who worked in the greenhouse. If anyone knows her, please say hi.  

Hello! I moved out to Seattle, WA after graduation and am working at the University of Washington-Medical Center as an electron microscope/Lab Technician in the Department of Medicine. I absolutely love it here.  

Currently Director of the Freimann Life Sciences Center at University of Notre Dame. Conduct research and publish in immune response to infectious disease, chronic beryllium disease and other aspects of mucosal immunology. I am also a veterinarian who is board-certified in laboratory animal medicine and have expertise in animal research and research animal facility design and management. I enjoyed my days at UWM, particularly working on an independent study project at the Field Station with Dr. Ficken - it shaped my interest in a research career!  

After completing my PhD at UWM, I finished medical school and completed a fellowship in Allergy and Immunology. I am currently an allergist in private practice on Milwaukee's south side.  

I manage the departments greenhouses, computer labs and do the WEB pages.  

Horticultural Director for the Milwaukee County Department of Parks, Recreation & Culture