Former Graduate Students

1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
Alan A. Marchiondo, M.S., 1974
Steven J. Upton, M.S., 1981
Angela M. Welford, M.S., 1992
Xiaomin Zhao, Ph.D., 2001
George A. Condor, M.S., 1975
Gary Eastham, M.S., 1981
Michael J. Patrick, Ph.D., 1994
Megan Ryan Friggens, M.S., 2002
Robert C. Jost, M.S., 1978
Janice K. Moore, Ph.D., 1981
Patricia G. Wilber, Ph.D., 1996
Ingrid Asmundsson, Ph.D., 2003
John C. Davis, M.S., 1979
David W. Reduker, Ph.D., 1981
Brett C. Pickering, M.S., 1997
Andrew Lynch, M.S., 2003
Brent P. Parker, M.S., 1984
Wade Wilson, M.S., 1998
Lynn A. Hertel, M.S., 1986
Damien T. Scott, M.S., 1998
Todd P. Hill, M.S., 1988
John Hnida, Ph.D., 1998
Scott L. Gardner, Ph.D., 1988
Kimberly Heckscher-Decker, M.S., 1999
 
Connie D. Wash, M.S., 1988
   


ALAN A. MARCHIONDO

M.S., 1974, "Toxoplasma Antibodies in Wild and Domiciled Animals from Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and the Philippines."

Al Marchiondo in 1975, sitting at an electron microscope

Al in 1975, seated an at electron microscope.

Al Marchiondo in 1975, with Dr. David Landau at an SEM

Al in 1975, with Dr. David Landau at an SEM. Al Marchiondo in 1977 at a parasitology meeting

Al in 1977 at a parasitology meeting.

CV

Address:
Pfizer Animal Health
7000 Portage Road, MS RIC-190-016
Kalamazoo, MI 49001
Tel.: 269-833-2674
Cell: 573-808-0203
alan.a.marchiondo@pfizer.com

Home:
Alan A. & Kathleen Marchiondo
6739 Apple Blossom Lane
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
Tel.: 269-544-0393
Cell: 573-808-0203
amkj46@aol.com

Update: Al was my first graduate student and, thus, holds a special place in my heart and life. Just before Al completed his M.S. (1974), a colleague of mine from Brigham Young University, Provo UT (Dr. Ferron Anderson), called me to ask if I had any promising graduate students to work on Echinococcus on a new NIH grant he was just awarded. I told him about Al, and within a couple of months Al was in Provo. He completed his Ph.D. there (1982) and went to the University of Notre Dame (1982-84) as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow to work on helminth (nematodes, cestodes) physiology and developmental biology. Then, instead of taking an academic position, he entered the pharmaceutical industry, where he has been very productive, and has never looked back. But he has been around the block! He started with SDS Biotech Corp./Ricerca, Inc., in Painesville, OH, as Senior Research Parasitologists (1984-87) in new product research and development of potential parasiticides. In 1987, he was hired by Fermenta Animal Health Company, Kansas City, MO, as Product Development Specialist, and worked his way up the corporate ladder to Manager and then Director of Pet Insecticides and Anthelminthics, a position he held through 1995. But in industry, companies come and go. From 1995-97, Al was Product Manager of Parasiticide Evaluation for Rhone Merieux, Inc., Rhone Poulenc Ag Co., in Research Triangle Park, NC. But the journey continued. He then moved to Phoenix Scientific, Inc., in St. Joseph, MO, which then became IVX Animal Health, Inc. There he served as Manager of Clinical Projects in Pharmaceutical Development (2002-07), and then became Director of Clinical Development in 2007. IVX Animal Health was put up for sale by TEVA in January 2008. In an effort to control his own destiny, and by an unusual twist of fate, Al accepted a position at Pfizer, Inc. to conduct parasiticide discovery working for George Conder, my second graduate student! “Funny how things work out in life,” Al said recently. He started his industry career in Ohio and now it appears he will complete it in Michigan with George, who has been his life-long friend and colleague since they both worked in my lab in the early 1970s.
 
Wife, Kathi, is still teaching nursing and is doing numerous research studies for publication. Daughter, Lisa, graduated from University of Washington in St. Louis in 2006, and is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan. She is studying Industrial and Organizational Psychology with a heavy emphasis in business. Lisa also spent two years at Yale doing research in neuropsychology, mainly brain imaging.


GEORGE A. CONDER

M.S., 1975, "The Effects of Heat and Cobalt-60-radiation on the Oocysts of Eimeria nieschulzi."

George, Don Duszynski and Marilyn Scott in early 1990s

Don Duszynski, George and Marilyn Scott
at a meeting in the early 1990s.

George & Al Marchiondo in 1980

George and Al Marchiondo (front row, left) at a meeting of the Rocky Mountain Conference of Parasitologists in 1980.

George in August, 1975 at Argonne National Lab

George in August, 1975 at Argonne National Lab

George at a party, 1977

George relaxing at a party, 1977

CV

Address:
Central Research Division, Pfizer, Inc.
Eastern Point Rd., Bldg. 200
Groton, CT 06340
Tel.: 860-441-4576
george.a.condor@pfizer.com

Personal: Kathy (wife), Ty (son), Lucy (daughter).

Update: After completing his M.S. in 1975, George also went to work with Ferron Anderson at BYU, Provo UT, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1979. He then did postdoctoral work with Jeff Williams at Michigan State University (1979-81), East Lansing, MI, before accepting a position (1981) as a Scientist I with Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo, MI. While at Upjohn, George progressed through the ranks to Scientist IV and became an Adjunct Professor at UTEP, where he was able to do collaborative work with Jack Bristol and Lil Mayberry. In 1994, Pfizer, Inc. “stole” George from Upjohn, hiring him as Clinical Project Manager of their Animal Health Product Development group, in Groton, CT. But George is always moving forward and, again, he moved swiftly through the ranks and in 2007, assumed the position of Director & Therapeutic Area Head of anti-parasitic drugs for Pfizer, but at their office in Kalamazoo, MI. In a sense, he returned home. Over the years he has continued a highly productive professional career as a parasitologist (see his CV, above) and has won many honors in the pharmaceutical industry, including: Fred Kagan Lead Finding Award, The Upjohn Company, 1988; W.E. Upjohn Award, The Upjohn Company, 1993; and the Central Research Achievement Award, Pfizer Inc., 1997. He also has served as Vice President (1992), President Elect (1993), President (1994), and Immediate Past President (1995) of  the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists.


ROBERT C. JOST

M.S., 1978, "Immunization and Infection of Rhesus Monkeys with Plasmodium knowlesi: Evaluation of Assays for Immunity."

Bob Jost, 2005

Bob, 2005

Josts at Miyajima, Japan

Heather, Ann & Bob, Miyajima, Japan

Josts at Kinkakuji, Japan

Bob, Heather &Ann, Kinkakuji, Japan

Address:
3403 Northridge Court
Farmington, NM 87401
Tel.: 505-327-9575 (W)
Fax: 505-599-2414
rcjost@earthlink.net

Update:
Bob is a pharmacist living and working in Farmington, NM. He has been married to Ann since he was a student here at UNM. His daughter, Heather, took Parasitology from me Spring 2005, 32 years after her dad took the class from me in Fall, 1972 . . . they both earned A’s and each finished first in their class the semester they took it! Daughter Heather is having fun teaching English in Japan, 2007–08; she is not quite fluent in Japanese, but learning to get by. The experience of living in another country has been eye-opening and a huge education and experience. Heather got engaged last June ('07) and plans to marry in Hawaii in August, 2008! She and her fiance will move to Hawai’i from Japan when their tours are done; he may enter the UH Medical School, and she will attend graduate school. 

 

JOHN C. DAVIS

M.S, 1979, "Besnoitia, Eimeria and Isospora spp. from Rodents in New Mexico."

John Davis, the cowboy, about 1977

John, the cowboy, about 1977

John & Patty at their home, 1978

John and Patty at their home in Ft. Collins, 1978

Patty, John and Don, 1978

Patty, John and John's hippie advisor
(Don Duszynski), 1978

Address:
Rio Cucheras Vet Clinic
22540 W. U.S. Hwy. 160
Walsenburg, CO 81089-9524
Tel.: 719-738-1427 (W)
cowdoc@fnbtrinidad.com
mrsdr@centurytel.net

Update as of February, 2007:
When John left UNM in the fall of 1976 for Colorado State University to attend vet school, he stole the best departmental secretary the Biology Dept. ever had, Patty Howell. Patty got him through vet school (and also pressured him to finally complete his M.S. here), and now has gotten him through life over the last 32 years. John is a veterinarian in Walsenburg, Colorado where he and Patty have owned their own clinic since he graduated from CSU in 1980. In 2007, they celebrated their 27th year at Rio Cucharas and had one of their best years ever. John has served on the Board of Directors of the First National Bank in Trinidad, CO and on the Board of the Western Veterinary Conference, a group he has supported in many capacities for more than 27 years. Not only does Patty basically run their Clinic, she does the books, keeps it organized and serves their neighborhood community by participating on a number of local organizations (e.g., water board), often in a leadership capacity. Their son Jack, Jr., graduated from Missouri Military Academy in May, 2006, and entered the Horse Training Management/Equine Business Program at Lamar (Colorado) Community College in September, 2006. Daughter Misha was in her final year of law school in 2007–08 and had an internship with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC in the summer of 2007.


STEVEN J. UPTON

M.S., 1981, "Development of Eimeria funduli Infecting Killifish."

John & students at the 1980 SWAP meeting.

Students in Don Duszynski's lab attend a SWAP meeting at Lake Texoma, April, 1980: Steve, Dean Mattison (undergraduate), Janice Moore (Ph.D., 1981), Dave Reduker (Ph.D., 1984), Cynthia Nixon (undergraduate).

Steve with Dr. Molnar, Budapest, early 1990s

Steve with Dr. K. Molnar, Budapest, Hungary,
early 1990s.

Steve with Russian colleagues, 1999

Steve with Dr. D. Soshkin and other Russian colleagues, Moscow, Russia, 1999.

Steve in Budapest, early 1990s

Steve in Budapest, early 1990s;
I had to take this picture.



CV

Address:
Division of Biology
Ackert Hall
Kansas State University
Manhattan KS 66506-4901
Tel.: 785-532-6639 (W)
Fax: 785-532-6653
coccidia@ksu.edu

http://www.ksu.edu/parasitology

Update through February 2008:
Steve is a Professor of Biology at KSU. After completing his degree here in 1981, he went to Auburn University and finished a Ph.D. in two years! He then did a postdoc at Auburn for a year, and was a visiting professor at UTEP for two years before beginning at KSU in 1986, where he has progressed through the ranks. Steve and I have worked together closely since he first started work in my lab in 1979. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with an adenocarcinoma of the submaxillary gland in April 2004, which he had removed in May of that year. He spent the summer and fall of '04 enduring chemo and radiation therapy, and by January '05 his cancer was in remission and he started returning to normal. He and daughter Sierra bought and moved into a new home in Manhattan in December, '05. Then another mishap: in early March, '06, an MRI showed three tumors in Steve's brain. In late March, they removed the largest tumor and began treating the two smaller ones with drugs and radiation. Again, recovery seem to be going along swimmingly for the next year until a couple seizures in March '07 signaled something was not quite right. In late April '07, Steve had his second brain surgery, where they scooped out mostly necrotic tissue and found only a few tumor cells. After attending the annual parasitology meeting in Merida, Mexico in August, '07, Steve noticed that he was having movement problems again, and he had his third brain surgery at the end of that month; the histology of the stuff removed showed only necrotic materials, but NO cancer cells. For a complete chronicle of Steve's journey the last four years, go to his web page that deals with his cancer odyssey (http://www.ksu.edu/parasitology/cancer.html). The bad news is that Steve has lost a good deal of the use of the right side of his body, and now must use a wheelchair and a walker to get around. But you can't keep a good man down. He is back at KSU teaching parasitology this spring! And we are publishing like crazy. Our monograph on the coccidia of amphibians of the world was just published by Zootaxa (December, 2007), and we are putting the finishing touches on a book we are co-authoring on the coccidia of snakes of the world.


GARY EASTHAM

M.S., 1981, "Assessing the Susceptibility of Plasmodium falcipiarum to Pyrimethamine–Sulfadoxine by in vitro Microtechnique."

Gary Eastham

Gary Eastham

Gary with his daughter, 1981

Gary with his daughter, 1981

Gary with his daughter, Sarada, 1981

Gary and wife, Barbara

Gary and wife, Barbara, in Hawaii, 2007

Gary, Barbara and children

Gary, Barbara and children, 2008

A wood carving by Gary

Gary's most recent carving is adapted
from a silk screen by George Hunt Jr.,
called Morning Flight.

Address:
Chinook Optometry Center
6455 Macleod Trail SW, Ste. 225-A
Calgary, Alberta T2H OK8 Canada
Tel.: 403-258-2010
garybar@telus.net

Update as of February 2008:
After finishing his master's, but before going to optometry school, Gary published four scholarly papers resulting from his master's thesis. In 1988, he and his family moved to Canada so his children could attend a Waldorf School (education from the inside out). At that time, he began his optometry practice in Calgary, where he owns the Chinook Optometry Center.

His family includes his wife, Barbara, and daughter, Sarada, who was born in Albuquerque and will be 28 in 2008; Sarada is a family violence counselor. Their son, Taos, who will turn 25 in 2008, just finished his B.S. in marine biology and is planning to go to graduate school in biology. Gary will retire from optometry in December, 2008, and move to a rural setting in southern Canada to start a new career in beekeeping or the like. In the past 10 years, he learned wood carving. His most recent carving is adapted from a silk screen by George Hunt Jr., called Morning Flight (see photo at left).


JANICE K. MOORE

Ph.D., 1981, "The Ecology of the Acanthocephalan (Plagiorhynchus cylindraceus) in the Isopod (Armadillidium vulgare) and the Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)."

Janice Moore

Janice as a graduate student at SWAP, 1980

Janice Moore

Janice after graduation, 1981

Janice, Don & Lee

Janice, Don and Lee Couch (left) in Placitas, NM,
about 1995

Janice Moore & her dogs, Christmas 2002

Janice with her dogs, Christmas 2002

Address:
Department of Biology
Colorado State University
Ft. Collins, CO
Tel.: 970-491-6764
Fax: 970-491-0649
Janice.Moore@colostate.edu
pillbug@lamar.colostate.edu

Update through 2007:
Janice is a Professor of Biology at CSU, where she started in 1983 and progressed rapidly through the ranks. She has published feature articles in Scientific American, Bioscience, Science and other noteworthy journals, has co-edited one book and authored another, both published by Oxford University Press, has been awarded an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship, and has developed a strong international reputation as an expert in host–parasite behavioral adaptations and co-evolution as well as a strong graduate program in this area.

 

DAVID W. REDUKER

Ph.D. with distinction, 1984, "Cricetid Rodents and their Eimerian Parasites: Coevolution or Random Colonization?"

Dave Reduker

Young Dave in the early days
of his career in the Duszynski lab.

Dave Reduker


Dave compensating for the stress
of graduate work.

Janice Moore & Dave Reduker at SWAP, 1980


Janice Moore and Dave at SWAP, 1980

Dave (center) in the rain at the Shiun Country Club,
near Nigata, Japan, June, 1981. To his left,
Sara George and Dwight Moore; to his right,
Don Duszynski and Terry Yates,
the mole trappers from America.

May 4, 1955–October 25, 1990

Dave was a young Assistant Professor of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, at his untimely death.When he died, he had two federal grants, an active graduate program blossoming, and was considered an excellent teacher by everyone in his department. Dave had more than 25 publications when he died, and several were published after his death. He still is missed by all of us who were fortunate to know and love him.

 

(Left to Right). Dwight Moore, Dave, Toshi II
(Hidetoshi Nagamasu, our Japanese student),
Don and Terry Yates in the men's hot bath, Shiun Country Club, Nigata Pref., Japan, June 26, 1981.


BRENT P. PARKER

M.S., 1984, "Coccidiosis of Sandhill Cranes Wintering in New Mexico."

Brent Parker, 1983

Young Brent as a graduate student, about 1983

Brent at SWAP, 1983

Brent at SWAP, 1983

Brent and friend at a party, 1984

Brent and friend at a party, 1984

Brent's Vet School Cake, 1984

Brent's "Going to Vet School" cake, 1984

Brent is a veterinarian who owns his own clinic.

Address:
Santa Fe Animal Hospital
521 S. St. Francis Dr.
Santa Fe, NM 87501,
Tel.: 505-820-2522 (main office)

His wife, Namcy Edsall, has her own business as a hair stylist.

 

Brent and wife, Nancy, 2007

Brent and wife, Nancy, 2007


LYNN A. HERTEL

M.S., 1986, "Turbellarians (Family Umagillidae) from Caribbean Urchins with a Review of Two Closely Related Genera, Syndisyrinx and Syndesmis."

Lynn at Discovery Bay Marine Lad, Jamaica, 1982

Lynn (2nd from the left, bottom row)
at Discovery Bay Marine Lab, Jamaica,
March 1982; her first opportunity
to examine sea urchins for worms!

Young Lynn, ca. 1984

Young Lynn, ca. 1984

Lynn at her microscope, ca. 1990

Lynn at her microscope, ca. 1990

Lynn with two Mayan children, Belize, March 1997

Lynn with two Mayan children in Belize,
March 1997, on another field trip

Lynn & Wade Wilson dancing, 1997

Lynn and Wade Wilson, dancing on the table,
Possum Point Field Station on the Settee River,
Belize, 1997

Lynn was born in Waterbury, Connecticut on August 14, 1951, and died from pancreatic cancer on Saturday, April 2, 2005 at age 53. She is survived by her husband, Gene, and two children Jessica, 22, and Justin, 17.

 

After earning her nursing degree (R.N.), she and Gene moved to Albuquerque in 1973, where she served as a staff nurse in the intensive care unit of Presbyterian Hospital, from 1973–79. She earned her B.S. from UNM (1982) with a major in Biology and a minor in Art. After taking my parasitology class, in 1983 she began in my graduate program and completed her M.S. in 1986. Shortly thereafter, she began a nearly 20-year collaboration with E. Sam Loker, playing a key role in organizing and designing many of the projects undertaken as part of his research program. In 1999, while continuing her research-related duties, she entered the Ph.D. program in our department and was awarded her Ph.D. with distinction in 2004. During her productive scientific career, Lynn authored or co-authored 22 scientific papers or book chapters and was a strong intellectual contributor to the NIH-funded projects that supported the Loker lab. She also was an accomplished artist; from 1982 to 2003, she produced 191 scientific drawings that appeared in 37 publications, including eight different journals, three monographs and two book chapters, involving 45 different authors. The breadth of her work was amazing: parasites of sea urchins, systematics of coccidian parasites of mammals, biology of digenetic trematodes and freshwater snails, and the biology of snail-transmitted schistosome parasites that infect humans throughout much of the tropical regions of Africa, Asia and South America. She was known for an utterly unflappable and nurturing demeanor, and for steady and persistent effort that paid off with surprising and novel scientific dividends. She had a happy, full and complex life with the many people she shared it with. Everyone who knew her, including most of my graduate students, are proud to say that we had the opportunity to be a part of her life. Winston Chruchill must have been thinking of someone like Lynn when he said, "We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give." That was Lynn Hertel.

 

Lynn with friends, March 1997

Lynn (center) with Lee Couch and Tim Lowrey (left)
and Wade Wilson and Don Duszynski,
preparing to leave for Belize, March 1997


TODD P. HILL

M.S., 1988, "Mast Cell Degranulation and Neutrophil Chemotaxis in Rats Infected with Eimeria nieschulzi."

Todd Hill, 1987

Young Todd after a long evening
in the lab (right!), 1987

Todd Hill, 1988


Todd in the lab, 1988


Todd Hill and family, 2000

Todd and his wife, Viola, and daughters, Maddison
and Keeley-Shane, Christmas, 2000

Todd Hill and family, March 2008

Todd and his family, March, 2008

CV

Address:
12026 NW 70th Street
Parkville, MO 64152
Tel.: 816-453-6777 (W)
Tel.: 816-405-0897 (Cell)
kcmohill@aol.com

Personal Statement:
Todd had his moments as a graduate student in my lab (see the first photo), but since leaving UNM he has been busy, to say the least. Both during and after finishing his M.S. (1988), he taught biology full-time at Albuqueruqe TVI (now Central New Mexico Community College) until 1991. Then he sold drugs . . . for Bristol-Meyers Squibb from 1991–93. After moving to Kansas City, MO, he completed his D.O. Degree (Cum Laude) in 2000 at the College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Kansas City. From 2000–04, he did his Psychiatry Residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, while also working as an on-call physician at several hospitals in KS. From 2003–06, he was a consulting psychiatrist at several hospitals in MO. He earned his Diplomate in the American Board of  Psychiatry and Neurology in 2005, and from 2004 to the present, he has been in private practice. He now owns his own practice, Northland Psychiatric Specialists, L.L.C. Recently, Todd wrote and said, “Nobody has a better work ethic than your grad students (I wonder why?).” I wonder what he means by that?

In 2008, Todd and Viola have been married 15 years and have 2 lovely daughters, Maddison (age 14) and Keeley-Shane (age 11).


SCOTT L. GARDNER

Ph.D., 1988, "Phyletic Coevolution Between Nematode Parasites and Their Rodent Hosts in Bolivia."

Scott Gardner, ca. 1982

Young Scott, ca. 1982

Scott Gardner in Bolivia, 1988

Scott in Bolivia, 1988

Scott Gardner, 2007

A mature Scott, working in Placitas, 2007

Lee Couch and Sue Ann & Scott Gardner, Dec. 2007

Lee Couch, Sue Ann and Scott, December 2007

Sue Ann and Grant Gardner, 2004

Sue Ann and Grant, 2004

Hudson Gardner, 2004

Hudson, 2004

Teal and Grant Gardner, 2005

Teal and Grant, 2005

Grant Gardner, 2008

Grant, January 2008

CV

Address:
Curator of Parasitology
H.W. Manter Lab, W529 Nebraska Hall
Univeristy of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588-0514
Tel: 402-472-3334
Fax: 402-472-8949
slg@unl.edu

Home: 1740 Pawnee St.
Lincoln NE 68502

I plucked Scott from Gerald Schmidt's lab in Greeley CO, where he earned his M.S. in Zoology/Parasitology in 1983. What a find! After completing his Ph.D. with me in 1989, Scott stayed on for another year as a postdoc to run my lab, while I was still chair of Biology. From 1990–94, he was Assistant Professor and Curator of Nematology, at UC–Davis. In 1995, Scott took on his current position as Curator of Parasitology of the Manter lab at the University of Nebraska, where he progressed rapidly through the ranks to Professor. While at Nebraska, Scott has established a world-class program in parasite systematics and phylogenetics. He has published about 90 papers in parasitology and has received more than $2 million dollars in state and federal contracts and grants to support his research and that of his students. In the summer of 2008, he will be in Mongolia, along with students and faculty from three other universities, collecting vertebrates and their parasites. Scott and his wife, Sue Ann, have four children: Clark (8 mo. in 2008), Grant (3.5 years), Hudson (18) and Teal (21).

 

Clark Gardner, Jan. 2008

Clark, January 2008


CONNIE D. WASH

M.S., 1988, "Enzyme Variation of Eimeria arizonensis from Peromyscus truei and P. boylii."

Dr. Connie Was

Work Address:
Southern New Mexico Cancer Center
150 Roadrunner Parkway
Las Cruces, NM 88011
Tel.: 505-556-8600
Toll-free Tel.: 800-747-9635
Fax: 505-556-8700
constancewash@myway.com
constance.wash@usoncology.com

Home:
5262 Spirit Hunter
Las Cruces, NM 88011
Tel.: 505-552-2808

After completing her M.S. in parasitology, Connie completed her M.D. at UNM in 1990, her internship in 1991, and a residency in 1993 in internal medicine at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in Tulsa, OK. In 1996, she completed a fellowship in hematology/medical oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. In addition to her full-time position at the Southern NM Cancer Center, Connie is on the Board of Directors for the Mesilla Valey Hospice, and is a medical staff member at Memorial Medical Center and Mountain View Regional Hospital in Las Curces, where she serves on the P&T Committees of both centers.


ANGELA M. WELFORD

M.S. with distinction, 1992, "Tissue Processing for Electron Microscopy (Instructional Video) and An Electron Microscope Study of the Ovarian Wall of the Seastar, Astropecten armatus."

After completing her M.S. with distinction in 1992, Angela worked a couple more years in Biology as our Research Technologist IV, running our electron microscopy lab (both TEM and SEM). Support for the facility, however, was in constant decline, so, after some soul-searching, she decided to devote all of her time to a home-based business she had started in 1990, AWINDOWAY, constructing insulating window shades. She specializes in custom-made insulating Roman shades, warm window insulating shades, and does cellular, pleated, vertical and blind window shades.
 
Address:
P.O. Box 682
Sandia Park, NM 87047
Tel.: 505-281-1198
Angelaw1@flash.net

 

MICHAEL J. PATRICK

Ph.D., 1994, "Parasite Ecology of the Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys merriami."

Michael Patrick, 1991

Mike on a field trip to Puerto Penasco,
Sonora, Mexico, October, 1991

Michael Patrick, 1999

Mike at our home in Placitas, 1999

Mike was born in Rome, NY, on March 9, 1962. He completed his B.S. in Biology (1984) at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IPU), Indiana, PA. He stayed at IPU to work as their animal room supervisor and as a Graduate Assistant in Animal Biology (1985-86) and then was awarded a Teaching Assistantship (1987-88) to teach General Biology and Applied Entomology and Zoonoses. While working on his master's degree, he was awarded an Instructorship to teach six (6!) courses each semester. He completed his M.S. at IPU in 1989. In the Fall of 1988 and spring of 1989, Michael and I corresponded about the possibility of his coming to work in my lab. I first met Mike in the summer of 1989 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists, held in Vancouver, British Columbia that year. We were all staying on the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus, and Lee, several colleagues and I saw this young man walking across campus toward us: white shirt, thin black tie, gigantic smile flashing pearly white teeth. We thought he was a Mormon missionary about to sell us a Bible; it was Mike Patrick. He presented a paper covering the work he had done on his master's thesis and did a great job. I knew then I had made a good decision to have him work on his Ph.D. in my lab, which he began in August, 1989. When we met at UBC, Michael was single. By the time he came to UNM, he was in love and planning a wedding. During his tenure at UNM, Mike not only worked as an R.A. (1990-91) or a T.A. (1989-90, 1991-94), but he also taught half-time at the Albuquerque Technical Vocational (TVI) campus (now Central New Mexico Community College [CNM]) to earn enough money to support his growing family. He completed all requirements for his Ph.D. in December, 1994. After leaving UNM, he taught for a couple years at Seton Hill College, Greensburg, PA, but later accepted his dream job as an Assistant Professor of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, Altoona, PA. Unfortunately, Michael died unexpectedly on March 10, 2000. As with others before him, he had a full and complex life with the many people he shared it with. All of my students who overlapped with Michael in the lab, and others who met him professionally, liked him a lot and, to a person, have reiterated how glad they are to have been a part of his life. Mike had about a dozen scientific publications in parasitology prior to his untimely death, and has been a co-author on another half-dozen (on which he had been working with others) since then. He is survived by his wife Rebecca (Becky), his son Matthew, and his daughter Anna. We still miss ya, Mike!


PATRICIA G. WILBER

Ph.D. with distinction, 1996, "Temporal Patterns of the Parasite Ecology in Townsend's Ground Squirrel, Spermophilus townsendii, in Idaho."

Patty Wilber in the lab, ca. 1995

Patty in the lab, ca. 1995

Lynn Hertel & Patty Wilber, ca. 1999

Lynn Hertel and Patty, ca. 1999

Patty and family, 2005

Jim, Patty, Mark and Maegan, 2005

CV

Address:
Department of Biology
Central New Mexico Community College
Albuquerque, NM 87106
Tel: 505-224-3599
pwilber@cnm.edu
 
Home:
166 Rincon Loop
Tijeras, NM 87059

After completing her Ph.D., with distinction, in May, 1996, Patty decided the quality of her family life, and the opportunity for them to stay in Albuquerque, was the only life choice she wanted to make. This was not a decision she made lightly, especially for someone with her potential and competence, but it was a gutsy choice and points to the strength of her character. After graduating, she taught part-time for several years, both at Albuquerque TVI (now Central New Mexico Community College [CNM]) and in Biology, while she also worked part-time for Duke City Soccer, a job that gave her additional time with her kids, both of whom were accomplished young athletes. But three jobs and locations stretched her pretty thin, especially given her commute through Tijeras Canyon each day. In 2000, Patty consolidated her employment and took a position teaching biology at East Mountain High School in Edgewood, not too far from her home. In the short term, this was a great experience, but in the long term she wanted something more fulfilling and later took her current position as a full-time instructor at CNM. She and husband Jim still live in Tijeras, NM and, in addition to her full-time teaching responsibilities, Patty now enjoys raising and training horses.
 
Daughter Maegan has a soccer scholarship at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX and “is the fittest thing on the face of the Earth, getting really good grades in Mass Communications and Political Science (double major).” This summer (2008) she is heading to NY to visit a friend and test the waters of the major modeling agencies. For most of the summer, she will be in Lubbock taking classes and working as a precinct captain in the presidential race.
 
Son Mark has an internship at the Smithsonian for the semester working on lizard taxonomy. Apparently, “there are enough pickled specimens there to constitute a terrorist threat, so they all must be moved farther from the White House!” This summer he probably will work for Fish & Wildlife doing bird and turtle surveys out of Socorro, NM.

 

BRETT C. PICKERING

M.S., Plan II (non-thesis), 1997.

Brett, October 1999

Brett in the van, getting ready to go
to Puerto Penasco, October, 1996

Brett in Belize, March 1996

Brett on the doc at Wee Wee Caye, Belize, March, 1996


Brett is an ecologist working at the Palmer Station in the Antarctic. The last time we heard from him, he had issued the following Lab News update (here are exerpts):

PALMER STATION LAB NEWS
SCIENCE SITREP
AUGUST 2001
Brett C. Pickering, Winter Assistant Supervisor,
Laboratory Operations

Activity in the Palmer Station Laboratories primarily consisted of preparing for the upcoming summer field season and providing support for the LTER Ice Cruise. The R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD returned to Palmer Station at the end of the month after its SO GLOBEC cruise. During the two-day port call cargo was placed on the ship and laboratory supplies were returned to the station. Grantees from the ship were allowed to utilize the laboratories for sample processes, weighing chemicals and autoclaving glassware and other items.
     August was an extremely windy month with an average wind speed of 17 knots, making it the second windiest August during the 1989-2001 period. Our peak gust was 89 knots (102 mph) on the 14th. The average temperature was 5.1 C with a high of +2.2 C and a low of 16.9 C. Precipitation continues to be lower than average for the year. The melted accumulation for the year through August was 411 mm (529 is the 10-year average through the month) and snowfall of 181 cm (255 cm is the 10-year average through the month). 86 mm of melted accumulation fell during the month with 47 cm of snow. The snow stake ended the month at 60 cm (the 10-year average for the 31st of August is also 60 cm) with a maximum 91 (only two other Augusts had higher snow stake readings). With the wind most of the snow depth can be attributed to drifting rather than snowfall. The drifting has been the bane of all who have kept doors and walkways open.
     Wildlife sightings became more rare during the month. However, the following animals were seen: Adelie Penguins, Antarctic Terns, Blue-eyed Shags, Crab Eater Seals, Elephant Seals, Giant Petrels, Kelp Gulls, Pintado Petrels, Sheathbills, Snow Petrels, and Weddell Seals.
     Brett was involved as Assistant Lab Supervisor in dozens ofresearch efforts at Palmer Station, only a few of which are noted here in which he helped maintain and operate on-site equipment, took weekly samples, and/or monitored data transmissions for the project, as needed.

BP-032-O LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER) ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE-DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT. Raymond C. Smith, ICESS, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA.

GO-052-P GPS CONTINUOUS OPERATION REFERENCE STATION. J. Mullins, Principal Investigator, U.S. Geological Survey.

GO-091-P GLOBAL SEISMOGRAPH STATION AT PALMER STATION. R. Butler, Principal Investigator, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS).

OO-283-P ANTARCTIC AUTOMATED WEATHER STATIONS. Charles Stearns, Principal Investigator, University of Wisconsin.

TO-312-O TERASCAN SATELLITE IMAGING SYSTEM. R. Whritner, Principal Investigator, Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

In addition, Brett was the On Station personnel for the following research project:

BP-013-O: LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANTARCTIC MARINE ECOSYSTEM: AN ICE DOMINATED ENVIRONMENT (SEABIRD COMPONENT). Dr. William R. Fraser, Principal Investigator, Polar Oceans Research Group, Sheridan, MT.


WADE WILSON

M.S., 1998, "Systematic Analysis of the Rodent and Rabbit Bot Flies Cuterebra."

Wade in Puerto Penasco, Mexico, 1996

Wade in Puerto Penasco, Sornora, Mexico
in 1996 with a Marine Invertebrate class.

Wade in Belize, with our Tropical Biology class (1997), cracking a coconut under the watchful eye of Horace.

Wade and Lynn Hertel, on the flight to Belize, 1997

Wade in the Biology greenhouse, ca 2006.

CV

For a couple years after completing his M.S. in 1998, Wade worked various jobs as a laboratory technician in several research labs in Biology. In 2002, he entered the Ph.D. program in Biology, working on parasite ichthyology in Dr. Tom Turner's lab as a graduate research and teaching assistant. He completed his comprehensive exams in the spring of 2004, and in 2006, he was awarded a UNM Regents' Graduate Fellowship (way to go, Wade!).

Address:
Department of Biology
MSC 03-2020

1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
wwilson@unm.edu

Wade on seashore

Wade, where he loves to be,
on the sea shore, 2007

 

DAMIEN T. SCOTT

M.S. with distinction, Plan II (non-thesis), 1998, "Coccidia of Bats of the World."

Damien in lab, 1996

Damien as a young student in our lab, 1997

Damien, Heather & Christian, 2001

Damien and Heather shortly after Christian's birth, 2001

Emmaline & Christian with dog

Emmaline and Christian, January 2007

Emmaline & Christian, March 2008

Emmaline and Christian, March 2008

Christian with a snake!

Christian, March 2008
(compare to his baby picture!)

Damien and Heather, February 2008

CV

Address:
111 College Blvd.
Statesboro, GA 30458
Tel.: 912-489-5057
damiens@frontiernet.net
 
Since completing his M.S. with distinction in 1998, Damien has been busy. He immediately started Physical Therapy school at UNM, from which he graduated cum laude (GPA: 3.95) in 2000. While in PT school (1998–00), however, he also worked as a part-time Instructor for Albuquerque T-VI Community College (now Central NM Community College), where he taught: Anatomy & Physiology I & II lecture & lab, Biology for Health Sciences lecture & lab, and Microbiology. After graduating and until August, 2001, he was a Physical Therapist at the HCR ManorCare Nursing Homes, Albuquerque. Then he and wife Heather moved to Reidsville GA, where he practiced PT at Sundance Rehabilitation, Tatnall Nursing Center, until February, 2002. Since then, he has been working as a PT and is the Director of Therapy Services (since August ’04) at the Candler County Hospital, Metter, GA. Damien achieved his certification as Orthopedic Certified Specialist, effective June 2005. Heather is an award-winning teacher, now teaching Educational Psychology at Georgia Southern University as part-time faculty. They have two lovely children, as all can see: Christian (who will be 7 in July) and daughter Emmaline.


JOHN HNIDA

Ph.D., 1998, "Molecular Methods and Cross-transmission Experiments to Study the Taxonomy and Systematics of Cryptic Species of Eimeria."

John Hnida in lab, 1997 or 1998

John Hnida in lab, 1997 or 1998

John in the lab, about 1997or 1998

John Hnida at the Sevilleta LTER

John thinking at the Sevilleta LTER
after a day in the lab.


John applying sun screen, Puerto Penasco,
Mexico, ca. 1996

John Hnida in Belize, 1997

John eating coconut in Belize, 1997

CV

Address:
Division of Science & Technology
Peru State College
PO Box 10
Peru, NE 68421
Tel.: 402-872-2231 (W)
Tel.: X-X-6845 (H)
jhnida@oakmail.peru.edu
 
After completing his Ph.D. in 1998, John accepted a faculty position in Biology at Peru State College in Nebraska, where he progressed rapidly through the ranks. He is now a Professor of Biology, where he continues to research coccidia, specifically, the coccidian that infect turtles, about which very little is known (that makes him the World’s Expert on turtle coccidia!). Recently, John completed the first experimental life cycle of a species of Eimeria from turtles. He mentors a good number of undergraduate students in his lab and is recognized as one of the best teachers at Peru State. He is married to Mara, and they have a teenage daughter, Sofia.

Lee Couch & John Hnida, ca. 2000

Lee Couch and John, ca. 2000



KIMBERLY HECKSCHER-DECKER

M.S. with distinction, 1999, "Endoparasitic Infections of Dipodomys and Perognathus Species on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, 1989–1998."

Kim in our lab, ca. 1998-99

Kim in the lab, ca. 1998–99

Kim in our lab, ca. 1998-99

Kim in the lab, ca. 1998–99

Kim after shaving her head, 2004

Kim with her shaven head, 2004

Kim with wig, 2004

Kim with her Austin Powers wig, 2004

Ethan & Kim, 2005 or 2006

Ethan and Kim, Christmas, 2005 or 2006

Kim & Ethan in Tokyo, April 2006

Kim and Ethan in Tokyo, April 2006

CV

Address:
1690 Linden Ave.
Boulder, CO 80304
Tel.: 303-440-8070 (H)
Tel.: 720-352-0108 (Cell)
kdecker3@gmail.com
 
During her M.S. work, Kim accomplished a LOT. She was a T.A. in 1997–98, an R.A. in 1998–99, was the leader of the parasite/mammal field team at our LTER site on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro NM, during the summer of 1997, presented four papers at regional/national meetings, won the Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation award at Biology's Annual Research Day (1998), published two papers, including a massive review of the coccidia of marsupials from South America, and took as her thesis project the Herculean task of analyzing the host–parasite data collected from small mammals during the first 10 years these data were collected on our LTER. This very thorough analysis was published in 2001 (Journal of Parasitology 87:300-307). Also in 2001, she published a fourth paper with another of my graduate students, Meg Ryan. With all this, she still finished her M.S., with distinction, in 1999 and then moved to Boulder, CO with her husband Ethan (the Ultimate Frisby guy), who completed his Ph.D., and took a job there.
 
In early August, 2004, she was diagnosed with (left) breast cancer and had two lumpectomy surgeries (8/2 and 8/31); five of 21 lymph nodes removed had cancer cells. On Sept. 15, she began chemotherapy (Taxotere), which continued every two weeks for two months; then, she received A/C every two weeks for two more months. Fortunately, her reactions to the treatments were relatively mild, and she maintained her appetite, her great spirit and exercised regularly. She reported that “the exciting part” of one weekend was shaving off her hair off (see pictures). As is typical of this very thoughtful woman, she donated her hair to a group called "Locks of Love," which make hairpieces for kids with hair loss (www.locksoflove.org). She reported, “My bald head feels really good and I'm excited not to blow dry my hair this winter! Ethan's getting used to it. I found a fun wig (see picture). Maybe I'll try out for the next Austin Powers movie; I'm sure they will need another Dr. Evil bald someone!”
 
After some tests for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations (there are well-known mutations of these genes that make women much more susceptible to early breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and recurrence of cancer), Kim and Ethan learned she is negative for these mutation markers and, thus, NOT genetically prone to breast cancer. After all the chemo- and other treatments, Kim is now on her way to recovery, but not necessarily to a restful life. She has started a new home business, Slice of Fashion (http://www.sliceoffashion.com), making fashionable arm sleeves for people with lymphedema (= lymphoedema). Go, Kim!


XIAOMIN ZHAO

Ph.D. with distinction, 2001, "Plastid DNA in Apicomplexa: Evolutionary Origin and Use in Molecular Systematics of Coccidia."

Xiaomin in the lab, 1999

Xiaomin in the lab, 1999

Xiaomin inspecting a tidal ppol near Sonora, Mexico, Oct. 1997

Xiaomin inspecting a tidepool near CEDO,
Sonora, Mexico, October 1997

Xiaomin relaxing near a waterfall in China, 2007

Xiaomin relaxing near a waterfall in China, 2007

Yang at a Chinese market, 2007

Son Yang at a market in China, 2007

Yang at the Great Wall of China, 2007

Son Yang at the Great Wall, China, 2007

CV

Address:
Department of Veterinery Pathobiology
College of Veterinery Medicine
University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign
2001 South Lincoln Ave.
Urbana, IL 61802
Tel.: 217-265-0652 (O)
Tel.: 217-265-0281 (L)
xzhao@uiuc.edu

Home:
414 Buttercup Dr.
Savoy, IL 61801

Xiaomin completed his Ph.D. with distinction in January, 2001 and has progressed from a postdoctoral associate to a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His dissertation demonstrated keen insightful because, when he began his work, little was known about the evolutionary origin of the coccidian until it was discovered (mid-'90s) that some species have a piece of circular DNA that is similar to plastid DNA (plDNA) in green algae. Immediately, he asked important questions: Do all coccidia have this plDNA? If so, how does it function and can it be used as a target for chemotherapy? Can it be used as a tool to measure the evolutionary relatedness of all Apicomplexa? My lab had stock samples of several dozen rodent coccidia at the time, so he chose to address these questions using a rodent coccidia model. He was interested in the inherent biological nature and origin of plDNA, but also in its potential as a phylogenetic yardstick that could relate all coccidian. In pursuit of these ideas he: (1) deposited > 60 gene sequences into the Gen Bank database, for 28 species in five genera of Apicomplexa parasites; (2) developed a new, simple method for DNA extraction of Eimeria and other coccidia species, providing a more powerful and efficient tool for molecular research in parasitology; (3) was the first to document the presence of plDNA in mammalian Eimeria species, and provided evidence that plastids are common in all apicomplexans; and (4) found that two lineages of rodent Eimeria spp. can be differentiated by documenting their morphological features and suggested that, at least with rodent coccidia, morphology of the parasite is a better clue to evolutionary relationships than is host specificity (this has held up under scrutiny in other coccidian models).

His work at the University of Illinois involves genetic manipulation of pathogenic fungi by knocking out specific genes to create mutant strains that are then tested for pathogenicity in a mouse model. To knock out a couple of genes in a year’s time, particularly if you have to grow and test the knock-out strains in a vertebrate model, is good progress. Xiaomin knocked out seven of nine ALS genes in Candida albicans in about 18 months, a herculean accomplishment. He has a marvelous wife, Hua, and brilliant son, Yang.


MEGAN (RYAN) FRIGGENS

M.S., 2002, "The Cestode Community of the Stingray (Urolophus halleri) from the Northern Gulf of California."

Megan in our lab, ca. 2001

Megan in our lab, ca. 2001

Megan et al., Sonora, Mexico, October 1998

Megan & Lee Couch (2nd & 3rd from left)
and other students at Puerto Penasco,
Sonora, Mexico, October 1998

Mike, Megan and Abbi in the Painted Desert, May 2008

Mike, Megan and Abbi in the Painted Desert,
May 2008

Abbi in the morning, May 2008

Abbi in the morning, May 2008

Address:
40 Jennifer Dr.
Sandia Park, NM 87047
Tel.: 505-259-0727 (Cell)
mryan@sevilleta.unm.edu
 
Megan (Ryan) Friggens completed her M.S. in my lab in 2002 working on shark cestodes (of all things!). She is now a graduate student at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, working on the ecology of emerging zoonoses. Her dissertation involves testing the hypothesis that climate-driven dispersal of cricetid mice—the presumed reservoir of plague (Yersinia pesti)—is a primary mechanism for the introduction of plague to Gunnison’s prairie dog colonies. Although she is near completing her Ph.D. (2008), she is actually back at UNM, completing the lab component of her research and writing her dissertation.


INGRID ASMUNDSSON

Ph.D., 2003, "Eimeriid Parasites of Guatemalan Reptiles and Amphibians, and Their Phylogenetic Relationship to Other Eimeriid Parasites."

Ingrid in Guatamala, 1997

Ingrid in Guatamala, 1997

Ingrid in Guatamala, 1997

Ingrid in our lab, April 1999

Ingrid in our lab, April 1999

Ingrid on her horse, 2008

Ingrid riding her horse, Sweet Simey
(the Great White Shark), 2008

Address:
Molecular Systematics
Animal Parasitic Disease Laboratory
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, USDA
Bldg. 1180, Rm. 3
Beltsville, MD 20705   
Tel.: 301-233-4745
asmundsson@ars.usda.gov  
           
Home:
34-G Ridge Rd.
Greenbelt, MD 20770
Tel.: 301-474-4483
ingrid.asmundsson@gmail.com
 
Ingrid finished her Ph.D. in 2003 after spending several summers working in Guatamala with Professor Jon Campbell, helping to collect snakes and lizards and their parasites. During the summer of 2004, she attended/participated in the Summer Institute for Statistical Genetics at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC in the Population Genetics Data Analysis Module. From June 2003 to June 2005, Ingrid was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, studying comparative population genetics of Sarcocystis neurona based on microsatellite markers, under the direction of Dr. Ben Rosenthal (Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, USDA, Beltsville, MD). Since then she has been studying population genetics, phylogeography and systematics of protostrongylid nematodes of Nearctic ungulates, working with Dr. Eric Hoberg, Chief Curator, U.S. National Parasite Collection, Animal Parasitic Disease Laboratory, USDA, Beltsville MD.


ANDREW LYNCH

M.S., 2003, "Coccidia of Mammals from Beringia: A Survey and Inventory."

Andrew in our lab, 2002

Andrew in our lab, 2002

Andrew at the 2001 ASP Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, NM

Andrew "working" the audience at the
ASP Student Auction during the
2001 Annual Meeting held in Albuquerque, NM.

Address:
Andrew is hard to track except with cell phone and e-mail.
Tel.: 410-271-8780 (Cell)
a_j_lynch@yahoo.com
 
Andrew completed his Master's degree in biology in 2003, and graduated from the Nursing School at Johns’ Hopkins University in 2004. He practiced nursing in Baltimore until 2007, at which time he decided to take a 10-month bike ride across the USA and into Canada (he had a Web site, http://www.throatbeardsaddlesores.com/, which may or may not still be working). After the nationwide tour, he returned to the East Coast and, presumably, is nursing again.


Andrew at our home in Placitas, 2007

Andrew at our home in Placitas,
about half-way through his10-month marathon ride in 2007.

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