Alum Named to Top Federal Agency Biology Position

Susan Haseltine, M.S., 1973; Ph.D., 1976, zoology, was recently named the Associate Director for Biology at the U.S. Geological Survey, USGS. Hasseltine's Ph.D. work, done under the guidance of Emeritus Professor Tony Peterle, investigated the physiological mechanisms of eggshell thinning in wild birds. After receiving her Ph.D., she joined the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as researcher for the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, MD. After more than a decade as a researcher and research manager, she moved to the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown, ND, as Center Director. In 1995, Haseltine moved to Minneapolis, MN, to manage the Refuges and Wildlife Program in the Upper Midwest and then joined the former National Biological Service (NBS) as the Eastern Region Director. When NBS joined USGS in 1996, Haseltine took the position of Chief Scientist for Biology. "I look forward to the challenges and opportunities of this position. I am eager to help our scientists to provide the essential biological science information to natural resource managers for the last wild places that are part of America's distinctive heritage," Haseltine said.

Not a Regular Commute-an Alum's Extraordinary Collaboration in a War Zone

Dr. Moien Kanaan, Ph.D., molecular genetics, 1992, is chairman and researcher in genetics at the University of Bethlehem. As a Palestinian researcher who lives in Jerusalem, getting to work each day offers a few more challenges than the ordinary person endures. Bethlehem lies over the border and Kanaan must pass through as many as half a dozen roadblocks each morning. But Kanaan, with his Israeli collaborator, Karen Avraham, have succeeded in a remarkable scientific collaboration conducted in a war zone. Kanaan's lab has identified several mutations of a gene responsible for more than 30 percent of a hereditary hearing-loss condition. Kanaan and Avraham have managed to gain insight into how the gene, connexin 26, works and what causes it to malfunction. Their work has particular significance in this area of the world as there is a high marriage rate of cousins among both Jewish and Palestinian populations, which results in frequent occurrences of recessive traits, one of which is deafness. Both researchers hope for a day when the fighting will stop and collaborations like theirs will become the norm.

Stay Connected!
Join the Biological Sciences Alumni Society!

Become involved in these annual activities and other college and alumni events. Connect with your fellow alumni by joining the College of Biological Sciences Alumni Society, which works to promote fellowship among alumni, students and friends of the college. Activities have grown to include an annual alumni tailgate and football game, the "Buckeye Island Hop" retreat to Stone Lab at Lake Erie, the Biological Sciences Golf Outing, along with student recruitment programs and an annual recognition luncheon for June graduates.

Join the alumni society and give yourself the opportunity to influence the events and opportunities offered as we continue to grow. Best of all, you can "pay forward" by giving your time and expertise to guide and advise students through society programs.

Art & Science: Dean Herbers with Lynn Waller, who generously donated this original water color of Iris fields behind B&Z to Plant Biology, Sept. 5. Waller's father, Adolph Waller, a Botany professor for 45 years, worked on these irises. The painting was a gift to Professor Waller by colleague and friend, Fine Arts Professor Ralph Fanning.