Bisgrove Scholars

Melanie B. Channon, Ph.D. candidate, is currently completing her graduate work in geochemistry at the California Institute of Technology, after obtaining her bachelor’s in geological sciences summa cum laude from Arizona State University (ASU).

Her research thus far has focused on exploring the extent and significance of water on Mars by studying Martian meteorites. In part thanks to the guidance of her past and present mentors, including Dr. David Bell at ASU and Drs. John Eiler and Ed Stolper at Caltech, she has become an expert bench scientist and data analyst. Now she is ready to use these skills for the good of biomedical sciences and is interested in devising more accurate methods to monitor bone loss in patients with cancer affecting the skeletal system.

Deborah N. Huntzinger, Ph.D. was recently appointed as a tenure-track assistant professor at Northern Arizona University (NAU) in the newly formed School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability. Dr. Huntzinger completed her graduate degrees in geological engineering at Michigan Technological University and the Colorado School of Mines. Prior to coming to NAU, she was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan where she worked on evaluating and comparing model estimates of land-atmosphere carbon exchange.

Dr. Huntzinger’s current research interests are focused on improving our understanding of the contemporary and future carbon cycles, and identifying practical greenhouse gas and climate change mitigation solutions.

Sarah J. Leung, Ph.D. candidate, is currently completing her graduate work in biomedical engineering at the University of Arizona (U of A),  after completing a Bachelor’s in bioengineering at Arizona State University, both with a perfect GPA.

Over the past several decades, researchers have been testing the viability of using gold nanoparticles, tiny specks of the precious metal, to deliver medicines or discover abnormal cells. Gold nanospecks can move through blood vessels or human tissues. The focus of Sarah’s graduate work was to use light-activated versions of these nanoparticles so that the exact timing and location of therapeutic delivery could be controlled, allowing for precise treatment and preservation of healthy tissue. She also used this material in the development of a platform technology to decipher early cell-signaling events that lead to diseases such as cancer. This may enable the development of more effective diagnostic and treatment modalities, greatly improving disease prognosis.

Wade D. Van Horn, Ph.D. was recruited to Arizona State University (ASU) as tenure track faculty after a post-doctoral appointment at Vanderbilt University, where he studied the biology and biophysics of proteins in cell membranes. Dr. Van Horn completed his graduate and undergraduate studies in Chemistry at The University of Utah and Brigham Young University, respectively, and he is currently finishing his post-doctoral studies in biochemistry and structural biology.

Dr. Van Horn’s current research interests are the study of the structure and function of membrane proteins. The most important processes in all living cells, such as respiration, photosynthesis, cell communications, cell import and export, cell growth and recognition take place with the help of membrane proteins. The proteins do not act on their own, but they communicate within cells by binding, releasing and transmitting signals to other proteins

With a strong interest in the Neotropics, Dr. Ophelia Wang began her MS thesis work at the University of Illinois on how palms impose recruitment limitation on seedlings in Costa Rica and Panama. A growing interest in applied ecology, conservation, and geographic information system motivated Ophelia to shift her MA work to Neotropical palm communities in fragmented forests in northern Costa Rica. Ophelia conducted her PhD research in the Ecuadorian Amazon for tree diversity patterns and conservation planning.

Dr. Wang began working as a postdoctoral Research Associate in the Lab of Landscape Ecology and Conservation Biology at NAU in 2010. Her postdoctoral projects consist of a multidisciplinary project of integrated spatial models of non-native plant invasion, fire risk and wildlife habitat to support conservation of military and adjacent lands in the arid Southwest, funded by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program at the Department of Defense.

Xi Zhang, Ph.D. Candidate is currently completing his graduate work in planetary science at the California Institute of Technology. He did his undergraduate work in space physics at Peking University, a top institution in China. Even as a graduate student, Xi Zhang’s publication record is impressive and includes prestigious journals such as Nature Geosciences.

His primary interest is climate science and how aerosols present in the atmosphere of planets influence long-term weather trends. Xi’s proposed research will tackle a number of key unsolved problems related to the atmospheric structure and circulation of the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Apart from the obvious benefits of helping the scientific community understand the many factors influencing climate change on earth, his work will build upon the great astronomy resources available in Arizona.