Jennifer Madigan placed third in the Medical Laboratory Sciences category at the 2021 Washington State University Graduate Professional Student Association Research Exposition. Her project investigated how perinatal hair cortisol concentration is linked to psychological well-being over time in women who experience birth complications.
Six CAS women were honored for their accomplishments, service, and commitment to student success at the 15th annual WSU Women of Distinction awards ceremonies this spring. Our own Dr. Erica Crespi is among these amazing women.
Erica Crespi
Woman of the Year
As an associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences (SBS), 2021 Woman of the Year Erica Crespi is committed to excellence in research and teaching, but it’s her “commitment to promoting the success of diverse students,” her nomination letter said, that makes her truly exceptional. She is a tireless advocate for under-represented groups in the sciences – particularly women. She mentors and advises female students, co-advises the Scientista group, serves on the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, regularly speaks on panels about women in science, and recently secured a grant to support a maternal-child health collaborative that will bring together female researchers from across WSU.
In addition to her advocacy work, Crespi is an engaging teacher who received the Smith Teaching and Learning Award in 2017 and was inducted into the WSU Teaching Academy in 2020. She has had several projects funded by the National Science Foundation and recently received a $900K Murdock Trust grant to build an Aquatics Phenomics Research Center at WSU. “While there are many important women leaders at WSU,” her nomination letter read, “Erica is unique in that her leadership is changing the landscape of research at WSU for so many faculty while also innovating graduate and undergraduate training and education.”
Bernie received $1,000 from Sigma Xi on a project looking at the effect of the larval environment on post-metamorphic behavior in wood frogs. Congratulations, Bernie!
Dr. Nikki Traylor-Knowles is organizing the first virtual meeting of Black women in Biology, Eco/Evo and Marine Biology! Go to this Google Doc to sign up if you are interested and identify as a black women ecologist, evolutionary biologist or marine scientist. All undergrads, graduate students, post-docs, research associates, instructors and professors are invited. See #blackwomeninSTEM #BlackAFINSTEM #blackinnature #BlackintheIvory
Link to the letter of support:
The Crespi lab will be part of this effort–it will be the collective contribution of all labs and organizations at Washington State University to make this pledge a reality.
Click here for the Full Published Article
See the latest work from former graduate student Emily Hall, undergraduate researcher Brandon Hutzenbiler and collaborator Jesse Brunner (WSU) that connects how the non-lethal effects of elevated salinity due to de-icing road salt run-off can increase the likelihood of mass mortality events in wood frog tadpoles, providing rare empirical evidence supporting the stress-induced susceptibility hypothesis:
Press coverage for this research article includes:
Congratulations to newly elected BGSA leaders in our lab:
Jen Madigan the new elected President
Grace Curtis the new Information Officer
Bernie Traversari the new Seminar representative
Robyn’s talk, titled, “Leptin: Integrator of immune response and regeneration,” took the top prize and the People’s Choice Award, which was voted by audience members at the competition. She ultimately placed 3rd in the university-wide competition! See her talk at: