Check out research opportunities with the following Origins faculty members. Many other opportunities exist in addition to those listed here. If you are a student looking for a research opportunity in an area not listed here, please email origins@case.edu or evolution@case.edu to inquire!

 

Students are full participants in cutting edge research -side by side with top scientists- to investigate everything from the big bang to the developing mind and emerging life.

Students may be involved with ISO scientists’ research across diverse disciplines for as little as a few weeks or for a longterm research partnership that may last through a student’s 4-year undergraduate career and in some cases beyond!

The ISO Fellows listed below have asked that their names be made available to students interested in working in labs and research programs. Students may be involved variously as volunteers or paid assistants (with or without work-study). In addition, many scientists are open to having students work with them but don’t have a specific position or project in mind at the moment, so please feel free to contact any of the ISO Fellows listed on our Fellows page if their area interests you. They may well have something you can work on.

For summer research, students can apply through SOURCE, specifying that they would like to be placed with an ISO Fellow.

Scientists’ names marked with an asterisk (*) below have indicated particular interest in having students for summer 2018.

*Eben Alsberg
This research focuses on engineering functional biologic replacements to repair damaged or diseased tissues in the body.
Locations: on campus
https://bme.case.edu/FacultyStaff/PrimaryFaculty/Alsberg/
Contact: eben.alsberg@case.edu

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*Jill Barnholtz-Sloan
Research area: genetic/molecular epidemiology and “omics” of brain tumors
Locations: On campus
Contact: jsb42@case.edu

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Cynthia Beall

Research area: Anthropology/High-altitude adaptation
Locations: On campus
Contact: cmb2@case.edu
http://www.case.edu/artsci/anth/altitude/index.html.

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Michael Benard

There are many kinds of opportunities for students to work with Dr Benard, whose research deals with natural selection, evolutionary diversification, and the structure of ecological communities:
Locations: on campus, Univ Farm, and other locations
http://filer.case.edu/mfb38/lab/student.html
Contact: michael.benard@case.edu

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*Jurgen Bosch

Dr Bosch’s research addresses the Plasmodium parasite, which causes malaria. Using a targeted structure-based drug design approach, his lab employs X-ray crystallography, virtual library screening (VLS), and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) methods to study important key players of these plasmodial mechanisms, with the ultimate aim to develop novel, drug-like compounds for future therapeutic use:
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*Nikki Burt
Dr Burt is Curator and Head of Dep. of Human Health and Evolutionary Medicine at Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The Department has recently started a Biorepository for hard tissue biological specimens where researchers can curate their samples. Dr. Burt is beginning a new research program on Infant Feeding Practices in Cleveland using stable isotope analysis in combination with other techniques. Recently, Dr. Burt published Origins: An Evolutionary Journey with Co-author Dr. Mindy Pitre and Illustrator Holly Hunold. Origins is an educational game that teaches the concepts of evolution and the fundamentals of human origins through classroom play.
Locations: CMNH and other locations
Contact: burt.nicolem@gmail.com 216.231.4600 ext. 3531
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Mark Chance
Research area:Proteomics and Bioinformatics
Locations: On campus
Contact: http://proteomics.case.edu/faculty/mark_chance.html
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Corbin Covault
Dr Covault has diverse interests, including Experimental Particle Astrophysics, Gamma-Ray Astronomy, Ultra-high Energy Cosmic Rays, and extraterrestrial intelligence.
Locations: on campus
http://www.phys.cwru.edu/faculty/?covault
Contactcec8@cwru.edu
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Carlos E. Crespo-Hernández
Dr Crespo is Associate Professor of Chemistry and Co-director of the Center for Chemical Dynamics. His interests include Ultrafast Spectroscopy, Analytical Chemistry, Biophysical Chemistry, Energy, Photochemistry, Physical Chemistry, Chemical Dynamics and Kinetics, Computational Chemistry, and Time-Resolved Spectroscopy
Locations: on campus
http://chemistry.case.edu/faculty/carlos-crespo-hernandez/
Contactcxc302@case.edu
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*Darin Croft
Dr Croft is a paleontologist who specializes in extinct South American mammals. He works with many undergraduate researchers.
Locations: on campus and other locations
https://dcpaleo.org/research-overview/
Contactdcroft@case.edu

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Chris Cullis
Dr Cullis is the Francis Hobart Herrick Professor of Biology. He uses plants as model systems to investigate the mechanisms by which DNA within the cell can change rapidly, particularly in response to external stimuli.
Locations: on campus and other locations
http://biology.case.edu/faculty/christopher-cullis/
Contact: christopher.cullis@case.edu

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Michael Decker

Dr Decker’s current research in the laboratory of cerebral blood flow & metabolism is based on the study of the molecular mechanisms that regulate capillary structure/function as a component of the neurovascular unit.
Locations: on campus and other locations

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Jessica Fox
Research area: Biology
Locations: On campus
Contact: jessica.l.fox@case.edu
https://sites.google.com/site/cwrufoxlab/home

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*Weihong Guo
Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics.
Dr Guo’s research is on image processing, image analysis and applications
Locations: on campus
http://casfaculty.case.edu/weihong-guo/
Contact: wxg49@case.edu
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*Yohannes Haile-Selassie

Research area: Paleoanthropology
Locations: CMNH and other locations
Contact:  yhaileselassie@cmnh.org  https://www.cmnh.org/haile-selassie

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*Joe Hannibal

Research area: Invertebrate Paleontology
Locations: CMNH and other locations
Contact: jhannibal@cmnh.org
https://www.cmnh.org/hannibal

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Ralph Harvey

Dr Harvey is the Principal Investigator for the Antarctic Search for Meteorites program. His interests are diverse, including among other things various processes on Earth and Mars and the geochemical and climatological limits on biological activity in cryogenic settings.
Locations: on campus and other locations
http://geology.case.edu:16080/~harvey/
Contactrph@case.edu

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Andy Jones
Dr Jones is Director of Science, William A. and Nancy R. Klamm Endowed Chair of Ornithology, and Curator and Head of Ornithology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.  He is an expert on birds and their evolutionary history. He specializes in comparative phylogeography, a field that compares the geographic patterns of genetic variation among populations of a species with those of other species occupying the same habitat. Dr. Jones can involve students in diverse areas of research in both the museum and the field, for varying lengths of time. He can also help point students to other areas of research available at the museum.
Locations: CMNH and other locations
https://www.cmnh.org/jones
Contact: ajones@cmnh.org

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Joseph LaManna

Dr LaManna’s current research in the laboratory of cerebral blood flow & metabolism is based on the study of the molecular mechanisms that regulate capillary structure/function as a component of the neurovascular unit.
Locations: on campus
https://physiology.case.edu/people/faculty/joseph-c-lamanna/
Contactjoseph.lamanna@case.edu

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Bruce Latimer

Research area: Paleoanthropology
Locations: on and off-campus (field work in Israel in July)
Contact: bruce.latimer@case.edu  http://anthropology.ua.edu/blogs/ltmonocello/2015/12/02/biography-bruce-latimer/

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*The Manot Cave Dig
The Manot Cave is a unique archeological site located in northwest Israel. It contains what may well be indications of Neanderthal and H sapiens cross-breeding. It is an active karstic cave with remains of human occupation during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic periods. These remains document the dispersion of modern humans from Africa to Eurasia and seeks to uncover the physical and cultural affinities of the ancient dwellers in the cave, through a multi-disciplinary research project involving an international and diverse group of scholars.
https://www.facebook.com/manotcaveproject/
Contact: Project coordinator, Yvonne McDermott ypmcdermott@gmail.com

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Harsh Mathur

Dr Mathur’s interests involve Theoretical Physics: Condensed matter physics, Particle-Astrophysics and Cosmology.
Locations: on campus
http://www.phys.cwru.edu/faculty/?mathur
Contacthxm7@cwru.edu

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Michael Martens

Research area: Physcs/Medical Imaging
Locations: On campus
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Stacy McGaugh
Research area:
Cosmology/Astronomy
Locations:
On campus
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Claudia Mizutani
Dr Mizutani’s work addresses how gene expression patterns arise and how they evolve to produce different tissues and life forms.
Locations: on campus
http://biology.case.edu/faculty/claudia-mizutani/
Contactclaudia.mizutani@case.edu
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Roy Ritzmann
Dr. Ritzmann’s research is aimed at determining how animals move through the kinds of complex terrain found in natural settings. A great model organism has been the cockroach. His data are also used in efforts to design and build hexapod robots that can navigate extreme environments on earth and other planets.
Locations: on campus
http://biology.case.edu/faculty/roy-ritzmann/
Contact: roy.ritzmann@case.edu

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John Ruhl
Research area: Cosmology
Locations: On campus
Contact: ruhl@cwru.edu  http://www.phys.cwru.edu/sites/johnruhl/

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*Michael Ryan
Dr Ryan is Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. His on-going expeditionary research includes remote locations in Africa, South America, Canada, and Mongolia, with a focus on ceratopsian dinosaurs.
Locations: CMNH and other locations
https://www.cmnh.org/Mercuriceratops
Contact: mryan@cmnh.org
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Beverly Saylor
Dr Saylor’s research focuses on reconstructing and interpreting stratigraphic patterns, both as recorders of past environmental and tectonic change, and as transport pathways and reservoirs for fluids.
Locations: on campus and other locations
http://casfaculty.case.edu/beverly-saylor/
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Scott Simpson
Dr Simpson is a paleoanthropologist in the Dept of Anatomy, who also works closely with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. He is involved with the Gona project in Ethiopia and a member of the scientific team that analyzed Ardipithecus, mankind’s earliest ancestor. The group’s work was chosen as Science magazine’s “Science Breakthrough of the Year.” that has “rewritten the book on human evolution.”
Locations: on campus and other locations
Contactscott.simpson@case.edu
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Glenn Starkman
Dr Starkman’s interests lie in Theoretical Physics: Cosmology, Particle Physics and Astrophysics, including issues such as challenges to and the sufficiency of the standard model, dark matter, and the microwave background.
Locations: on campus and other locations
http://www.phys.cwru.edu/faculty/?starkman
Contact: gds6@case.edu
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Kingman Strohl
Research area: The evolution of sleep and related phenomena
Locations: On campus, University Hospital Case Medical Center
Contact: http://www.uhhospitals.org/find-a-doctor/strohl-kingman-1335

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Wanda Strychalski

Dr Strychalski’s Research interests include mathematical biology, scientific computing and computational fluid dynamics
Locations: on campus
http://mathstats.case.edu/faculty/wanda-strychalski/
Contact: wis6@case.edu

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*Denise F. Su
Research area:
Paleoecology of early hominins
Locations: CMNH and other locations
Contact:
dsu@cmnh.org or 216-231-4600 x3226

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*Gavin Svenson

CMNH Assistant Director of Science, Curator & Head of Invertebrate Zoology
Research area: Entomology
Locations: CMNH and other locations
Contact: https://www.cmnh.org/svenson; gsvenson@cmnh.org; 216-231-4600 x3315

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Peter Thomas

The goal of Dr Thomas’s research is understand signal transduction from a biophysical and information theoretic point of view.
Locations: on campus
https://case.edu/math/thomas/
Contact: pjthomas@case.edu

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*Turkana Basin Ape and Human Evolution Project 
Partial funding may be available to help a student accompany Dr. Isaiah Nengo and Dr Patricia Princehouse to the famous Turkana Basin in Kenya where so many famous hominid fossils have been discovered.
Locations: off campus: Kenya
Contact: Dr Princehouse evolution@case.edu 

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Focco van den Akker

The goal of Dr van den Akker’s research is to elucidate the molecular intricacies of enzyme mechanism and receptor activation and use that knowledge to develop inhibitors and activators for pharmaceutical purposes.
Locations: on campus
http://www.case.edu/med/biochemistry/faculty/vandenakker.html
Contactfocco.vandenakker@case.edu

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James van Orman

Dr van Orman’s research concerns geochemistry and mineral physics, including planetary interiors and the evolving early solar system.
Locations: on campus and other locations
http://geology.case.edu/~vanorman/
Contactjames.vanorman@case.edu

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Mark Willis

The Willis lab studies mechanisms of insect behavior, especially how animals use odors to locate mates, food, etc.Ands also how moths’ nervous systems coordinate with their flight muscles while they are flying in order to begin to understand how the central nervous system controls flight.
Locations: on campus
 http://www.case.edu/artsci/biol/willis/
Contactmaw27@case.edu 

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Idit Zehavi

Research area: Astronomy
Locations: On campus
Contact: idit.zehavi at case.edu http://astroweb.cwru.edu/izehavi/index.html

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For more information on Summer Research Opportunities, c
ontact the SOURCE office:
Sheila Pedigo, Ph.D.
SOURCE Director
Sears Library 451
368-8508
sheila.pedigo@case.edu

Bethany Pope
SOURCE Department Assistant
Sears Library 451
368-2180
bethany.pope@case.edu