The Sept. 30 event, held at the Bronx Zoo, was a collaboration of the five-member Bronx Consortium, consisting of the zoo, Fordham, the New York Botanical Garden, Montefiore Medical Center, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

For many of the researchers the event served to update fellow participants on the status of ongoing data collection and results.

Rats!

For Matthew Combs, a graduate student at the Calder Center, the event marked the end of data collection on rat migration in Manhattan.

“We pretty much covered the whole island and finished yesterday,” he said.

Combs’ work was part of a large study headed by Jason Munshi South, PhD, associate professor of biological sciences, one that garnered much press attention over the past year.

The team collected rat DNA from all 41 Manhattan zip codes. Among the many findings was that rats, like their human counterparts, tended to stick around their own neighborhood until it got too crowded, after which they moved on to other locations.

“When it gets too crowded, the animals migrate out to find new habitat with fresher food,” said Combs. “In terms of actionable results, if we can map where the rats migrate from, and stop the populations at that source, then maybe we’ll be a bit more successful at preventing a prolonged infestation.”

Is Acupuncture for the Birds?

Many of the research studies, like Combs’, collected hundreds of samples, whereas others presented a single case study.

Jessica Chin, of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) at the Bronx Zoo, presented a case study of a 15-year-old parrot whose claw hock was swollen and beleaguered by arthritis. After trying a variety of meds for three months, including anti-inflammatory drugs, the parrot showed no signs of progress. The researchers turned to acupuncture instead.

“We had to restrain him, but he was usually chill when we poked him,” she said. “He showed significant improvement in about six weeks. He can now use his hock to grab food and he’s much happier. We believe the acupuncture did increase his quality of life.”

Chin said that the use of acupuncture is limited at the zoo because not all animals are agreeable to being poked. She noted that tigers are not as amenable as ostriches. She said that even the ostrich had to be coaxed into the process.

“We’d have to move with her and ‘Walk-walk-walk—poke! Walk-walk-walk—poke!’ And then do it the same way to get the pins out.”

However, the ostrich also showed improvement, she said.

Taming Lionfish Proteins

Fordham College at Rose Hill Juniors Zachary Mattes and Nina Le clocked more than 500 hours at the lab this past summer studying the genome code and proteins of the venomous lionfish. Paul Smith, PhD, supervised their research.

Mattes explained that the fish, native to the Pacific Ocean, has been introduced into the Atlantic Ocean, particularly in the Caribbean where the population has “skyrocketed.”

“Aside from the ecological impact, it’s an obvious danger to humans,” he said.

The two are using chromatography to isolate the two proteins that cause the neurotoxic effects. They plan to continue research of the protein structure of the venom through crystallography.

“This is only the beginning,” said Le.

Peer-to-Peer; Teen-to-Teen

Alongside the graduates and undergraduate researchers, high school students from Project TRUE, the urban ecology field research program, also presented their findings. Project TRUE pairs Fordham biologists with WCS educators that work together to train teens during the summer in areas that promote interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

Valerie Pierre-Louis, a student at the Lycée Français in Manhattan, said that Project TRUE taught her how to communicate science to her peers.

“As teenagers we know how to interact with each other and explain science,” said Pierre-Louis. “Some science words we may have to explain a little more, but after that they understand it.”

There’s also a benefit in meeting other researchers, students said.

“They are like my friends now,” said Moomitu Kashem, of Midwood High School in Brooklyn. “I’ve made so many connections from all these different high schools and I have a new bond with others who like science.”

“Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Fordham University have a natural affinity,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University. “We are both New York research institutions with deep commitments to our religious traditions. The agreement is a tie that binds us closer, serving our respective student bodies, New York City and the advance of science and medicine.”

The agreement, inked on Thursday, Oct. 30, at the brand new Michael F. Price Center for Genetic and Translational Medicine/Harold and Muriel Block Research Pavilion, will create and augment interaction on the undergraduate, graduate and faculty levels. Fordham will gain access to Albert Einstein’s vast array of clinical medical resources, while the medical college will benefit from Fordham’s high-caliber student body and the scientific expertise of its faculty.

“This is a wonderful example of two Bronx institutions with international reputations sharing resources to the great benefit of both student bodies and faculties,” said Stephen Freedman, Ph.D., senior vice president/chief academic officer, and professor of natural science at Fordham. “The agreement builds on the strengths of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Fordham University, the resulting partnership being greater than the sum of its parts.”

Much of the collaboration focuses on Fordham undergraduates, who will participate in a hospital mentorship, lab-based coursework and summer program at Albert Einstein. The mentorship will occur each semester at the Weiler Division of Montefiore Medical Center, and be open to two Fordham students, who will shadow an attending physician.

“Yeshiva University welcomes collaboration with its sister institutions,” said Richard M. Joel, president of Yeshiva. “It is clear that the welfare of the community mandates that we look for ways to share increasingly scarce physical and human resources for the benefit of society. Universities should show the way to such collaboration.”

“Einstein has a deep commitment to fostering a love of biomedical science in young college students,” according to Edward R. Burns, M.D., executive dean of Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “Fordham University’s undergraduates have sterling reputations and their Rose Hill Campus is less than ten minutes away from us. What better way to nurture a budding investigator than to put him or her in the laboratory of an established world class scientist who can serve as a mentor.”

In addition, the University’s science and pre-med students may take two-semester, lab-based electives at the medical college. Likewise, Albert Einstein students may take a research elective or other graduate course at Fordham.

Finally, Fordham will recommend two students who will work together with outstanding Yeshiva undergraduate students at Albert Einstein’s prestigious nine-week Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP). The applicants must have a strong background in science and be pursuing a research career.

Similar opportunities will be explored for Fordham graduate students in psychology and social work as the partnership between the two institutions progresses, and areas of mutual interest, such as ethics research and education, health law and religion, bioinformatics and neuropsychology, will be considered for further collaboration.

On the graduate and faculty level, professors from Fordham and Albert Einstein will be encouraged to pursue joint research opportunities and co-sponsor colloquia and conferences. Faculty from Fordham and Albert Einstein will have the opportunity to sit on the partner institution’s thesis and dissertation committees. Faculty and students from both institutions will have access to the other’s libraries.

“Today Fordham rejoices, rejoices heartily in this affiliation,” Father McShane said at the ceremony. “This agreement brings our two institutions closer in spirit.”