The Shelley Lab

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April 2025

The Shelley lab was well-represented at Scholarship Sewanee this year. Abood Najjar '25 and Charly Montague '25 each gave oral presentations on their work on recording single channel activity of HyNaCs. In addition, Josh Fairhead '26 and Kara Taylor '28 presented a poster on their experiments investigating the viability of oral administration of drugs to sea stars.​

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March 2025

Congratulations to lab member Josh Fairhead '26 who has been accepted the summer research program at Rockefeller University!

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January 2025

Welcome to our newest lab member, Kara Taylor '28 is a first year Life Science Research Fellow at the University of the South.

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September 2024

Congratulations to lab member Abood Najjar '24 who was one of nine seniors inducted into Phi Beta Kappa!

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August 2024

Welcome to our newest lab members, Abood Najjar '24 and Josh Fairhead '25! We are also happy to welcome our first Neuroscience Program work study student, Luke Fairhead '28 who will be helping to maintain our animals and keeping our lab organized.

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May 2024

Congratulations to lab member seniors Jadon Fetrow '24, Debbie Lim '24, Madison Reid '24, and Ellie Vincent '24 who all obtained Honors in Neuroscience!

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April 2024

Onwards and upwards for our lab students. After graduation, Ellie Vincent '24 will be starting as a neurobiology research associate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Madison Reid will be embarking on a Masters in Education in Quantitative Methodology at Vanderbilt University. Congratulations!

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April 2024

Lots of research from the lab was presented at Scholarship Sewanee this year. Jadon Fetrow '24 and Ellie Vincent '24 spoke about their research on movement velocity changes in sea stars in response to food, Madison Reid '24 spoke on optimizing DNA transfection protocols for ion channel recording, and Debbie Lim '24 presented her work from Yale School of Medicine on correlations between parenting and childhood irritability across racial and ethnic groups.

 

The lab also presented two posters at Scholarship Sewanee. Jackson Deneka '24 and Debbie Lim '24 co-authored a poster describing methods of drug administration in sea stars, and Jadon Fetrwo '24, Ellie Vincent '24, Charly Montague '25, and Allison Bizub '27 showcased their research on using movement velocity and leading arm preference to quantify sea star behavior.

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January 2024

Welcome to our newest lab member, Allison Bizub is in one of the inaugural Life Science Research Fellows at the University of the South.

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November 2023

Prof. Shelley presented a poster at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, "The dopamine receptor antagonist haloperidol disrupts behavioral responses of both sea urchins and sea stars" coauthored by Emma Howell '23, Abigail R. Lancaster '22, Jordan Besh '22, Bea Richardson '23, Eileen Gomez '23 and Sophia A. Harnew-Spradley '23. It was also great to run into and chat with lab alumni Emma Howell, Abby Lancaster, and Seif Aldalil!

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September 2023

We made the front cover! The September issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology features a gray sea star, one of the subjects of our paper published in this issue, "The dopamine receptor antagonist haloperidol disrupts behavioral responses of sea urchins and sea stars".

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August 2023

Welcome to our new lab members, Jadon Fetrow '24, Charly Montague '25, and Ellie Vincent '24! 

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August 2023

Latest paper published!

"The dopamine receptor antagonist haloperidol disrupts behavioral responses of sea urchins and sea stars" authored by Emma Howell '23, Abigail Lancaster '22, Jordan Besh '22, Bea Richardson '23, Eileen Gomez '23, Sophia Harnew-Spradley '22, and Chris Shelley.

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May 2023

Congratulations to Seif Aldalil '23 who will be starting a PhD in Neuroscience at Brandeis University, Emma Howell '23 who is starting as a Postbaccalaureate Associate at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, and Mac Gortney '23 who is starting as a Postgraduate Associate at the Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine!

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May 2023

Congratulations to graduating seniors Self Aldalil '23, Emma Howell '23, and Patrick Rodriguez ;23, who all achieved honors in their Neuroscience degree!

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May 2023

Congratulations on your graduating seniors Seif Aldalil '23, Patrick Rodriguez '23, Eileen Gomez '23, Mac Gortney '23, Emma Howell '23, and Bea Richardson '23. Thank you for all the hard work and and input into the lab over these past few years!

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April 2023

Scholarship Sewanee was a buy time for the lab this year. Emma Howell '23 gave a talk on the role of dopamine receptors in sea urchins and sea stars, Patrick Rodriguez '23 gave a talk on the resting membrane potential of sea urchin muscle, and Seif Aldalil '23 gave a talk about  his work at the University of Florida on the effects of ALS on sleep EEG signatures.

 

The lab also presented two posters at this year's Scholarship Sewanee. Emma Howell '23 was the lead author on our echinoderm behavior paper, with co-author Bea Richardson '23. And Patrick Rodriguez '23 presented a poster on our latest electrophysiological data on sea urchin muscle, along with Jackson Deneka '24 and Mac Gortney '23.

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February 2023

Congratulations to lab member Patrick Rodriguez '23 who has been accepted onto the Masters Program in Bioethics and Science Policy at Duke University!

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November 2022

Seif Aldalil '23 was recently the subject of a Sewanee Student Spotlight Article detailing the many research experiences he has had while an undergraduate.

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October 2022

Congratulations to lab member Seif Aldalil '23 who was awarded Trainee Professional Development Award from the Society for Neuroscience to attend their annual meeting this Fall. Seif will be presenting some of the work he completed whilst a summer research student at the University of Florida.

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September 2022

A welcome to our newest lab member, Debbie Lim '24 who is double majoring in Neuroscience and Computer Science and will be working on some programming in R for our data analysis.

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June 2022

Congratulations to recent lab and Neuroscience major alumni, Feza Umutoni '22. Feza has accepted a position as a Postgraduate Associate at the Yale Center for Health and Learning Games at Yale School of Medicine.

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May 2022

Welcome to new lab members Bea Richardson '23 and Jackson Deneka '24, who will be working full time in the lab for six week this summer as Sewanee Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF).

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May 2022

Congratulations on your graduation to lab members Jordan Besh '22, Sophia Harnew-Spradley '22, Abigail Lancaster '22, Steven Li '22, Madeleine Rumingan '22, and Feza Umutoni '22. Thank you for all the hard work and and input into the lab over these past few years!

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May 2022

Congratulations to lab member Jordan Besh '22 who was awarded this year's Susan Miller Selden Award. This award is presented to a Honors Bachelor of Science graduate from the university who has "demonstrated excellence in courses in the humanities as well as a commitment to community service".

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May 2022

Many thanks to the Kennedy Foundation of Chattanooga that awarded a Kennedy Endowed Faculty Fellowship to Dr Chris Shelley to support research and professional development over the next three years!

 

April 2022

The lab presented two posters at this year's Scholarship Sewanee. Madeleine Rumingan '22 was the lead author on our electrophysiology poster, with contributions from Emma Howell '23, Mac Gortney ;23, and Seif Aldalil '23. Our latest sea urchin behavioral data was presented by Abigail Lancaster '22, Jordan Besh '22, and Sophia Harnew-Spradley'22.

 

April 2022

Congratulations to lab member Madeline Rumingan '22 who has been accepted into the medical school at the American University of Antigua!

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March 2022

Latest paper published!

"Effects if neurotransmitter receptor antagonists on sea urchin righting behavior and tube foot motility"

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March 2022

Congratulations to lab member Madison Reid '24 who was accepted onto the Sewanee-at-Yale program enabling her to spend the summer at Yale conducting research and studying at Yale in the Fall semester!

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March 2022

Congratulations to lab member Mac Gortney '23 who was accepted onto the Sewanee-at-Yale summer program!

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March 2022

Congratulations to lab member Seif Aldalil '23 who was accepted onto the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program at The Rockefeller University!

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December 2021

Many thanks to the Appalachian College Association for funding a Faculty Fellowship to Dr Chris Shelley enabling a full year's sabbatical in the 2022-2023 academic year!

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November 2021

Congratulations to lab member Steven Li '22 who has been accepted into the Nursing Program at Tennessee Tech!

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November 2021

Congratulations to lab member Seif Aldalil '23 who was accepted as a Research Assistant in the Brain Plasticity, Epilepsy, and Electroencephalography course as part of his semester studying abroad in Denmark.

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November 2021

The Shelley Lab's Madeleine Rumingan '22 was recently highlighted in "First-Gen Voices" celebrating the achievements of students and faculty who identify as first-generations college students. Read the article here.

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November 2021

Emma Howell '23 and her research in the Shelley lab as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowhip (SURF) program was featured in this month's newsletter of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship at Sewanee. Student spotlight article

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November 2021

Prof. Shelley presented a virtual poster at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, "Can’t right, won’t right – the differing roles of neurotransmitters in sea urchin righting behavior" coauthored by Morgan McDonald '20, Natalie Paige Griffin '20, Emma Howell '23, Steven Li'22, Sophia Harnew-Spradley '22, Patrick Rodriguez '23, Abigail Lancaster '22, Feza Umutoni '22, Jordan Besh '22. 

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July 2021

Congratulations to lab member Jordan Besh who was awarded the ITA Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship award! Read more here.

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June 2021

Congratulations to lab member Seif Aldalil '23 who was awarded this year's Seabold Merit Scholarship!

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June 2021

Welcome to new lab member Emma Howell '23 who is working in the summer as part of the Sewanee Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF) program.

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May 2021

Congratulations to lab member Rowan Jordan, who not only completed a successful BIOL444 but also graduated from Sewanee with a degree in Biology! We wish you all the best for your next steps!

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May 2021

The lab will be presenting two posters this Friday at Scholarship Sewanee on sea urchin behavioral pharmacology and electrophysiology. Primary authors Rowan Jordan and Madeleine Rumingan will be available from 3 pm to 5 pm to discuss their work. And thanks also to all of the coauthors (Jordan Besh, Patrick Rodriguez, Abigail Lancaster, Seif Aldalil, and Steven Li) that helped make these projects happen!

Check out the conference website here, https://www.acadiate.com//ee/ssewanee/Lobby

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April 2021

Congratulations to lab member Feza Umutoni who was accepted on the summer internship program at the Child Study Center at Yale School of Medicine!

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April 2021

Congratulations to lab member Sophia Harnew-Spradley who was accepted on the summer research program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine!

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March 2021

Congratulations to lab member Seif Aldalil '23 who was accepted on the the University of Florida's Summer Neuroscience Internship Program!

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February 2021

Welcome to the new lab members, Feza Umutoni '22, Sophia Harnew-Spradley '22, Eileen Gomez '23, Mac Gortney '23, and Madison Reid '24! 

 

October 2020

Recent graduate Natalie Griffin '20 gave a talk on at the Faculty for Neuroscience Neuroscience Undergraduate Research Virtual Symposium (FUN NURVS) held online. Natalie did a great job explaining our latest research on the neurotransmitter systems utilized in sea urchins and the development of a motility assay. Also thanks to Morgan McDonald '20 and Seif Aldalil '23 who contributed data and analysis.

https://www.funfaculty.org/nurvs

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August 2020

Welcome new lab members Abby Lancaster '22,  and Rowan Jordan '21!

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May 2020

Congratulations to lab members Natalie Griffin, Morgan McDonald, and Marq Schieber who graduated this month! You will be sadly missed in the lab but all the best for your future endeavors!

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April 2020

Despite the Covid19 pandemic, Scholarship Sewanee, the annual campus academic conference presenting student research was held, albeit online. Great posters describing work in the research lab by Morgan McDonald '20, Natalie Griffin '20, Marq Schieber '20, and Jordan Besh '22. And also by Victoria Collins '20 and Caroline Martin '20 describing their project from NEUR351 last Fall.

 

See the posters here, Scholarship Sewanee 2020

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January 2020

Welcome new lab members Patrick Rodriguez '23, Seif Aldalil '23, Steven Li '22!

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January 2020

Latest paper published!

"Biased modulators of NMDA receptors control channel opening and ion selectivity".

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September 2019

Marq Schieber '20 and his research in the Shelley lab were featured in this month's newsletter of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship at Sewanee. Student spotlight article

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September 2019

The lab is growing in size! Welcome Jordan Besh '22, Lam Ngo '20, Madeleine Rumingan '22, Morgan McDonald '20, Natalie Griffin '20, and Peri Prestwood' 22!

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June 2019

Marq Schieber '20 successfully completed a summer research project under the umbrella of SURF (Sewanee Undergraduate Research Fellows) in the lab. Marq recorded some exciting and novel patch clamp data from sea urchin muscle cells.

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May 2019

Our two very first Neuroscience majors graduated this May with flying colors - congratulations Delaney Evans and Noah McIndoo. We know you will continue onwards and upwards and achieve great things!