Anna Yeung-Cheung, Ph.D., Nancy Todd, Ph.D., and Wendy McFarlane, Ph.D.

1
The Dollar Store, Duct Tape and Creativity
Maintaining an Undergraduate Research Program on
a Shoestring Budget
Anna Yeung-Cheung, Ph.D., Nancy Todd, Ph.D., and
Wendy McFarlane, Ph.D. Department of Biology,
Biochemistry and Environmental Studies,
Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York
Abstract
Recent Improvements
Examples of Research Activities and Projects
Abstract
Title
Manhattanville College is a small liberal arts
college founded in 1917. There is a strong
emphasis on teaching at the college, but faculty
are also required to develop their scholarship to
achieve reappointment, promotion and tenure. The
Biology major incorporates a research sequence as
its capstone project. Each year, 10-25 students
conduct research with their mentors to produce
potentially publishable papers, and many students
travel to conferences to present their research.
Funding for research has traditionally been
limited, although more funds have been allocated
in recent years. As a result, the faculty have
had to be creative about developing, implementing
and conducting research projects. With such
limited support, we have been surprisingly
successful at producing quality research and
well-trained graduates who have gone on to
successful careers of their own!
We try to reuse and recycle common everyday
products
Recent renovations and lab upgrades have resulted
in a well-equipped tissue culture laboratory to
conduct in vitro lab projects Cell lines are
frozen to save for future use rather than
additional purchases, and some cell lines are
donated from local research laboratories.
Some research projects are collaborations between
2 professors and another institution Mame Cisse
12 NY Medical College and Manhattanville Total
cost to us 0.00
Food preference in the Asian Shore Crab Angelica
Scaglione 10 Kept the crabs from cannibalizing
each other by using baby food containers
collected by her mentor Total Cost 0.00
Renovations of the teaching laboratories have
also provided additional space for research
Nutrient Substrates and Development of Dermestes
maculatus Kirsten Betsill 11 Nicole 11 Yasmin
Reyes 12
Teamwork There are often pairs or teams of
students working on different aspects of the same
project.
The effect of the Gunderboom water filter in
bacteria levels in Mamaroneck Harbor Total
Cost 2000.00, funded by a grant from
Gunderboom Nicole Benevento, Pretima Persad and
Donatella Pavel 10 Yeung-Cheung, A. K., N. M.
Benevento and D. M. Pavel. 2009. An evaluation
of the effectiveness of the Gunderboom in
protecting waters from bacteria. Journal of
Environmental Health 71(8) 42-27
Glad plastic containers, bridal tulle and duct
tape Total Cost 200.00 Funded by TriBeta
Grant Manuscript in prep.
GENERAL BIOLOGY LAB AFTER
GENERAL BIOLOGY LAB BEFFORE
Background
Sometimes we build or create components of our
research projects

• Manhattanville College has an amazingly diverse
  mix of 1700 undergraduate students from more than
  30 states and 50 countries, as well as 1,000
  graduate students.
• The Department of Biology has 5 full time
  professors, several adjunct professors, and 40-50
  major students each year. Our capstone experience
  includes a 3-semester research project in which
  students work closely with a research mentor.
  This sequence includes
• Bio 3099 Research Seminar (Junior Fall semester,
  2 credits)
• Bio 3499 Senior Research (Senior Fall semester,
  2 credits)
• Bio 3998 Senior Evaluation (Senior Spring
  semester, 2 credits)
• At the end of this sequence, students write a
  potentially publishable research paper and give a
  final presentation to their mentors and peers.
• Our current research budget for up to 25 seniors
  a year is only 7000.00, and we have limited
  amount of funding for students to present their
  work at conferences. Prior to 2008, we had no
  research line in our budget.. We have had some
  success with obtaining small research grants
  (250-3000), but the overall cost of research in
  terms of materials and space is not completely
  covered. As a result, we have had to be creative
  with our projects and seek out alternative
  sources of materials for these projects.

We have developed many relationships with nearby
parks and associations We encourage Field
studies to use the natural resources around our
location Hudson River, Mamaroneck Harbor, Long
Island Sound, Appalachian Trail, Black Forest,
Marshlands Conservancy, Sheldrake Environmental
Center to name a few.
Hand-made electromagnetic coil to examine the
effects of 60hz EM fields on plant growth Total
Cost Growlights, wire, seeds Total Cost
175.00 Crystal Noujaim 07 Ph.D. in Physical
Therapy from New York Medical College, 2010
ENVIRONMENTAL/MICROBIOLOGY LAB AFTER
ENVIRONMENTAL/MICROBIOLOGY LAB BEFORE
Undergraduate Scholarship
Many students have the opportunity to present
their research at scientific conferences, and
some projects are ultimately published. Senior
Research Projects 2008-2012 99 Papers and
Presentations Presentations at National Science
Conferences 2008-2012 19 presentations Presentati
ons at Undergraduate Conferences 2008-2012 51
presentations Scientific Publications by
Undergraduates 2007-2012 9 publications 3
manuscripts currently in review 2 currently in
preparation
A new breeding and egg collection protocol for
Danio rerio, with notes on variability in
hatching time Nancy Todd, Hiroshi Osaka and
Alyssa Fico 12 Paper under review in
Zebrafish
Alyssa is teaching 6th Grade Life Science in the
Bronx, NY
We have an Environmental Park with Ecoclassroom
and Ecomachine for purifying water on campus It
provides an excellent area of research within
Environmental Studies, reducing the need to
travel or pay for research permits for study
purposes.
New egg collecting apparatus Total Cost 50.00
The impact of water quality on early embryonic
development of the green sea urchin
(Strongylocentortus drobachiensis) Jake Fried
08 Completed NYU College of Dentistry
Graduate Activities 1999-2012
On many occasions, the students research
project has been the deciding factor in their
admission to graduate and medical schools. Our
graduates have been very successful in their
careers, and we have been able to keep track of
111 graduates since 1999.
Used an old refrigerator to keep urchin larvae
alive, developed new method for oxygenation in
the unit
Total Cost 200.00
How do we do it?
Thomen, A. 08, W.J. McFarlane, and N.E. Todd.
Testing the efficacy of a small-scale Ecomachine
to improve water quality and allow for wetland
restoration. Manuscript in prep Total Cost
300.00
A Mini-Gunderboom filter to test efficacy of
Gunderboom technology for filtering water in the
lab, built in Hong Kong Stephen Corvini and
Janyll Perez 12 Stephen is studying Physical
Therapy at NY Medical College
Acknowledgements
Sometimes, we reuse/recycle items from home or
other projects! We find and purchase
non-chemical supplies through local retail stores
or on EBAY. 1 gallon milk jugs, panty hose,
paperclips and an airstone Maryke Van Leewen
01 B.S. and M.S. in Nursing, Johns Hopkins
University
We recently started a composting project with
reused wood pallets and food scraps from the
campus cafeteria which was used to start an
organic garden on campus. Organized by Dr.
Christopher Pappas and students
Total Cost 50.00
Exercise stress and muscle physiology Students
exercised mummichog fish to exhaustion in a
bucket, then froze tissues for biochemical
analysis
Tara Pisano Alex Braverman 11 Tara is at
Wagner College of Nursing
Total Cost 30.00
Total Cost 80.00