Sharon Avgush
Sharon Avgush came to Cornell as a transfer student. She is majoring in Biology and Society. Her advisor, Prof.Steven A. Wolfe, is in Natural Resources.
A course of particular interest for Sharon was Strategies and Methods in Drug Discovery (BioPL 3800) where she learned that many Western drugs can be traced to natural compounds.
Sharon teamed up with senior research associate in Plant Biology, Manuel A. Aregullin, to conduct research, checking bark and leaf chemical extracts of Catalpa speciosa (Bignoniaceae) for biologically active compounds hoping to find natural plant products that could be used to treat malaria. This research unveiled the presence of iridoid glycosides, one of which has not been previously reported in C. speciosa. Iridoid glycosides are natural products typical of many medicinal plants of the family Bignoniaceae that are known to deter generalist insect herbivores and possess a wide range of pharmaceutical activities.
Sharon's future interests include rural development, natural dyes and bio-prospecting.
Alfonso Doucette
Alfonso Doucette’s passion for orchids goes way beyond that of your average enthusiast. He is completely fascinated about virtually everything that has to do with this beautiful and large family of flowering plants. But, his major interest is in a particular group of orchids, called the pleurothallids, which includes such diverse genera as Masdevallia, Dracula, Restrepia, Porroglossum, Lepanthes and Pleurothallis, all of which can be found from southern Florida all the way through the Caribbean and Central America to northern Argentina.
In pursuit of finding new orchid genera or species, Alfonso traveled to Ecuador in 2007 and 2008. He plans to spend part of the summer of 2009 at Finca Dracula near Cerro Punta, Panama.
In March of 2009, Alfonso gave an outstanding lecture to the Liberty Hyde Bailey Club entitled “An Introduction to the orchid Family: their history, taxonomy and cultivation”.
In the meantime, he continues his studies at Cornell where he’s taken a number of plant biology courses, including Introductory Botany (Bio Pl 2410), Plant Taxonomy of Cultivated Plants (Bio Pl 2430), Biology of Grasses (BioPl 3590) and Botanical Nomenclature (Bio Pl 6540). Prof. Gerry Davis serves as his advisor.
In the future you may find Alfonso teaching plant Taxonomy and managing an elite orchid nursery.
Thalyana Smith-Vikos
Thalyana Smith-Vikos is a May 2009 graduate from CALS majoring in Biological Science with a concentration in Plant Biology. She took many courses of the Plant Science major as the two majors are closely related. Prof. Bill Fry served as her advisor.
Thalyana enjoyed BioPL 2410 taught by Prof. Karl Niklas and BioPL 2420/2440 taught by Prof. Peter Davies. She also took courses in Mycology, Plant Genetics and Plant Pathology which were appropriate for her specific interests in plant-pathogen genetic relationships.
While a student, she worked in the Prof. Bill Fry's lab researching the biology and genetics of Phytophthora infestans, the pathogen responsible for Late Blight of potatoes and tomatoes. She also conducted pollination research on the yellow poppy, Glaucium flavum, in Greece.
Thalyana’s extracurricular activities included membership in Alpha Zeta Fraternity (CALS residential fraternity), Ho-Nun-De-Kah (CALS honors society) and she served as president of the Hellenic Student Association.
In the fall of 2009, Thalyana plans to pursue a graduate degree in Plant Biology at Yale and continue towards her goal of becoming a science professor or pursuing research in biology.