The 2nd Annual IvyPlus Symposium will be held March 13-15th, 2014 on the Harvard and MIT campuses.  Students are encouraged to apply from the sciences, social sciences and humanities. There will be 150 students selected to attend the conference.  Deadlines are currently mid-November.

More information will be coming soon and can be found at www.ivyplussymposium.com

Meet Samantha, she is an Anthropology and a INDS major. 

The focus of her research will be to preserve a part of Baltimore's history by documenting the memories of those living in Charm city. By investigating the many facets of Baltimore's identity (both positive and negative) through the stories of real people, she will fill a void in the publics perception of this city.

How did you find your mentor for year research project?
I met Professor Sarah Chard after taking her Anthropological Research Methods course last semester. I loved her passion and commitment to the field and thought she’d make an excellent mentor. To top it off, she teaches the Urban Anthropology course at UMBC-- it was as if we were meant to work together!

I’m a local titleholder in the Miss America Organization! As a titleholder I serve as a goodwill ambassador for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and a representative for the Miss Maryland Scholarship Organization. I frequently travel the state to perform my talent, speak at community events, and raise money for local charities.

Read her abstract here...

Was your childhood filled with the tales of Alice in Virusland?  Ann the Anopheles Mosquito?  Huber the Tuber?  No?

In the early 20th century, long before WebMD and daytime television, it was a struggle to get the word out about public health risks in a way that was both attention-getting and informative.  Using illustrations provided a double advantage- it was an easy way to depict what could not easily be photographed, and it also played off the huge popularity of daily newspaper comic strips at the time.

The American Society for Microbiology Book Collection, part of Special Collections at the Albin O. Kuhn Library, provides several great examples of the innovative use of illustrations and humor to get across some very serious messages.  ASM Archivist Jeff Karr shared three such publications for us to highlight.

Alice in Virusland is a slim volume containing the transcript of an address given in 1938 by Paul F. Clark, a professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin and president of the Society of American Bacteriologists (the predecessor of the American Society for Microbiology).  Clark borrows heavily from Lewis Carroll’s original work, mimicking many of Carroll’s songs as well as his prose style, in order to lament the dangers of anti-vaccine sentiment.  The book is filled with fantastical illustrations of microbes and viruses in traditional Alice in Wonderland situations, dating from a time when no one was really sure what many of these things looked like.

Printed in 1943, This is Ann is about Ann the Anopheles Mosquito, and the ways in which she and her type spread the dread disease of Malaria.  Produced by the War Department, this helpful little booklet lets soldiers know how Ann operates, and how to avoid her, by sleeping under mosquito nets and making sure their bodies are covered at all times.  The booklet is filled with the uncredited, but distinctive, drawings of one Captain Ted Geisel, AKA Dr. Seuss!  Additionally, it was written by Munro Leaf, author of Ferdinand the Bull.

While recovering from the effects of tuberculosis, Harry A. Wilmer, M.D. had quite a bit of time on his hands.  He filled his days by creating the character of Huber the Tuber, a tubercle bacilli who along with his friends, invade and infect Lungland.  Written in 1942 as World War II raged, Huber the Tuber: A Story of Tuberculosis features Wilmer’s Tubers as thinly disguised Nazis, including their leader, Nasty von Sputum.  For a medical doctor, Wilmer shows himself to be quite the talented illustrator, deftly combining medical drawings with cartoonish characters.

Although these three books are not exactly great works of literature,  they do provide a fantastic record of the early 20th century public education efforts of the medical establishment.  You can see them and more in person.  The American Society for Microbiology Book Collection is in the catalog.  You can also stop by the Special Collections Department to access them.  Special Collection is located inside of the Library Gallery, Monday-Friday from 1-4pm, and Thursdays from 1-8pm.  Other hours are available by appointment:  email speccoll@umbc.edu.  

This post was written by former Special Collections student assistant Steve Ammidown.

Related Resources 

American Society for Microbiology

This is Ann from the Navy Department Library

USDA digitized version of This is Ann

Alice in Virusland digitized

9 Things You May Not Know about Dr. Seuss

Did you know there are nearly 200 INDS majors on campus, and many that are in the proposal process. Did you know that the INDS Department has a new director? Have you met Dr. Freeland yet?  Come out to the QUAD at 11:30, enjoy some free barbecue style food, INDS students get a free T-shirt, meet other INDS students and Dr. Freeland.  At 12:05 take part in the largest INDS group photo ever! We're doing it early, so if you have to run to other events during free hour, you can still make it!  Show your INDS Pride!!

I am in the pre-medical society, Global Medical Brigades, and the club tennis team. This past year I was a campus tour guide, but next year I will be a Learning Assistant for Dr. Gierasch in CHEM 351!

Read his abstract here...

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is pleased to announce the 2014 Introduction to Cancer Research Careers (ICRC) Program.  The ICRC is designed to encourage individuals from populations underrepresented in science and/or financially disadvantaged backgrounds to seek internship opportunities at the NCI.  Successful ICRC applicants will take part in a 2-day campus visit to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, where they will have the opportunity to learn about the various scientist-in-training programs, participate in laboratory tours, interview for either a summer or post-baccalaureate (1-year) internship.  Participants selected for internships receive a monthly stipend, round-trip travel, and summer housingsubsidy.

Our goal is to encourage a diverse group of talented students to explore careers in biomedical research.  You can help us meet this goal by sharing this information with students and faculty contacts you feel would benefit from this opportunity.  Please refer to the attached brochure and the ICRC website for additional information, http://icrc.nci.nih.gov.

Applications are due Monday, November 11th.  Supporting materials are due Thursday, November 14^th.