<< Butcher Lab
Research Trip to Costa Rica July 3-11, 2012
Dr. Butcher and Joe Rupert traveled to Costa Rica this Summer to work with Central American Woolly Opossums. Our work was performed in collaboration with Faculty and Staff at the Tirimbina Biological Reserve and the Universidad de Costa Rica. We could not have performed this work without the help of Eugenia Cordero-Schmidt, Manuel Rojas, Bernal Rodriguez Herrera, and Andres Moreira. Their tail muscles are being analyzed as part of Joe’s Masters Thesis Research Project. PURA VIDA!!
BreTT Aiello Graduates May 17, 2012
Former lab member, Brett Aiello, successfully defended his Masters Thesis “Correlation of bone loading and muscle function in the hindlimb of river cooters (Pseudemys concinna)” and graduated with MS degree. Brett is currently at the University of Chicago working on his Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Melina Hale. Brett is already working on a new project and enjoying the Summer. Congratulations Brett, we are very, very proud of you!
Young Investigator award May 4, 2012
Dr. Butcher was awarded the Sigma Xi Young Investigator Award by the YSU chapter of Sigma Xi. The awards banquet was held locally at Cafe Capri. Former President Dr. Diana Fagan (pictured with Butcher) presented the award to Dr. Butcher. For his research efforts he received an nice certificate, meal and a monetary award of $200. Dr. Butcher is serving at the new President of the YSU Chapter of Sigma Xi for 2012-2013.
Distinguished professor award April 4, 2012
Dr. Butcher was awarded a Distinguished Professor Award for Research and Scholarship. This is a prestigious award at YSU that is only granted to a limited number of faculty each academic year. Butcher earned this distinction by running a productive research lab where he maintains 2-3 graduate students, secures funding (internal and external) and publishes papers each year in reputable scientific journals. Congratulations to Dr. B for his achievements!
NSF Grant FUNDED February 22, 2012
Dr. Butcher and his colleagues Dr. Jesse Young and Dr. Gregory Smith were awarded a NSF IOS grant for their collaborative research project “Selection on performance and survivorship in Eastern cotton tail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus). This grant took several iterations before being funded. We are extremely proud of this accomplishment and are excited to begin work this Summer. New lab member, Jake Rose, has been recruited to perform the muscle architecture and fiber typing work on the major extensor muscles of the hindlimb. Cheers to everyone involved for their hard work!
SICB Meeting Charleston, SC January 3-7, 2012
Brett Aiello presented a talk at the annual Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) meeting. Always a great conference that the Butcher Lab attends every year, Charleston was no exception. We had an informative week that become really fun after Brett delivered his talk. Even better this year that we got to stay with family. See you in San Fran next year.
The Talk:
B.R. Aiello, R.W. Blob, M.T. Butcher, “Correlation of bone loading and muscle function in the hindlimb of river cooters (Pseudemys concinna)”.
New LAB WEBSITE LAUNCH August 17, 2012
It is finally here!! Dr. Butcher and his graduate students have worked tirelessly to complete the new lab website this Summer (Joe and Jake are tired of providing input). We hope our colleagues, friends and students find our website informative and easy to use. Feedback is always welcome. Please send questions and comments to mtbutcher@ysu.edu.
SICB Meeting SAN FRANCISCO, CA January 3-8, 2013
Joe Rupert presented a talk at the annual SICB meeting. The City was lots of fun and we saw some great talks. Even better this year that we ate at several DDD locations, made some new friends, and got to see my brother Brad. Next year, look out Austin, TX.
The Talk:
J.E. Rupert, A. Moreira, M.T. Butcher, “Analysis of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms in the prehensile tails of didelphid marsupials: functional differences in arboreal versus terrestrial opossums”.
Research Trip to nmnh December 12-15, 2012
Dr. Butcher and Jake Rose worked at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. to taking measurements on badger forelimb bones. We could not have performed this work without the help of the Mammal Collection Manager, Suzanne Peurach. Bones are being analyzed for osteological features that indicate fossorial ability across genera in badgers.
MENTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD April 25, 2013
Dr. Butcher was awarded the Mentor of the Year Award at the YSU Awards Ceremony. Joe Rupert (pictured right) presented the award to Butcher (left). Joe was presented with a Who’s Who Award and Marc Gorvet was presented with an Emerging Leaders Award at the same ceremony.
Joe RUPERT Graduates May 18, 2013
Former lab member, Joe Rupert, successfully defended his Masters Thesis “Myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform expression in the prehensile tails of didelphid marsupials: functional differences between arboreal and terrestrial opossums” and graduated with MS degree. Joe is currently working in the lab of Dr. Jason Organ (Bone Lab) at the IU School of Medicine. He will complete his Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Organ. Joe is already working on several side projects. Congratulations Joe, “you are a superstar.”
SICB Meeting AUSTIN, TX January 3-7, 2014
Jake Rose (pictured) and Joe Copploe each presented a talk at the annual SICB meeting. All together, our lab was part of 6 talks presented at this year’s meeting, including talks by Jesse Young, Rick Blob, Brett Aiello, and Joe Rupert. We did our best to make Austin weirder, and like last year we ate at some DDD locations, made some new friends, and had some killer BBQ. We are already preparing for West Palm Beach, FL in 2015.