2007 RET Teachers
Timothy Bollin, M.S.
Research Experience for Teachers
Tim’s work in the Great Lakes Genetics Laboratory is funded through a NSF RET (Research Experience for Teachers) Supplement (NSF# DBI-0727913) to NSF FSML (Field Station and Marine Lab): Planning Proposal for the Lake Erie Center (NSF# DBI-0627254 to Dr. Carol A. Stepien).
This Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) award engages Mr. Bollin - a local high school teacher from TECHS (Toledo Early College High School) - in an independent conservation biology research problem using molecular population genetic tools at our Great Lakes Genetics Laboratory (GLGL) in the University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center. Our laboratory is located near his home and his high school is located on our Scott Park campus, facilitating our interaction throughout the year. Mr. Bollin heads the Environmental Science program at TECHS (founded by a grant from the Knowledge Works Foundation of Bill and Melinda Gates), which solely recruits underrepresented minority students and focuses on developing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) skills. Students attend TECHs for 4-5 years and graduate from high school with the equivalent of an associate’s degree or up to two years of college credit.
Mr. Bollin’s selected project is “Genetic divergence patterns of the Rainbow Darter Etheostoma caeruleum: a watershed analysis from mitochondrial DNA sequences and nuclear microsatellites”, which is allowing him to develop key molecular biology skills, apply them to an important environmental conservation problem, and teach them to his students through their active participation in the study. During the year-long course of the project, Mr. Bollin is working on integrating his new molecular genetic research skills into his high school science courses. His classes are visiting the local streams and our laboratory on field trips, and he is purchasing a thermalcycler for use in his classroom. The students are participating in the Maumee River Remedial Action Plan’s Student Watershed Watch program and its conference at the Toledo Zoo. Mr. Bollin is being aided by graduate student Amanda Haponski and other members of the GLGL.