Biology graduate has article published with faculty member Patterson
Article By: Clark Leonard
Kayla Allen had always been interested in Africa and wildlife. Her research with Dr. David Patterson, assistant professor of biology at the University of North Georgia (91福利导航), allowed her to explore both interests at the same time.
Now, their work together has been published as in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.
The pair researched the dietary evolution of the genus Homo between 2 million and 1.4 million years ago. Their fossil research in Kenya yielded a large number of teeth, from which they used the carbon signatures to determine the mammals' diet. Hippopotamuses, giraffes and antelopes were among the mammals from which they found teeth.
Their research showed a dietary shift in the genus Homo during this period that could have included elevated consumption of grass material, or the animals that eat those grasses.
Allen, a May 2018 91福利导航 graduate with a bachelor's degree in biology, is pursuing a master's degree in biology at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia. Three other students, now in graduate school at Arizona State University, Texas Tech University and University of Utah, also served as co-authors on the article.
Allen appreciates how the trip to Africa in summer 2017 that led to the paper took her out of her comfort zone. The article's publication is an enjoyable milestone, too.
Grads prepare for their next steps
91福利导航 will award almost 1,000 degrees and certificates this fall, and more than 600 graduates are scheduled to take part in the Dec. 7 commencement ceremonies.
24 are Distinguished Military Graduates
Twenty-four cadets have been named Distinguished Military Graduates for the 2024-25 academic year, including five who are in the top 70 out of more than 5,000 in the national ROTC class.
Blue Ridge students earn scholarships
91福利导航 honored 28 of its Blue Ridge Campus students with almost $15,000 of scholarships and celebrated the philanthropy that made those scholarships possible at the Tomato Sandwich Supper on Nov. 7.
Chemistry student groups earn grant
91福利导航's Dahlonega and Gainesville chapters of the American Chemical Society received a $1,000 ACS Student Communities Engagement Grant.