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Trixie Pittman, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biology

Disciplines

  • Biology

Research Interests

  • I am particularly interested in how animals physiologically respond to their environment, especially by thermoregulation. This led me to focus my graduate research on the physiological ecology of hibernation at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. My study species were the arctic ground squirrel and the Alaska marmot, and I really enjoyed my time in the field in the Arctic capturing and studying these fascinating animals. I worked with Drs. C. Loren Buck and Brian M. Barnes to record hibernation body temperatures of free-living animals, which allowed us to better understand how these animals tolerate and thrive in the extreme environment in which they live. Under the mentorship of Dr. Diane M. O’Brien, I used stable isotopes as a tool to monitor metabolic fuel use and protein turnover during hibernation. Since there are fewer hibernators facing only moderate temperatures in Arkansas, I am applying the skills I have gained to new projects in animal physiological ecology and behavior at the Gilliam Biological Research Station.
  • I am very interested in the effects of anthropogenic light pollution on organisms and their ecosystems, and I am currently guiding student research in my courses to investigate this topic.

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  1. Faculty Member

Discipline

    1. Education 29
    2. Business 26
    3. Nursing 23
    4. Religion 22
    5. Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 22

Research Interest

    1. Ethics 2
    2. 19th Cenutyr Sussex 1
    3. 19th and 20th Century Britain 1
    4. Accounting Education 1
    5. Actor Network Theory as Lens for Collaboration 1
    1. Acute Care 1
    2. Addiction counseling 1
    3. African-American History 1
    4. Agile 1
    5. Alliance and Partner Management 1
    6. Alzheimer's Disease 1
    7. Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice 1
    8. American Literature 1
    9. Animation 1
    10. Anthropogenic impacts on wildlife populations 1
    11. Anthropology 1
    12. Anxiety 1
    13. Anxiety disorders 1
    14. Arachnology (primarily working in descriptive ecology of the wolf spider Rabidosa rabida) 1
    15. Arkansas History 1
    16. Arthurian Literature 1
    17. Articulation and Phonological Disorders 1
    18. Artificial Intelligence 1
    19. Assessment 1
    20. Astrophysics 1
    21. Auxins are a class of phytohormones that influence virtually every aspect of plant development. Plants regulate auxin levels through complex interactions among de novo synthesis, degradation, influx, efflux, and conjugate synthesis and hydrolysis. A thorough knowledge of these pathways is key to understanding the roles of auxins in plants. In a collaborative effort with Dr. Bethany Zolman, an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Missouri in St. Louis, we are using genetic approaches to better understand the function of certain proteins involved in auxin storage and metabolism in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. A forward genetic screen identified a mutant defective in auxin-conjugate response, J56. We have used next-generation sequencing to compare mutant and genomic sequences and several mutations were identified in J56. Students are working to identify the causative mutation for the J56 auxin phenotype using several approaches, including isolating mutant alleles for candidate genes, using PCR to assay homozygous J56 lines for segregation of each mutation, and using quantitative PCR to measure expression levels of the candidate genes. 1
    22. BSW Self-Efficacy 1
    23. Bible 1
    24. Biblical Studies 1
    25. Bioethics 1
    26. Bioinorganic assay development 1
    27. Black Mountain College 1
    28. Business History 1
    29. Business Intelligence 1
    30. Business Strategy 1
    31. Cardiology 1
    32. Chaucer 1
    33. Child Sexual Abuse 1
    34. Child Welfare 1
    35. Choral Pedagogy 1
    36. Church History 1
    37. Classical Literature 1
    38. Clifton Strenths and its impact on College students 1
    39. Co-construction of Writer's Voice 1
    40. College student retention 1
    41. Communication 1
    42. Community Development 1
    43. Community Engagement 1
    44. Construction 1
    45. Continental Philosophy 1

Organization

    1. Cannon-Clary College of Education 30
    2. Paul R. Carter College of Business Administration 26
    3. Carr College of Nursing 23
    4. College of Bible & Ministry 21
    5. College of Pharmacy 21

Position

    1. Faculty Member