(Published in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

Author Spotlight! Aiman Raza from UMBC

Aiman Raza, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
August 14, 2020

The Omland Lab at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Aiman Raza is on the far left. Also pictured on far right, URA Scholar Jonathan Sikora.

As many academic institutions look towards an unprecedented fall semester, educators across the world are searching for agile ways to engage their students both virtually and in-person, and to help them build practical skills and experiences.

Birds of the World is working with several educators and institutions to help students produce revisions of species accounts. Revising an account can be a fantastic way to get students to apply practical skills like literature searches and scientific writing to something tangible; and to get them thinking, and publishing, like an ornithologist.

Aiman Raza is an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and has been working with ;Dr. Kevin Omland on the critically endangered Bahama Orioles (Icterus northropi). Recently, Aiman led a team of authors on revisions to the Bahama Oriole species account in Birds of the World, and in this blog post, she discusses her work and how she became involved in this project.

My name is Aiman Raza and I will be a junior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. I am majoring in biological sciences with a minor in environmental science. I have been an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Kevin Omland’s lab for about a year now studying the critically endangered Bahama Oriole.

Aiman Raza is a biological sciences major at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Kevin Omland’s lab.

When I was a freshman, I attended the biology department open house and heard about some of the research undergraduates were involved in. The work that stood out to me the most was the Bahama Oriole Project which Dr. Omland runs along with Shelley Cant from the Bahamas National Trust. I was a little apprehensive about approaching a professor as a freshman, so I was excited to see that Dr. Omland was teaching the Ecology and Evolution course I was enrolled in for the spring. I made an effort to introduce myself to Dr. Omland and express my interest in his research. I became an undergraduate research assistant in the fall of 2019 and have worked on a couple of projects since then.

I have researched hurricane history in the Bahamas to see if past storms possibly had an impact on extirpating the Bahama Oriole population on Abaco island. I worked on writing the Wikipedia entry for the Hispaniolan Oriole and Bahama Oriole. I have recently finished revising the Bahama Oriole species account on Birds of the World. I applied to the Bahama Oriole Project for the summer of 2020, but that was unfortunately canceled. I am hoping to go next summer, and I am curious to study the song of this critically endangered oriole to analyze age-specific bird song to discover whether there is a difference in song rates between age classes. Currently, I am assisting Ph.D. student Michelle Moyer with her analysis of song rate differences in the local Orchard Oriole.

Being part of a research lab on campus has helped me grow both personally and academically. I am excited by the work we do and hope to do a research project involving fieldwork of my own. As a minority woman, I want to encourage diversity and inclusion in the sciences, especially ecology and wildlife conservation. I am currently the president of UMBC Greenpeace, an environmental activism organization focused on policy change. I am passionate about birds and wildlife and am pleased with having many opportunities to explore my interests at UMBC.

This story was written by Megan Hanks and first appeared on news.umbc.edu

UMBC’s Tulay Adali, professor of computer science and electrical engineering (CSEE) and distinguished university professor, has received the prestigious Humboldt Research Award. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation describes the award as presented to scholars “whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future.”

Adali is director of UMBC’s Machine Learning for Signal Processing Lab. Her research focuses on developing flexible methods for data fusion. These innovative methods enable researchers to extract powerful features from multi-modal data by letting them fully interact with and inform each other. 

A main application area of her work has been medical image analysis, where these features are used in diagnosis as well as treatment planning and evaluation. Adali and her research collaborators are also exploring applications of these methods in remote sensing, misinformation detection, and gesture and video analysis. 

A years-long research collaboration

Humboldt Award recipients spend up to one year conducting collaborative research at institutions in Germany. Adali plans to continue to work with her longtime collaborator Peter Schreier, who is based in Paderborn University. Through a research connection that has spanned many years, Adali says that her lab and Schreier’s continue to have wonderful synergy. 

Together, Adali and Schreier have worked to address problems such as data-driven discovery of relationships in multi-modal data, and in particular, when the sample sizes are small. “This is a key practical problem in many applications, especially in the medical domain,” Adali shares. She notes that this provides an important starting point for their current work. 

“Things are moving along, even though I could not travel this summer, as we started having weekly research meetings between our groups,” Adali says. “This is a valuable experience for my students. In the past, we had hosted Schreier and his students here at UMBC, some of my students had met Schreier and his students at conferences before, and these initial physical connections matter. I am hoping we will all be able to travel again, soon.”

Receiving the award

As a Humboldt Award recipient, Adali was invited to attend a gathering in June with her fellow awardees, hailing from universities around the world. Due to COVID-19, the event was moved online. Awardees had an opportunity to meet the German president virtually as part of the event. 

While she wishes the event could have been held in person, Adali says that it gave her an exciting opportunity to connect with other Humboldt awardees and learn more about scientist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt.

In 2015, Curtis Menyuk, professor of CSEE, received a Humboldt Award.

Banner image: Tulay Adali, fourth from left, with the members of her lab. Photo courtesy of Adali.

This story was written by Sarah Hansen and first appeared on news.umbc.edu

A revolutionary group of scientists has been rethinking for two decades how we understand bird song, with women leading the way. Several of these scientists are from UMBC, and their latest research has revealed findings not just about birds, but about bird researchers.

Elaborate bird song had been considered mostly a male trait for centuries, famously discussed by Charles Darwin. But Karan Odom, Ph.D. ’16, biological sciences, published a landmark paper on female bird song in 2014 that helped change that viewpoint. Odom’s study found that as many as 70 percent of female birds sing. Her extensive research also established firmly that both sexes almost certainly sang in the common ancestor of all bird species—a radical idea in ornithology.

Odom conducted research at UMBC with Kevin Omland, professor of biological sciences, whose lab has led much of the research in this area. Now, a new paper led by Casey Haines ’19, biological sciences, has documented what the Omland group and others have suspected all along: Women are more likely than men to be authors, and even more likely to be first authors (research leads), on papers about female bird song. Therefore, it is largely women who have reshaped this classical field of study. 

The findings, published this week in Animal Behaviour, suggest that a diverse group of researchers is critical for scientific innovation. Diversity could also help build a more accurate and complete understanding of bird biology and other fields.

A fresh perspective

Haines and Omland completed the research with co-authors Odom and Evangeline Rose, a Ph.D. candidate in Omland’s lab. They examined 59 bird song papers published between 1997 and 2016. 

The researchers found that women made up 56 percent of all authors on female bird song papers, compared with only 40 percent of authors of general bird song papers. Women held 68 percent of first-author positions on female bird song papers, but only 44 percent of first-author positions on general bird song papers. This means men were 24 percentage points less likely than women to lead a study on female bird song, and 16 percent less likely to contribute to a female song study in any way, compared with their contributions to general bird song papers.

“I believe this paper is a great example of how diversity expands the type of research scientists are doing,” Haines says. “Female bird song research has been underrepresented in the literature until only recently. A diverse pool of researchers may result in new questions being asked and new approaches to answering those questions. I would love to see this type of research applied in other areas of STEM.”

Other research cited in the new paper has found that women are more likely to study female animals (including humans), which have been historically understudied, as well as species that have gotten less attention in research. Female authors also publish more often with women co-authors, opening doors to greater funding and opportunities for more women in science. 

More generally, research has shown that diversity among scientists leads to greater creativity in questions, ideas, and methods.

A starting point

Omland acknowledges that this kind of study is outside his lab’s avian evolution wheelhouse, but he hopes it will spark further conversations. “We’re able to add an important data point to these discussions,” he says. And while the new paper has been in the works for some time, “In this moment, this research seems to have gained an increased weight.”

Haines and colleagues acknowledge that their study is imperfect. For example, “Our data represent gender in a binary framework, which is not reflective of society, potentially resulting in mis-gendering authors who are non-binary or gender minorities,” the paper states. “Gender minority authors make important contributions to science and are a vital part of increasing diversity. We recommend that more-detailed future studies provide opportunities for authors to self-identify their gender to avoid the possibility of mis-gendering.”

Even with its limitations, the paper provides an important glimpse into gender dynamics in ornithology. For an emerging researcher like Haines, it was an eye-opening experience. 

“Personally, it was amazing to find that the percentage of women who hold first-author positions on female bird song has increased so much within the last 20 years,” Haines says. “I think it speaks volumes on how far both female bird song and women in science have come.”

Creating space for new leaders

Haines herself is on a path to pursue graduate study in animal behavior based on her experience in the Omland lab. “Working with Dr. Omland, Evangeline, and the rest of the Omland lab was definitely the most memorable and enjoyable part of my time at UMBC,” she says.

Omland has a history of nurturing undergraduate researchers. In fact, Haines’s paper is the tenth peer-reviewed journal article published with an undergraduate first author from his lab. “Undergraduate researchers have really influenced the trajectory of our lab’s research by making consistent, significant contributions,” Omland says.

“It’s essential that we continue to build environments where researchers from all backgrounds are encouraged to explore new ideas and ask new questions,” Omland says. “Not only will this enable them to reach their potential as scientists, but it is also essential to expanding our knowledge of the world around us.”

Banner image: Kevin Omland, rear, goes birdwatching on campus with a few of his students. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

This story was written by Sarah Hansen and first appeared on news.umbc.edu

The 19 members of UMBC’s STEM BUILD Cohort 5 and their instructors had been looking forward to a summer wet lab experience. When that wasn’t possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they worked together to convert their eight-week, in-person program into a successful online learning experience unlike anything they’d tried before.

“It was different,” says Maria Cambraia, postdoctoral teaching fellow in the STEM BUILD program and one of the instructors, “but we kept the main goal. We wanted to offer them an authentic research experience, and we did.”

Independent exploration

This year, BUILD Trainees worked in groups to analyze the genomes of bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacterial cells. They also viewed and analyzed phages that previous UMBC students had isolated, including some that were unknown to science before the students discovered them. After some initial analysis, each group came up with its own research question to explore using bioinformatics tools.

“Students gain exposure to research techniques in the Bioanalytical Phage Module, but the larger benefit is their experience in self-directed research without predefined results,” says Steven Caruso, principal lecturer of biological sciences. “Because participants are engaging in real research, the experience is different every year.”

Caruso has been teaching the Phage Hunters lab to UMBC students since 2008, and he adapted the full-length course for STEM BUILD five years ago. “This experience prepares them for their next step, working with an individual mentor in their own lab,” he says. “It also allows them additional opportunity for productive collaboration with their peers, and for scientific communication during lab meetings and poster presentations.”   

Feedback for success

At the end of the eight weeks, the students presented their findings at UMBC’s virtual Summer Undergraduate Research Fest (SURF). The VoiceThread platform allowed students to give and receive feedback in written, audio, and video format, all in real time.

“Leading up to SURF we practiced using VoiceThread and got tons of helpful feedback from our instructors,” shares Caroline Moore ’23, biological sciences. Even though the online format made some things more difficult, she adds, “I think having such a supportive cohort and instructors helped me push through and end up creating an amazing presentation.”

In addition to practicing with the platform, students presented updates on their work every week throughout the summer and got support with designing their posters. “Dr. Cambraia gave detailed feedback, which allowed us to develop skills for creating the abstracts and posters,” shares Angela Kim ’23, chemical engineering.

“We needed to teach them not just how to present, but instead, ‘This is how you present, and this is how you make it effective online,’” Cambraia says.

The students also received helpful feedback at SURF itself. “The questions our group received made me think about what can be improved in our research and gave me some ideas for future research as well,” Kim says. Sharath Velliyamattam ‘23, biological sciences, adds, “I learned from this experience to give visual cues, how to engage my audience, and I learned to interact with different types of people, from faculty to students.”

A new field and new confidence

The Bioanalytical Phage Module introduced many of the students to bioinformatics—and bioinformatics tools—for the first time. “The online bioinformatic work with our phage genomes was really interesting,” says Kevin Gibbons ’23, biological sciences. “I never thought I’d be interested in computational or bioinformatic work, but I feel like I gained a lot of skills that will be helpful no matter what type of research I do in the future.”

For Grace Tugado ’23, chemical engineering, the experience sparked a powerful interest in phages. “Whenever I went out with my family on hikes, I brought up phages and what we learned in lecture,” she says.

Overall, “I think this research opportunity has helped me become more confident in my ability to communicate in a research group and has made me better prepared to work collaboratively,” Moore says.

Building connections

In addition to collaborating with their groups, Cohort 5 students had the opportunity to interact with previous BUILD classes. Cohorts 4 and 5 spent more than two hours discussing their experiences in a virtual meeting. Cohort 6, entering as first-year students this fall, also commented substantially on Cohort 5’s SURF posters.

Through those exchanges, “We really got a behind-the-scenes view of undergraduate research at UMBC,” Velliyamattam says. Throughout the summer, they also became part of it. 

These students faced an unusual challenge: conducting independent research, in groups, all online. By the end of the summer, the students improved their presentation skills, learned about a new area of life science, and conquered new online analytical tools. They also bonded more closely as a group—strengthening relationships that will see them through challenges long after the pandemic is over.   

Banner image: UMBC’s Biological Sciences Building along Academic Row, where STEM BUILD students would have traditionally completed their summer research experience. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Elizabeth Patton’s new book Easy Living: The Rise of the Home Office (2020, Rutgers University Press) explores how Americans think about the modern home office and why. Patton’s book is a historical view of how marketing and popular media have shaped how mostly white, heterosexual, upper-middle-class families in the United States have talked about working from home. Due to COVID-19, remote work has hit unprecedented highs, but Patton’s scholarship reveals that it’s far from a new idea. 

“I was interested in learning about how people talked about working from home from the early 19th century to today,” says Patton, an assistant professor of media and communication studies at UMBC. “I wanted to understand how certain public figures, technology and real estate companies, film and TV contributed to these conversations and shaped today’s idea of working from home.” 

Patton explains this phenomenon, as her family redefines work spaces during COVID-19, in her latest article: “In the work-from-home battle for space, women are the reluctant nomads.” Originally published by The Conversation, the article has been republished by CNN, Fast Company, and others, reaching nearly 140,000 reads so far.

The gendered home office

Patton’s research reveals how early-19th century advertising and media portrayed women in two traditionally private spaces: the kitchen and the bedroom. This shifted during WWII as ads encouraged women to work jobs men had to leave behind. However, by the 1950s many women were expected to leave careers and return to domesticity. 

Patton found advertising campaigns from phone companies motivating women to work more efficiently by having a phone line installed in the kitchen and in the bedroom. “Typewriter ads also encouraged women to work as typists from their kitchen office,” shares Patton. “This work was not to advance a career but to support their household economy.” 

Men, on the other hand, occupied the public space in the home—the living room or den—to work, relax, or entertain. Patton’s research also describes how advertising and media discussed the work men brought home from the office as a way for them to maintain a work-life balance, especially with the rise of long commutes. Real estate and furniture ads lured urban families to the suburbs with the promise of a garage or a home office to give men more family time and bigger kitchens to help women more efficiently run their household.

Hollywood’s influence

Patton made a particularly compelling, unexpected discovery during her research at the Library of Congress: evidence of the influence of Hugh Hefner, the founder and editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine. Hefner played a significant role in conceptualizing the modern work-from-home lifestyle, the bachelor pad, and the “man cave.” 

“While he is an extremely problematic figure, there is no denying his influence in this area,” explains Patton. Research shows how Hefner used advances in phone, computer, television, and architecture to conceptualize private and public home spaces for a successful work-life balance, making commutes irrelevant.

Family life on TV

Bill Cosby, a disgraced public figure, helped transform the portrayal of men and women having successful careers and a thriving family life on television, says Patton. 

“The Cosby Show was a primetime family show that created an aspirational lifestyle,” shares Patton. “It was a very purposeful portrayal of how men, working as doctors, lawyers, or writers, could have a successful and fulfilling work-life balance while at the same time supporting their wives in leaving the home to pursue similar careers.” 

Patton also shares how it wasn’t until the 1980s and early 1990s, with second-wave feminism, that women were more frequently portrayed in advertising and popular media as having a career outside of the home or having a home office. Still, these portrayals were seen as controversial, especially when central female characters were single working mothers. And if women had to bring work home, their office was still the kitchen. 

COVID-19 and the home office evolution

Patton’s book comes at an unprecedented time when many adults and children have had to shift their work and learning spaces from the public office and school to the private home. This change has reopened questions about private and public work spaces and work-life balance, as well as class, equity, and access. 

“I’m always thinking about who is missing or left out in the conversation. I’m telling this history, but this history is not possible without depending on people of color and people working in service jobs,” explains Patton. “This is where class and race intersect. And it is necessary to keep this idea of working from home going, even more so now with a pandemic.”

Banner image: Patton on campus in academic row. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.