Appalachian Lab Monthly Newsletter
UMCES Ombuds Campus Visit
Practice. Connect. Strengthen how we work together.
Please make the time to attend next week’s campus visit by UMCES ombuds, Dr. Jacqueline Villafañe, to help strengthen how we work together across the UMCES community on Wednesday, August 5th from 10:30 AM to noon with ombuds office hours from 12:30 to 2:00 pm.
This campus visit has been designed for all members of our campus community to provide an experiential, dialogue-based learning opportunity on conversational resilience. We will:
- Practice techniques to stay grounded, navigate tension, communicate with clarity and intention, and strengthen workplace relationships.
- Begin building the “muscle memory” needed to respond more effectively when disagreement or challenging conversations occur – before the pressure is on.
- Hear high-level information from the UMCES Ombuds Annual Report, including aggregate trends and emerging concerns affecting the UMCES community.
Sessions will not be divided by position or employee group. Rather than simply discussing communication concepts, participants will learn and practice techniques they can use at UMCES and in conversations beyond the workplace.
Come ready to participate, practice, and connect.
New Faces
Aidan Hand, Graduate Research Assistant
Aidan is an incoming student in Dr. Emily Cohen’s lab. He will be studying migratory bird communities using both field methods and radar, with a focus on species interactions between migratory and resident birds at stopover sites. Outside of work, Aidan’s hobbies include reading and drawing.
Recent Achievements/Activities/Successes
Sustainability Committee Members Needed
Do you have an idea for making the Appalachian Laboratory greener, leaner, or more resource-smart? The AL Sustainability Committee is looking for new members to help shape and advise leadership on sustainability projects across the lab — big or small.
Whether it’s composting, recycling programs like TerraCycle for lab consumables, energy use, fleet and facilities practices, or something nobody has even thought of yet, this is your chance to bring ideas to the table and help turn them into action. No prior sustainability experience is required — just curiosity and a willingness to pitch in.
The committee meets periodically to discuss ongoing initiatives and generate new ones, with a direct line to leadership on what gets prioritized. If you’re interested, please reach out to Heather Johnson.
Congratulations, Taylor!
Congratulations and best wishes to Taylor Breton for successfully defending her Master’s thesis earlier this month. She will be starting a Ph.D. program at the University of Florida this fall.
Summer 2026 Internship Update
In addition to working hard on their research projects, our summer 2026 undergraduate interns have also been participating in professional development activities this summer, including a field trip to a wind power facility and the Smithsonian.
Be sure to mark your calendars for their Lightning Talk presentations on August 14th at 11 AM!
Resource Review - Poster Printing
We recently replaced our wide format printer for printing posters for conferences and meetings with a Canon imagePROGRAF TM-340, so we thought this would be a good time to share an update and some reminders.
First, we no longer have an option for 42″ paper with this new printer. The largest available dimension on one side is now 36″. We also have 24″ wide paper. Please keep that in mind when reviewing poster session guidelines for your next meeting.
We think that the ink fading issue will be far less significant with this Canon model than what we experienced in the past with the Hewlett Packard printer. We are currently testing that out.
To help ensure the most efficient use of printer resources, Katie Kline will continue to help you print posters for your meetings. It’s important to give her a heads-up well in advance of your meeting. To do so, please complete the Google form. The best time to do this is when you learn that your poster has been accepted for your meeting. That allows us plan ahead to be sure that someone can print your poster.
All of our poster printing guidelines can be found on our Poster Printing page on the SharePoint site. We also have a page with design tips related to graphics, fonts, etc. on the SharePoint site.
Spotlight on Safety - Don't Let Lyme Disease Bug You
Maryland is one of the top states in the U.S. for cases of Lyme disease. In 2022, there were over 1,000 reported cases in the state. Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted through the bite of blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks. Preferring larger hosts, such as deer, adult ticks can be found questing about knee-high on the tips of branches of low growing shrubs. Lyme disease is treatable with antibiotics, but early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to avoid chronic complications. Spring, summer, and fall are all especially active times for ticks. Keep the following tips in mind so that you can recognize the symptoms of Lyme, minimize your risk while outdoors, and take steps to prevent transmission:
Symptoms:
- Early symptoms may include a bull’s-eye rash, fever, headache, fatigue, and muscle and joint pain.
- Later symptoms may include arthritis, nerve pain, heart problems, vision changes, and neurological issues.
Risk Factors:
- Spending time outdoors in wooded or grassy areas, especially from spring through fall.
- Wearing shorts or long sleeves that do not completely cover the skin.
- Having pets that can bring ticks into the home.
Prevention:
- Use insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, or IR3535.
- Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts when in tick-infested areas.
- Check for ticks regularly and remove them promptly.
- Wash clothes that may have been exposed to ticks in hot water.
- Keep pets up-to-date on tick prevention treatments.
Note: Don’t always rely on the circular red, bull’s-eye rash as a telltale symptom of Lyme Disease. Twenty to thirty percent of cases never experience a rash. The rash can also look less distinctive on darker skin tones. Other early Lyme symptoms, like fever, headache, and joint pain, are common in many illnesses, making diagnosis sometimes difficult.
UMCES Website - Updating Your Personal Profile
You may have noticed that the UMCES website recently received a facelift. At the July Town Hall, Katie provided a tutorial on updating your profile page on the new website. Here’s a summary of the options:
To login to the site, navigate to https://umces.edu/wp-login.php. If you can access the Google doc that was shared with you when your profile was created, use those credentials to login. Alternatively, you can click the “Lost your password?” link on the login page to reset your password using your email address. Once you successfully login, you’ll be taken to the profile editor.
Scroll past the personal options, which are associated with your WordPress account information.
The field associated with your online profile are located under “User Profile Fields”. You can refer to this How-To Guide for more information about each field.
When you have finished your updates, make sure that you scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Update Profile” button to submit your changes.
If you would like to continue to have Katie make updates to your profile for you, you may continue to email those requests to her.
Recent Publications
Randall J. Koleck, Darin J. McNeil, Lauren M. Chronister, G. Burch Fisher, Cameron J. Fiss, Jacob Goldman, Luke F. Gray, Tyler J. Hodges, Justin Kitzes, Sam Lapp, Halie A. Larkin, Jeffery T. Larkin, Reina Tyl and Jeffery L. Larkin. 2026. Using passive acoustic monitoring and LiDAR to conduct a statewide assessment of ruffed grouse Bonasa umbellus occurrence in Pennsylvania. Journal of Avian Biology.
Sinclair, A.L., L.L.B. Graham, M.A. Cochrane, B. H. Saharjo, A. Thomas, G. Applegate, D.S. Mendham, and S. P.P. Grover. 2026. Detecting and Aboveground biomass and carbon dynamics over 13 years at an Indonesian tropical peat dome: findings from field data. Trees, Forests and People.
Mark Your Calendars
- TGIF – August 7th at 3:30 PM
- Ombuds and DEI coordinator visit – August 5th from 10:30 AM to noon; office hours from 12:30 to 2:00 PM
- Intern Lightning Talks – August 14th at 11 AM
- Johnson Environmental Education Award ceremony – August 27th
- August Town Hall – August 28th at 11 AM
- AL Picnic – August 29th at 11:30 AM
- Visit to AL by Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm – September 1st
- Watershed Moment with Dr. Hoogland – October 8th at 6:30 PM
- MEES Colloquium at CBL from October 16th to the 17th
Quick Links
Do you have something you’d like to share with the AL community? Please submit any announcements and updates to Katie Kline or Heather Johnson.
