Academics at MBC
Faculty
Paul A. Callo
I have always been an inquisitive person, and have disliked not knowing the
answers to puzzling questions. To that end, I have always endeavored to learn
as much as I can about a wide variety of subjects. As an undergraduate, I
focused on the organismal aspects of biology. I received my BS in biology
from Virginia Tech in 1993 and immediately entered graduate school (also
at Virginia Tech) to study blue jay food caching. While there I was able
to definitively demonstrate that blue jays, an important dispersal agent
for large-nut trees like oaks, remember with great precision the location
of their own caches and have great difficulty finding the caches of other
jays. After receiving my master’s degree in biology in 1996, I spent
a summer conducting songbird surveys in the backwoods of West Virginia. I
then went on to pursue my PhD in zoology at the University of Maryland, College
Park. While there I studied predator-prey relationships in migratory songbirds.
I specifically focused on the spatial allocation of parental care by red-eyed
vireos, blue-headed vireos & hooded warblers and how it is affected by
their differing extra-pair mating strategies (contrary to popular belief
most bird species are not faithful for life).
Since that time I have continued to work with red-eyed vireos and have been able to extend a basic study of behavior into a long-term study of their territory fidelity and survivorship at the Hemlock Hill Biological Research Area in Pennsylvania. In the past year I have expanded this study to include sites in Augusta County, Virginia. I have also begun to include an annual survey of blood parasites found among these birds in these areas.
I greatly enjoy teaching students about science and biology. I particularly delight in those “Aha!” moments when students recognize the interconnectedness of all the things they have been learning about. The environment afforded us here at Mary Baldwin College is key to that enjoyment. The hands-on learning format of our lab courses offers students the opportunity to not only hear about how biological processes work in lecture, but also see for themselves how they work.
In my spare time I enjoy playing with the kids, home renovation projects, hiking with the dogs, and music!
Paul Deeble
Dr. Paul Deeble joined the biology department at Mary Baldwin College in 2002
as an assistant professor. Dr. Deeble earned his BS in biology/vertebrate
physiology from Pennsylvania State University in 1996. While at Penn State,
he worked as a co-op research scientist for Burroughs Wellcome and Glaxo
Wellcome in Research Triangle Park, NC. Dr. Deeble worked in the Molecular
Pharmacology Division and the focus of his studies was Alzheimer’s
disease. He then earned a PhD in molecular medicine and microbiology in 2002
from the University of Virginia. The title of Dr. Deeble’s dissertation
was Mechanisms of Neuroendocrine Differentiation in Prostate Cancer Leading
to Paracrine Growth Stimulation. Dr. Deeble presented his work at numerous
regional, national, and international conferences including the Fifteenth
Annual Meeting on Oncogenes and Tumor Suppressors and a keystone symposium
on advances in human breast and prostate cancer. He has published multiple
peer-reviewed articles in research journals such as Cancer Research,
Journal of Biological Chemistry, and Molecular and Cellular Biology.
While completing his graduate work in the Cancer Center at UVA, Dr. Deeble
was a finalist for the Michael J. Peach Outstanding Graduate Student Award,
and he served as the Paul and Virginia Wright ARCS Scholar after receiving
a fellowship from the ARCS Foundation. Dr. Deeble completed his postdoctoral
training at the University of Virginia Cardiovascular Center, performing
research focused on the abnormal vasculature that forms in many tumors. During
this time, he was an adjunct assistant professor of biology at Piedmont Virginia
Community College teaching lectures and labs in anatomy and physiology. Dr.
Deeble has maintained professional memberships in the American Association
of Cancer Research, the North Atlantic Vascular Biology Organization, and
the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Since coming to
Mary Baldwin College, he has taught classes in a variety of sub-disciplines
in biology including anatomy, physiology, genetics, human health and medicine,
and electron microscopy. Dr. Deeble maintains a research interest in the
role of neuroendocrine (NE) cells in prostate cancer progression and recently
was awarded a research grant through the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services to study apoptosis in NE cells in various stages of prostate cancer.
Seniors within the biology department work with Dr. Deeble on this grant
to complete their senior thesis research requirement. Dr. Paul Deeble was
recently honored by Who’s Who Among America’s College and University
Teachers for the 2005-2006 academic year. He also serves as a textbook reviewer
for Thomson Delmar Learning, and has reviewed multiple textbooks and online
modules in anatomy and physiology. In addition to Dr. Deeble’s love
for teaching, he enjoys road and mountain biking, playing soccer, serving
as a run leader for “Squirrels on the Run”, and participating
in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Most of all Dr. Deeble enjoys
spending time with his wife, Dr. Jennifer Visger, and daughter Zoe.
Eric Jones
Eric Jones — a field naturalist and a muddy boots plant ecologist. I
have spent the past 20 years seeking out the flora of Augusta County, Virginia.
At present I have photographed over 250 species of plants within the county
representing over 65 families of vascular plants. These images have been optimized
for viewing on the Web and have been incorporated
into an e-book /Web site. Augusta County runs from the crest of the Blue Ridge
across the valley to the top of Shenandoah Mountain 50 miles to the west. These
ridges are sandstones and basalts and therefore do not neutralize acid rain,
while the valley is limestone and therefore able to neutralize the acid runoff
from the mountains. The county has everything from a wet prairie at an elevation
of 1000 feet to relic forests and shale outcrops at elevations above 3,500
feet. The county contains two wilderness areas (Ramsey’s Draft and The
Saint Mary’s Wilderness), a large section of the Washington Jefferson
National Forest, and an extensive game management area on North Mountain. In
short, I am located in an area with over 2,500 feet change in elevation, a
full range of bedrock types, and every possible slope orientation.
In addition to the floral survey work, I am active in the Boy Scouts serving as the Conservation Director for the Stonewall Jackson Area Council, my primary responsibility being the 500 acre Camp Shenandoah. In this role I am working on reforestation and the establishment of warm season grasses and wildflowers. The goal of the restoration is the creation of breeding habitat for quail and other declining bird species. I also work in leadership training and serve as the program director for the summer camp. I have enjoyed working with the local ballet company, and play the Grandfather in The Nutcracker, Dr. Copellius in the ballet Copellia, and the Grandfather in Peter and the Wolf.
Lundy Pentz
Lundy Pentz earned his BA and his PhD in cell and developmental biology from
the Johns Hopkins University, where he also designed and taught an evening
class and lab in introductory biology. His doctoral dissertation was on trophoblastic
tolerance, the problem of why the mammalian fetus is not rejected by the
mother’s immune system. He came to Mary Baldwin College in 1980 and
since then has taught a number of biology courses and developed laboratory
exercises based on his evening college experiences and collected in his The
Biolab Book (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2nd ed. 1989). He has directed
senior research projects on topics ranging from the immune response to cancer
and the role of diesel exhaust in triggering allergies to the antibacterial
properties of white tea and the levels of coliform bacteria in local streams.
He serves the college as Associate Faculty Marshal and Division Coordinator
of Division III (Math and Science) and in 2006 was named Carolyn Rose Hunt
Distinguished Chair in the Natural Sciences. From 1986 to 1997 he taught
in Mary Baldwin’s summer program for high school students, Young Women
in Science, and directed the program for its last five years. In 1997 he
became the first participant in the sabbatical program of the University
of Virginia’s Center for Developmental Biology and has since then supervised
senior projects using in situ RT-PCR to study renin gene expression in developing
mouse kidney. In 1999 he began an ongoing summer commitment to the U.S. Army’s
Breast Cancer Research Program as a scientific review administrator for a
molecular biology grant review panel. Locally he serves on the Lewis Creek
Watershed Advisory Committee and involves students in research projects concerning
the pollution in this EPA Damaged Waterway. His hobbies include cooking,
calligraphy, and model railroading.
