Vatnick of Wilmington Honored for Academic Research at Widener University

CHESTER, PA (12/16/2013)(readMedia)-- Dr. Itzick Vatnick of Wilmington, Del., has been named the 2013 outstanding researcher in the sciences by Widener University's College of Arts and Sciences. Vatnick is a professor of biology at Widener. Vatnick regularly engages undergraduate students at Widener in a wide range of biological research projects. He also collaborates with colleagues both locally and internationally. At Widener, he works with Dr. Marc Brodkin, professor of biology, on a project that started more than 15 years ago examining the environmental influences on amphibian immune function. He works with Dr. Stephen Madigosky, professor of environmental science, and Dr. Chad Freed, associate professor of environmental science, to study the influences of climate change on the microclimate and tree phenology in the Amazonian rainforest in Peru. He also collaborates with Dr. Sara Hiebert of Swarthmore College on research that examines the effects of dietary fatty acid saturation on the physiological function of Siberian hamsters. Through collaboration with The New Jersey Wetlands Institute, Vatnick engages his students in research related to the conservation of diamondback terrapins. He travels every other summer to Israel to work with Dr. Berry Pinshow at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, on desert adaptations of mammals. When he does not spend summer in Israel, he travels to Buenos Aires to work with Dr. Enrique Rodriguez of the Universidad de Buenos Aires on the effects of herbicide exposure on growth and development of crustaceans. Some of Vatnick's research with Rodriguez is informing the work of Nicole Gilette, a sophomore biology major at Widener, who received research funding from the Clinton Global Initiative. Vatnick is her research advisor. Vatnick also regularly engages in research and other activities tied to service learning through the course Sustainable Development-Service Learning in Tropical America, which is led by his Widener colleague Madigosky. Vatnick has taught at Widener since 1993. He earned a Ph.D. in biology from the State University of New York, Binghamton. He earned a M.A. in teaching and his New York teaching certification from the State University of New York, Cortland. He earned both a B.S. and M.S. in animal science from the University of Vermont and an associate degree in dairy and farm management from Vermont Technical College. He also studied animal science, specifically the physiology, metabolism and prenatal growth of domestic animals, at Cornell University. Widener University is a private, metropolitan university that connects curricula to social issues through civic engagement. Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal attention, leadership development and experiential learning are key components of the Widener experience. A comprehensive doctorate-granting university, Widener is comprised of eight schools and colleges that offer liberal arts and sciences, professional and pre-professional curricula leading to associate, baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees. The university's campuses in Chester, Exton, Harrisburg, Pa., and Wilmington, Del., serve some 6,500 students. Visit the university website, www.widener.edu.

Posted Monday December 16, 2013 at 11:36 am by Widener University