Dr. Benjie Blair
Bachelors: Jacksonville State University: Undergraduate research: Heart development
Masters: Jacksonville State University Thesis Title: "A Laboratory analysis of domestic Estrildid finch populations and interspecific hybridization"
Doctoral: Mississippi State University Dissertation Title: "Eubacterium cellulosolvens 5494 and Clostridium cellulovorans 743B alter their protein composition and ultrastructural complexes when cultivated in medium containing different carbohydrates"
Faculty Research Interest
of Dr. Benjie Blair
The primary focus of my research is to study polysaccharide degradation by anaerobic bacteria. The majority of my students explore cellulose degradation because of its potential as an alternative to fossil fuels. I also find it interesting to isolate and work with novel organisms that degrade either chitin or cellulose (chitin found in insect skeletons and if you don’t know what cellulose is by now look it up!). There is so much that we do not know about microorganisms in our environment. For example, I bet that you as a student could isolate a cellulolytic anaerobe from the gut of a manatee (sea cow) and publish results in a regional journal. What if you were able to isolate a chitinase-producing organism from the gut of a shrimp and prove that the populations vary throughout the life-span of the shrimp? There are large numbers of crab and shrimp farmers that would love to be able to remove the piles of foul smelling shell mounds from their processing plants. The chitin degrading microorganisms could have uses vast areas of biotechnology.
I do not want to give student the impression that I am not open to the interest of the students. I am very much the type of person who is interested in learning "more and more about more and more until I know nothing". To illustrate…. I am interested in collaborative research with Dr. Mark Meade on probiotic treatment of fish. There are a number of game fish like red snappers that are declining in nature. It is believed that commercial hatcheries is the best way of increasing the numbers of these fish. The problem is that the fry hatched out in hatcheries have a very low survival rate. This is believed to be due to an imbalance in the intestinal bacterial microflora. I would welcome students to start a small project to see if we can increase the survival rate of certain fish fry by adding beneficial bacteria to the hatcheries.
There is not a shortage of research ideas and you as students should take advantage of the wonderful facilities that we have here at JSU and participate in some form of undergraduate research. It not only is a wonderful learning experience but may add a few things to your resume which will cause you to be chosen over other applicants for professional, graduate or employment opportunities. Please feel free to come by my office or contact me to ask about my research.
Benjie Blair
Assistant Professor of Biology
Jacksonville State University
700 Pelham Rd N
Jacksonville AL 36265
e-mail: bblair@jsucc.jsu.edu
phone: 256-782-5643
lab phone: 256-782-8075
Last updated: July 25, 2000
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