Salamanders, one of the oldest lineages of extant animals, are beloved by Biology Ph.D. student, Paul Hime. Some of Hime’s research subjects, however, may not be on the top of everyone’s cute animal list.
Gareth ("Gary") Voss came to the University of Kentucky to do research on the regenerative abilities of salamanders as a sophomore in high school. Now a freshman at UK, Gary has conducted research that resulted in two papers. "They're very good papers," says his UK mentor Dr. Randal Voss. "We're not just talking about a couple of throw-away papers to 'Ranger Rick' journal. We're sending these papers to the top journals in the United States.
At any given time, hundreds of salamanders are being bred at the University of Kentucky. "We have the only captive-bred salamander population in the world where people can call us up, and we can do the breedings, make those resources and ship them out nationally and internationally," says Randal Voss, a professor of biology and faculty associate of the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC).
