Who says research is only done at four-year universities?

Community college faculty are known for their hours in the classroom, providing hands-on instruction to students from all walks of life.

But community college faculty are out there doing research, as well. This month’s Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology features research by a team led by Northern Virginia Community College’s William Straight, who uses high-resolution computed tomography (CT) imaging to guide sampling of bone lesions in the vertebrae of a hadrosaur (duck-billed) dinosaur.

The research demonstrated that skeletal repair in at least some dinosaurs shows a combination of reptilian and non-reptilian characteristics (shades of Jurassic Park!), and the healing rates are similar to those seen in birds. Says Straight,

“Quick healing may have offset the consequences of being so large, and being surrounded by other giant animals, in a Mesozoic school of hard knocks.”

Back in January, Southside Virginia Community College’s Mike Stinson, along with his brother, Timothy,  received international attention for studying the DNA in the animal skin used in medieval manuscripts.

And the Asheville Citizen-News is promoting a talk by Don Linzey, a renowned large mammal expert and professor of biology at Wytheville Community College, who will speak about cougars in the Appalachians this weekend. Linzey has conducted mammal research in Great Smoky Mountains National Park for 46 years and is the author of “The Natural History Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.”