BY

First I thank my advisor, Jim Cotner, for all the great conversations we’ve had over the years. Jim has helped me become a better scientist by always providing thought-provoking questions and comments, and he has taught me that the best thoughts and ideas sometimes come with a free mind. Jim will always be a great role model for me as I continue to develop my career. I thank my committee members for their valuable input on this work, and for helping me to keep my research in a broad perspective. I am grateful for all the help from lab members of the Cotner, Sterner, and Zimmer research groups at the University of Minnesota and University of St. Thomas. This work would not have been completed without their help. We’ve shared some great times together over the last few years, and I smile every time I think about what we went through to get the data for this incredible research project. I am truly appreciative of my family for their constant support and interest in my work throughout my time in graduate school. In particular I thank my dad, Mark Laurich, for helping me complete my field work when no one else was available – I had a lot of fun that day. Finally, I thank my husband and best friend, Brian Domine, for seeing me through all the ups and downs of this work, and for always believing in me. i