Richard McMullen has just finished the biggest case of his life – literally. On May 31, McMullen successfully completed the second of two cataract surgeries on an elephant named C’sar.

C’sar is a 38-year-old African bull elephant who has been in residence at the North Carolina Zoo since 1978. In fact, he was one of the first animals acquired by the zoo. In 2010, he was diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes, and his eyesight grew progressively worse. His handlers and the zoo veterinarians made the decision to remove the cataracts, and they contacted McMullen to perform the surgery. They operated on C’sar’s left eye in November 2011.

When that surgery was successful, they scheduled the second cataract removal for May, in order to be sure that the first eye had completely healed.

An elephant's eye is roughly the same size as a horse's.

“An elephant’s eye is actually very similar in size to a horse’s eye, so that’s the model I used to prepare for this surgery,” says McMullen. “Horses’ eyes, however, are very susceptible to infection, which was my major concern. But C’sar responded well to the surgery and his recovery went very smoothly.”

McMullen is an assistant professor of ophthalmology (practice limited to eyes) in NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Down, Boy

The most difficult part of the surgery was training C’sar to lie down on his side so that the surgeon could get to the eye.

“With a six-ton elephant, you definitely bring the surgical theatre to him, not the other way around,” says McMullen. “The nice thing was that when he was lying down his eye was already about three feet off the ground, which is the perfect height to work with when you’re in one of the surgical chairs we use for these operations.”

C’sar’s eyesight has improved significantly as a result of the surgery, although he is still farsighted.

“We had originally planned to implant corrective lenses when we removed the cataracts, but the internal structures of his eyes wouldn’t support them,” McMullen says.

NC State’s ophthalmology service and zoo veterinarians are looking into specially designed contact lenses that may be used to correct C’sar’s farsightedness, although much will depend upon the elephant’s recovery and the condition of his eyes.

“If he does end up with contacts, it will definitely be a first,” McMullen says. “And it could have ramifications for a lot of other animals as well.”

Photos courtesy of NC State Department of Educational Media and Design
Biomedical photography by John Conte.

More than 50 years of genetics work to increase loblolly pine production in the Southeast has improved the trees’ ability to act as carbon sinks that mitigate climate change, according to a new study by North Carolina State University researchers.

“We’ve been working to create trees that grow faster and produce more wood, and what this research shows is that at the same time we’re enhancing environmental quality by scrubbing as much carbon out of the atmosphere as we possibly can,” says Dr. John King, an NC State forest ecologist and co-author of a paper published this month in the journal Forest Science.

The study estimated a 17 percent increase in stem-wood production and a 13 percent increase in carbon uptake in improved loblolly pines planted throughout the Southeast between 1968 and 2007. Three generations of enhanced seedlings were released over that 40-year period.

Pine plantations cover about 15 percent of forested land in the South. Each year, almost a billion loblolly pine seedlings are planted, typically taking 25 years to reach maturity.

“We’re reaping the benefits today of work our predecessors did, and our work will affect our children and grandchildren,” says co-author Dr. Steve McKeand, NC State forestry professor and director of the Cooperative Tree Improvement Program, a public/private partnership founded in 1956.

The study marks one of the first attempts to quantify the effects of improved tree genetics on carbon sequestration across a large landscape, McKeand and King say.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Mike Aspinwall of the University of Texas at Austin, worked with McKeand and King while completing his doctorate at NC State.

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Six North Carolina State University students have won prestigious national undergraduate scholarships and 14 received National Science Foundation graduate fellowships.

Four students received Goldwater Scholarships of up to $7,500, awarded to outstanding students preparing for careers as scientists, mathematicians and engineers. NC State joins the universities of Georgia, Kansas and Nebraska as the only institutions to have all four nominees selected.

The 2012-13 NC State winners are:

• Richard Deans of Rocky Mount, chemistry major, Park Scholar and member of the University Honors Program
• Ian Thomas Hill of Kernersville, biochemistry and polymer and color chemistry major, Park Scholar and member of the University Scholars Program
• Heidi Klumpe of Murfreesboro, Tenn., chemical engineering and English major, Park Scholar and member of the University Honors Program
• Brinda Monian of Cary, chemical engineering and biochemistry major, Caldwell Fellow and member of the University Honors Program

Two NC State students received Udall Scholarships of up to $5,000 for the 2012-13 academic year, based on leadership potential, academic achievement and commitment to careers in the environment, health care or tribal policy. They are:

• Brian Schuster of Raleigh, chemical engineering major, Caldwell Fellow and member of the University Honors Program
• Gretchen Stokes of Apex, fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology major, Park Scholar and member of the University Scholars Program

This week, Stokes was also named one of the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration’s 2012 Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholars. She is eligible for two years of academic assistance and summer internship opportunities.

The National Science Foundation awarded graduate research fellowships to 20 students who are NC State seniors, graduate students or recipients of bachelor’s degrees from the university.

The fellowships support outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines, providing three years of support with an annual stipend of $30,000, a cost-of-education allowance, TeraGrid Supercomputer access and international research and professional development opportunities.

NC State seniors who received fellowships are:

• Molly Matty of Port  St. Joe, Fla., chemistry major and member of the University Honors Program
• Asia Murphy of Raleigh, fisheries and wildlife science major
• Matthew Ostrowski of Durham, chemical engineering and history major and member of the University Honors Program
• Evan Piephoff of Burlington, N.C., chemical engineering and chemistry major and member of the University Honors Program
• Robert San Miguel of Miami, Fla., plant biology major and member of the University Honors Program

Current graduate students who received fellowships are:

• Angela Bucci, doctoral student in entomology
• Tiffany Garbutt, doctoral student in genetics
• Alexander Gloss, doctoral student in psychology
• Carissa Goldstein, doctoral student in materials science engineering
• Nicholas Lowman, doctoral student in applied mathematics
• Michele Meisner, doctoral student in statistics
• Alison Moyer, doctoral student in marine, earth and atmospheric sciences
• Thomas Petersen, intended NC State graduate student who earned a bachelor’s in civil engineering from the university
• Joshua Rice, master’s student in natural resources

In addition, six NC State alumni won fellowships and will pursue graduate studies at other universities.

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