Biology students memorialize classmate through science

By Amanda Phipps
phippsa@mytjnow.com

Biology graduate Joseph Bursey and biology major Lance Graham coined the flatworm hannahfloydae after their fellow classmate, Hannah Floyd. Floyd passed away last year. Photo coutesy of Julian Smith Her memory will live on through science. 

Hannah Floyd had just graduated when she was killed in a car wreck last December, but her memory will be immortalized thanks to her fellow classmates. 

Recent graduate Joseph Bursey and senior biology major Lance Graham have named a newly discovered flatworm species hannahfloydae, for Hannah Floyd’s flatworm. 

Bursey helped discover the new species while working with biology professor Julian Smith. 

Bursey finished describing another new species last year and hopes to finish the description for Floyd’s worm in a couple of months, Smith said. 

Smith said it was Bursey and Graham’s idea to name the worm after Floyd.

“It’s Hannah Floyd’s flatworm,” he said. “It’s fantastic.”

Smith said he thinks Floyd would like the idea.

“I’m sure she would be honored and tickled,” he said.

Floyd’s parents have set up a scholarship in Floyd’s name, which they plan to support through fundraisers, Smith said. He said Floyd’s parents will have T-shirts made with a picture of the worm and will sell them through the development office to help support the scholarship.

Bursey discovered the new species while studying flatworms along the Carolinas’ coast, he said. Smith and Bursey have discovered a couple of new species of flatworms in this area. 

They discovered this particular species at the Emerald Island Beach on the N.C. coast, Bursey said. 

He said he knew Floyd’s worm was a new species because the reproductive system of this worm was different than any other they have discovered. 

After naming a new species last year, Bursey said it was only a matter of time before he found another one. 

“It gets easier,” he said. “There is a level of joy in being able to name a new species.”

Unlike Bursey, Graham did not have much experience describing a new species when he joined the project. 

Graham said he has worked with another species of flatworm before, but had to learn about this worm pretty quickly. He also had to learn the process of naming a species.

“I thought it was a lot longer process,” he said. “Everything is brand new to me.” 

When the word spread about the worm’s name, Graham said it was a pretty big deal.

“It became a lot bigger than I thought it would,” he said. 

Graham said he knew Floyd through mutual friends and that most biology majors spend a lot of time in Dalton Hall and form student camaraderie with each other. Graham heard about Floyd’s passing at the end of last December.

“It hit everybody pretty hard,” he said. 

Graham said the point of the name was not to get him or Bursey recognized. 

“It wasn’t to gain fame,” he said. “It was something that happened on a whim. It pulls on everyone’s heartstrings.” 

Bursey said he and Smith will start focusing on the ecology of these species in this area.

Bursey is volunteering in Smith’s lab while he waits to go to graduate school.

“I’m enjoying the work we’re doing and look forward to finishing several projects as a volunteer between now and when I go to graduate school,” he said 

Bursey had the idea of naming the worm after Floyd in the back of his mind, but it wouldn’t go away. 

He said professors reacted well to the name.

“Most faculty members chocked up about the name,” he said. “In the science world, naming a new species after someone is generally a very respectful gesture.” 

Bursey said he thought Floyd deserved it. 

 “She was a very bright student who would of gone far in science,” he said. “This immortalizes her name, and it’s our way of honoring her memory. It was an ode to Hannah from the Smith lab.”