Central College’s Nicole Palenske Ladner, professor of biology, and Peyton Bytnar, 2024 Central graduate, co-authored an article published by the National Science Teaching Association, titled “Something’s Not Right: An Investigation of Reproductive System Health and the HPG Axis.”
The National Science Teaching Association provides science and STEM educators with best practices and resources to support student learning. The article presents a case study consisting of five mini cases that allow students to explore reproductive hormones and secretions while making connections between the endocrine and reproductive systems.
Each mini case focuses on an imbalance in reproductive system function and the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis. Working individually or in small groups, students are given a patient description and laboratory test results and tasked with formulating and justifying a diagnosis. This case study was developed for college students in an anatomy and physiology introductory course or an upper-level human physiology course.
Ladner joined Central’s natural sciences faculty in 2009. She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, and her Ph.D. from University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.
Bytnar graduated from Central in 2024 in biology and earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Iowa in 2026.
