News & Announcements
Patrick Hill PhD Dissertation Defense
Patrick Hill PhD Dissertation Defense
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
10:00 am
Zoom link: Please contact mcb@mcb.umass.edu to be included on the email list for this announcement
Dissertation Title: "Dissecting regulatory mechanisms of quorum sensing pathways in Bacillus subtilis"
Advisor: Kevin Griffith
Peter Chien Named an American Academy of Microbiology Fellow
Peter Chien Named an American Academy of Microbiology Fellow
The American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) recently honored Peter Chien, professor in biochemistry and molecular biology, by naming him to the 2020 class of Fellows of the Academy, based on his record of “scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology.” The AAM is the honored leadership group within the American Society of Microbiology (ASM), one of the oldest and largest scientific societies in the world.
Chien says of the honor, “This recognition from the AAM reflects the cumulative work of the amazing group of students and trainees in my lab. I am thankful for all the work this team put into our science, and humbled by the recognition for our efforts." Read more
ADVANCE Mutual Mentoring Grants Awarded for 2020-21
ADVANCE Mutual Mentoring Grants Awarded for 2020-21
The UMass ADVANCE team has announced the selection of four new teams for mutual mentoring grants, funded up to $6000 a year, over the 2020-21 year. The program is a five-year (2018-23) National Science Foundation (NSF) funded $3 million grant to support gender equity for faculty in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) with a focus on collaboration. Specifically, the program aims to support collaboration and equity among faculty by gender, race/ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity and nationality.
Congratulations to Anne Gershenson, Maria Santore, Dong Wang, Ana Caicedo, Alice Cheung, Michelle Facette, Sibongile Mafu, and all of the other recipients of the award! Read more
Alice Cheung Receives Coveted Plant Biology Excellence Award
Alice Cheung Receives Coveted Plant Biology Excellence Award
The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) recently announced that Alice Cheung, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, will receive the 2020 Lawrence Bogorad Award for Excellence in Plant Biology Research, made every other year to “a plant scientist whose work both illuminates the present and suggests paths to enlighten the future.” Read more
Congratulations to Kristyn Robinson!
Congratulations to Kristyn Robinson!
Kristyn Robinson (Fritz-Laylin group) received honorable mention for her NSF GRFP proposal on "Understanding key intervention points in a parasitic fungal infection." The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. Congratulations, Kristyn! Read more
Congratulations to Robert Yvon!
Congratulations to Robert Yvon!
Robert Yvon (Cheung group) received honorable mention for his NSF GRFP proposal on "Characterization of a Novel Protein/Carbohydrate Microparticle Central to Extracellular Signaling in Plants." The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. Congratulations, Robert! Read more
Scientist pioneers a noninvasive breast cancer screening method for BRCA-positive women
Scientist pioneers a noninvasive breast cancer screening method for BRCA-positive women
Breastfeeding women with a pathogenic BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic mutation face a significant risk, even at a young age, of breast and ovarian cancer. Yet no fully effective breast cancer screening method exists for nursing mothers in this high-risk group, some of whom are diagnosed after the disease has spread, possibly becoming fatally metastatic.
UMass Amherst cancer researchers hope to change that by developing a new, noninvasive test that uses women’s breast milk to detect breast cancer in its earliest stages. New mothers, and to a greater extent those with a BRCA mutation, face an increased risk of pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC), which is often aggressive, for about a decade postpartum.
“This could eliminate the risk of metastasis-associated mortality related to postpartum, pregnancy-associated breast cancer in women with the BRCA mutation,” says lead investigator Kathleen Arcaro, veterinary and animal sciences, whose UMass Breastmilk Lab develops tools to assess breast cancer risk. “We also hope to better understand breast tumor development and progression in these at-risk women.” Read more
Keck grant will fund neuroscientist’s study on whether brain bacterial levels correlate with circadian rhythm
Keck grant will fund neuroscientist’s study on whether brain bacterial levels correlate with circadian rhythm
With a $1 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, neuroscience researchers at Washington State University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst will explore whether variations in brain levels of bacterial fragments can account for life’s sleep/wake and 24-hour cycles, known as circadian rhythms.
“The bacteria residing inside of you outnumber your own cells 10 to one and affect sleep, cognition, mood, brain temperature, appetite and many additional brain functions. Yet we lack an understanding of how they do it,” says James Krueger, Regents Professor of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience at the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine.
The sleep research is led by Krueger, and the circadian rhythm portion of the project is led by co-investigator Ilia Karatsoreos, psychological and brain sciences, who recently joined UMass Amherst from WSU. Read more
Virologist explains why consumers shouldn’t fear the grocery store amidst the COVID-19 outbreak
Virologist explains why consumers shouldn’t fear the grocery store amidst the COVID-19 outbreak
As states continue issuing quarantine guidelines and rumors swirl about lockdowns, many people are stocking up on food and other essentials. But during a global outbreak, how safe is the grocery store? People are left in a catch-22 knowing that if they don’t venture to the supermarket they could be left without food, while also fearing contracting coronavirus while shopping. Virologist Matthew Moore, food science, debunks myths about grocery shopping amidst the coronavirus pandemic in a recent article published on The Hill. Read more
UMass Amherst Engineers Receive NSF Grant to Find Ways To Prevent Bacterial Infections from Common Medical Devices
UMass Amherst Engineers Receive NSF Grant to Find Ways To Prevent Bacterial Infections from Common Medical Devices
In an effort to combat a major source of serious bacterial infections, chemical engineers Jessica Schiffman and Lauren B. Andrews at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are studying how bacteria attach themselves to polymer materials used in biomedical devices such as catheters, implants, wound dressings and contact lenses. The goal is to help prevent infections by developing new biofouling resistant materials.
The research is funded with a three-year, $515,473 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that supports fundamental research on how bacteria attach to polymer materials and how to re-engineer hydrogel-coated biomedical devices. Read more