News & Announcements

NSF grant furthers UMass work on supporting students in STEM

Margaret “Peg” Riley, Biology, and Elizabeth “Betsy” McEneaney of the College of Education, have received a three-year, $987,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to continue their efforts to increase student participation and success in STEM careers and research. Read more

Gross co-authors study on collaborative learning

photo of David Gross

David Gross, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, is co-author of a new study in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning that looked at best approaches to collaborative learning. The study suggests that students can be successful in a team-based course even when the instructor does not design the team, a finding that runs counter to other literature on collaborative learning. Read more

Thayumanavan Receives $1.8 Million to Create Center for Autonomous Chemistry

Sankaran “Thai” Thayumanavan, Chemistry, has received a three-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create a multi-university Center for Autonomous Chemistry, where he and colleagues including Vince Rotello, also Chemistry, will seek to design artificial self-activating systems. Read more

Vierling and colleagues find mechanism for plants to recover from heat stress

photo of Elizabeth Vierling

Elizabeth Vierling, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and colleagues in India and China report finding a crucial mechanism that plants need to recover from heat stress—an important discovery as climate change is resulting in increased damage to crops. The findings were reported in The Plant Cell. Read more

Sai Balchand PhD Dissertation Defense

photo of Sai Balchand

Wednesday, September 6, 2017
1:30 PM
French Hall, Room 209
Dissertation Title:  Mechanism of Regulation of kinesins Eg5 and Kif15 by TPX2
Advisor:  Pat Wadsworth

Reinhart talks about ways IALS connects researchers and industry

photo of Life Science Laboratories

Peter H. Reinhart, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and director of the UMass Institute for Applied Life Sciences, was interviewed by Business West about the ways IALS is connecting academic researchers with high-tech industries, providing advanced manufacturing businesses with tools and researchers that can promote and expand their businesses. Read more

Riley joins board of antibiotic-safety organization

photo of Margaret "Peg" Riley

Margaret Riley, Biology, has joined the board of directors of the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics. The APUA, she notes, “was one of the very first organizations devoted to informing the public of the dangers of antibiotic overuse and abuse and has been a key player in efforts to extend the lifespan of these life-saving drugs.” Read more

Lila M. Gierasch, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, was profiled in The Scientist.

photo of Lila Gierasch

The article outlined how she developed into a prominent scientist and expert on protein folding through her undergraduate and graduate school years as well as her personal interests, including working on cars. Read more

Aujan Mehregan MS Thesis Defense

Wednesday, August 9, 2017
11:00 am
Integrated Sciences Building, Room 427L
Thesis Title:  Characterization of Calcium Homeostasis Parameters in TRPV3 & CaV3.2 Null Mice
Advisor:  Rafael Fissore

Doug Calenda MS Thesis Defense

Thursday, August 10, 2017
12:00 pm
Life Sciences Laboratories, Room N210
Thesis Title:  Partial Craniofacial Cartilage Rescue in Ace Mutants from Compensatory Signaling Permeating from the Developing Ventricle in Zebrafish
Advisor:  Craig Albertson

Pages