News & Announcements
MCB Alumnus Receives Society of Toxicology Awards
MCB Alumnus Receives Society of Toxicology Awards
Recent MCB PhD alumnus Archit Rastogi claimed top prizes at the Society of Toxicology’s (SOT) annual meeting held virtually this past spring. The awards were given by the Mechanisms Specialty Section, which represents a diverse group of SOT members who have common interests and expertise in elucidating the cellular, biochemical and molecular mechanisms of action of toxic substances. Archit worked in the lab of associate professor of environmental health sciences Alicia Timme-Laragy and received two awards: the Sheldon D. Murphy Student Travel Award and third place for the Carl C. Smith Student Mechanisms Award. These awards were given for Rastogi’s research on modulating glutathione in the developing zebrafish. Read more
Study Underway to Estimate Coronavirus Exposure in the Campus Community
Study Underway to Estimate Coronavirus Exposure in the Campus Community
A team of researchers has launched a study to explore the rate of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) exposure in the UMass Amherst campus community, inviting faculty, staff and students to voluntarily participate. “The goal of our study is to increase understanding of coronavirus exposures with the UMass community and statewide,” says infectious-disease epidemiologist Andrew Lover, assistant professor in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, who is heading up the study. In his lab, Dominique Alfandari, professor of developmental biology in the Veterinary and Animal Sciences Institute, will conduct the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect novel coronavirus antibodies in the blood samples. Read more
Four MCB Students Awarded NIH BTP Traineeships
Four MCB Students Awarded NIH BTP Traineeships
Emily Lopes (Fissore lab), Jessica McGory (Maresca lab), Justyne Ogdahl (Chien lab) and Madeline Tompach (Timmy-Laragy lab) received highly competitive Biotechnology Training Program Traineeships! BTP students are trained in an interdisciplinary fashion that expands career opportunities and sharpens professional skills. The UMass BTP emphasizes industrial partnerships, such as internships that provide hands-on access to cutting-edge biotechnology research, industrial seminars, and other industrial activities. Traineeships are typically awarded to students to support their 2nd and 3rd years of study, and trainee selection criteria include past performance (undergraduate institution and GPA, GRE scores), progress in the PhD program (grades and research productivity), and commitment to the BTP Program. Congratulations to Emily, Jessica, Justyne and Madeline on their awards! Read more
Joshua Foster and Rebecca Gordon receive competitive CBI traineeships
Joshua Foster and Rebecca Gordon receive competitive CBI traineeships
Joshua Foster (Chen lab) and Rebecca Gordon (Siegrist Lab) received prestigious traineeships from the Chemistry-Biology Interface program! The CBI program trains students with diverse scientific backgrounds for productive research at the interface between chemistry and biology. Science at the chemistry-biology interface brings the synthetic, mechanistic and analytical powers of chemistry to bear on new and exciting areas of biology. CBI Trainees take part in courses, seminars, discussions and research at the forefront of this emerging, interdisciplinary field. Trainee selection criteria include progress in the PhD program (grades and research productivity), and in the CBI Program (requirements satisfied, event participation). Past performance, such as undergraduate GPA, is also taken into account. CBI students must be nominated by CBI Training Faculty in spring of their first or second year of graduate study to be considered for traineeships that typically begin in September. Congratulations, Josh and Becky! Read more
Carline Fermino Do Rosario receives prestigious NSF NRT fellowship
Carline Fermino Do Rosario receives prestigious NSF NRT fellowship
Carline Fermino Do Rosario (Wadsworth/Ross labs) has received the prestigious NSF Soft Materials for Life Sciences National Research Traineeship (SMLS-NRT) for the 2020-2021 academic year! This traineeship engages faculty and students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in a graduate education model that trains students in T-shaped skills. The vertical bar on the T represents the depth of related skills and expertise in a single field, whereas the horizontal bar is the ability to collaborate across disciplines with experts in other areas and to apply knowledge in areas of expertise other than one's own. The program will provide training breadth across multiple professional and other technical skill areas while developing quality depth in the trainee’s area of specialization. Life scientists, physical scientists and engineers will be brought together to generate dynamic team leadership skills and to catalyze innovation. Congratulations, Carline! Read more
Jun-Goo Kwak receives prestigious NSF NRT fellowship
Jun-Goo Kwak receives prestigious NSF NRT fellowship
Jun-Goo Kwak (Lee lab) has received the prestigious NSF Soft Materials for Life Sciences National Research Traineeship (SMLS-NRT) for the 2020-2021 academic year! This traineeship engages faculty and students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in a graduate education model that trains students in T-shaped skills. The vertical bar on the T represents the depth of related skills and expertise in a single field, whereas the horizontal bar is the ability to collaborate across disciplines with experts in other areas and to apply knowledge in areas of expertise other than one's own. The program will provide training breadth across multiple professional and other technical skill areas while developing quality depth in the trainee’s area of specialization. Life scientists, physical scientists and engineers will be brought together to generate dynamic team leadership skills and to catalyze innovation. Congratulations, Jun-Goo! Read more
Study Finds New Mentoring Model Supports Underrepresented Minority Women Faculty in STEM
Study Finds New Mentoring Model Supports Underrepresented Minority Women Faculty in STEM
Over the last 20 years, many academic institutions have conducted surveys in STEM disciplines, seeking ways to address and increase awareness of discrimination and racism that are major obstacles to attracting and retaining women – particularly underrepresented minority women – to diversify the STEM workforce.
Now results of a new experiment by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggest that an online mutual-mentoring model called “Amplifying Voices” can create “trusting and supportive environments” among underrepresented minority women in STEM across academic institutions. Details were published online by the journal Innovative Higher Education.
Lead author Sandra Petersen, professor of veterinary and animal sciences, says, “Our research suggests that combining career-focused mentoring found in most academic institutions with empathetic psychosocial mentoring achieved through Amplifying Voices is a more effective strategy for supporting underrepresented minority women in STEM than either strategy alone.” Read more
Allison Sirois PhD Dissertation Defense
Allison Sirois PhD Dissertation Defense
Thursday, July 2, 2020
10:00 AM
Zoom link: Please contact mcb@mcb.umass.edu to be included on the email list for this announcement
Dissertation Title: "Engineering mesothelin-binding proteins as targeted cancer diagnostics and therapeutics"
Advisor: Sarah Moore
Anastasiia Klimova PhD Dissertation Defense
Anastasiia Klimova PhD Dissertation Defense
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
2:00 PM
Zoom link: Please contact mcb@mcb.umass.edu to be included on the email list for this announcement
Dissertation Title: "Roles of RecN DNA repair protein and PriA DNA helicase in maintaining genomic integrity of Escherichia coli K-12"
Advisor: Steve Sandler
