News & Announcements
Allyson Rosati MS Thesis Defense
Allyson Rosati MS Thesis Defense
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
2:00 pm
Zoom link: Please contact mcb@mcb.umass.edu to be included on the email list for this announcement
Thesis Title: "Sperm Mitochondrial DNA Biomarkers as a Measure of Male Fecundity and Overall Sperm Quality"
Advisor: Rick Pilsner
Amye Black PhD Dissertation Defense
Amye Black PhD Dissertation Defense
Friday, April 17, 2020
1:00 PM
Zoom link: Please contact mcb@mcb.umass.edu to be included on the email list for this announcement
Dissertation Title: "Inter-Individual Variation in Response to Estrogen and Implications for Breast Cancer Risk"
Advisor: Joe Jerry
Emily Houle MS Thesis Defense
Emily Houle MS Thesis Defense
Thursday, April 23, 2020
1:00 pm
Zoom link: Please contact mcb@mcb.umass.edu to be included on the email list for this announcement
Thesis Title: "Association Between Sperm DNA Methylation and Sperm Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number"
Advisor: Rick Pilsner
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
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