News & Announcements
TARGET: BREAST CANCER
UMass scientists discover what causes this insidious disease and how to prevent it.
TARGET: BREAST CANCER
UMass scientists discover what causes this insidious disease and how to prevent it.
Breast cancer begins with one lethal rogue cell. Cancerous cells in the breast then grow out of control in a mind-boggling process that researchers worldwide have yet to fully understand, despite years of study and billions of dollars in funding. At the University of Massachusetts Amherst, researchers in many areas, backed by government organizations and private foundations, are attacking breast cancer on multiple fronts. They are investigating environmental toxins and breast milk, leading large epidemiological studies, creating new treatments, identifying individuals likely to get breast cancer, and advocating for changes in chemical testing and regulation. Read more
Twelve UMass Amherst Researchers Among Most Highly Cited in the World
Twelve UMass Amherst Researchers Among Most Highly Cited in the World
Twelve researchers at UMass Amherst, including MCB faculty Vince Rotello and Hang Xiao, have been recognized for being among the world’s most highly cited researchers in 2018. The analysis by Clarivate Analytics, owner of Web of Science, serves as the basis for regular listings of researchers whose citation records put them in the top 1 percent by citations for their field and year. Read more
Rare and Diverse Giant Viruses Unexpectedly Found in a Forest Soil Ecosystem
Rare and Diverse Giant Viruses Unexpectedly Found in a Forest Soil Ecosystem
Until recently, scientists thought of viruses as mostly small infectious agents, tiny compared to typical bacteria and human cells. But biologist Jeff Blanchard and Ph.D. student Lauren Alteio with others at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute have discovered giant viruses – relatively speaking the size of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons – in soil at Harvard Forest in Petersham. Read more
Study Demonstrates ‘Tunability’ of Molecular Chaperone
Study Demonstrates ‘Tunability’ of Molecular Chaperone
For decades, molecular biologists studying a class of molecular chaperones known as heat shock proteins (Hsp70s) have relied on the Hsp70s found in bacteria as the model system. Now, Lila Gierasch, one of the world’s experts on the molecule and her team report that their investigation into whether Hsps from mammalian cells behave like those in bacteria reveals “key evolutionary variations” between them. Read more
Clark Elected Fellow of Entomological Society of America
Clark Elected Fellow of Entomological Society of America
John Clark, professor of veterinary and animal sciences, has been elected by the governing board of the Entomological Society of America as a research fellow and was recognized during the society’s joint annual meeting of the Entomological Societies of America, Canada and British Columbia, on Nov. 11-14, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Read more
Rotello Delivers Keynote at Science Teachers’ Conference
Rotello Delivers Keynote at Science Teachers’ Conference
Vincent Rotello, Distinguished Professor of chemistry, delivered the Nov. 2 keynote, “Multidisciplinary Thinking Outside the Box: Fighting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria using Nanomaterials,” at the annual conference of the Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers in Boxborough. Read more
MCB Alumna, Yadilette Rivera-Colon, featured InFocus: STEM education programs
MCB Alumna, Yadilette Rivera-Colon, featured InFocus: STEM education programs
Yadilette Rivera-Colon, currently a member of the Girls Inc. Board of Directors and an Assistant Professor of Biology and Undergraduate Research Program Coordinator at Bay Path University, was interviewed on 22News InFocus for a discussion about some of the many STEM educational programs available in western Massachusetts. They spoke with people involved with creating those programs and the STEM educators who work with students every day. Yadilette also recently returned to UMass to participate in a panel discussion about Teaching at Smaller Institutions organized by the Office of Professional Development. Full interview (~32:15)
Research Team Aims to Improve Accuracy in Sequencing Large Genomes
Research Team Aims to Improve Accuracy in Sequencing Large Genomes
Theoretical physicist Murugappan Muthukumarat has a four-year, $1.39 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Human Genome Research Institute to overcome known hurdles that are hindering work to sequence mammalian-sized genomes. Read more
Researcher Finds GRE Scores Not Predictive of STEM Doctoral Degree Completion
Researcher Finds GRE Scores Not Predictive of STEM Doctoral Degree Completion
Researchers led by Sandra L. Petersen, professor of neuroendocrine studies, have found convincing evidence that Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores are not predictive of STEM doctoral degree completion, and that relying on scores from the quantitative section (GRE Q) of the exam is likely to exclude talented students who score below arbitrarily defined “acceptable” scores, but who have other characteristics that are likely better predictors of success. Read more
2018 MCB Retreat at Stratton Mountain
2018 MCB Retreat at Stratton Mountain
