News Highlights
Evan Palmer-Young Awarded DDIG
Evan Palmer-Young Awarded DDIG
Evan Palmer-Young, OEB doctoral candidate in Lynn Adler's lab, has been awarded a $20,735 Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant from NSF's DEB for his project "Inter-strain variation and evolution of resistance to phytochemicals in the bumblebee trypanosome parasite, Crithidia bombi." Congratulations to Evan and Lynn!
Curtis recieves NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship
Curtis recieves NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship
OEB Ph.D. Candidate Caroline Curtis has been awarded a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship for her proposal Using Time Series of Remotely Sensed Imagery to Understand Invasive Pine Dispersal. The $30,000 fellowship, renewable for up to three years, allows Curtis to study the temporal patterns of pine invasion in South America. Congratulations to Caroline and her advisor, Bethany Bradley.
Sandra Petersen to receive Presidential Award for STEM mentoring
Sandra Petersen to receive Presidential Award for STEM mentoring
NSB faculty member Sandra Petersen is set to receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering. She will receive her award at a White House ceremony later this year. According to a press release, the White House presents the awards "to individuals and organizations to recognize the crucial role that mentoring plays in the academic and personal development of students studying science and engineering--particularly those who belong to groups underrepresented in these fields." Dr. Petersen is one of only 14 individuals and one organization to receive this award this year. In addition to being honored at the White House, Dr. Petersen will also receive a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation. Congratulations to Dr. Petersen!
Ajay Kumar is runner up in Innovation Challenge
Ajay Kumar is runner up in Innovation Challenge
Current Neuroscience & Behavior Program student Ajay Kumar (Bittman lab) was a runner up in UMass' Innovation Challenge MinutePitch competition. Ajay (as a member of Team GeneRisk) proposed a software and web database combination that allows clinicians to deposit raw genetic data to obtain a risk score for Autism Spectrum or related disorders. Congratulations to Ajay!
Park paper published in Cerebral Cortex
Park paper published in Cerebral Cortex
NSB faculty member Joonkoo Park's paper titled "Rapid and Direct Encoding of Numerosity in the Visual Stream" was recently published in Cerebral Cortex.
Amanda Cremone received travel award from CRF
Amanda Cremone received travel award from CRF
NSB student Amanda Cremone (Spencer lab) received a travel award from the University of Massachusetts Center for Research on Families (CRF). CRF provided funding to Amanda to present Influence of a Mid-Day Nap on Response Inhibition in Preschool-Aged Children at the Society for Research in Child Development’s conference in Philadelphia.
Janna Mantua recipient of Sleep Research Society Abstract Merit Based Award
Janna Mantua recipient of Sleep Research Society Abstract Merit Based Award
NSB student Janna Mantua (Spencer lab) is a recipient of a Sleep Research Society Abstract Merit Based Award. This award is based on the scientific merit of the abstract that she submitted for presentation at SLEEP 2015, the 29th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies that will be held June 6-10, 2015 in Seattle, WA. Janna received a Meritorius Award of $500. Congratulations to Janna!
Andrew Smith awarded DDIG
Andrew Smith awarded DDIG
Andy Smith, OEB doctoral candidate in Betsy Dumont's lab, has been awarded a $20,131 Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant from NSF's DEB for his project "The role of integration in driving the morphological diversity of mammalian jaws." Congratulations to Andy and Betsy!