Muvari Tjiurutue's Faculty for the Future award was recently renewed for a second year.  The generous fellowship from the Schlumberger Foundation, is providing full funding for Muvari's research in the Adler Lab as well as funds for travel. This summer, Muvari went to Kunming, China to present her work at the 13th World Congress on Parasitic Plants (WCPP) conference. She presented her work on how gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar, L.) damage on cranberry hosts (Vaccinium macrocarporn) affected future dodder (Cuscuta spp.) parasitism on the same cranberry hosts. She found that gypsy moth damage delayed dodder parasitism and also delayed future dodder attachment possibly due to changes in phenolic acid defenses. She noted it was very exciting to present her work with professionals who share her passion for parasitic plants and she felt privileged to rub shoulders with some of the pioneers in the field. Muvari also presented her research at the Ecological Society of America (ESA) conference in Baltimore, MD in August.

Josh Coomey, fourth year PhD graduate student in the Hazen Lab, has been awarded a Chateaubriand Fellowship to conduct research at the Institute Jean-Pierre Bourgin in Versailles, France. He will work with collaborators Richard Sibout and Grégory Mouille to characterize the regulation of plant cell wall growth. Ça C'est Bon!

PB Graduate students Kathryn Vescio and Kelly Allen and their faculty sponsor Rob Wick have co-founded a new GSO club on campus focused on exploring and sharing information on the fungi growing in our area.  The new club, S.M.U.T.S. (Society of Mycology at UMass for Teachers and Students), has been joined by Sam Glaze-Corcoran, Caroline Wise, Greg DeIulio, and Elisha Allan-Perkins, as well as UMass alumni, and is welcoming new members!  If you are interested in helping to plan or joining in on mushrooms forays, fungal trivia nights, fungal inspired crafts (like spore prints), or just learning more about the fascinating world of fungi, please feel free to come to our next general body meeting on Tuesday, December 1st at 5 pm in the Paige Laboratory Conference Room, or contact Greg (gdeiulio@cns.umass.edu) to be added to our mailing list.

We have a few mycology inspired events coming up this fall that are open to everyone! On November 17^th from 4:30-6, Dianna Smith of the Pioneer Valley Mycology Association will be giving a seminar on “100+ Edible Fungi and Their Poisonous Lookalikes (The Astute Amateur Mycologist Doesn't Play Russian Roulette)” in the Paige Conference room 202. On December 8^th we will be giving a mini-microscopy lesson and looking at microscopic fungi in Fernald Hall. We hope to see you there!

Peter van Gisbergen, PhD in the Bezanilla Lab, writes about his recent experience choosing between three postdoc offers.  "The next step. You know it is coming, but when it is there, it catches you by surprise anyway. Suddenly, questions start popping up in your mind; academics or industry, the USA or somewhere else? For foreign students, back to my home country or staying here? What about future opportunities? Significant others? Salaries? You would almost forget about the most important question of all: where can I work on a problem that captivates me and that I can sink my teeth in for at least a couple of years?

            I faced these questions recently. For me it was clear academics was the way to go, as I’ve wanted to pursue that path since I was a teenager. No 9 to 5 job, no discoveries to help humanity, but doing research for my own personal interests. The other questions were harder to answer. I applied to the three labs whose research I like best based on the papers I read in journal club. I also met all the PIs at a conference. They did not have job ads out so I just sent an open application, but got an interview and later also an offer for all three. That is when the above mentioned questions needed answering. Two of the labs were in the U.S., one in Switzerland. The U.S. labs use techniques I would like to learn, while the Swiss lab has the more interesting biological question. Staying in the U.S. means better job opportunities later on, but going to Switzerland means being closer to family (same time zone at least) and a better salary. Staying in the U.S. means an easier move and transition whereas moving to Switzerland has better prospects for my wife.

            I chose the option that was the overall best in terms of living conditions, chances for my wife and I, and the most interesting problem. There was one clear answer; we’re going to Switzerland! I will be working on fission yeast reproduction, no longer on plants. Yeast mating requires two cells to grow a structure towards each other (called a shmoo) in a pheromone-guided way. Then, the two cells need to fuse, which requires them to basically make a hole in themselves, for which the cytoskeleton is necessary as well as my favorite protein family: formins. The cells are under a high turgor pressure though, and if they do not do this at exactly the same time, at exactly the same place, they will basically blow up. How two very basic cells can successfully accomplish this almost 100% of the time fascinates me. The fact that the Martin lab at the University of Lausanne looks out over Lake Geneva and snow covered Alps didn’t negatively affect the decision either. Life is not all work."