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JUSTIN WATKINS IS SELECTED AS 3-YEAR SPIRE FELLOW

October 17, 2018

Congratulations to Dr. Justin Watkins (postdoc in Alan Jones’s Lab) who has been selected as a “3-yr SPIRE Fellow” beginning Sept 1st, 2018. The mission of “Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators in Research & Education” (SPIRE) is to provide multi-dimensional professional development for science researchers and educators to succeed in academic careers, to bring engaging teaching methods into the classroom, and to increase diversity in science professions.

UNC BIOLOGY STUDENTS INDUCTED INTO PHI BETA KAPPA

October 17, 2018

Congratulations to these UNC-CH students, enrolled as Biology majors or minors, for their induction into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest academic honor society. At the induction ceremony, new members receive certificates and Phi Beta Kappa keys, the organization’s symbol.

The new inductees are:

Courtney Elizabeth Cash, Angelo Ibrahim Chaia, Christian Jaeger Cook, Adelaide Rosalie Cooke, Brittany Cooper, Christiana Maria Cornea, Abigail Ann Drees, Khushnood Faraz, Briana Notterpek Fletcher, Hannah Rose Frediani, Franklin Richard Gergoudis, Tate Elizabeth Giddens, Marwan Ayman Hawari, Madisyn Ann Hill, Emily Susan Hollis, Sara Elaine Hudson, Kristin Michelle Isabell, Hannah Jaggers, Lindsay Gayle Jones, Gauri Joshi, Alexander Y.Z. Li, Zijin Lin, Jiacheng Liu, Frances Lee Mueller, Abigail R. Needell, Grace Elizabeth Nipp, Megan Rose Ogorchock, Jane Bradford Pearce, Carlos Antonio Perez-Heydrich, Lindsay Ann Player, Ashley Anne Privette, Samuel Lawrence Mulkern Raines, Kaitlin Eileen Sanzone, Ishan Jay Shah, Anna Catherine Silver, Hudson Duval Spangler, Nicholas McDaniel Teague, Kailyn Janelle Valido, Madeline Leigh Watson, Clark Alexander Williamson, Daniel Keith Winecoff, and Adrian Leia Wood.

AARON COMEAULT RECEIVES YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARD

October 17, 2018

Congratulations to Aaron Comeault (Daniel Matute lab postdoc) who was one of 4 recipients of the prestigious “Jasper Loftus-Hills Young Investigator Awards” from the American Society of Naturalists. The other three award recipients were Rachel GermainRachael Bay, and Gijsbert Werner.

ALICIA CHEN RECEIVES THE 2018 HAGADORN AWARD

October 17, 2018

Congratulations to Alicia Chen, who has been chosen as the “2018 Hagadorn Award” winner. Established in 1983, the Hagadorn Award is given to the top junior Biology major based on academic and research excellence and contributions to the Biology Department. This award was established in honor of Dr Irvine Hagadorn, former Chair of the Department of Zoology at UNC. This award will be presented by Chancellor Folt at the Chancellor’s Awards Ceremony on April 24, 2018.  READ MORE >> 

BAUTCH RECEIVES $6M NIH-NHLBI OUTSTANDING INVESTIGATOR AWARD

October 17, 2018

Congratulations to Victoria Bautch, Distinguished Professor and Chair of Biology and Co-Director of the UNC McAllister Heart Institute, who was recently awarded an Outstanding Investigator Award (R35) from NIH-NHLBI. The award will bring in over $6M in funds to UNC to support her lab’s research. Entitled “Molecular and Cellular Control of Angiogenesis”, the award will allow Bautch and her group to open new directions in understanding how blood vessels form during development and function in the adult. Bautch is also a member of the Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences (iBGS) and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

BIOLOGY FACULTY RECEIVE UNC TEACHING AWARDS

October 17, 2018

The Biology Department is proud to announce these two UNC Teaching Awards presented to Biology Faculty members. Assistant Professor Amy Shaub Maddox received the “William C. Friday Award for Excellence in Teaching”, and Professor Bob Goldstein received the “Chapman Family Teaching Award”. Each of these awards is given annually for instructional work with undergraduate students. Amy and Bob are both grateful to the nominating committee, as well as the receptive and thoughtful students who wrote recommendations on their behalf!

JOHN BRUNO’S CLIMATE SCIENCE SPECIAL REPORT IS RELEASED

October 17, 2018

The final version of the “Climate Science Special Report.” coauthored by Biology Professor John Bruno, was recently released. As the first of two volumes of the 4th National Climate Assessment, the CSSR describes physical and chemical changes to the nations land and coastal waters, e.g., in weather, ocean chemistry, and global temperature. A key finding was that based on extensive evidence it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. This nearly 500 page document is considered the world’s most comprehensive and up to date synthesis of climate change science. Volume 2, which will be about the effects of climate changes on people and the oceans, will come out in Dec. 2018.

TED SALMON AND KEITH BURRIDGE CHOSEN AS 2017 ASCB FELLOWS

October 17, 2018

Congratulations to UNC’s Ted Salmon and Keith Burridge, among this year’s class of “American Society of Cell Biology Fellows”. “The ASCB Fellows Award recognizes ASCB members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of cell biology and to the community of cell biologists through their service to ASCB.”

IN MEMORY OF DR. LAWRENCE I. GILBERT

October 17, 2018

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of retired UNC Biology Professor and former Chair Dr. Lawrence I. Gilbert on Oct. 31, 2017. Dr. Gilbert’s research interests included insect endocrinology, biochemistry and molecular biology. The major effort in his laboratory was to determine how hormones controlled developmental processes, using insect metamorphosis as a model. Dr. Gilbert was a member of several panels, a member of seven editorial boards, executive editor of Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He received the 1995 AAAS Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement.