Megan Justice, a Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology student in Jill Dowen’s lab, was accepted into the Yale University Ciencia Initiative program. Throughout 2019, Megan will participate in a program designed “to expand access to scientific knowledge, experiences, and careers among communities or populations traditionally underrepresented in, or underserved by, the scientific enterprise.
Congratulations to Biology Teaching Associate Professor/Faculty Advisor Gidi Shemer, who was honored with a 2019 UNC-CH Chapman Family Teaching Award. The Chapman Family Teaching Award honors a distinguished record of teaching undergraduates at UNC over an extended period of time. The Chapman Teaching Awards were created in 1993 during the Bicentennial Campaign through a generous gift by Max Carrol Chapman, Jr. ’66 on behalf of the Chapman family and honor distinguished teaching of undergraduate students.
The Board of Directors of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has announced that Dr. Steven W. Matson, dean of The Graduate School and Professor of Biology at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is the 2018 recipient of the Debra W. Stewart Award for Outstanding Leadership in Graduate Education. Matson received the honor at an awards ceremony held during the CGS 58th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.
Congratulations to Aaztli Coria (Graduate Student, Alain Laederach’s Lab) for receiving an NIH F31 fellowship titled, “A novel melanoma therapeutic target: Elucidating the structure and mapping functional domains of the lncRNA SAMMSON.” Aaztli is studying the lncRNA SAMMSON that is specifically expressed in malignant melanoma cells. Upon depletion of SAMMSON melanoma cells undergo apoptosis, suggesting these cells are “addicted” to this long non-coding RNA. She aims to model the secondary structure of SAMMSON and identify the structural domains required for SAMMSON to interact with the protein p32.
Congratulations to Talia Hatkevich (Graduate Student in Jeff Sekelsky’s lab) for receiving the “2019 Delill Nassar Award for Professional Development in Genetics” from the Genetics Society of America.
Congratulations to Jeff Sekelsky, who was one of ten UNC faculty members awarded an “Excellence in Basic Science Mentoring Award” from the Office of Graduate Education and the Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development. This honor exemplifies Jeff’s outstanding mentoring skills and his dedication to the success of his students.
The 4th National Climate Assessment, coauthored by Biology Professor John Bruno, was recently released. The report describes the growing impacts of climate change on America, including human health, economics and natural resources like coral reefs and fisheries. The report was widely covered in the press and lays the groundwork for America’s Green New Deal being developed in congress.
To see more, check out the report!
Congratulations to Vicki Bautch Lab’s Postdoc Dana Ruter and Grad Student Danielle Berlin on their recent Fellowship Awards from the AHA (American Heart Association)! Dana’s project is “NOTCH1 and SMAD6 Regulatory Mechanisms Governing Flow-mediated Vascular Function“ and Danielle’s project is “Centrosome Number as a Regulator of Endothelial Cell-Cell Junctions and Lumenization.”
Congratulations to these UNC-CH students, enrolled as Biology majors or second majors, for their induction into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest academic honor society. At the induction ceremony, new members received certificates and Phi Beta Kappa keys, the organization’s symbol. The new 2018 Fall inductees are: Vikram Aikat, Abby Jean Bergman, Caroline Elizabeth Butler, Allison Anne Carter, Nicholas Kenneth Chamberlain, Shivani Desai, Hope Mccleese Gehle, Emily Suzanne Long, Sabrina Corin Madrigal, David Joseph Near, Michala Sterling Patterson, Katherine Mae Spencer, Grace Darby Tan, Benjamin Walzel, Yunfei Wang, and Larry Yang.
Congratulations to Celia Shiau for being awarded an NIH Equipment Supplement Grant to acquire an automated lab-dedicated single and bulk cell sorter for multi-functional use. The Shiau lab will use this technology for high resolution cell-specific investigations in coordination with in vivo approaches.