2021 News Archive
Sina Ghaemmaghami receives the Mercer Brugler Distinguished Teaching Professorship at the University of Rochester
June 21, 2021
The University’s Mercer Brugler Distinguished Professorships, established in 1979, are announced every three years and are held by the recipients until the next round of awards.
Continue ReadingJohn Bettinger awarded a University of Rochester Elon Huntington Hooker Dissertation Fellowship for 2021-2022
June 18, 2021
Department of Biology graduate student, John Bettinger has been awarded a University of Rochester Elon Huntington Hooker Dissertation Fellowship for 2021-2022. This fellowship was first endowed by the Hooker family in 1947 to support graduate students across disciplines in the sciences. It is one of the University’s most competitive dissertation fellowships for the sciences and is given to students who display exceptional ability and promise.
Continue ReadingVera Gorbunova discusses the strange life of naked mole rats
May 25, 2021
There’s no single force that drives cellular aging; it’s a network of feedback loops. Enzymes read genes like a grocery list of different proteins to prepare, and those proteins might protect that enzyme, or that gene, or some body-wide process. Your body is programmed to tolerate these bumps and bruises. “While we are young, that repair actually works almost flawlessly,” says Vera Gorbunova, a biogerontologist who studies mole rats at the University of Rochester. When aging sets in, though, “now damage outpaces repair.” Gene-reading enzymes falter, misfolded proteins gum up the brain, sputtering mitochondria weaken muscles, and cancers bloom.
Continue ReadingBiology students, alumni awarded Fulbright grants for overseas study
May 25, 2021
Five University of Rochester students and alumni have won 2021–22 grants in the prestigious Fulbright US Student Grant program.
Continue ReadingBiology undergraduates receive Goldwater Scholarships for science achievement
May 18, 2021
“With three outstanding students chosen as Goldwater Scholars this year, the University of Rochester continues an excellent record of attracting talented students in various STEM fields,” says Cheeptip Benyajati, an associate professor in the Department of Biology who serves on the University’s interdisciplinary STEM faculty committee. “It shows Rochester’s commitment to research in STEM fields, and our success in mentoring and engaging young scientists to continue the pipeline.”
Continue ReadingMeyer Lab uses 3D printing to create a novel, environmentally friendly material made of algae
May 3, 2021
Living materials, which are made by housing biological cells within a nonliving matrix, have gained popularity in recent years as scientists recognize that often the most robust materials are those that mimic nature.
Continue ReadingDan Bergstralh receives the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award
April 22, 2021
The award—the NSF’s most prestigious recognition for early-career faculty members—“embodies NSF’s commitment to encourage faculty and academic institutions to value and support the integration of research and education” and recognizes individuals “who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.”
Continue ReadingChing-Ho Chang the 2021 recipient of the prestigious Larry Sandler Award for best PhD dissertation in the Drosophila community
March 23, 2021
The Larry Sandler Memorial Lecture is given by an outstanding recent PhD graduate on the opening night of the Drosophila Research Conference. Established in 1988 by the colleagues, friends, and students of Dr. Larry Sandler after his untimely death in 1987, the award honors Dr. Sandler for his many contributions to Drosophila genetics and his exceptional dedication to the training of Drosophila biologists. The winner receives complimentary registration for the 62nd Annual Drosophila Research Conference as well as a lifetime membership in GSA.
Continue ReadingMultidisciplinary collaboration will create a new light-sheet microscope on campus
February 22, 2021
A new multidisciplinary collaboration between the University of Rochester’s departments of biology, biomedical engineering, and optics and the Goergen Institute for Data Science will establish an innovative microscopy resource on campus, allowing for cutting-edge scientific research in biological imaging.
Continue ReadingJustin Fay explains three things you may not know about yeast
February 19, 2021
The COVID-19 stay-at-home orders have fostered a trend of at-home baking, in which amateur breadmakers, like master bakers and brewers, are beginning to experiment with various strains of baker’s yeast and sourdough starters.
Continue ReadingDr. Stan Hattman remembered as researcher, mentor, and colleague
January 14, 2021
University of Rochester biology professor emeritus Stanley Hattman is being remembered by colleagues and former students as a scientist who made foundational contributions to the field of molecular biology and as a teacher who shaped the course of students’ academic careers. Hattman died December 20 at the age of 82 from complications of COVID-19.
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