Laura DiRoberts Receives Inaugural Denton Award
Laura DiRoberts of the Rotjan Lab was selected as the inaugural winner of the Denton Award for her master's research thesis in biology titled "Nitrogen Cycling in the Temperate Northern Star Coral, Astrangia poculata: Distinguishing Autotrophic from Heterotrophic Nutrient Contributions." This award is given for excellence in scholarship and research accomplishment during a master's thesis in the Department of Biology.
Laura has a BA in Marine Biology from Salem State University and a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Saint Joseph. Prior to coming to BU, Laura interned at the Ocean Alliance in Gloucester, MA on the SnotBot project. She recently won "Best Talk" at the Astrangia Research Workshop at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island.
Congratulations, Laura!
Jesse Delia Receives 2019 Belamarich Award
Dr. Jesse Delia of the Warkentin Lab was selected as the winner of the 2019 Belamarich Award for his doctoral dissertation in Biology titled “Ecology and Evolution of Parent-Embryo Interactions in Neotropical Glassfrogs.” This award is given annually to a recent PhD candidate for their outstanding doctoral dissertation completed in the Department of Biology. While several outstanding dissertations were nominated, Jesse's dissertation stood out based on the new ideas introduced into his discipline by his work, his extensive and detailed fieldwork, his consistently high levels of scientific productivity, as well as his independent approach and success in securing funding for his work.
In Dr. Warkentin’s lab, Jesse conducted dissertation research on the social dynamics of family life in glassfrogs. He is now a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, where he is investigating the mechanisms and evolution of biological transparency in frogs. Jesse is also a past recipient of the Thomas H. Kunz award (2015 & 2016).
As in previous years, there will be a Belamarich Seminar given by the awardee, with the Belamarich Award Ceremony and Reception immediately following. The Seminar will be held on Monday, October 28th, from 4:00pm-5:00pm in BRB 113. The Award Ceremony and Reception will take place down the hall in BRB 117, from 5:00pm-6:00pm. We are honored to have the Belamarich family joining us again to celebrate this year’s award winner.
We look forward to seeing everyone at the Belamarich Seminar and the Belamarich Ceremony and Reception!
More about the Belamarich Award:
Frank A. Belamarich joined the BU Biology Department in 1963 as an assistant professor where he quickly gained international recognition for his research in the field of comparative hemostasis, the process of blood clotting. Throughout his tenure at BU he was a popular teacher of a core course in cell biology which he developed. Belamarich maintained research laboratories in Boston as well as at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole in Falmouth, MA as part of the BU Marine Program.
Victoria Lagasse and Seoyoung Kim this Year’s Recipients of the Marion Kramer Award
Victoria Lagasse, Biology, and Seoyoung Kim, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, are the recipients of the 2019/2020 Marion Kramer Award. This award is given to high-achieving female students majoring in the biological sciences. The award was established in 2001 in honor of Dr. Marion Kramer who earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Boston University in 1963 and went on to a long and satisfying career in biology and medicine. Congratulations to Victoria and Seoyoung on receiving this award!
On a sadder note, Dr. Kramer recently passed away. Our thoughts and best wishes are with her family during this time. We are especially grateful for the support Dr. Kramer has shown the Biology Department's students over the years. Dr. Kramer's generosity and compassion have impacted the lives of many of our students and will continue to do so for years to come.
Sasha Vivelo Published in FEMS Microbiology Ecology
Sasha Vivelo, PhD student in the Bhatnagar Lab, recently published a meta-analysis in FEMS Microbiology Ecology. An evolutionary signal to fungal succession during plant litter decay is the first study to test a long-standing hypothesis that succession in fungal decomposer communities depends on the evolutionary history of species, such that the loss of individual lineages of fungi in the future could shift one of the largest fluxes of carbon through the biosphere.
Sandy Serizier Wins Best Poster at UGSO Research Symposium
MCBB PhD student Sandy Serizier of the McCall Lab won "Best Poster" at the First Annual Underrepresented Graduate Student Organization Academic Research Symposium on September 26th. Sandy is enthusiastic about basic research and is interested in cell communication during development. She is also very passionate about community outreach.
Congratulations, Sandy!
BU URBAN Program Featured in BU Today
Photo from BU today: [Biology's] Tara Miller gathered data on wildlife health this summer as an intern in the Adirondacks. Portrait by Jackie Ricciardi. Photo of the Adirondack mountains by Robert Cicchetti/iStock
The BU Graduate Program in Urban Biogeoscience and Environmental Health was featured in BU Today. BU URBAN is an NSF-funded research traineeship (NRT) that trains PhD students in Biogeoscience, Environmental Health, and Statistics to address urban environmental challenges.
Biology PhD students Tara Miller and Jenna Rindy are program trainees. Biology's Dr. Pamela Templer serves as the program director; other Biology faculty who participate in BU URBAN include: Dr. Jennifer Bhatnagar, Dr. Adrien Finzi, Dr. Richard Primack, and Dr. Randi Rotjan. Congratulations to all involved!
The full article can be read here.
Biology 1 of 6 BU Departments Participating in AAU PhD Education Initiative
We are excited to announce that the Department of Biology is one of six participating BU departments in the national PhD Education Initiative! Boston University is one of only eight universities chosen by the Association of American Universities (AAU) to participate in the program.
The PhD Education Initiative aims to to "promote more student-centered doctoral education at AAU universities by making diverse PhD career pathways visible, valued, and viable." Read more on BU Today.
MCBB Alumnus Recipient of the Katherine Stewart Waters Endowment Chair for Hematologic Malignancy
Dr. Daniel Starczynowski, MCBB alumnus from the Gilmore Lab (GRS '06) and Professor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and at the University of Cincinnati, was awarded the Katherine Stewart Waters Endowment Chair for Hematologic Malignancy on August 27, 2019. Dr. Thomas Gilmore provided the opening remarks at the ceremony.
Congratulations to Our GSO Travel Grant Winners!
Congratulations to Tina Barbasch, Rebecca Branconi, Jamie Harrison, and Andressa Mota for being recipients of spring and summer Graduate Student Organization (GSO) Travel Grants!
The next Travel Grant deadline is December 1st: https://www.bu.edu/gso/travelgrants/
Linnea Smith Thesis Featured in Oecologia
Linnea Smith's (CAS '18) undergraduate honors thesis "Leaf longevity in temperate evergreen species is related to phylogeny and leaf size” will be published in the ecology journal, Oecologia as a featured article in the category, "Highlighted Student Paper - Original Research". Linnea majored in Biology with a Specialization in Ecology and Conservation Biology. Her research was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and supervised by Professor Richard Primack. Congratulations to Linnea on this well-deserved recognition!
