News & Events

Nicole Snyder of Biology won 1st prize in UROP symposium

Nov 13, 2013

Nicole Snyder is a senior performing research on epigenetic regulation of carcinogenesis with Dr. Sibaji Sarkar at the Cancer Center, BU School of Medicine. She works on an ongoing project in the laboratory specifically looking at the variation of methylation and expression of tumor suppressor genes after epigenetic drug treatment. The enzyme DNA methyltransferase1 (DNMT1), which is up regulated in cancers and maintains high levels of methylation in cancer cells causing gene silencing is down regulated by proteolytic degradation after drug treatment. She was awarded 1st place at the 16th Annual UROP Research Symposium in October 2013 for her poster, “Mechanism of CpG DNA Methylation by DNMT1 in Cancer Cells”  and is continuing this project for a thesis work for the Kilachand Honors College.

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Delia wins Rosemary Grant Award

Sep 05, 2013

Warkentin Lab graduate student wins Society for the Study of Evolution grant

Graduate student Jesse Delia of the Karen Warkentin Lab has won a Rosemary Grant from the Society for the Study of Evolution to further his research on glassfrogs. Read more on Delia's exciting research.

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2013 Student Awards Announced

Apr 29, 2013

Congratulations to the following students for their accomplishments, recently recognized in the following awards: Michelle Toomey (Frydman Lab): Terner Award Allison Timmons (McCall Lab): I. Macchi Award Sarah Sullivan (Ho lab): Dr. Marion R. Kramer Award Elizabeth Burmeister (Finnerty Lab) and John Majoris (Atema & Buston labs): Warren-McLeod Full Year Ben Carr (Kaufman lab): Warren-McLeod Summer Valentina Di Santo (Lobel lab): Dana Wright (summer) Brett Di Benedictis (Baum lab): Outstanding Teaching Award Kristin Radcliffe (Atema lab): Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools Outstanding Master?s Thesis Award Jesse Delia (Warkentin lab): A. Stanley Rand Smithsonian Graduate Fellowship NSF Graduate Research Fellowships: Tina Barbasch (Buston lab) Kim Cohen (Sorenson and Kunz labs) Steve Decina (Templer lab) Emily Ebel (Mullen Lab) Rebecca Sanders-Demott (Templer lab), honorable mention

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Yi Feng (CAS '14) awarded AHA Summer Fellowship

Apr 09, 2013

Yi Feng (CAS '14), a Junior in Professor Frank Naya's lab was recently awarded a summer research fellowship from the American Heart Association, Founders Affiliate. Ms. Feng is majoring in Biology with Specialization in Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, and Genetics. She is also in the Kilachand Honors College. Competition for this research fellowship is stringent. In 2012, 10 students were selected for the summer fellowship program from eight states of the Founders Affiliate Region which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

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Caitlin MacDonough MacKenzie receives GSPA Award

Jan 16, 2013

Graduate student, Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie, of the Primack lab, has been awarded the Ecological Society of America's Graduate Student Policy Award (GSPA) and will travel to Washington, D.C in April for a Congressional Visit day. Congratulations, Caitlin!

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Eva Fast Receives Austrian Ascina Award

Dec 19, 2012

On December 17th 2012 Eva Fast (PhD candidate, Frydman lab) received the ASciNA (Austrian scientists and scholars in Northern America) Award by the Austrian Minister for Science and Research Dr. Karlheinz Töchterle. The award ceremony took place during in the 10 year anniversary celebration of the association ASciNA, which supports and promotes Austrian scientists in North America. The price is endowed with 20 000 Euro (26 500$) and is being awarded for outstanding publications of the last 12 months. The award is split evenly between two Austrian scientists working in the US (junior and senior category). Eva Fast, winner of the junior category, won with her publication "Wolbachia Enhance Drosophila Stem Cell Proliferation and Target the Germline Stem Cell Niche" in Science 334, 990 (2011). For more information, you can read the press release (in German).

 

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Taylor Krebs (CAS '15) Earns NSCAA Academic Award

Nov 30, 2012

Biology undergraduate, Taylor Krebs (CAS '15), has been named by theNational Soccer Coaches Association of America's (NSCAA) to be a part of the America East All-Academic Team. This is a high honor for Taylor. Additionally, the Terriers earned an NSCAA Team Academic Award for the 2011-12 academic year.

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Sarah Heerboth wins Poster Award

Nov 01, 2012

Undergraduate biology student, Sarah Heerboth (CAS '14), won the Outstanding undergraduate poster award at the Genome Science Institute 2012 Research Symposium, Boston University Medical School. Sarah's poster was entitled, "Developmental of a combination therapy: Allele-specific re-expression of an imprinted tumor suppressor gene ARHI." Congratulations, Sarah!

 

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Stephen Amato wins 2012 Belamarich Award

Oct 19, 2012

Congratulations to Stephen Amato who is this year's Belamarich Award recipient. This is the 33rd year the award has been give for Outstanding Doctoral Research in the Department of Biology and is made in honor of former professor, Frank A. Belamarich. Dr. Amato's dissertation was entitled, "The role of bioenergy sensing in neuronal polarization and synaptogenesis" and his advisor was Dr. Hengye Man.

 

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Taylor Krebs (CAS '15) Awarded Top Scholarship

Oct 17, 2012

Taylor Krebs (CAS?15) was awarded a Thermo Fisher Scientific Pierce Scholarship for her work in nanopore technology and was recently profiled in BU Today. This $10,000 scholarship will help her identify viruses by running an electrical current through them and watching their response. The biology major was one of only two winners of the top prize of $10,000. Four other undergraduate and PhD students got $5,000. Congratulations, Taylor!

 

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Lisa Kellndorfer (CAS '13) wins Clare Boothe Luce

Aug 20, 2012

Lisa Kellndorfer (CAS '13), a rising senior majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) (mentored by Prof. Karen Allen) has won the 2012-13 Clare Boothe Luce Award. The BMB program is jointly administered by Biology and Chemistry. In addition, Lisa is enrolled in the dual degree program to receive a BA in BMB and the MA in Biotechnology. Boston University is honored to be among the 13 educational institutions designated by the Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Program of the Henry Luce Foundation to receive annual funding in perpetuity to advance the careers of women in the sciences, engineering and mathematics ? fields where women have been historically underrepresented. CBL Scholar Awards support undergraduate summer research projects and are administered through BU?s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).

 

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Valentina Di Santo wins Student Research Award

Aug 20, 2012

Congratulations to Valentina Di Santo. She has recently received the American Elasmobranch Society Student Research Award. Valentina works in Dr. Phil Lobel's Ichthyology Lab.

 

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Bridgit Darby Awarded Melville and Goldwater Fellowships

Aug 15, 2012

Bridgit Darby, now a senior in the Biology Department, was awarded the Dean Elsbeth Melville (BU) and Barry M. Goldwater (National) fellowships for her senior year at BU. Boston University's Melville Scholarship is awarded to two women annually in recognition of scholarly excellence, contribution to university life, and potential for success in their chosen fields. The prestigious Goldwater Scholarship is awarded annually to outstanding sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research-oriented careers in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Bridget is interested in mathematical ecology and biogeochemistry and has worked with Prof. Adrien Finzi for the last two years. Additionally, Bridgit has co-authored a paper with Prof. Finzi, which is currently under review. Congratulations Bridgit on all your accomplishments!

 

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Andy Reinmann wins Best Student Presentation

Jun 15, 2012

Ph.D. candidate, Andy Reinmann, has won the Best Student Presentation Award at the 30th Agricultural and Forest Meteorology/First Atmospheric Biogeosciences Conference. Andy is a student in Dr. Pam Templer's lab.Congratulations, Andy!

 

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Michele Toomey wins Best Talk Award

Jun 12, 2012

Graduate student, Michelle Toomey, has won the prize for the best talk at the Wolbachia 2012 Conference in La Vieille Perrotine, Ile d'Oléron (France). Her talk, "Men are Messy: Wolbachia stem cell niche tropism in Drosophila is evolutionary conserved only in females," took the Best Oral Communication prize. This is the second time in a row for Michele. Congratulations!

 

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Franne Kamhi Receives NSF Award

May 14, 2012

Doctoral student, Franne Kamhi, has received the NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute Award. Franne is in the Graduate Program for Neuroscience and studies with Dr. James Traniello. Congratulations, Franne.

 

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Katie Faust Stryjewski Receives NSF Grant

May 14, 2012

Graduate student, Katie Faust Stryjewski, has been awarded the NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant. Katie works in Dr. Mike Sorenson'slab. Congratulations, Katie.

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Kristina Cohen wins Evolution Research Award

May 14, 2012

Doctoral student, Kristina Cohen, has won the Society for the Study of Evolution Rosemary Grant Graduate Student Research Award. Kristina works in the Warkentin lab.Congratulations, Kristina.

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Liz Braun de Torrez Awarded Writing Fellowship

May 14, 2012

Graduate student, Liz Braun de Torrez, has been awarded the NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant and Association of American University Women (AAUW) Dissertation Writing Fellowship. Liz works in the Kunz lab. Congratulations, Liz.

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Daphne Schatzberg wins Kramer Research Fellowship

May 14, 2012

Doctoral candidate, Daphne Schatzberg, has been awarded the Marion R. Kramer Summer Research Fellowship for 2012. Congratulations, Daphne.

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Eli Romero wins Pardee Fellowship

May 14, 2012

Doctoral student, Eli Romero, has won the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future Summer Graduate Fellowship for 2012. He will study how regulations and policies related to land use and coastal resource management programs in multiple jurisdictions affect the Belize Barrier Reef System and the larger Meso-American Barrier Reef Complex. Eli works in the Kaufman lab. Congratulations, Eli.

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Alissa Rickborn Awarded NSF Research Fellowship

May 14, 2012

Doctoral student, Alissa Rickborn, has been awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Alissa works in Dr. Pete Buston's lab. Congratulations, Alissa.

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Sarah Oppelt wins Biology Teaching Fellow of the Year

May 14, 2012

Doctoral student, Sarah Oppelt, has been awarded the Biology Teaching Fellow of the Year for 2012. She works inDr. DeanTolan's lab. Congratulations, Sarah.

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John Majoris Receives Dana Wright Summer Fellowship

May 14, 2012

Graduate student, John Majoris, has been awarded the Dana Wright Summer Fellowship for 2012. John is a doctoral student in Dr. Jelle Atema's lab. Congratulations, John.

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Valentina Di Santo Awarded Warren-McLeod Fellowship

May 14, 2012

Graduate student, Valentina Di Santo, has been awarded a Warren-McLeod Summer Fellowship for 2012. Valentina is pursuing her Ph.D. in Dr. Phil Lobel's lab. Congratulations, Valentina.

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Allison Gill awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

May 14, 2012

Doctoral student, Allison Gill, has been awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and a DOE Office of Science Graduate Fellowship. Allison works in the Finzi lab. Congratulations, Allison.

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Iker Echegaray Awarded NIH Graduate Fellowship

May 14, 2012

Doctoral candidate, Iker Echegaray has been awarded an NIH Graduate Fellowship. Iker works in Dr. Kim McCall'slab. Congratulations, Iker.

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Jesse Delia Receives U.S. Student Fulbright Grant

May 14, 2012

Congratulations to doctoral student, Jesse Delia. He has received a U.S. Student Fulbright Grant and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Short-Term Fellowship. Jesse works in Dr. Karen Warkentin's lab. Congratulations, Jesse.

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Kellie Cotter Receives Warren-McLeod Fellowship

May 14, 2012

Congratulations to doctoral student, Kellie Cotter, who has been awarded the Warren-McLeod Fellowship for 2012. Kellie works with Dr. Gloria Callard. Congratulations, Kellie.

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Kristina Cohen Receives Smithsonian Fellowship

May 14, 2012

Doctoral student, Kristina Cohen, has been awarded the Smithsonian Institution Graduate Fellowship for 2012. Kristina works in the Warkentin lab. Congratulations, Kristina.

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Benjamin Carr Receives Summer Fellowship

May 14, 2012

Congratulations to doctoral student, Benjamin Carr, who has been awarded the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future Summer Graduate Fellowship for 2012. During his fellowship he will analyze effective fisheries management and conservation strategies in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area and the implications for broader marine conservation policies. Ben works in Dr. Les Kaufman's lab.

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Undergraduate Gordon Towne's research on BU Today.

Apr 17, 2012

Undergrad Gordon Towne's UROP-funded research was recently featured on BU Today. Gordon has been working with Dr. Tom Kunz on his project to map the flight patterns of bats. This research is benefitting multiple disciplines including biology, engineering and could lead to the creation of new unmanned military planes. In the article, "Inquiring Minds: Tracking Bats", Gordon discusses how the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) funded his travel to Texas to help Dr. Kunz with this project. Please click on the video below to learn more about Gordon's research.

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Valentina Di Santo Awarded AFS Conservation Fellowship

Nov 04, 2011

Congratulations to graduate student, Valentina Di Santo, who recently was awarded The Steven Berkeley Marine Conservation Fellowship from the American Fisheries Society for her research inPhil Lobel's Lab "Ecological physiology responses of the little skate: potential for adaptation in rapid climate change". Read more about Valentina's award in the October 2011 issue of Fisheries.

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Dr. Primack's research highlighted on BU Today and NPR

Oct 18, 2011

Dr. Richard Primack's research was highlighted on the BU Today website in the article, "Watching Climate Change from the Grounds and the Heavens" and on National Public Radio's show Here and Now.  Along with his graduate student, Caroline Polgar, Dr. Primack describes how they use remote sensing, data collected from the Boston Area Climate Experiment, and historical information, including old photographs and the detailed journals of Henry David Thoreau, to observe climate change.  From these sources, they are able to determine that spring leafing-out occurs on average 17 days earlier today than it did in Thoreau's time.

A short video by Nicolae Ciorogan (below), was included on the BU Today website.

 

Watch this video on YouTube 

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Joshua Doloff wins 2011 Belamarich Award

Sep 22, 2011

The Belamarich Award Committee is pleased to announce the selection of Joshua Doloff as the 2011 recipient of the Belamarich Award for outstanding doctoral work in the Department of Biology.

His thesis is entitled "Conditionally replicating adenoviruses and metronomic chemotherapy-induced innate immune responses in cancer xenograft mouse models,"  and was performed with Dr. David Waxman.

Congratulations to them both!

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Caroline Polgar wins best student poster award

Aug 30, 2011

Graduate student, Caroline Polgar, recently won the The Lepidopterists’ Society Alexander B. Klots Award for the best student poster at the annual Lepidopterists' Society meeting.  The meeting took place this past June at Yale University in New Haven. Caroline's research focuses on the effect of climate change by studying flight times of butterflies in Massachusetts.  She is a member of Dr. Richard Primack's lab.

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NSF Graduate Fellowships Announced

Apr 26, 2011

The 2011 NSF Graduate Fellowships have been announced.  Congratulations to the following students:

NSF Graduate Fellowships Awarded:
Cassidy D'Aloia
Kate Langwig

NSF Honorable Mention:
Liz Burmester
Kristina Cohen

 

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Derek Stefanik Receives NIH Graduate Fellowship

Apr 26, 2011

Congratulations to Derek Stefanik who has been awarded an NIH Graduate Fellowship.

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Warren-McLeod Summer Fellowship Recipients Announced

Apr 26, 2011

Congratulations to the following students who have won a Warren-McLeod Summer Fellowship for 2011:

Liz Burmester for "Coral Reef Resiliency and Recovery: A Molecular Approach"

Kellie Cotter for "Alternative splicing of estrogen receptors: mechanism of endocrine disruption and adaptation in killifish in New Bedford Harbor"

Cassidy D'Aloia for "Local population connectivity of a coral reef fish (Elacatinus lori)"

John Majoris for "The role of sensory behavior in fine-scale habitat selection by reef fish larvae"

Nikki Traylor-Knowles for "Molecular and transcriptomic insights into the stress response of cnidarians"

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Francis Wolenski Receives Warren-McLeod Fellowship

Apr 26, 2011

Congratulations to Francis Wolenski who has been awarded a Warren-McLeod Fellowship.  This one-year fellowship will support his research on "Biological Implications of the NF-κB Signaling Pathway in the Sea AnemoneNematostella vectensis."

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Jeff DaCosta wins Teaching Fellow of the Year Award

Apr 26, 2011

Congratulations to Jeff DaCosta who has won the Teaching Fellow of the Year Award, 2010-2011 for his excellent contributions to the education of biology undergraduates.

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Drs. Finnerty & Gilmore's research featured in MCB journal

Feb 10, 2011

Research led by Biology PhD student Francis Wolenski

Research led by Biology PhD student Francis Wolenski is featured on the cover of the March, 2011 issue of the journal, Molecular and Cellular Biology. This paper is the product of an ongoing NSF-funded collaborative project between the labs of Drs. John Finnerty and Tom Gilmore. In this paper, the authors describe for the first time the molecular components of the NF-kB signaling pathway in a simple marine organism, the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. These results have interesting evolutionary implications, as the NF-kB pathway is important in humans for proper immune responses and is misregulated in many cancers. Also contributing to the paper were postdoctoral fellow Michael Garbati, PhD students Tristan Lubinski, Nikki Traylor-Knowles, Derek Stefanik and undergraduates Erica Dresselhaus and Haley Goucher. In addition to NSF, funding for this project came from NIH, Conservation International, the Warren-McLeod Fellowship Program, New England Biolabs and the BU Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).

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Nathan Fuller wins Best Poster Award

Nov 01, 2010

Nathan Fuller, a Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Tom Kunz's lab, has won the Best Poster Award at the recent Bat Conference in Denver.  The conference was covered by Popular Science magazine in an article entitled, "Students Rush to Front Line in Battle to Save Bats."

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Marianne Moore wins Best Oral Paper Award

Nov 01, 2010

Marianne Moore, a Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Tom Kunz's lab, has won Best Oral Paper Award at the recent Bat Conference in Denver.  The conference was covered by Popular Science magazine in an article entitled, "Students Rush to Front Line in Battle to Save Bats."

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Elizabeth Tanner wins Outstanding Poster award at the GSI

Oct 12, 2010

Congratulations to Elizabeth Tanner, a Ph.D. candidate working in Dr. Kim McCall's lab, who recently won the "Outstanding Poster" award at the GSI (Genome Science Institute) symposium.  The symposium was held this year at the BU Medical School and Elizabeth's poster was entitled, “Bcl-2 proteins and autophagy regulate mitochondrial dynamics during programmed cell death in the Drosophila ovary.”

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Eddie Brzostek wins Best Student Presentation Award

Sep 24, 2010

Eddie Brzostek, an doctoral candidate in Dr. Adrien Finzi’s lab in the EBE program, was recently awarded the New Phytologist Award for Best Student Presentation in the Biogeosciences Section at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America.  Eddie presented his work on the response of the soil nitrogen cycle to global change. In addition, Eddie was awarded a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) this summer to support his thesis research investigating the environmental limits on soil enzyme activities.

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Post doc and Graduate Student publish in Science

Sep 15, 2010

Postdoc Winifred Frick and graduate student Kate Langwig, both members of Dr. Tom Kunz's laboratory, contributed to a recent article published in Science. Their research on white nose syndrome in bats was featured in Science's August 6, 2010 edition.

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Michelle Toomey wins prize for best poster at Wolbachia

Aug 12, 2010

Masters candiate, Michelle Toomey recently won the prize for best poster at the 6th International Wolbachia Conference in Asilomar, CA.  Michelle is a student in the MCBB program and works with Prof. Horacio Frydman.

https://www.bu.edu/biology/people/faculty/frydman/

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Eva Fast wins for best talk at Wolbachia Conference

Aug 12, 2010

Ph.D. candidate, Eva Fast, recently won the prize for best talk at the 6th International Wolbachia Conference in Asilomar, CA.  Eva is a Cell and Molecular student working in Prof. Horacio Frydman's lab.

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National attention for Red-Eyed Treefrog Research

May 24, 2010

Dr. Karen Warkentin and recent graduate, Dr. Michael Caldwell, have received national attention for their research on the vibration behavior of the red-eyed treefrog.  Dr. Caldwell conducted his dissertation work on the red-eyed treefrog (Agalychnis callidryas) in Dr. Warkentin's lab and studied how frogs use vibrational information for predator avoidance and communication.  Their research was recently highlighted in National Geographic, Science Now, Discover Magazine, Live Science, The New York Times, and NPR's Science Fridays. Additionally, their research was featured on the cover of the June 2010 edition ofCurrent Biology.

 

"Rumble in the Jungle" by Flora Lichtman, NPR Science Fridays

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Undgraduate, Vishal Patel, wins Honorable Mention

May 05, 2010

Undergraduate, Vishal Patel was recently awarded an Honorable Mention for his poster at the 51st Annual Drosophila Research Conference.  He also received travel awards from UROP and the Biology Department to attend this conference.  Vishal works with Dr. Kim McCall.

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Nikki Traylor-Knowles wins NSF Travel Award

May 05, 2010

Nikki Traylor-Knowles, doctoral candidate in Marine Science, was recently awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) East Asian Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) award to study coral stress response in Taiwan this summer.  Additionally, she had her first, "first author" publication accepted, entitled, "The evolutionary diversification of LSF and Grainyhead transcription factors preceded the radiation of basal animal lineages."  Nikki works with Prof. Les Kaufman.

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Nicholas Crawford Awarded Dissertation Grant

May 05, 2010

Doctoral candidtate, Nicholas Crawford, was recently awarded a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his research on the Genetics of colorful pigmentation in Anolis lizards.

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Elizabeth Braun de Torrez Awarded Research Scholarship

May 05, 2010

On March 13th 2010, Elizabeth Braun de Torrez was awarded a graduate student research scholarship for $3200 from Bat Conservation International (BCI) for her work on the Diversity, Foraging behavior and Ecosystem Services of Bats in a Pecan Agroecosystem in Texas.  Additionally, she was awarded the George R. Bernard, JR. travel award (through Boston University)  and an Applied Ecology Student Travel Award (through the applied Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America) to attend and present her research at the Ecological Society of America Conference in Albuquerque, NM in August 2009.   Elizabeth Braun de Torrez is a doctoral candidate working withProfessor Tom Kunz. 

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Elizabeth Ewen Awarded Keystone Symposia Scholarship

May 05, 2010

Cell and Molecular graduate student, Elizabeth Ewen, was recently awarded a Keystone Symposia Scholarship to attend the Keystone Cardiovascular Development and Repair Conference in Keystone, CO Feb 28- March 5, 2010.

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Jeff DaCosta receives Improvement Grant

May 05, 2010

Doctoral candidate, Jeff DaCosta, along with his advisor, Dr. Mike Sorenson, were recently awarded a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG) from the National Science Foundation (NSF).  To read the abstract of his research, click here.

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Three students awarded Warren-McLeod Fellowships

Apr 27, 2010

Congratualations to three biology graduate students who have been awarded Warren-McLeod Summer Fellowships for 2010:  Elizabeth Jones Sbrocco for "Seascape genetics across a marine biodiversity hotspot";  Francis Wolenski for “Characterization of the Nematostella vectensis NF-kappaB signaling pathway: Implications for a primitive marine stress response”; and John Majoris for "Olfactory and behavioral development of reef fish larvae."

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Derek Stefanik Awarded Warren-McLeod Fellowship

Apr 27, 2010

Congratulations to Derek Stefanik, this year's recipient of the Warren-McLeod Fellowship.  This award will support his research: “Heads or tails? Wnt/ß-catenin signaling, axial patterning, and asexual reproduction in cnidarians.”

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Erin Coffee wins Teaching Fellow of the Year, 2010

Apr 27, 2010

Congratulations to Erin Coffee who won the Teaching Fellow of the Year, 2010.  The award recognizes Erin's years of excellent contributions to the teaching of biology undergraduate students.

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Emily Munday wins Alumni Association Award for Writing

Apr 27, 2010

Emily Munday, a BUMP senior, just won the Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Writing for a paper on the ecology of the shrimp industry.

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Rose Abramoff awarded East Asian Research Fellowship

Apr 27, 2010

Rose Abramoff, a first year graduate student studying with Dr. Richard Primack, was awarded a prestigious East Asian summer research fellowship, which she will use to travel to Japan.

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Ben Carr and Caroline Polgar's work highlighted in BUToday

Apr 08, 2010

Ben Carr and Caroline Polgar's work in local schools was recently highlighted in BUToday.  The article, "Global Change Reaches Middle School" profiled the work of Dr. Sucharita Gopal and GLACIER (GLobAl Change Initiative: Education and Research).  The BU project was one of 23 grants awarded for the NSF GK-12 Fellows Program to promote earth sciences in local schools.  Graduate students, Ben Carr (Dr. Kaufman's lab) and Caroline Polgar (Dr. Primack's lab) are both participating in this initiative.

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John Pezza receives 2010 Charles Terner Award

Mar 31, 2010

John A. Pezza, Ph.D., a 2006 graduate of the MCBB Program, has been awarded the 2010 Charles Terner award for his outstanding postdoctoral work, and gave a lecture entitled,  "Prions: How Dynamic Protein Conformations Create New Phenotypes."

The Award was created by Charles and Ruth Terner and is given to a graduate of the Biology Department or MCBB program, working in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, or Cell Biology and who - a few years beyond his/her Ph.D.- has gone on to a successful postdoctoral career.

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Yoonseob Lim Receives the 2010 CELEST Award

Mar 31, 2010

Yoonseob Lim, a graduate student in Dr. Tim Gardner's lab, received the CELEST award for Computational Modeling of Brain and Behavior at today's Science and Engineering Day.  Congratulations to Yoonseob on his outstanding work!

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Matt Ferenc receives the 2010 Founder's Award

Mar 31, 2010

Congratulations to Matt Ferenc (James Deshler lab) who has received the Founder's Award at Science and Engineering Day, March 30, 2010, for his research.

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Joshua Doloff receives NUTMEG award

Jan 29, 2010

Joshua Doloff wins NUTMEG award.

Congratulations to Joshua Doloff who received the New England Enzyme Membrane Enzyme Group (NUTMEG) award for best graduate student presentation at the October 5, 2009 meeting in Woods Hole.

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Michael Caldwell's research featured in Animal Behaviour.

Jan 28, 2010

Michael Caldwell's paper entitled "Is it safe? Red-eyed treefrog embryos assessing predation risk use two features of rain vibrations to avoid false alarms" was chosen by the executive editor as the featured article in the February issue of Animal Behaviour.  This paper describes some of Michael's dissertation research on how red-eyed treefrogs use vibrations as a source of information, and has broad implications for our understanding of how animals distinguish predator cues from other benign stimuli.

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Florencia Rago speaks at two symposia.

Aug 21, 2009

Florencia Rago (BMB '10) has been on the "lecture circuit" this summer by being selected to speak about her work at two national meetings.  First, as a second-year Beckman Scholar, she was chosen to give a talk at the 11th Annual Beckman Scholars Symposium sponsored by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.  This was held in Irvine California from July 23-26, 2009. Florencia was chosen as one of six student speakers from among all the Beckman Scholars from across the country.  Her talk highlighted her discovery of conformational changes in enzymes that respond specifically to binding of different molecules at the active site.  She made this discovery working in the laboratory ofProfessor Dean Tolan (Biology), where she has worked since finishing her freshman year.  Second, she was selected as one of five undergraduates from across the country to speak at the 23rd Symposium of the Protein Society, which was recently held in Boston (July 24-29, 2009) with over a thousand participants.  This society, of which she is a member, is a leading international society devoted to furthering research in all aspects of the study of proteins.  Her selection as a speaker in the Undergraduate Student Research Session reflects her accomplishments and the importance of her work in the field of protein science and enzymology.

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Justin Touchon awarded Best Student Paper

Jul 31, 2009

Recent Ph.D. recipient, Dr. Justin Touchon, was recently awarded the Stoye Award for the Best Student Paper in Ecology and Ethology at the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists meeting in Portland, OR. His talk was entitled "Reproductive mode plasticity in the treefrog Dendropsophus ebraccatus."  Justin studied with Prof. Karen Warkentin and received his Ph.D. in May 2009.

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Justin Touchon, 2009 Belamarich Recipient

Jun 15, 2009

The Belamarich Award Committee is very pleased to announce the recipient of the 2009 Belamarich Award for Outstanding Work at the Doctoral Level:  Justin Touchon.

Justin’s doctoral dissertation, “Developmental Ecology and Reproductive Mode Plasticity of a Neotropical Treefrog: Interacting Abiotic and Biotic Environmental Effects Over Three Life Stages,” was completed withDr. Karen Warketin and defended this past April.

Since both Justin and Karen are presently continuing their field work in Panama, we plan an award ceremony some time in early fall.

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Graduate student, Katie Stryjewsk, wins Dean's Award

Apr 03, 2009

Ecology, Behavior and Evolution graduate student, Katie Stryjewski, has won the 2009 CAS Dean's Award at Science and Engineering Day for her work in Dr. Mike Sorenson's lab.

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Graduate Student Josh Doloff receives the Provost's Award

Apr 03, 2009

MCBB graduate student, Josh Doloff, received the 2009 Provost's Award at Science and Engineering Day for his work in Prof. David Waxman's lab.

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Joel Buytkins awarded Dana Wright Scholarship

Jan 13, 2009

Joel Buytkins (PhD student in the Atema Lab) was awarded the Dana Wright scholarship in Summer 2008.

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Louise Allen receives Outstanding Oral Presentation Award

Nov 13, 2008

Ph.D. candidate, Louise Allen, was the recipient of the Outstanding Oral Presentation Award (sponsored by Titley Electronics) on October 25th, 2008.  This award was presented at the 38th Annual Meeting of the North American Bat Society, held in Scranton PA.  Her presentation was entitled, "Living Under the Bridge:  A Comparison of Stress Levels and Health Status in Bridge- and Cave-Roosting Brazilian Free-tailed Bats (Tadarida brasiliensis)."

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Adam Reitzel wins 2008 Belamarich Award

Nov 12, 2008

Adam Reitzel has won the 2008 Belamarich Award for Outstanding Doctoral Work for his dissertation, "Population genetics and life history evolution in the sea anemone family Edwardsiidae." A reception in his honor will be held Friday, November 14 at 4 PM in the Belamarich Seminar Room, BRB 113, 5 Cummington Street.

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Jessica Rogge's research highlighted in JEB and on multiple websites

Nov 06, 2008

Boston University undergraduate Jessica Rogge is receiving a lot of attention these days.  The research that she conducted with associate professor Karen Warkentin, has not only been featured on the cover the Journal of Experimental Biology, but it has also been picked up by numerous online science websites, such as Science Daily, Red Orbit, and e! Science News.  While working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's laboratories in Gamboa, Panama, they discovered that frog embryos at a very early developmental stage actively respond to conditions in their egg, behaviorally positioning themselves to improve oxygen uptake. This early response of embryos to their environment may be critical for normal development.

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Reitzel earns 2008 Belamarich Award

Jul 08, 2008

The Belamarich Award Committee is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2008 Belamarich Award for outstanding doctoral work in the Department of Biology. The 2008 Award goes to: Adam M. Reitzel, PH.D. whose doctoral dissertation, Population genetics and life history evolution in the sea anemone family Edwardsidae was completed with John Finnerty. Let us offer Adam our congratulations for a truly exceptional body of work. A date for the presentation of the 2008 Award will be announced shortly.

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Touchon & Dr. Warkentin published in PNAS

Jun 23, 2008

Biology graduate student Justin Touchon and Associate Professor Karen Warkentin recently published an article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that a Central American treefrog lays both aquatic and terrestrial eggs, and chooses where to lay its eggs based on the threat of egg desiccation. This is the first vertebrate known to lay eggs both in water and on land, and may offer insight into the evolution of reproduction on land.

Their research was also featured in a BU Today article.

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Meegaskumbura won the 2007 Frank A. Belamarich Award

Oct 26, 2007

The 28th annual presentation of the Frank A. Belamarich Award for outstanding doctoral work in the Department of Biology was held on October 26th . The recipient of the 2007 Award is: Dr. Madhava Meegaskumbura whose dissertation focused on the "molecular systematics, evolution, and ecology of Sri Lankan shrub frogs." Madhava conducted his research under the tutelage of Chris Schneider, principally in Sri Lanka.

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