|
|
|
|
NEWS
April 2003
"News
from the College of Life Sciences
at the University of Maryland, College
Park"
NEWS ITEMS
- The
Dean's Message
- Academic
Calendar
- Upcoming
Events
- Faculty Recognition and In
the News
- Staff
News
- Student
Recognition
-
Alumni Recognition
- New
CBMG Web Site
- 19th Annual Chemathon
- Funding
Alerts
- How
to Post Your News
FROM
THE DEAN
I'm
delighted to announce that Dr. Michael
Doyle has accepted the position
of Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Dr. Doyle is currently a member
of the Department of Chemistry at
the University of Arizona. He is
an accomplished organic chemist
with a tremendous record of research
accomplishment and national recognition
in undergraduate education. The
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
is poised to begin a new phase of
growth and development, with completion
of the new $23M Chemistry and Biochemistry
Teaching Wing, upcoming renovations
of Wing 2 and the retirement of
an unusually large number of faculty.
His leadership will be critical
in recruiting faculty, enhancing
and enlarging the graduate program,
sustaining ongoing improvements
in the physical plant and creating
and maintaining outstanding academic
programs. Welcome, Mike!
I'm
also very pleased to announce that
Dr. Leslie Pick will be joining
the Department of Entomology as
an Associate Professor. She is currently
an Associate Professor in the Department
of Molecular, Cell and Developmental
Biology at Mount Sinai School of
Medicine. Dr. Pick is an internationally
recognized Drosophila developmental
neurobiologist who will add strength
to our developmental biology group
and bring new molecular and cellular
approaches to the Department of
Entomology.
The
FY2003 phase of the design of the
Bioscience Research Building is
coming to a very successful conclusion,
with a well-defined footprint that
will provide an eye-catching entrance
on Hornbake Plaza, a new 500-seat
auditorium and lots of daylight
in laboratories. An ad hoc equipment
committee has worked diligently
to anticipate future needs; my thanks
to them. The College will host a
Town Meeting early next fall to
review and discuss plans to date.
In the meantime, by May a model
will be available in 2300 Symons
Hall.
BIO
2003, the world's largest biotechnology
meeting, organized by BIO, the Biotechnology
Industry Organization, will be held
at the new Washington Convention
Center June 22-25. Although registration
is expensive, volunteers who are
willing to assist with a particular
session will receive complimentary
registration. Sessions run the gamut
from cutting-edge science and technology
transfer to advice on how to found,
fund and build biotech corporations
from the ground up. Graduate students,
post-doctoral fellows and faculty
will be welcome as volunteers. For
more information, please contact
Bob Eaton at MdBio, Inc. (eaton@mdbio.org;
301-228-2445).
It's
time to begin planning Bioscience
Research and Technology Review Day
2003, tentatively scheduled for
November 5. The format will be similar
to last year, with a CEO breakfast,
symposia, a career fair and a poster
session. This year we are soliciting
suggestions for a keynote speaker
and symposia speakers well in advance
so that the planning committee can
evaluate them. Please send your
suggestions for a keynote speaker
and symposia topics to Gene Ferrick
(gene@umd.edu;
x57016) by April 15. Please also
let Gene know if you are interested
in serving on the planning committee.
Norma
Allewell
Dean
ACADEMIC
CALENDAR
April
14: Last Day to Drop with a "W"
May
14: Last Day of Classes
May
22: Campus Commencement, Comcast Center,
7 p.m.
May
23: College of Life Sciences Commencement,
Ritchie Coliseum, 9 a.m.
UPCOMING
EVENTS
April
4: Spring Open House for Admitted
Students
April
14: Spring Open House for Admitted
Students
April
26: Maryland Day 2003. More
information: www.marylandday.umd.edu.
College contact: Gene Ferrick
(gene@umd.edu)
April
30: Outstanding Students Reception,
Clarice Smith Performing Arts
Center Courtyard and Lab Theatre,
6 to 8 p.m.
May
7: Life Sciences Faculty/Staff
Awards, Room 1140 Plant Sciences
Building, 2 p.m. A reception
will follow (location yet to
be determined).
May
16-18: The American Society
for Microbiology - Education
Section
10th anniversary meeting, co-sponsored
by the College. Campus contacts:
Spencer Benson (sb77@umail.umd.edu)
and Ann Smith (as38@umail.umd.edu)
June
6-8: Mid-Atlantic Immunobiology
Meeting. Graduate students and
post-doctoral fellows are strongly
encouraged to attend this on-campus
meeting and orally present their
work. In addition, the meeting
invites world-class immunologists
to give the keynote symposium.
Campus contact: Wenxia Song
(ws98@umail.umd.edu)
June
22-25: BIO 2003 Annual Convention,
Washington Convention Center.
The world's largest biotechnology
conference, organized by the
Biotechnology Industry Organization,
will bring together 20,000 life-sciences
leaders from around the world.
See www.bio.org/events/2003/
for more information.
July
27-30: International Conference
on Acoustic Communication by
Animals (visit http://asa.aip.org/communication.html).
Campus contacts: Arthur Popper
(ap17@umail.umd.edu),
Robert Dooling (dooling@psyc.umd.edu),
Cynthia Moss (cmoss@psyc.umd.edu)
and David Yager (dy5@umail.umd.edu)
September
6: Academically Talented Open
House
September
26: Visit Maryland Day
October
13 (Columbus Day): Visit Maryland
Day
October
25: Academically Talented Open
House
November
11 (Veterans Day): Visit Maryland
Day
FACULTY RECOGNITION AND IN
THE NEWS
Dr. Russell Dickerson,
Chemistry and Biochemistry, is quoted
in a Baltimore Sun article
that discusses a 20-year-old pledge
to clean up the Chesapeake Bay-a pledge
that has lost its momentum. This story
blames a lack of federal support and
actions taken by Maryland, Virginia
and Pennsylvania, the principal states
of the Chesapeake watershed. Dickerson
reveals that before the 2000 federal
elections, hope was high for "significantly
greater reductions in nitrogen oxides
from those [older power] plants than
we are planning now."
Click here
for the March 11 article.
Dr. Charles Fenster, Biology,
and Matthew Rutter, a post-doc
in his lab, received a 1-year, $35,000
grant from the National Science Foundation
for "Planning Integrative Studies
of Mutation Biology." The funding
will allow them to bring together
the very best researchers in the world
to focus on understanding the role
of mutations in evolution using the
model system Arabidopsis.
Dr.
Frederick Khachik, Chemistry and
Biochemistry, received a 1-year, $15,000
grant from Northwestern University
Medical School to study "The
effect of Lycopene on high-risk prostate
tissue."
Dr.
Cheng S. Lee, Chemistry and Biochemistry,
received a 2-year, $17,000 grant from
the National Science Foundation for
"Plastic Microfluidics-Based
2-D PAGE."
Dr.
Gerald Miller, Chemistry and Biochemistry,
has been invited to serve on the 2003
U.S. Civilian Research and Development
Foundation Chemistry Review Panel.
Dr.
Kaci Thompson, Director of the
Undergraduate Research and Internship
Programs for the College of Life Sciences,
has won the University of Maryland
Innovation in Teaching with Technology
Award.
STAFF
NEWS
The
Dean's Office would like to welcome
Meredith Humen, who started
last month as an Accounting Associate
in Business Services.
The
College would also like to welcome
the Risk Analysis Clearinghouse staff
of The Joint Institute for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition to Symons Hall.
The Clearinghouse offices have been
located in the Gudelsky Building with
the VA MD College of Veterinary Medicine
since 1998. As of March 20 they moved
to Symons Hall adjacent to the JIFSAN
Director's office.
Gi
Nguyen, IT Coordinator: Rm. 0214,
ext. 51784, gi@umd.edu
Hitesh Patel, IT Coordinator:
Rm. 0214, ext. 46806, hpatel2@umd.edu
Jennifer Hinton, Graduate Student:
Rm. 0214, ext. 51784, jemd@wam.umd.edu
STUDENT
RECOGNITION
Brad
Buran, a Biology student in the
lab of Dr. Arthur Popper, is
featured in an article on the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute Web site;
click here
for the text of the article. The article
discusses how Buran, an HHMI-supported
undergraduate researcher and the recipient
of a Banneker-Key full scholarship,
has not let his deafness slow him
down.
Colin
Rose, a Biology PhD student studying
with Dr. Matthew Hare, was
awarded a summer research fellowship
by the Maryland Water Resources Center.
Colin's proposal focused on his dissertation
research, which involves using genetics
to track oyster dispersal and reproduction
in the Chesapeake Bay. Colin's research
uses genetic markers to determine
what proportion of juvenile oysters
derive from selectively bred disease-resistant
oyster strains versus natural background
oysters, and to measure the geographic
scale of effects from the planted
sanctuary reefs. This collaborative
research, funded by SeaGrant, is designed
to provide restoration planners with
critical information needed to optimize
restoration strategies and increase
oyster numbers.
ALUMNI
RECOGNITION
Eduardo
Eizirik, who defended his dissertation
in Biology last fall and was advised
by Dr. Jerry Wilkinson while
doing his research at NIH-NCI under
Stephen O'Brien, is the lead author
of the cover article of the March
4 issue of Current Biology
(Current Biology, Vol. 13,
448-453, March 2003). The article
describes his team's discovery of
the gene that causes melanism in jaguars.
Their study involved mapping, cloning
and sequencing the cat homologs of
two putative candidate genes for melanism
and identifying three independent
deletions associated with dark coloration
in three different felid species.
From their results, the team inferred
that there are at least four independent
genetic origins for melanism in the
cat family.
Click
here
for the text of the article.
NEW
CBMG WEB SITE
The
Department of CBMG has a new Web site
with a crisp, fresh look; check out www.life.umd.edu/CBMG/.
The site was created by University Publications
with the input of several CBMG faculty
members: Dr. Albert Ades, Dr.
Margaret de Cuevas, Dr. Patty Shields
and Dr. Dave Straney. Thanks also
to Michael Wetter, computer services
manager for CBMG, and the Life Sciences
IT group.
19TH
ANNUAL CHEMATHON
The
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
hosted the 19th annual Chemathon, a competition
emphasizing the fun of doing chemistry,
on Saturday, March 29. Teams of high-school
students, each supervised by a chemistry
teacher, faced several rounds of challenges,
including trying to make the highest-bouncing
Silly Putty ball, show the most knowledge
during Chemical Jeopardy, make a liquid
turn blue in a desired time frame, and determine
the concentration of an acid solution, among
other tasks. To give students of different
abilities the chance to participate, the
competition was divided into two levels.
The event gave research opportunities to
inventive high-school students and allowed
them to have fun while using knowledge and
skills learned in the classroom.
HOW
TO POST YOUR NEWS!
If
you would like to share your accomplishments
or other news, please send a note to Meredith
Brittain at mb446@umail.umd.edu. Issues are usually
sent at the beginning of each month.
|
