NEWS
December 1, 2000
"News from the College of Life Sciences at the University
of Maryland, College Park"
NEWS ITEMS
1. The Dean's Message
2. Upcoming Events
3. Faculty Recognition
4. In the News
5. Staff News
6. Alumni and
Student Notes
7. Funding Alerts
8. How to Post
Your News Here
FROM THE DEAN
The winners of this year’s Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Physiology
or Medicine laid the foundations for two areas that are of great importance
to the College ?material science and signal transduction. Alan Heeger,
Alan MacDiuamid and Hidiki Shirakawa were awarded the Nobel Prize for the
discovery of conductive plastics, materials that are crucial to the development
of molecular electronics and polymeric light emitting diodes. Arvid Carlsson,
Paul Greengard and Eric Kandel were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology
or Medicine for their contributions to our understanding of signal transduction
in neurobiology. Carlsson discovered dopamine, Greengard identified the
importance of phosphorylation-dephosphorylation reactions and Kandel elucidated
mechanisms that regulate synaptic efficiency in the sea slug, Aplysia.
Much remains still to be discovered in both material science and signal
transduction, and we have the opportunity to make important contributions
to both fields.
Closer to home, Bioscience-Biotech day was an enjoyable event for all
who participated. The College of Life Sciences was ably represented by
speakers Catherine Fenselau and Bill Jeffery; we also contributed 46 posters
to a total of 116. The posters gave us all an opportunity to meet and talk
with other life scientists whom we do not necessarily see every day; I
particularly appreciated the opportunity to learn about research activities
in other Colleges.
Bob Denno from Entomology also gave his talk in the Distinguished Scholar-Teacher
series this past month. His talk on "It’s a Bug-Eat-Bug World," which ranged
from close-ups of exotic insects through some principles of population
biology to warm acknowledgements of the contributions of his students,
illustrated well the qualities that have brought him this award.
As we move into the holiday season, candidates for some of our open
faculty positions are beginning to come to campus. The graduate student
recruiting season is also fast approaching, and I have begun to meet with
the directors of our graduate programs to discuss ways in which we can
improve the effectiveness of both our recruiting efforts and the programs
themselves. If you have thoughts along these lines, please pass them along
to either me or one of the graduate directors.
Since our next newsletter will not appear until 2001, let me take this
opportunity to wish all of you the very happiest of holidays! In the meantime,
I hope to see you all at the College holiday party on December 11 from
2:00 - 4:00 p.m. in 1110 Symons Hall.
Norma Allewell
Dean
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Incubator Forum - December 8
The Incubator Forum is an initiative to bring together early stage start-ups
from the UMCP incubator, UMCP graduate and undergraduate students, seasoned
entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. The forum serves as a testing ground
for early stage companies to prepare "The Pitch" to angels and VCs. The
companies will give 10 minute presentations, after which the panelists
and the audience will contribute their responses.
One of the presenters, Celadon Laboratories, Inc., creates software
for life science research. If you attend you may discover new and innovative
technologies that are being developed on campus as well as develop a consulting
relationship with companies that want to hear what you have to say.
The forum will be held from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon in Van Munching Hall,
Marriot Room 1415. For more information contact Rajesh Rai at rrai@rhsmith.umd.edu.
-------------------------------------------
December 11 - Holiday Party!
Come enjoy a holiday party hosted by the Colleges of Agriculture &
Natural Resources and Life Sciences from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. in room 1110
Symons Hall.
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"A Field Guide to GenBank and NCBI Molecular Biology Resources"
December 14 - Lister Hill Auditorium
December 14 and 15 - NLM Training Room
The National Library of Medicine
Lister Hill Center, Building 38A
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) presents a
lecture and hands-on computer workshop on GenBank and related molecular
biology databases at the National Center for Biotechnology Information
(NCBI). For information go to:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Class/FieldGuide/nlm.html
The lecture and workshop will feature:
- GenBank Database: description and scope
- Database Searching using the New Entrez
- Similarity Searching using NCBI BLAST
- The NCBI Structures Database
- Genomic Resources at NCBI
The course is free but registration for both the lecture and the hands-on
sessions is required. To register, and for more information, see the URL
given above. Questions should be addressed to Peter Cooper (cooper@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).
-----------------------------------------------
Commencement Rehearsal
Commencement Rehearsal for all Marshalls and anyone helping with the
ceremony will be held on December 18 at 10:00 am in the Chapel.
-----------------------------------------------
Commencement will be held on December 20
Commencement will be held on December 20 in the Chapel. Marshalls, Faculty
and Students should arrive to robe at 6:00 pm. We encourage faculty to
celebrate this momentous event with your students who have toiled under
your edification.
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FACULTY RECOGNITION
Robert Costanza, Professor, Chesapeake Biological Lab, was awarded
a honorary Doctorate of Philosophy honoris causa from the University of
Stockholm on September 29, 2000. The award was conferred by the Faculty
of Mathematics and Natural Science.
Elena Del Campillo, Assistant Research Professor, CBMG, received
a $130,000 two-year grant from the USDA - CSREES to study Multiple Endo
1,4-B-D Glucanase (Cellulase) Genes in Arabidopsis Flower Abscission.
David Inouye, Associate Professor, Biology, gave an invited seminar
at the University of British Columbia about the effects of climate change
on wildlife, and another seminar at the University of South Dakota (while
on a recruiting trip for the CONS program to advertise it to Native American
undergraduates). Dr. Inouye also attended "Progress in Phenology Monitoring,
Data Analysis, and Global Change Impacts", held October 4 - 6 in Freising,
Germany (Technisches Universität München), where he presented
a poster and gave a talk about his long-term phenological research at the
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. Finally, he was a presenter on the
topic of biodiversity at a 2-day conference in November on Globalization
and Ecological Security at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and a keynote speaker
at the Wildlife Habitat Council's annual meeting in Baltimore.
William Jeffery, Professor and Chair, Biology, has been appointed
Chair of the Executive Committee for Oversight of the Whitney Marine Laboratory,
University of Florida. Dr. Jeffery continues to serve as an Associate Editor
of the journal "Molecular Biology and Evolution."
Dave Lineback, Director, Joint Institute of Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition, was elected as a Fellow by the AAAS Council in September. The
AAAS awards the distinction of Fellow to members who have been elevated
to this rank because of their efforts toward advancing science or fostering
applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.
Zhongchi Liu, Assistant Professor, CBMG, gave two seminars: November
8 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Dept. of Biology and November
13 at Yale University, Dept. of MCD Biology. She spoke on "Molecular and
Genetic Analyses of Key Regulators for Arabidopsis Flower Development".
Katerina "Kaci" Thompson, Director, HHMI Undergraduate Research
Fellowship Program, was named as one of the 2000-2001 Lilly CTE Teaching
Fellows. Dr. Thompson will join the other campus awardees to define issues
and topics of mutual concern and explore ways to increase the quality and
value of teaching and learning on campus.
Sarah Tishkoff, Assistant Professor, Biology, transferred her
Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences. The award
has funded 2 years of postdoc research and will fund three years of faculty
research. The total amount of the award which was started in 1998 is $470,000
and $357,000 of that will be used while at Maryland.
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IN the NEWS
Sandra Greer, Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry, participated
in a round-table discussion on women in academe. Dr Greer and colleagues
discussed their experiences in an article in the Chronicle of Higher
Education, November 10.
The Reuters English News Agency, November 15, reported that David
Lineback, Director, Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition,
was one of 15 scientists named by the EPA to study the safety of Star-Link
bio-corn, which was recently found in taco shells in supermarkets.
Ken Paynter, Director of the MEES Program, was quoted in the
Washington
Post (Metro section) on November 26 in an article about oyster populations
in the Chesapeake Bay.
Maryland Dividends, with its motto 'Statewide Dividends through Research,"
is a new database that features 173 current and ongoing projects by 109
faculty from the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources and the
College
of Life Sciences. This news was noted ion the Frederick News
on November 14.
The conservation work of Margaret Palmer, Associate Professor,
Biology, was noted in a Washington Post, November 24, article on
the "Life and Growth in Loudon County." While not quoted, David Wooster,
Research Associate, Biology, was caught in a photo with Dr. Palmer. Margaret
Palmer is also a senior ecologist at the National Science Foundation.
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STAFF NEWS
With sadness we bid farewell to Wendy Loughlin, Assistant to
the Dean for Admissions. Wendy made a difficult decision to return home
and care for her daughter, Katie. Her work in recruiting exceptional students
into our College will be missed. We hope, however, to utilize Wendy's expertise
in the near future.
We are pleased that Chirice Cade returned from sick leave to
the front desk in the Office of Student Services. She returned in time
to help as the many students began seeking advice and registration assistance.
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ALUMNI and STUDENT Notes
Edward W. Kordoski, Ph.D., who graduated in 1982 has
joined the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association as executive
director of several chemical associations managed by the Association's
Management Center. Kordoski will direct the Alkyl Amines Council, Chlorobenzene
Producers Association, DiBasic Esters group, Institute for Polyacrylate
Absorbents, Personal Absorbent Products Council and Tetrahydrofuran Task
Force.
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FUNDING ALERTS
Note: To directly access the hyperlinks below, you must use a campus
computer. To access Alert results from off-campus you must login to your
Community of Science (COS) Workbench (http://www.cos.com).
If you want information about COS go to the Office of Research Administration
and Advancement at http://www.umresearch.umd.edu/ORAA/.
***
Title: Professional Masters' Degrees in Bioinformatics /
Computational Molecular Biology
Sponsor: Sloan Foundation, Alfred P.
Science and Technology
Direct Support of Research
Amount: $125,000
Deadline: January 08, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=11629
*****
Title: Ichikizaki Fund for Young Chemists
Sponsor: Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC)
Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC)
Deadline: December 31, 2000
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=35888
*****
Title: Research Grants
Sponsor: Glaucoma Foundation
Amount: $35,000
Deadline: March 15, 2001
September 15, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=7737
*****
Title: Janssen-Ortho Research Grant Award
Sponsor: Canadian Infectious Disease Society (CIDS)
Amount: $45,000
Deadline: May 01, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=47011
*****
Title: Research on Communication in Individuals With Autism
Sponsor: National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR)
Deadline: December 18, 2000
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56403
*****
Title: TWAS Awards Scheme in Basic Sciences
Title: Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)
Awards and Prizes
Deadline: March 01, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=14289
*****
Title: Mentored Research Scientist Development Award in
Molecular Epidemiology - NIEHS
Sponsor: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Deadline: February 01, 2001
June 01, 2001
October 01, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=39567
*****
Title: Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) Instrument
Development and Acquisition Solicitation NS
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Office of the Director (OD)
Office of Integrative Activities (OIA)
Amount: $100,000
Deadline: February 07, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=25494
*****
Title: Potamkin Prize for Research in Pick's, Alzheimer's,
and Related Diseases
Sponsor: American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Education
and Research Foundation
Amount: $100,000
Deadline: December 01, 2000
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=11195
*****
Title: Sheila Essey Award
Sponsor: American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Education
and Research Foundation
Amount: $25,000
Deadline: December 01, 2000
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=23977
*****
Title: Roche Laboratories Movement Disorders Training Fellowship
Sponsor: American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Education
and Research Foundation
Fellowships
Amount: $50,000
Deadline: December 01, 2000
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=45106
*****
Title: NIDDK Biotechnology Centers - NIDDK
Sponsor: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
(NIDDK)
Deadline: January 19, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56112
*****
Title: Long-Term Monitoring of Fine-Grained Sediment Storage
Throughout the Main Channel of the Colorado R
Sponsor: United States Department of the Interior (DOI)
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC)
Deadline: December 20, 2000
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56142
*****
Title: Collection of Monitoring Data of Rainbow Trout in
the Glen Canyon / Lees Ferry Reach
Sponsor: United States Department of the Interior (DOI)
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC)
Deadline: December 20, 2000
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56144
*****
Title: Conduct Genetics Research to Determine Relationships
of Gila Cypha, Humpback Chub, in the Colorado
Sponsor: United States Department of the Interior (DOI)
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC)
Deadline: December 20, 2000
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56146
*****
Title: Integrated Monitoring With Respect to Riparian Vegetation,
Avifauna (Including Southwestern Willow
Sponsor: United States Department of the Interior (DOI)
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC)
Deadline: December 20, 2000
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56149
*****
Title: Avian Research Project Funding
Sponsor: Association of Avian Veterinarians
Deadline: January 19, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=3536
*****
Title: Becton Dickinson Centennial Fellowship in Clinical
Microbiology
Sponsor: Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)
Postdoctoral Fellowships
Amount: $39,000
Deadline: February 01, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=26206
*****
Title: Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Fellowship in Medical Mycology
and Opportunistic Pathogens
Sponsor: Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)
Postdoctoral Fellowships
Amount: $40,000
Deadline: February 01, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=26220
*****
Title: Christopher Columbus Foundation Award
Sponsor: Columbus Fellowship Foundation, Christopher
Discoveries at Work
Amount: $100,000
Deadline: December 29, 2000
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=31542
*****
Title: CERCLA Superfund -- Brownfields Cleanup Revolving
Loan Fund Pilots
Sponsor: United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)
Deadline: December 18, 2000
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=40141
*****
Title: Alternatives to Microbial Microcosm Studies
Sponsor: United States Department of Defense (DOD)
Department of the Army
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Deadline: February 08, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56441
*****
Title: Development of Miniaturized Sensors to Monitor or
Determine Ecosystem Parameters
Sponsor: United States Department of Defense (DOD)
Department of the Army
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Deadline: February 08, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56444
*****
Title: Environmentally Benign Antifouling Approaches for
DoD Vessels
Sponsor: United States Department of Defense (DOD)
Department of the Army
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Deadline: February 08, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56445
*****
Title: Environmentally Benign Biological Fouling Control
in Heat Transfer Equipment
Sponsor: United States Department of Defense (DOD)
Department of the Army
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Deadline: February 08, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56446
*****
Title: Environmentally Acceptable Alternatives for Non Destruvtive
Inspection with Flourescent Penetrant D
Sponsor: United States Department of Defense (DOD)
Department of the Army
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Deadline: February 08, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56447
*****
Title: Stem Cell Plasticity in Hematopoietic and Non-Hematopoietic
Tissue
Sponsor: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Deadline: March 12, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56466
*****
Title: Development of High-Yield Technologies for Isolating
Exfoliated Cells in Body Fluids - NCI
Sponsor: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Deadline: April 10, 2001
November 15, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56596
*****
Title: Molecular and Cellular Biology of Metastatic Tumor
Cells
Sponsor: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Deadline: February 01, 2001
June 01, 2001
October 01, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56813
*****
Title: Transition from Drug Use to Addiction: Unearthing
the Switch - NIDA
Sponsor: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Deadline: February 23, 2001
URL to view this opportunity:
http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=56816
Top of page
How to Post your NEWS!
If you would like to share your accomplishments or other news, please
send a note to Gene Ferrick at gferrick@deans.umd.edu. Future issues
will initially be at the beginning of each month.
Maintained by Gene Ferrick -
gferrick@deans.umd.edu.
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