| |
 From
the Dean
This
week marks the
beginning of
the
construction
of
the Bioscience
Research
Building.
The
official Groundbreaking
Ceremony,
attended
by the Governor,
will
be September
14.
Many
people worked
long
and hard
to make this
happen,
and
it is the
beginning
of a new era
for
the
College.
We
will
need to
work
together
to ensure that
we
make full
use
of
this opportunity.
In
the short
term, disruption
is
to be expected,
but
this should
soon
be
behind us. A
rough plan
for the major
milestones
of the project
follows:
July-Sept.
'04: Site
work to
precede
excavation;
closure
of Field
House Drive
and
parking
lot BB
Sept.
'04:
Demolition
of BPS 1240
lecture
hall
Sept.
14, '04, 10 a.m.: Groundbreaking
Ceremony
April
'05: "Top
off” of
the
steel
skeleton
July
'05: Complete
enclosure
of
building
February
'06: Lab-
by-lab outfitting
March/April
'06: System
commissioning
July
'06: Substantial
completion
of building.
Late
summer '06: Occupancy!
For
ongoing
information
about
the construction
or to subscribe
to
the listserv
that
will be used
to distribute
important
information
about
all
activity related
to
the construction
of
this building
(such
as critical
notifications/outages,
upcoming project
events
and special
circumstances/incidents),
go to www.life.umd.edu/biosciencebuilding/.
 June
marked the completion
of Dr. Bill
Jeffery’s
service as Chair
of the Department
of Biology.
In his 5+ years
as chair, Bill
made a major
impact on the
College through
his leadership
in faculty hiring
and cultivation
of research
excellence
in the department.
After a well-deserved
sabbatical in
Paris during
the coming academic
year, we look
forward to Bill
returning as
a member of
the department faculty.
I am delighted
that Richard
Payne, Professor
of Biology,
has agreed to
serve
as interim chair.
Richard has
made significant
contributions
to the College
as a researcher,
teacher and
graduate
program director,
and I welcome
him to our leadership
team.
Jeff
DeStefano is
replacing Todd
Cooke as Program
Director of
the
Cell Biology
and Molecular
Genetics
Graduate Program.
During his 13
years at
the helm, Todd
worked to help
shape a new
departmental
graduate
program
after the departmental
reorganization.
His dedication
and hard work
have helped
to build
a program which
is recruiting
and
graduating
excellent
students.
Todd
is transitioning
to another
important
role.
For the past
six
months, he
has been the
leader of a
faculty team
developing
our
new integrated
organismal
structure and
function course,
which will
be
added
as an introductory
requirement
to our Biological
Sciences major.
Todd will be
going
full speed
to
lead the
team developing
an archive
of
lectures
and supporting
materials for
the
course this
fall, and then
team-teaching
the first
run of
the course
in
Spring '05.
I thank Todd
for his ongoing
service
to our
graduate and
undergraduate
programs.
I also appreciate
the
efforts of
the
new course
working
group led by
Todd (Jeff
Jensen, Brett
Kent, Joelle
Presson,
Jeff Shultz
and Dan Stein),
which has worked
hard
during
this year
to develop a
syllabus
and framework
for
the new course.
Dean
Halperin and
I
met with V.
S. Subrahmanian,
Acting Director
of UMIACS, and
the chairs
of the participating
departments
last
week to assess
how to proceed
with faculty
recruiting for
the Center for
Bioinformatics
and Computational
Biology in the
coming year.
The consensus
was that we
focus
on hiring a
director.
I am sure that
V. S. will be
discussing
this further
with
members of the
Center.
 I
would like to
welcome Bruce Shatswell,
the College’s
new Development
Officer. Most
recently, Bruce
was Director
of Alumni
Programs at the
George Washington
University
Medical Center.
For more than
a decade
at GW Medical
Center, he led
an integrated
alumni and development
effort that offered
alumni opportunities
to be involved
in the life and
support
of their school.
We are both looking
forward to moving
ahead rapidly
with fund raising,
and
he will be in
touch with many
of you
to learn about
your programs
and needs.
He can be reached
at 301-405-0295
or bashatswell@umd.edu.
My
best wishes for
a happy 4th of July
and a pleasant and
productive summer.
August
30: First
Day of Classes for Fall
September 6: Labor
Day Holiday
September 13: Last
Day of Schedule Adjustment for
Fall
October 7: Faculty/Staff
Convocation
November 8: Last
Day to Drop with a W
December 10: Last
Day of Classes for Fall
Back
to top
 Upcoming
Events
August
24: New
Faculty Orientation,
8:15 a.m. to 2
p.m., Stamp Student
Union
September
1: Working
with Small
Companies Seminar,
2 p.m., Room
1208
Biology/Psychology
Building.
See below for
more
information.
September
10-12: College of Life Sciences
Alumni Weekend. Planned
activities surrounding
the Terps vs. Temple
football game on September
11 include a happy hour,
tailgating, facilities
tours and a brunch. LFSC
contacts: Bobbi Donley
(rdonley@umd.edu)
and Christine McCary
(mccary@umd.edu).
September
14: Groundbreaking
Ceremony for Bioscience
Research Building,
10 a.m. Attended
by Governor Bob
Ehrlich and Maryland
Senate
President Mike
Miller, among others.
Annapolis
Delegate Michael
Busch will speak.
For more information
about the Bioscience
Research Building
or to subscribe
to the ListServ that
will be used to
distribute important
information about
all activity related to
the construction
of this building,
go to www.life.umd.edu/biosciencebuilding/.
September
17: Visit
Maryland Day
October
2: Academically
Talented Open House
October
11: Visit
Maryland Day
October
23: Academically
Talented Open House
November
4: Bioscience
Research and Technology
Review Day. Includes
a keynote address
by Nobel Laureate
Leon Cooper, symposia
by university and
corporate
experts, a program
for high school teachers,
a career fair and
a poster
session. More information:
www.bioscienceday.umd.edu.
LFSC contact: Gene
Ferrick
(gene@umd.edu)
November
11: Visit Maryland Day
March
4, 2005: Spring
Open House, Undergraduate
Admissions.LFSC contact:
Eden Garosi (egarosi@umd.edu)
March
11, 2005: Spring
Open House, Undergraduate
Admissions. LFSC
contact:
Eden Garosi (egarosi@umd.edu)
April
1, 2005: Spring Open
House, Undergraduate
Admissions. LFSC contact:
Eden Garosi (egarosi@umd.edu)
April
15, 2005: Spring
Open House, Undergraduate
Admissions. LFSC
contact:
Eden Garosi (egarosi@umd.edu)
April
30, 2005: Maryland
Day. More information:
www.marylandday.umd.edu.
LFSC contact:
LFSC contact: Gene
Ferrick
(gene@umd.edu)
Back
to top
Thanks
to:
- Bayer
Cropscience LP, for
a $2,500 gift to the
Department of Entomology
General Fund to support
Dr. Galen Dively's
research
-
For
gifts to the Dean’s
Fund: Raymond A. Nash
($1,000) and Paul W.
Doetsch ($200)
-
Wanda
Y. Maclachlan, for a
$500 gift to support
the Anderson Legacy
Scholarship
 Fund
-
John
Davidson, Sr. (Professor
Emeritus in Entomology)
and his wife Suzonne,
for donating a collection
of marine
invertebrates (mostly
molluscs) to the
Biology Department
as a teaching
resource in memory
of their son, John,
Jr.,
who developed the
collection
Back
to top
Faculty
Recognition and In
the News
Dr.
Michael Cummings,
Biology and Center
for Bioinformatics
and Computational
Biology, gave
a lecture titled “Application
of Tree-Based Statistical
Models to the Analysis
of Genotype-Phenotype
Relationships” at
Northern Arizona
University in late
March. In addition,
he was a panelist
at the Bioinformatics
and High Performance
Computing 18th International
Parallel and Distributed
Processing Symposium
of the IEEE Computer
Society Technical
Committee on Parallel
Processing in Santa
Fe in late April.
 Dr.
Jeffrey DeStefano,
CBMG, becomes
Director of Graduate
Studies
for the Department
of Cell Biology
and Molecular
Genetics
July 1. Dr. DeStefano
has been involved
in various aspects
of the CBMG graduate
program for nine
years and has
been
serving as Chair
of the program’s
Admissions Committee.
Dr.
Galen Dively,
Entomology, received
a 3.5-year,
$124,000 grant
from the Northeast
USDA
Sustainable Agricultural
Research and Education
Program for “Optimizing
Environmental
Benefits of Riparian
Grass
Buffers.”
Ms.
Ethel Dutky,
Director of
the Plant Diagnostic
Laboratory,
shares
with an Annapolis
Capital reporter
in a June 9 article the
times she has
witnessed the
17-year cicadas
and wonders
if the current
infestation
will be the
last she will
experience.
The article
also talks
about the farewell
party Maryland
Department
of Agriculture
staffers threw
for the departing
cicadas.
Dr.
Douglas Gill,
Biology, was
named Conservationist
of 2004 by the
Maryland
Ornithological
Society at its
Annual
Convention June
12. He
received the honor
for his
visionary research
and training programs
in
Grassland Restoration
at Chino Farms
on the Eastern
Shore. In addition,
his project was
filmed
live by Maryland
Public TV for
a feature in
an upcoming “Outdoors
Maryland” show.
Dr. Gill just
returned to
UM after a
successful year
as a Distinguished
Visiting Professor
of Biology
at Williams
College in
Massachusetts.
Dr.
Jason Kahn, Chemistry
and Biochemistry,
received a 1-year,
$38,000
grant from the
University
of Maryland,
Baltimore for “Gene
Delivery of
p53 in Tumor
Bearing Mouse
Model.”
 Dr.
Michael Raupp, Entomology,
takes a break from teaching
the public
about cicadas when he educates
gardeners in integrated
pest management in a
June 2 Gazette newspapers
article.
He advises gardeners to enable
the good bugs to eat the
bad bugs by providing diverse
plant types to house different
types of insect predators.
And in a June 17 ABC News
article,
he advises ways to deal with
summertime insects such as
ticks, bees and mosquitos.
In addition, as the cicadas
take their last gasps, Dr.
Raupp is still in the news
as an expert on the bugs;
see USA Today, June
1; Voice of America,
May
30; PBS’s News
Hour with James Lehrer, May
26; WTOP Radio, June
16;
Baltimore Sun, June
14; The Guardian, June
17; and Westminster
Community Times, June
23.
Dr.
Anne Simon, CBMG,
is quoted in a
June 17 article in
The
Scientist about a course
offered
by the Air Force
Office of Scientific
Research to promote
realistic portrayal
of science in
the movies and
to encourage
young people
to pursue careers
in science.
Anne Simon was
a science adviser
on
the long-running
TV show “The
X Files.”
Graduate
Student
Recognition
and In
the News
Sean
Conrad, a graduate
student in the lab
of Dr.
David Mosser,
won the award for
Outstanding Graduate
Student Presentation
at the annual Woods
Hole Immunoparasitology
Meeting at the end
of April.
Cicada
Maniacs
 Newspapers
continue to consult
graduate student
Jenna
Jadin, BEES,
about her cicada
cookbook; besides
speaking to the
French press (see
the Agence
France-Presse June
1 article),
Jenna is featured
in a humorous article
about
cicada recipes
in the June 5
Daily
Record alongside
Chef Richard
Stuthman,
director of instruction
at Baltimore
International
College.
Holly
Menninger,
a BEES graduate
student,
and Robert
Smith, an Entomology
graduate
student, are
investigating
what effect
the bodies
of dead cicadas
have
on stream ecosystems.
See the June
11 Chronicle
of Higher
Education article.
Chemistry
and Biochemistry
Graduate Excellence
Awards
The
Department
of Chemistry
and Biochemistry
presented
the Graduate
Excellence
Awards
in Teaching
and Research
in May.
These annual
awards recognize
excellence
in research
or teaching
by the
department’s
graduate
students.
(Click here for
bios of the
awardees, and
click
here for
more photos
of the event.)
The ceremony was
followed
by a barbeque
held
in the G. Forrest
Woods Memorial
Atrium.
The
research honorees
are as follows (click
here for
abstracts of their
research projects):
-
Okan
Esentürk (advisor:
Dr.
Robert Walker): “Surface
Structure
of Common
Solvents
at the
Liquid/Vapor
Interface”
-
Melanie
Moses (advisor:
Dr.
Bryan Eichhorn): “Novel
Binary Molecular
Clusters to
Phase-Specific
Binary Nanoalloys:
The New Role
of Zintl Anions”
-
Ranjani
Varadan (advisor:
Dr.
David Fushman): “Polyubiquitin
Chains: Structural
Basis of Functional
Diversity"
-
Yonghui (Felix)
Zhang (advisor: Dr.
Lawrence Sita): “Degenerative
Transfer Living
Ziegler Natta
Polymerizations
by Cyclopentadienyl
Zirconium Amidinate
Complexes”
The
teaching honorees
are as follows:
-
Carmen
Beildeck (member
of Dr.
Robert Walker’s
lab group)
-
Pedro
A. Bueno (member
of Dr.
Russell Dickerson’s
lab group)
-
Jennifer
Kuebler (member of
Dr.
Jeffery Davis’s
lab group)
-
Elizabeth
Patton (member of
Dr.
Catherine Fenselau’s
lab group)
Distinguished
Teaching Assistants
in Biology
 Congratulations
to the following
graduate students
in the Biology Department,
who have been named
Distinguished Teaching
Assistants for 2004
by the Center for
Teaching Excellence:
-
Laura
Craig:
BEES PhD
student (member
of Dr.
Margaret
Palmer’s
lab group)
-
Gary
Dodge: BIOL
PhD student (member
of Dr.
David
Inouye's
lab group)
-
Dan
Fergus: BEES
PhD student
(member of
Dr.
Kerry Shaw's
lab group)
-
Colin
Rose:
BIOL PhD
student (member
of Dr.
Matt Hare's
lab group). The
Biology
Department
also
named
Colin
Rose "Outstanding
TA" based
on student
evaluations.
Colin
was
a TA
in
BSCI
416,
Biology
of
the
Human
Genome,
and
his
students
thought
he did
a terrific
job.
JIFSAN
Interns Exhibit
Posters
More
than a dozen JIFSAN
interns exhibited
research posters
at the annual
FDA Science Forum
in May in Washington,
DC. According to
the
FDA Science Forum’s
web
site,
the event “showcases
FDA's scientific
achievements,
facilitates discussions
on topics of
interest
to FDA and its
stakeholders,
promotes both
internal
and external
collaborations,
and recognizes
outstanding research
and science-based
review performance….This
is the only
forum where scientists
from all
disciplines
and organizational
components of
FDA meet to
share
data, knowledge,
and ideas on
the science-based
mission of the
Agency.” The
following JIFSAN
interns
displayed posters:
-
Ijeoma
Agba, Tara
DeSiano, Nancy
Flores and Sara
Taherkhani (mentor: Ben
Tall): “Isolation
and Characterization
of a Non-Phospholipase
D Hemolysin
from Photobacterium
damselae subspecies damselae”
-
Samantha
Amato and Jenny
Nguyen (mentor:
Eric
Garber): “The
Detection of Gluten
Using Commercial
ELISA-based Assays” and “Evaluation
of Commercial
Immunology-based
Diagnostic Assays
for the Detection
of
Egg
in Food”
-
Tiffany
Brady (mentor: Dr.
Renate
Reimschuessel): “Evaluating
the Effects of Oxytetracycline
on the Microflora of
a Recirculating Aquaculture
System” and “Fish
Drug Analysis - A
Searchable Database
of Residues
and Pharmacokinetics
Data in Fish”
-
Shannon
Courtney and Margaret
Distler (mentor: Dr.
Avraham
Rasooly): “DNA
Microarray for Food
Safety Analysis”
-
Rajvi
Mehta (mentor:
Iris
Valentin-Bon): “Preliminary
study:
Effectiveness
of Ferrioxiamine
E
as Supplement
to Isolate
Salmonella
enteritidis from
Shell
Eggs”
-
Russell
Michelson (mentor:
P.R.
Sundaresan): “Analysis
of Germander (Teucrium
chamaedrys
L.) Diterpenoids
by High Performance
Thin-Layer Chromatography
(HPTLC)”
-
 Robyn
Neches (mentor: Dr.
Timothy
Begley): “Perfluoro
Chemicals: Potential
Migration from Food
Packaging”
-
Mary
Porteous (mentor: Sharon
Edelson-Mammel): “Acid
Resistance of 12 Strains
of Enterobacter sakazakii” and “H-08,
Long Term Survival
of Enterobacter
sakazakii in Powdered Infant
Formula”
-
Elizabeth
Ressler (mentor: Eugene
Mazzola): “Classical
and Automated Structural
Elucidation of Two
Benzophenones”
- Sarah
Slavoff (mentor: P.R.
Sundaresan): “Modification
of a Method for
Isolation of
Teucrin A and
Other Diterpenoids
from Authenticated Teucrium
chamaedrys L.”
-
Jessica
Suagee (mentor: Larry
Gartoff): “An
Experimental Model
Assessing Chemical-Microbial
Interactive Toxicity”
-
Grace
Thammasuvimol (mentor:
Iris
Valentin-Bon): “Evaluation
of the Real Time PCR
Assay for Rapid, Specific
Detection and Enumeration
of Enterobacter
sakazakii in Infant Formula”
Alumni
Recognition
and In
the News
Excerpts
from the
commencement
speech of
recent alumna Katayoun “Katy” Deljoui (BS,
2004, Biological
Sciences—Physiology
and Neurobiology)
appeared
as an Op/Ed
piece on
June 10 in
the Baltimore
Sun and
appeared
on the same
day in the Payvand
Iran News. In
her speech,
Katy shared
her remarkable
personal
history.
As a child,
she fled
Iran with
her family
and lived
in France
through high
school, moving
to the United
States for
college.
Knowing no
English,
she was dropped
off at the
University
to begin
her studies.
She successfully
struggled
to learn
English before
earning a
Howard Hughes
Medical Institute
fellowship
and her degree.
Katy completed
an honors
thesis in
Biology,
mentored
by Dr.
Sarah Tishkoff.
Dr.
Kathryn
Fuller,
who took
classes
in the
MEES program,
has been
elected
Chair of
the Ford
Foundation
Board.
Dr. Fuller
is a lawyer
with training
in marine
biology
who is
the President
and CEO
of the
World Wildlife
Fund.
 Mr.
Ethan
Kane (MS,
2003,
Entomology)
coordinated
the design
and development
of nine
exhibits
for the
USDA’s
Field
Day June
5.
The public
is invited
to this
annual
event
to see
various
agricultural
research
and technology
displays.
Mr. Kane,
an entomologist
with
the
USDA,
is a
part
of its
Systematic
Entomology
Laboratory,
which
was
the most
well
represented
lab in
attendance.
Many
exhibits
were
interactive
in nature
and covered
a range
of
insect-related
topics
including
the focal
areas
of the
lab's
research
mission
(insect
identification
and classification)
as
well as
cultural
elements
such as
insect
cuisine
and crafts.
Given
the timing
of the
event,
cicadas
were high
on the
list of
topics
to be
covered,
and the
lab was
grateful
to receive
the assistance
of
graduate
students
Jenna
Jadin,
BEES,
and
Rob
Ahern and Steve
Frank,
Entomology,
who
were
on hand
to answer
questions
at
the
cicada
table.
Jenna
also
helped
cook
cicadas
to serve
to adventurous
guests.
Back
to top
Summer
Research
Fellowship
Program
 The
College
of Life Sciences
welcomes
the 2004
fellows
to
its Summer
Research
Fellowship
Program (June
6 to July
24), part
of the Graduate
Partners
Program.
The
Summer
Research
Fellowship
Program
offers
outstanding
undergraduates
from
partner
institutions
an opportunity
to participate
in mentor-guided
research
projects
at the
University
of Maryland.
Fellows
carry
out
research
under
the
guidance
of a
faculty
mentor
over
seven
weeks.
This
research,
conducted
on
an individual
basis
or as
part
of
a research
team,
offers
the
fellows
an excellent
opportunity
to learn
important
skills
essential
for academic
research.
In addition
to lab research,
the fellows
actively
participate
in the Summer
Seminar
Series
designed
for student
researchers.
These weekly
seminars
and workshops
are sponsored
by the Maryland
Center for
Undergraduate
Research.
The
summer 2004
fellows are:
-
Iheanyi
Akujobi:
Southern
University
of Baton
Rouge,
Louisiana.
He is
working
in the
lab of Dr.
Victor
Muñoz,
Chemistry
and Biochemistry.
-
Tiffany
Gorseth:
Fayetteville
State
University,
North
Carolina.
She is
working
in the
lab of Dr.
Michael
Doyle,
Chemistry
and Biochemistry.
-
Nicole
Haughton:
Oakwood
College,
Alabama.
She is
working
in the
lab of Dr.
Barbara
Thorne,
Entomology.
-
Michelle
Lang:
Xavier
University,
Louisiana.
She is
working
in the
lab of Dr.
Doug
Julin,
Chemistry
and Biochemistry.
-
Kimberly
Mason:
St. Augustine
College,
North
Carolina.
She is
working
in the
lab of Dr.
James
Culver,
Cell
Biology
and Molecular
Genetics.
-
Toyin
Ogunrinu:
Oakwood
College,
Alabama.
She is
working
in the
lab of Dr.
Wenxia
Song,
Cell
Biology
and Molecular
Genetics.
-
Jimetra
Watson:
Prairie
View
A&M
University,
Texas.
She is
working
in the
lab of Dr.
Eric
Haag,
Biology.
-
Heather
Webb:
Tennessee
State
University,
Tennessee.
She is
working
in the
lab of Dr.
Steven
Hutcheson,
Department
of Cell
Biology
and Molecular
Genetics.
We
wish the
fellows a
fruitful
summer research
experience
and hope
they seriously
consider
the College
of Life Sciences
for graduate
study.
Bioscience
Called
One of
State's “Success
Stories”
A
researcher
for Battelle,
a nonprofit
group fostering
the growth
of bioscience,
says Maryland's
bioscience
industry
compares
well with
other states,
according
to a June
9 Baltimore
Sun article. “For
years, state
officials
have been
marketing
Maryland's
concentration
of biotechnology
companies,
research
universities
such as the
University
of Maryland
and Johns
Hopkins,
public incentive
programs
and planned
biotech parks,
noting studies
that say
the state
trails only
California
and Massachusetts,” the
article says,
adding that
the state
ranks 5th
in university
R&D
expenditures,
5th in NIH
financing,
4th in advanced
degrees in
the biological
sciences
(as of 2002)
and 11th
in number
of biotech
scientists
in the work
force.
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Black
Issues
in Higher
Education
Rankings
Black
Issues
in Higher
Education records the
following
rankings
for the University
of Maryland
in the Biological
and Biomedical
Sciences
category:
-
Minority
baccalaureate:
13th
-
African
American
baccalaureate:
7th
-
Asian
American
baccalaureate:
12th
-
Hispanic
American
baccalaureate:
42nd
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Working
with
Small
Companies
Seminar
The
goals of
this seminar,
to
be held
Wednesday,
September
1 at 2
p.m.
in Room
1208 Biology/Psychology
Building,
are
to describe
the advantages
and
incentives
of working
with small
companies,
to identify
technologies
and
expertise
for possible
collaborative
projects,
to match
interested
faculty
with
companies
and
to describe
how collaborations
work and
how
to get
them
funded.
Planned
presenters
(two of
whom are
alums)
and
their
topics
include:
 Ms.
Terry
Chase, President
and CEO,
Chesapeake
PERL,
Inc. (BS,
1993, General
Biology):
-
Description
of why
small companies
are
good research
partners
for
faculty
-
Positive
examples of small business
and university collaboration,
sponsored research and licensing
-
-
-
Statistics
on licenses and collaborations
-
Tools
for getting started: inventions
and licenses
-
Addressing
concerns:
publishing,
funding,
applied
research, etc.
-
Matchmaking:
how to find a collaboration:
state and university resources
-
MIPS
funding and opportunities
-
-
-
TEDCO
programs and funding
-
State
and federal funding for
collaborations
How
to Post Your News
If
you would like to share your accomplishments
or other news, please send a note (and
any accompanying photos)
to Meredith Brittain at
brittain@umd.edu. Issues are usually sent at the beginning
of each month.
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