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 From
the Dean
We
celebrated several
end-of-the-academic-year
events in April.
Gina Kolata,
a senior science
writer for the New
York Times,
received
the
Distinguished
Alumnus
Award
from the
College
of Life
Sciences
at the Alumni
Gala.
It was a
particular
pleasure
for
me to meet
her,
since
her articles
in Science
and
the
New
York Times
over the
past
20 years
have
influenced
my thinking
significantly.
I also enjoyed
a lunch
with
our assistant
professors,
where I
learned
of recent
developments
in their
research,
and a reception
honoring
undergraduates
in the College
who achieved
GPAs of
3.85
or higher
in either
of
the past
two
semesters.
More than
100
students,
many
accompanied
by a faculty
guest, participated.
Thanks
to Lisa
Bradley
and her
staff,
who organize
this event.
Maryland
Day was even more
spectacular than
usual this year,
with more than
70,000 participants
and more than a
million hits to
the Web site. Our
exhibits were crowded
with enthusiastic
visitors. Thanks
to Gene Ferrick,
who coordinates
our programs, and
the faculty, staff
and students who
hosted them. The
deep-fried cicadas
deserve special
mention!
 Last
week we recognized
this year’s
winners of the
College’s
faculty and staff
awards. They are:
Junior Faculty
Award: Victor Muñoz;
Research Award:
Jonathan Dinman;
Faculty Service
Award: Irv Forseth;
Teaching and Course
Development Award:
Jim Dietz; and
Staff Award: Diane
Canter. Congratulations
to all, and thanks
to Stephanie Noel,
who organized
the event, and
Gene
Ferrick, the emcee.
Congratulations
to three faculty
members who have
been promoted.
Steve Hutcheson
of CBMG was promoted
to full professor,
and Lyle Isaacs
and Rob Walker,
both in Chemistry
and Biochemistry,
were promoted
to associate
professor with
tenure.
I’m
also pleased
to announce that
Richard Payne
has signed on
as Interim Chair
of Biology, for
two years, or
until an external
Chair is hired.
Although his
term does not
begin until June
1, he will be
working closely
with Bill Jeffery
beginning immediately.
Richard has a
great deal to
offer, both professionally
and personally,
and I am delighted
that he is willing
to assume this
responsibility.
Many, many thanks
to Bill Jeffery
for all that
he has contributed
during his five-year
term as chair;
further acknowledgements
of his outstanding
contributions
will follow.
As
you can see
in the "Gifts
to the College"
section
of this
newsletter,
the
College
received
a number of
large gifts
in
April.
Gifts
to date
in
FY04 total
$2.5M,
approximately
$1M more than
the
total
for FY03. This
is
very exciting,
although
this
has been a
better
year
than the previous
for
philanthropy
everywhere.
A
new draft of
the strategic
plan
is available
in the departmental
offices and
the
Dean’s
Office. Please
send substantive
comments to
me (allewell@umd.edu),
and corrections
to Gene Ferrick
(gene@umd.edu)
or Meredith
Brittain
(brittain@umd.edu).
My goal is
to finalize
this plan over
the summer.
Our
faculty have
worked hard
over
the past two
years to create
substantial
proposed revisions
to the Biological
Sciences specializations.
This proposal
has
been
submitted
to the campus
and is likely
to be
approved before
the end of
the academic
year.
We have also
met with
the
team leaders
for each
of
the
proposals
of
the
HHMI-sponsored
curriculum
revisions
to discuss
and initiate
implementation.
Thanks to
all
who
are participating
in this effort.
The
committee charged
with considering
names for the College
that recognize
more prominently
the Department
of Chemistry and
Biochemistry met
last week. They
feel that the most
appropriate name
for the College
is the College
of Chemical and
Life Sciences.
They will be soliciting
reactions from
the departments
soon, with the
goal of issuing
a written ballot
before the end
of the semester.
Members of the
committee are Sandra
Greer, Dan Stein,
Ray St. Leger and
Jerry Wilkinson.
 With
the end of the
legislative session,
funding for the
Bioscience Research
Building is secure,
and construction
will begin around
July 1. A town
meeting for all
faculty and staff
in the College
is scheduled for
May 19 from 3 to
5 p.m. in 1243
Biology-Psychology
Building.
I
hope to see
many of you at
the College
and/or University
graduation.
The speaker
at the College
ceremony (to be
held Friday,
May 21 at
10 a.m. in
the Cole
Student
Activities
Building) will
be
Claire
Fraser,
President
of
TIGR
(The Institute
for Genetics
Research).
May
11: Last
Day of Classes
May
20: Campus
Commencement. 7 p.m., Comcast Center.
Candidates should assemble for processional
at 6 p.m. More information: www.urhome.umd.edu/commencement/
May
21:
College of Life Sciences Commencement.
10 a.m., Cole Student Activities
Building.
Candidates should report by 9 a.m.
The speaker will be Dr. Claire Fraser,
President of The Institute for Genomic
Research.
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
May
5-6: LFSC
Board
of Visitors Meeting
May
19: Town
meeting about
Bioscience Research
Building, 3 to
5 p.m., 1243
Biology-Psychology
Building. Open
to all faculty and
staff.
September
10-12: College of Life Sciences
Alumni Weekend. Activities surround the
Terps vs. Temple football game on September
11. LFSC contacts: Bobbi Donley (rdonley@umd.edu)
and Christine McCary (mccary@umd.edu).
Back
to top
Thanks
to:
- The estate of Florence Simonds
May, for a $100,000 gift to establish
the Willard A. and Bertha T. Simonds
Scholarship
-
Johnson & Johnson, for a $65,000
gift toward the David Mosser Startup
Fund and a $5,000 gift to the Department
of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics
-
Millard and Lee Alexander, for a $50,000
gift to support the Millard and Lee Alexander
Fellowship in Chemistry
-
American Rivers, for a $35,000 gift to
support “River Restoration in the
United States” (PI: Dr. Margaret
Palmer)
-
Fujitsu Laboratories, for a $10,000 gift
to support the research of Dr.
Michael Cummings on bioinformatics
applications
- McLaughlin
Gormley King Company, for a $9,000
gift to the Department
of Entomology General Fund to support
Dr. Galen Dively's
research
- For
contributions to the Zoology Fund in
Support of Dr. Eugenie Clark’s
Research: Lillian Jo Hoffman ($8,100),
Fawn Rogers ($4,680), Judith E. Rubin
($2,700), Jann Rosen-Queralt ($2,520),
Patricia H. Shaw ($2,340), Virginia Kendall
($2,340), John F. Pohle ($1,170), Mary
Jane Stoll ($1,170) and Ruthann P. Sturtevant
($1,170)
-
Ernest A. Harrison, for a $2,000 gift
to the G. Forrest Woods Atrium Fund
-
Bayer Cropscience LP, for a $5,000 gift
to the Department of Entomology General
Fund
-
Ernest Tang, for a $500 gift to the Dean’s
Fund
-
John Maguire, for a $250 gift to the
Department of Biology Gift Fund
Back
to top
Faculty
and Staff Recognition and In the News
Dr.
Philip DeShong, Chemistry and Biochemistry,
received
a 1-year, $224,000 grant from NIH
for “An LC-TOF for Accurate
Molecular Mass Determinations.”
Dr.
Jonathan Dinman, CBMG,
won the Office of Technology
and Commercialization’s annual
award for Outstanding Invention of
2003 in the Life Sciences Division.
His invention, “A novel target
for antiviral therapeutics,” identifies
a specific ribosomal protein, deletion
of which leads to increased rates
of programmed -1 ribosomal frameshifting
and concomitant inability of cells
to replicate viruses, such as HIV-1
and the SARS-associated Coronavirus.
Small molecules able to displace
or alter this protein’s interaction
with the ribosome are predicted to
have antiviral activities.
Dr.
Bryan Eichhorn, Chemistry and Biochemistry,
received a 3-year,
$425,000 grant from NSF for “Bimetallic
Nanoparticles From Binary Cluster
Anions.”
Dr.
William Fagan, Biology, has been
invited by the Royal Society
to participate in a July conference
in London called “Beyond Extinction
Rates: Monitoring the Wild Nature
for the 2010 Target.” The conference
brings together 60 scientists and
policy experts from nongovernmental
organizations, international governmental
organizations, governments and universities
to address the problem of how to
achieve by 2010 a significant reduction
in the current rate of biodiversity
loss globally, regionally and nationally.
Dr.
Charles Fenster and Dr.
Michele Dudash received a 4-month, $30,000
grant from NSF for “Quantifying
the Role of Pollinator Mediated...”
The
Joint Institute for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) is
pleased to welcome Ms. Jennifer
Hinton to the JIFSAN Clearinghouse. Ms Hinton
completed her master’s degree
at the University of Maryland in
Library Sciences in December 2003
and joined the Clearinghouse staff
as Web Librarian April 19.
Dr.
Bernard Moss, CBMG (adjunct
professor), is mentioned in an April
15 Washington Post article about a
new type of smallpox vaccine that
could be added to stores of the current
smallpox vaccine and which could
eventually replace it. The current
vaccine has potentially serious side
effects, but the experimental vaccine
does not, at least when given to
monkeys. Dr. Moss conducted experiments
at the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at
NIH in which he gave monkeys the
current vaccine, the experimental
vaccine, or no vaccine; the monkeys
given the experimental vaccine showed
no signs of illness.
 Dr.
David Mosser, CBMG, has
been invited to serve on
the Board of Scientific Counselors
for the Division of Intramural Research
of NIAID/NIH. Board members evaluate
laboratories of the institute's intramural
research programs and are selected
from among highly respected members
of the biomedical research community.
Dr. Mosser also received a 1-year,
$334,000 grant from NIH for “Innate
and adaptive immune responses to
Leishmania.”
Dr.
Kennedy Paynter, Director of the
MEES program, received a 1-year,
$88,000 grant from Maryland Sea Grant
College for Characterizing the Performance
of the Suminoe Oyster.”
Dr.
Leslie Pick, Entomology,
received a 1-year,
$19,000 grant from
NIH for “Control
of gene expression
during Drosophila
development.”
The
20th volume in
the Springer
Handbook of Auditory Research (SHAR) series
by Dr.
Arthur Popper,
Biology, was
just published
by Springer-Verlag.
The book, called "Cochlear Implants:
Auditory Prostheses and Electric
Hearing" and edited by F-G Zeng,
A. N. Popper and R. R. Fay, provides
up-to-date reviews on an area of
the hearing sciences that has a direct
application for millions of people
with hearing loss. Additional SHAR volumes
coming out this
year will cover
pitch perception,
evolution
of the vertebrate
auditory system,
and plasticity
in the auditory
system.
Dr.
James Reveal,
Professor Emeritus
of CBMG, was
featured
on NPR’s
Talk of the
Nation/Science
Friday on April
2. Dr. Reveal
discussed
rediscovering
a species of
tobacco that
was thought
to be
extinct for
the last 80
years and appealed
to listeners
in Philadelphia
to keep a
lookout for "label
number 26" in
their old
stored boxes
in the attic
because it
might
be specimens
from the Lewis & Clark
expedition.
Click here
for manuscript and
here for audio (Please
scroll down
to "Botanical
Discoveries
of Lewis & Clark").
Dr.
David Straney,
CBMG, received
a 3-year, $314,000
grant from NSF
for “Fungal
Recognition of
Host Isoflavonoids
in Xenobiotic
Signaling.”
Dr.
Sarah Tishkoff, Biology,
is featured in an April 12 Baltimore
Sun story that
talks at length about her DNA
work in Africa.
Borgia
Lab
In
the
News
A
paper by Seth
Coleman (BEES graduate
student),
Dr.
Gail Patricelli (Ph.D., Biology,
2002) and Dr.
Gerald Borgia,
Biology,
about how female
bowerbirds are
affected by male
birds’ bower
decorations, dancing
and vocalizations
in the April 15
issue of Nature has caused
much interest
in the scientific
and
popular press.
The publication
information
for the paper
is as follows:
 As
stated in the
paper, their study
showed
that “females
[birds younger than
three] place an emphasis
on blue decorations
in decisions made
throughout the mate
choice process, whereas
older females use
blue decorations
in decisions only
when a male’s
behavioral displays
are unavailable for
assessment.” The
study was covered
in the “News
and Views” section
of the same Nature issue and also in
Science’s “News
of the Week” section:
An
April 20 New
York
Times article (scroll
down
to story) reports
the
results of the
study. Lead
author
Seth Coleman
is quoted extensively
in an
April 14 NationalGeographic.com
article and
spoke
with National
Public Radio’s
All Things
Considered
on April 15.
(Click here for manuscript
and here for
audio.)
Dr.
Borgia is mentioned
in an April 15
Discoverynews.com
article and
quoted
in an April
14 Reuters
article.
In the
latter
story, he
says that
learning
more about
bowerbird
courtship
is “very
important,
because
it helps
us develop
a general
model
of mate
choice.”
Winners
of LFSC Faculty
and Staff
Excellence
Awards
 The
winners of this year's
College of Life Sciences
Faculty and Staff
Excellence Awards
are as follows:
-
Staff
Excellence: Ms.
Diane Canter,
Chemistry
and Biochemistry
- Teaching/Course
Development: Dr.
James Dietz,
Biology
-
Research: Dr.
Jonathan Dinman,
Cell
Biology
and
Molecular
Genetics
-
Faculty
Service: Dr.
Irwin Forseth,
Biology
-
Junior
Faculty: Dr.
Victor Muñoz,
Chemistry and
Biochemistry
LFSC
Cicada
Experts
In the News
Faculty
and students in
the Entomology and
Biology
Departments continue
to answer the community’s
questions about
the cicada invasion
that
will begin this
month. Most recently,
these
scientists were
filmed April 19
by WTTG-TV
News (Washington)
instructing the
Dining Services
catering
chef on how to
cook the bugs in
garlic
sauce, and students
were taped eating
cicadas. This was
a warmup for the
Cicada Maniacs
exhibit at Maryland
Day on
April 24, where
brave guests dared
to eat
the critters flavored
with Old Bay seasoning
(see the April
16 NationalGeographic.com
article).
 Dr.
Michael Raupp leads
the way in educating
the media and
the
public. As he
says
in an April
18 Washington
Post article,
he views the
cicadas “as
an incredible
opportunity
to see nature
in
action. It's
predation,
sex,
reproduction—all
the things
you learned
about in
college.” An
April 23
NewScientist.com
article mentions
that Dr.
Raupp’s
research team
will study the
brood’s
impact on aquatic
ecosystems,
how the cicadas
pick
which trees
to eat
and how to
protect
plants from
cicada
damage. Dr.
Raupp’s
expertise
has
led to his
being
quoted or
mentioned
in,
among other
sources, the
April 14 Annapolis
Capital (please
scroll down
to story);
the
April 19 U.S.
News & World
Report (click here);
and
on WBAL-TV
(Baltimore)
April
15 (click
here).
He
also
manned
the
computer
keyboard
for the Washington
Post in
a Live
Online discussion April
19
and
appeared
on
a segment
on
the
campus's
UMTV
April
11
that
was
picked
up
by
The
Weather
Channel.
Entomology
doctoral students
Rob
Ahern and Steve
Frank got into the act
on April 19 when
they
explained how the
cicada sings to WJLA-TV
News
(Washington) and
took a TV crew on
a cicada
hunt (WJZ-TV News
(Baltimore). In addition,
Biology
graduate student
Holly
Menninger is
quoted
along with Dr. Raupp
in an April 18 Baltimore
Sun feature that
addresses the “ick” factor
of the cicada invasion
and gives some historical
background, such
as the fact that
the first
recorded emergence
of the 17-year cicada
was in 1633.
Papers
in PNAS So Far
This Year
The
following papers written
by College faculty
and students have been
published in Proceedings
of the National Academy
of Sciences so far
this year:
Dr.
Dorothy Beckett (Chemistry
and Biochemistry) – Tang,
C., Loeliger,
E.,
Luncsford,
P., Kinde,
I., Beckett,
D., and
Summers,
M. Entropic
switch
regulates
myristate
exposure
in the
HIV-1
matrix
protein. 101: 517-522.
January
2004.
 Student
Recognition
Allison
Coffin,
a Biology graduate
student in the lab
of Dr.
Arthur Popper,
received a 3-year,
$130,000 Ruth L.
Kirschstein National
Research Service
Award (NIH F37 type
grant) from the National
Institutes of Health,
National Institute
on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders
(NIDCD), for "Unconventional
myosin distribution
in inner ear hair
cells." Her
work takes a comparative
approach, using immunocytochemistry
and molecular biology
to identify patterns
in the distribution
of important inner
ear proteins. This
research is performed
in collaboration
with co-mentor Dr.
Matthew Kelley at
the NIDCD.
Back
to top
Maryland
Day: A Great
Success
Thanks
to all who made
the LFSC portion
of Maryland
Day an enjoyable
event, including
the more
than 170 volunteers
and the following
organizers:
-
Dr.
Norma Allewell,
Dean; Dr.
Robert Infantino,
Associate Dean;
and Ms.
Eden
Garosi,
Assistant
to the Dean
for Recruitment
were
available
to answer
questions
from prospective
students
-
Dr.
Earlene Armstrong, Entomology,
organized
the Insect Expo and the Cicada
Mania exhibits
-
Mr.
Gene Ferrick,
Assistant to the
Dean, oversaw
all the details of
the College’s
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