Bacteria grown in Dr. Patrick Curtis’ laboratory are zipping around the Earth about every 90 minutes, racing roughly 250 miles above the planet aboard the International Space Station.
The microbes are part of Dr. Curtis’ research that aims to better understand how bacteria respond in weak gravity, which could lead to better bacterial control mechanisms in space and improve future spaceflights.
To read more click here.
Using their NSF grant Dr. Jason Hoeksema and Dr. Stephen Brewer expand their research of the co-invasion between plants and fungi
Read the article here.
“With the arrival of 19 incoming freshmen, the Stamps Scholars Program at the University of Mississippi is setting records for growth. UM is the only university in Mississippi and only one of six Southeastern Conference schools that awards Stamps Scholarships to selected students. The 2020 Ole Miss cohort represents the second-largest group of incoming freshmen among the 34 Stamps Scholarship partner universities. The new class also brings the total number of recipients at UM to 58, making Ole Miss the nation’s second-largest in the Stamps Scholars Program. Stamps Scholars are chosen for their academic excellence, leadership experience and exceptional character.”
Dr. Glenn Parsons just published a new paper in the journal Scientific Reports entitled “A hydrodynamics assessment of the hammerhead shark cephalofoil’. In this paper, Dr. Parsons and his coauthors modeled the hydrodynamic properties of the heads of eight species of Hammerheads sharks. They found that structure of the hammerheads resulted in greater maneuverability, but this also results in greater drag and energy cost compared to non-hammerhead shark heads. This modeling work is helping us understand the functional morphology of shark anatomy.
Marine Biologist Dr. Tamar Goulet is featured on the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) website.
Click here to read the article.
This new grant is to study the Caulobacter crescentus pilus. Pili are cell structures bacteria use to attach to surfaces, as well as perform other functions. The C. crescentus pilus is a rare sub-type that has hardly been studied, and there are a couple unusual facets to it that we and others have uncovered. The grant will focus on two of these. First is the regulation of the pilA gene, which encodes the subunit that makes up the pilus filament. Our data suggests that this gene may use a completely novel regulatory mechanism, and we aim to understand that mechanism. The second part explores how the pilus becomes localized to the cell pole, something we know little about, and may be tied to the localization of developmental signaling proteins.
Dr. Wayne Gray, a virologist in the with more than 40 years’ experience studying viruses, is offering some insights that may help the public understand the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click here to read the full article.
Pictured left to right:
Reed Scott, M.S.
Brooke Sykes, M.S.
Sarah Amonett, M.S.
Sarah McNamara, M.S.
Maya Kaup, M.S.
Kevin Potts, M.S.
Chaz Hyseni, Ph.D.
Congrats to the advisors of our new graduates: Dr. William Resetarits, Dr. Susan Balenger, Dr. Erik Hom, Dr. Ryan Garrick.
How did we take these pictures while maintaining social distancing? Well, thanks to the photo-editing skills of Brooke Sykes, MS 2020, we took photographs of each graduate separately and then carefully edited them together. We even did a masked version…just to be safe!
Our graduating students couldn’t resist one last, socially distanced, trip to our Biology tailgating spot near Shoemaker Hall.
CONGRATULATIONS to the following winners of the poster competition for the 6th annual Neuroscience Research Showcase!!
Graduate Student Winners:
1st Place: Alaa N. Qrareya, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Advisor: Jason Paris.
“HIV-1 Tat Promotes Age-Related Cognitive, Anxiety-like, and Antinociceptive Impairments in Mice that are Moderated by Aging Endocrine Status .”
Honorable Mention: Salahuddin Mohammed, Pharmacology, Advisor: Jason Paris.
“HIV-1 Tat Dysregulates the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Stress Axis and Potentiates Oxycodone-mediated Psychomotor and Anxiety-like Behavior of Male Mice”.
Undergraduate Student Winners:
1st Place (2nd Year in a row!): Nikki Sullivan, Biology Major with Neuroscience & Chemistry minors, Advisor: Alberto del Arco.
“Effects of repeated intermittent episodes of social stress on the acquisition and extinction of a reward-seeking task.”
2nd Place: Zahra Jiwani, Catherine Kania, and Perry Mullins, Biology Majors with Neuroscience minor (ZJ), Advisor: Lainy Day.
“Exploration of cerebellar function in Taeniopygia guttata using spatial maze and log roll.”
Honorable Mention: Luke Nguyen, Biochemistry Major, Advisor: Lainy Day.
“Novel understanding of avian biomechanics and sonations usinghigh-speed video of the white-ruffed manakin (Corapipo altera altera).”
Despite a global pandemic, we carried on online and had 13 presenters and 11 separate posters. Posters with citation details and filmed zoom presentations will soon be up on eGrove, details to follow!
Special thanks for our judges: Tossi Ikuta, Nicole Ashpole, Jason Paris, Carolyn Higdon, Kristie Willett, Xin Ye, and Robert Doerksen
Dr. Tammy Goulet has been selected as an International Coral Reef Society (ICRS) Fellow.
She was unanimously selected in recognition of her scientific achievement and her service to the Society. This award is a “for life” award while maintaining her ICRS membership. She will receive a certificate as well as invited to participate in selecting new fellows.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
