Zanethia was featured in an article about women in science by the USDA. Check out the article,  https://srs.fs.usda.gov/women-in-science/zanethia-barnett/

PhD graduate student, Zanethia Barnett, gave a talk at the recent International Association of Astacology (crayfish) conference in Pittsburgh.  She won best student oral presentation for her talk:

Detectable Effects of Impoundments on the Genetic Structure of Crayfish (Faxonius spp.) in Alabama 43-Years After Dam Closure

Former Biology honors student, Taylor Patterson, and Dr. Carol Britson are featured in a blog post by Sina Walker. Sina is the Scientific writer and content developer at ADInstruments. Her blog, “Enjoying your Easter Egg? How the type of chocolate you like is linked to your eating behavior…” tells how Taylor’s research found that the type of chocolate your prefer is linked to textural attributes and eating behaviors.  Check out the blog post here.

Congratulations to the winners of the 8th Annual Research Symposium, Stephanie and Chaz! The Graduate School Council hosts many events throughout the year, but Research Day is of paramount importance.

Stephanie took 1st place for STEM with her advisor, Dr. Ryan Garrick in the podium session. Chaz took second place.

Please see the attached document for the 2018 grant recipients for the podium and poster sessions for STEM, Pharmacy, Liberal Arts and Education, and Applied Sciences. GSC Recipients March 2018

Two Biology graduate students placed in the University-wide 3-Minute Thesis Competition. Jessica Heppard, working on her Master’s degree with Dr. Rich Buchholz, won first place in the Master’s student category, while Bram Stone, working on his Ph.D. with Dr. Colin Jackson, came in second place in the Ph.D. student category. As part of the competition, graduate students explain their research in 3 minutes, using a single PowerPoint slide. Jessica’s presentation can be seen at https://youtu.be/hD2fA-uEG2A and Bram’s presentation can be seen at https://youtu.be/ncWYgKRDQPI.

Sarah Amonett, an M.S. student in Dr. Susan Balenger’s lab, has been awarded research grants from the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology and the North American Bluebird Society. These awards are highly competitive and will help pay for research supplies related to Sarah’s thesis project, “Maternal antibody transmission against a novel pathogen in Eastern Bluebirds.”

http://www.sicb.org/about/

http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/

Brooke Sykes, an M.S. student in Dr. Susan Balenger’s lab, has been awarded a research grant from the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology. This award is highly competitive and will help pay for supplies related to Brooke’s thesis project, “The effects of nest heat manipulation on development, physiology, and parasitism in the Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis).”

http://www.sicb.org/about/

Stephanie Burgess, a PhD Candidate in Dr. Ryan Garrick’s lab, has received a NASA-MSU Professional Enhancement Award. The award will fund her attendance at the International Association of Landscape Ecologists Conference in Chicago this April. Stephanie will also be presenting her research on landscape genetics at the conference.

http://www.usiale.org/annual-meeting.html

“A bright blue tarantula is new to science and perhaps never before seen by human eyes” thanks to our Ph.D. student Andrew Snyder. For more info click here.

Ph.D student, Andrew Snyder, works extensively on conservation and biodiversity in the rainforests of Guyana. To check out the article titled “Why Guyana’s rainforests are a scientist’s dream” on the BBC News website click here.

Eric Weingarten, a second year Ph.D. student in Dr. Colin Jackson’s lab, has been named a 2017-18 NASA/Mississippi Space Grant Consortium Graduate Research Fellow. The Mississippi Space Grant Consortium (MSSGC) is a NASA-supported organization of 16 state universities and colleges with the goal of, “enhancing and supporting aerospace science and technology efforts and activities in Mississippi as well as promoting a strong science, mathematics, and technology base at precollege, undergraduate, and graduate levels.”

Weingarten studies microbial ecophysiology, particularly bacterial community response to stresses such as high salinity which are common in the extreme environments of Mars, the ocean moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and Earth environments impacted by climate change.

Weingarten was one of only eight award recipients across the state, is the only awardee from the University of Mississippi, and is also the only biologist represented.

In addition to supporting continued graduate research, the award calls on fellows to engage in K-12 outreach. Weingarten plans to work with the science faculty at Oxford High School to design classroom activities that will prepare and encourage students to pursue STEM in college and in their careers.

“I look forward to spreading awareness of NASA’s ongoing missions and sharing with students what STEM research they can be involved with early in their career,” said Weingarten. “Having been a teaching assistant for several of the undergraduate biology courses, I also want to help students better prepare for their college curriculum.”

To learn more about the Mississippi Space Grant Consortium, visit msspacegrant.org.