Seminars
Seminars on various topics of biology are presented each week on Friday at 3:35 PM. For the location and a schedule of topics, please follow these links...
Student news
Recent student awards
- Dr. William Heyborne: Graduate Dean's Citation for Excellence & Graduate Dean's Citation for Outstanding Dissertation
- Andrew Wastell, M.S.: Graduate Dean's Citation for Outstanding Thesis
- Hillary Stahla: American Society of Microbiology Graduate Presentation Award
- Shira Kedmi: American Society of Microbiology Undergraduate Presentation Award
- Kami Downing: College of Natural and Health Sciences Research Awards
- Mark Hayes: College of Natural and Health Sciences Research Awards
- Jessica Kiser: College of Natural and Health Sciences Research Awards
- Erin Lively: College of Natural and Health Sciences Research Awards
- Michelle Osgood: College of Natural and Health Sciences Research Awards
- Nissa Schmidt: College of Natural and Health Sciences Research Awards
- Kate Williamson: College of Natural and Health Sciences Research Awards
- Deanna Dapolito: College of Natural and Health Sciences Research Awards
- Stephanie James: College of Natural and Health Sciences Research Awards
- Emily Snode: College of Natural and Health Sciences Research Awards
Faculty news
Transitions
- Dr. Jennifer Clarke has accepted a faculty position as a Wallace Fellow in the Department of Brain, Behaviour & Evolution, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
New faculty for the fall of 2009
- Dr. Ginger Fisher has joined the School as a lecturer. She has wide expertise in many areas of organismal biology.
- Dr. Leah Sheridan has joioned the School as a lecturer. She has specific expertise in the area of physiology.
Faculty awards
- Dr. Gregory DeKrey is the recipient of the 2008 Undergraduate Student Research Mentor Award for the UNC College of Natural and Health Sciences
- Dr. Robert Reinsvold is the recipient of the 2008 Excellence in Teaching Award for the UNC College of Natural and Health Sciences
- Frank Skufca is the recipient of the 2008 Excellence in Advising Award for the UNC College of Natural and Health Sciences
Faculty in the popular press
- Dr. Chhandak Basu was recently featured on Denver's 9NEWS television station because of his research into engineering non-food crops to produce biodiesel fuel components.
- Dr. Patrick Burns was recently featured in the Greeley Tribune newspaper because of his research into improving reproductive efficiency in cattle.
Recently funded extramural grants
- 2009 -- NSF-Division of Environmental Biology ($145,070): "The role of isolation in species diversification; insights into dispersal and evolution of endemic Lotus from the California Channel Islands." Investigator: McGlaughlin.
- 2008 -- US Department of Agriculture/NRI ($97,691): "Regulation of Prostaglandin Synthesis in Bovine Luteal Cells". Investigator: Burns.
Recently published peer-reviewed journal articles
- Adams, R. A. (2008) Morphogenesis in bat wings: evolutionary and ecological implications. Cells, Organs, and Tissues, 187: 13-23.
- Doley, R., S.P. Mackessy and R.M. Kini. 2009. Role of accelerated segment switch in exons to alter targeting (ASSET) in the molecular evolution of snake venom proteins. BMC Evolutionary Biology 9:146.
- Peichoto, M.E., S.P. Mackessy, P. Teibler, F.L. Tavares, P.L. Burckhardt, M.C. Breno, O. Acosta and M. L. Santoro. 2009. Purification and characterization of a cysteine-rich secretory protein from Philodryas patagoniensis (Dipsadidae) snake venom. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology C Toxicol. Pharmacol. 150:79-84.
- Pawlak, J., S.P. Mackessy, N.M. Sixberry, E.A. Stura, M.H. Le Du, R. Menez, C.S. Foo, A. Menez, S. Nirthanan and R.M. Kini. 2009. Irditoxin, a novel covalently linked heterodimeric three-finger toxin with high taxon-specific neurotoxicity. FASEB Journal 23:534-545.
- Gibbs, L., SP Mackessy. 2009. Functional basis of a molecular adaptation: Prey-specic toxic effects of venom from Sistrurus rattlesnakes. Toxicon, 53: 672-679.
- Richens, T., A. D.N. Palmer, J. Prescott and T. Schountz. 2008. Genomic organization and phylogenetic utility of deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) lymphotoxin-alpha and lymphotoxin-beta. BMC Immunol. 9:62.
- Calisher, C. H., K. V. Holmes, S. R. Dominguez, T. Schountz and P. Cryan. 2008. Bats prove to be rich reservoirs for emerging viruses. Microbe. 3:521.
- Schiebout, M. H., D. Hazlett, N. Snow ( 2008) A floristic survey of vascular plants over parts of northeastern New Mexico. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 2 (2): 1407-1447.
- Snow, N., J. McFadden, J. P. Atwood (2008) Three new species of Rhodomyrtus (Myrtaceae) from Papua New Guinea. Austrobaileya 7: 691-706.
Recently published scholarly books
- 2009, Handbook of Venoms and Toxins of Reptiles, Mackessy SP, ed., 552 pp., CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL.
Recently published scholarly book chapters
- 2009, T. H. Kunz, R. A. Adams, and W. R. Hood. Methods for Assessing Size and Birth and Postnatal Growth and Development in Bats, in Ecological and Behavioral Methods in the Study of Bats, 2nd Edition. (T. H. Kunz and S. Parsons, eds.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore
- 2009, Adams, R. A. Techniques for the study of growth and development in the Chiroptera, in Ecological and Behavioral Methods in the Study of Bats, 2nd Edition. (T. H. Kunz and S. Parsons, eds.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
- 2010, Pedersen, S. C., G. G. Kwiecinski, P. A. Larsen, M. N. Morton, R. A. Adams, H. G. Genoways and V. J. Swier. Bats of Montserrat - population fluctuations in response to hurricanes and volcanoes: 1978-2005 pp. in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation of Island Bats (T. H. Fleming and P. Racey, eds.) University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Recently published lay-press materials
- Burns (2008) The Dairy Cow Heat Cycle. Progressive Dairyman May, Issue 8, pp 14-15.
- Fox-Parrish, L., Jurin, R. R., Loftis, E., Schafer, M. and Sommersted, K. (in press) Ghost Cats of the Tetons: Mitzly the Mountain Lion (book 1)" The Cougar Fund (third grade education (book series on cougars).
- Fox-Parrish, L., Jurin, R. R., Loftis, E., Schafer, M. and Sommersted, K. (in press) Ghost Cats of the Tetons: The Cubs Explore (book 2)" The Cougar Fund (third grade education book series on cougars).
- Fox-Parrish, L., Jurin, R. R., Loftis, E., Schafer, M. and Sommersted, K. (in press) Ghost Cats of the Tetons: New Horizons (book 3)" The Cougar Fund (third grade education book series on cougars).