Biology News & Events

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...

Doctoral student fellowship opportunity

Starting with the fall semester of 2006, the School of Biological Sciences will offer selected doctoral students a fellowship of up to $30,000 per year on a need-based and competitive basis. This opportunity is made possible by the award of $380,000 from the US Department of Education. For more information on how to apply, click here.

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Student news

Graduate Dean's Citation for Excellence & Graduate Dean's Citation for Outstanding Dissertation

Congratulations go to Dr. William Heyborne!

Graduate Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Thesis

“Ecology and natural history of the Desert Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii) in southeastern Colorado” -- congratulations go to Andrew Wastell, M.S.

College of Natural and Health Sciences Research Awards

  • Kami Downing
  • Mark Hayes
  • Jessica Kiser
  • Erin Lively
  • Michelle Osgood
  • Nissa Schmidt
  • Kate Williamson
  • Deanna Dapolito
  • Stephanie James
  • Emily Snode

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Faculty news

New faculty for the fall of 2008

Dr. Scott Franklin, plant ecology and systematics

Dr. Mitchell McGlaughlin, population genetics

Faculty awards

  • Dr. Stephen Mackessy is the recipient of the 2007 College Scholar Award for the UNC College of Natural and Health Sciences
  • Dr. Chhandak Basu is the recipient of the 2007 Undergraduate Student Research Mentor Award for the UNC College of Natural and Health Sciences
  • Dr. Teresa Higgins is the recipient of the 2007 Colorado Science Teacher Award from the Colorado Association of Science Teachers and the 2007 Colorado Facilitator Leadership Award from the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

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Recently funded extramural grants

  • 2008–2010 -- US Department of Agriculture/NRI ($97,691): "Regulation of Prostaglandin Synthesis in Bovine Luteal Cells". Investigator: Burns.
  • 2007-2012 -- STEM Talent Expansion Programs (STEP) grant, U.S. National Science Foundation ($750,000): "Strategies to Enhance Recruitment and Retention of Biology Majors at the University of Northern Colorado". Investigators: Gardiner, Adams, DeKrey, Reinsvold.
  • 2007-2009 -- NIH-NIAID Rocky Mountain Regional Centers of Excellence ($300,000): "Development and Optimization of Novel Anti-Flavivirus Compounds". Investigator: Keenan.
  • 2007-2008 -- NIH-NIAID Rocky Mountain Regional Centers of Excellence: "Computer-Aided Identification of Novel Flavivirus Antiviral Compounds". Investigator: Keenan.
  • 2007-2008 -- NIH-NIAID Rocky Mountain Regional Centers of Excellence ($100,000): "Cytokine Therapy in a hamster model of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome". Investigator: Schountz.
  • 2007 -- Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade ($52,100). "New compounds from snake venoms: a proteomics approach toward the development of drugs from toxins". Investigator: Mackessy.
  • 2007 -- Boulder County Parks and Open Space ($5000): "Continued census and incidence of West Nile virus at Heil Valley Ranch". Investigator: Adams.
  • 2007 -- Colorado Division of Wildlife ($18,500): "Roosting ecology of fringed myotis in Colorado". Investigators: Adams and Hayes.
  • 2006-2009 -- National Institutes of Health R15 ($150,000), "Deer Mice as Immunological Tools in Infectious Disease Research". Investigator: Schountz.
  • 2006-2009 -- NIH Emerging Viral Diseases Unit Subcontract ($250,000), " Deer mouse immune responses to Sin Nobre Virus". Co-investigator: Schountz.
  • 2006-2009 -- Center for Military Biomaterials Research, "Multifunctional Biomaterial Conjugates as Next-Generation Antimalarial Drugs" ($450,000). Co-investigator: Keenan.
  • 2006-2008 -- Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) grant, U.S. Department of Education ($380,000): "Improving Doctoral Education in Biology at UNC." Investigators: Gardiner, DeKrey & Basu.
  • 2006-2008 -- Environmental Literacy Education with Native Americans, part of an ongoing NSF LTER project in collaboration with Colorado State University ($6980). Co-Investigator: Jurin.
  • 2006-2008 -- Environmental Education for LTER project, part of an ongoing NSF LTER project in collaboration with Colorado State University ($5673). Co-Investigator: Jurin.
  • 2006-2008 -- COSMOS (UBMS) - Continuation of last two years of third cycle, U.S. Dept of Education ($687,759). Director: Jurin.
  • 2006-2008 -- Membrane Protective Technologies, Inc. ($10,100). Investigator: Burns.

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Recently published peer-reviewed journal articles

  • Adams, R. A. (2007) Bats and human interactions. Encyclopedia of animal/human interactions (M. Bekoff, ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group, New York.
  • Adams, R. A. (2008) Morphogenesis in bat wings: evolutionary and ecological implications. Cells, Organs, and Tissues, 187: 13-23.
  • Merrill, ML, RP Ansotegui, PD Burns, MD MacNeil, and TW Geary (2007) Effects of flunixin meglumine and transportation on pregnancy establishment in beef cows. Journal of Animal Science, 85:1547-1554.
  • Reynolds, A.D., Glanzer, J.G., Kadui, I., Ricardo-Dukelow, M., Chaudhuri, A., Ciborowski, P., Cerny, R., Gelman, B., Thomas, M.P., Mosley, R.L., Gendelman, H.E. (2007) Nitrated alpha-synuclein-activated microglial profiling for Parkinson’s disease. Journal of Neurochemistry, 104(6):1504-25.
  • Schountz, T., C.H. Calisher, T. Richens, A. Rich, J. Doty, M. Hughes and B.J. Beaty (2007) A Rapid Field Immunoassay for Identifying Deer Mice with Antibody to Sin Nombre Hantavirus. Emerg. Infec. Dis. 13:1604.
  • Schountz, T., J. Prescott, A.C. Cogswell, L. Oko, K. Mirowsky-Garcia, A.P. Galvez and B. Hjelle (2007) Regulatory T-cell-like responses in deer mice persistently-infected with Sin Nombre virus. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 104:15496.
  • Whitman, KJ, TE Engle, PD Burns, KL Dorton, JK Ahola, RM Enns, and TL Stanton (2007) Effects of copper and zinc source on performance, carcass characteristics, and lipid metabolism in finishing steers. The Professional Animal Scientist 23:36-41.
  • Woodard CL, Keenan SM, Gerena L, Welsh WJ, Geyer JA, Waters NC (2007) Evaluation of broad spectrum protein kinase inhibitors to probe the architecture of the malarial cyclin dependent protein kinase Pfmrk. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 1;17(17):4961-6.
  • Wyant, K., and R. A. Adams (2007) Prenatal growth and development in the Angolan free- tailed bat, Mos condylura (Chiroptera: Molossidae). Journal of Mammalogy, 88: 1248-1251.
  • Zhang Q, Peng Y, Wang XI, Keenan SM, Arora S, Welsh WJ (2007) Highly potent triazole-based tubulin polymerization inhibitors. J Med Chem., 50(4):749-54.

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Recently published scholarly book chapters

  • Pedersen, S. C., G. G. Kwiecinski, P. A. Larsen, M. N. Morton, R. A. Adams, H. G. Genoways and V. J. Swier. In press. 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.
  • Adams, R. A. In press. Techniques for the study of growth and development in the Chiroptera. Pp. in Ecological and Behavioral Methods in the Study of Bats, 2nd Edition. (T. H. Kunz and S. Parsons, eds.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
  • T. H. Kunz, R. A. Adams, and W. R. Hood. In press. Methods for Assessing Size and Birth and Postnatal Growth and Development in Bats. Pp. in Ecological and Behavioral Methods in the Study of Bats, 2nd Edition. (T. H. Kunz and S. Parsons, eds.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

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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).