Distinguished Professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and a former chair of the Department of Entomology, was inducted as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) at a June ‘22 ceremony in Phoenix, Ariz.
This year’s graduate student awards emphasize the importance - and success - of mentoring younger scientists, and demonstrate the UC Davis commitment to collaboration, support and partnership that define interdisciplinary science. Graduate student awards support travel, research and professional development opportunities, and are made possible by generous philanthropic contributions to the college.
CBS Dean’s Mentorship Award
The Dean’s Mentorship Award recognizes graduate students who have demonstrated excellence in the mentorship of undergraduate students.
With the close of the academic year just around the corner, many in the college are being recognized for the previous year’s accomplishments by campus units. With awards for undergraduate students, as well as postdocs and faculty, CBS was well-represented across campus award and honor ceremonies. The full list of recipients can be found on the respective award websites.
Tetrahymena, a tiny single celled-organism, turns out to be hiding a surprising secret: it’s doing respiration – using oxygen to generate cellular energy – differently from other organisms such as plants, animals or yeasts. The discovery, published March 31 in Science, highlights the power of new techniques in structural biology and reveals gaps in our knowledge of a major branch of the tree of life.
As sessile organisms, plants have to continually adapt their growth and architecture to the ever-changing environment. To do so, plants have evolved distinct molecular mechanisms to sense and respond to the environment and integrate the signals from outside with endogenous developmental programs.
New research from Nitzan Shabek’s laboratory at the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences, published in Nature Plants, unravels the underlying mechanism of protein targeting and destruction in a specific plant hormone signaling pathway.
The Academic Senate and the Academic Federation recently announced their annual awards given to members for exceptional research, teaching and mentoring, and public service.
In the choreography of meiosis—the process responsible for sex cell division in all eukaryotic life—the pairing of homologous chromosomes (homologs) is essential. Errors in this process can lead to an incorrect number of chromosomes in sex cells, which can result in birth defects and miscarriages. Despite being studied for more than 100 years, mysteries about the process still abound.
Wildfires are devastating, but they can also bring new life by clearing existing vegetation and allowing new plants to spring up. Many plants in fire-prone areas actually require exposure to fire for seeds to germinate. In the past decade, scientists have discovered an ancient receptor protein that can detect molecules called karrikins in smoke from burnt plant material. The “smoke detector” protein, called KAI2, initiates molecular signals that speed up germination of seeds.
Earlier this week, UC Davis named a new class of Chancellor’s Fellows — faculty members who will carry the chancellor’s imprimatur for five years in recognition of their outstanding work in academia.
“These 12 newest fellows represent our university at its very best,” Chancellor Gary S. May said. “They are now part of a proud 22-year history for the Chancellor’s Fellows program. These fellows are making advances that help solve complex and critical issues, while also helping our students become critical thinkers and problem-solvers.”
Nine faculty from UC Davis are among 564 newly elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, announced today (Jan. 26). AAAS fellows are scientists, engineers and innovators who have been recognized for their achievements across disciplines ranging from research, teaching and technology, to administration in academia, industry and government, to excellence in communicating and interpreting science to the public.
Here are the new fellows from CBS, listed with their AAAS commendations:
