The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has awarded a $15.7 million grant to the UC DavisSilvio O. Conte Center, one of only 15 Conte Centers nationwide.
Psychiatric illnesses and neurodevelopmental disorders, including schizophrenia, affect 15-20 percent of the population worldwide, yet current treatments are at best only partially effective. The UC Davis Conte Center was first established in 2016 through the Center for Neuroscience to determine how maternal infection increases risk for these disorders and to identify new targets for novel treatments.
Michael Savageau, a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics in the College of Biological Sciences, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering has been named the recipient of the 2021 Akira Okubo Prize.
Nitzan Shabek, an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Biology, has received a $837,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. The five-year award will support Shabek’s research into elucidating the sensing mechanism of an emerging and unique class of plant hormones. Additionally, as an integral part of the research activities, this project will create a unique teaching platform and outreach program to encourage young students to pursue knowledge in STEM.
“You can’t be what you can’t see,” said Arpana Vaniya, quoting Sheila Boyington. “This really resonates with me when thinking about mentoring and why I continue to do it.”
CBS’ Dan Starr and Gant Luxton awarded $1.5M for research
This October marks the 10th anniversary of the Allen Distinguished Investigator program, which was launched in 2010 by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen to back creative, early-stage research projects in biology and medical research that would not otherwise be supported by traditional research funding programs.
Patrick Shih, a biologist who studies the evolution of enzymes that play a central role in taking carbon out of the atmosphere, has been awarded a 2020 Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
The Koret Foundation has granted $4 million to undergraduate career-preparation programs across UC Davis. Part of Koret’s Higher Education Initiative, the grant will provide signifcant support for Aggie Launch, the Big Idea that integrates career exploration and readiness in the undergraduate experience.
Congratulations to Professor of Evolution and Ecology Sharon Strauss for winning the American Society of Naturalists’ Sewall Wright Award, which honors a senior and active investigator “promoting the conceptual unification of the biological sciences.”
A $1.5 million grant from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) will help UC Davis Professor Lee Miller, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior and the Center for Mind and Brain, expand his lab’s research on hearing loss, an issue of relevance to both aging populations and military personnel.
We would like to highlight the achievement of Dr. Kishana Taylor, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (CBS), who under the mentorship of Dr. Sam Díaz-Muñoz was recently awarded the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Inclusive Excellence Teaching Fellowship Award!
