Department of Biology

* April 15, 2008 Maggie Stanton was awarded a 2008 Exploreration and Field Research Grant from the Explorers Club Washington Group.  This award will allow Maggie to do field research this year!

Congratulations to Maggie and her mentor Janet Mann!

* March 14, 2008 Professor Ronda Rolfes was named a National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences.  She participated in the HHMI-sponsored Summer Institute program held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. 

* March 10, 2008 Deb O'Donnell was awarded an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Grant

Deb O'Donnell was notified by the NSF that her Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant was been accepted. Her proposal, "Effects of vector population structure on immune function and pathogen susceptibility", got full support (i.e full requested budget!) from the NSF.

Congratulations to her and her mentor, Peter Armbruster!

* March 4, 2008 Crystal Rogers was accepted into the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society

Crystal Rogers was selected as a charter member of the Georgetown University chapter of the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society.
The Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society (Bouchet Society) recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate. The Bouchet Society seeks to develop a network of preeminent scholars who exemplify academic and personal excellence, foster environments of support, and serve as examples of scholarship, leadership, character, service, and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy.

* March 4, 2008 Jennifer Urbanski wins the President's Prize from the Entomological Society of America

Jennifer Urbanski, a graduate student in the Department of Biology under the mentorship of Prof. Peter Armbruster, received the President's Prize for the best student presentation at the 2007 annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America in San Diego, California. Her presentation was part of a session focused on physiology, biochemistry, toxicology and molecular biology.

Congratulations to Jennifer!

* October 25, 2007 Steve Singer received Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award

The Graduate Students of the Department of Biology initiated a new award to recognize outstanding mentoring by the faculty of the department. The first recipient of this award is Prof. Steven Singer. He was recognized at the Department's annual Award Ceremony in October 2007.

* October 25, 2007 Annual award ceremony recognizes achievements by biology graduate and undergraduate students at the annual Awards Ceremony in Riggs Library.

• The William T. Taylor-Richard J. Weber Memorial Scholarship is awarded to undergraduate seniors with the highest GPA. In 2007, the awardees were Sara Madanikia, Samantha Powell, Irene Say and Katherine Sperle.
• Stephanie Majeski and Theodore (Tre) Picou, recipients of the Zukowski-Kolleng Summer Research Scholarships, presented their research that had received support during the summer of 2007.
• The Outstanding Graduate Student in Biology Award was presented to Crystal Rogers.

Congratulations to all!

* Sept. 8, 2007 Prof. Maria Donoghue received the 2007 Junior Faculty Award from IPN students

The graduate students of the IPN (Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience) selected Prof. Maria Donoghue as the recipient of the 2007 Junior Faculty Educator Award, given to an educator who stands out as an exceptional over-all educator and who has gone out of their way to encourage and support the students in the IPN. This award was presented during the 3rd annual IPN retreat, held on Sept. 6-8 at Prince William Forest Park.

* May 2007 Chris Drummond received the Harold N. Glassman Dissertation Award

Christopher Drummond, who received his Ph.D. degree in 2006, received the prestigious Harold N. Glassman Dissertation Award for his work "Phylogenetic relationship, mating systems and population structure in Lupinus (Leguminosae)". Chris conducted his dissertation project under the mentorship of Prof. Matthew Hamilton.

* May 2007 Professor Joseph Neale received the Distinguished Career in Research Award

Professor Joseph Neale received the Distinguished Career in Research Award for his work on understanding communication between neurons. His laboratory studies the neuropeptide NAAG, its receptors and its metabolism. Professor Neale is the Paduano Distinguished Professor of Biology, the Director of the Howard Hughes Scholars Program and an alumni of the College.

Much deserved congratulations to Joe!

* May 2007 New Faculty Gina Wimp and Chris Elsik to join Biology in August

The Department of Biology is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to our faculty. Gina Wimp is a community ecologist using genetic approaches, and Chris Elsik is a bioinformaticist applying annotation to newly sequenced genomes.

* May 2007 New Majors in Neurobiology and in the Biology of Global Health Offered

The Department of Biology is pleased to announce the establishment of two new majors, approved by the Board of Directors. The Major in Neurobiology will focus on understanding of the nervous system and the major in the Biology of Global Health will focus on understanding the biological bases for human health in the global arena. The Department will continue to offer the Biology major that will appeal to students interested in a broader understanding of biology.