News – Page 3 – Department of Biological Sciences

In Memory of Jake Dybiec

July 7, 2023

It is with great sadness that we notify our alumni, faculty, staff, students as well as the broader community, that one of our graduate students, Jacob “Jake” Dybiec of Cleveland, OH passed away unexpectedly on Monday, July 3, 2023. A graduate student in the College of Arts & Sciences, Jake was pursuing a Ph.D. in Biology and had advanced to candidacy. A team member in the Cherry Wetland Ecology Lab, Jake was previously awarded a Graduate Council Fellowship and served as a research assistant for the […]

In Memory of Dr. Martha Powell

June 25, 2023

It is with great sadness that we notify our alumni, faculty and staff, as well as the broader community, that our former Department Chair, Dr. Martha Powell, passed away on June 20th after battling a debilitating condition for a few years. Dr. Powell joined the department in 1997 and oversaw unprecedented growth in both student enrollment and faculty numbers during her time as chair. Under her leadership the department greatly expanded its research profile and her impact on our success is […]

Bama Microbes

March 7, 2023

Chris Youssef is a Biology M.A. AMP student who finished his undergraduate degree in May of 2022. Chris has begun a creative project where he collects and showcases microbes from around UA’s campus on social media. You can find these videos @bama.microbes on TikTok and Instagram. Chris was awarded an Innovation Seed Grant from the Levitetz Leadership Program and garnered additional support from AmScope to fund this project. He has also had plenty of support from department faculty who have […]

Publication from Drs. Caldwell in PNAS

February 9, 2023

Research from Drs. Kim and Guy Caldwell was published in the prestigious scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The title, authors, and publication link are listed below. Integrated regulation of dopaminergic and epigenetic effectors of neuroprotection in Parkinson’s disease models J. Brucker Nourse Jr., Shannon N. Russell, Nathan A. Moniz, Kylie Peter, Lena M. Seyfarth, Madison Scott, Han-A Park, Kim A. Caldwell, Guy A. Caldwell DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210712120

Teaching award

February 6, 2023

Emery Davis, a M.S. student in Dr. Correll’s laboratory, won The University of Alabama Outstanding Teaching by a Master’s Student Award. Congratulations Emery!

Job announcement: Assistant Professor

November 1, 2022

The Department of Biological Sciences at The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, seeks to hire an Assistant Professor for a 12-month non-tenure track renewable contract (NTRC) teaching position in cell and molecular physiology or related fields beginning August 2023. We are seeking a dynamic, enthusiastic individual who is interested in teaching excellence and collaboration with lecture and laboratory experience in cell/molecular biology and human anatomy and physiology. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences or a related field. Teaching duties […]

Drs Ciesla, Chtarbanova, and Maitra awarded $149,000

September 19, 2022

Doctors Ciesla, Chtarbanova and Maitra were informed that NIH is funding their proposal. The project titled “Centella asiatica effects on neuroinflammatory responses in Drosophila models of acute inflammation and aging” is a two-year project with a total amount of $149,000. The project will help BENFRA Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Center at OHSU to investigate biological activity of a preparation they have formulated there. Data generated in this two-year project will lead to a subsequent R01 submitted together with OHSU. Project […]

Dr. Kevin Kocot awarded $414,000 by NSF

September 19, 2022

Dr. Kevin Kocot has been notified that an NSF proposal he submitted with Dr. Sarah Gerken (University of Alaska Anchorage) has been selected for funding. This award is for $757K with Dr. Kocot’s share being $413K. This three-year award started this August. Details: NSF. Collaborative Research: ANT LIA Cumacean -Omics to Measure Mode of Adaptation to Antarctica (COMMAA) (total amount: $757,226). Kocot share: $413,773. Co-PI: Dr. Sarah Gerken (University of Alaska Anchorage). Timeframe: 8/15/2022 to 07/31/2026 (36 months). The overarching […]

BioFest 2022

September 13, 2022

Please contact Jeana Yates (christine.j.yates@ua.edu) with questions about BioFest.

Dr. Kaleb Heinrich and colleagues awarded $2.9M NSF Institutional and Community Transformation, Level 2, Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Grant

August 6, 2022

Dr. Heinrich and his team just received news that their proposal “Evolving the culture of biology: Promoting graduate teaching assistant professional development to foster inclusion, efficacy, and evidence-based practices” was funded by the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education. The project focuses on developing training for graduate teaching assistants (TAs) to engage in intentional, inclusive, evidence-based teaching practices. Most undergraduates that begin college intending to earn a STEM degree drop out of their STEM programs before graduating. This may […]