CURO Symposium 2024 The Microbiology Undergraduate Program had several participants in this years CURO Symposium at the Classic Center. Best Paper Award for Physical and Environmental Science Abbey Wilson won the CURO Symposium Best Paper Award for Physical and Environmental Science with her paper titled “Developing Real-Time qPCR Methods for Antimicrobial Resistance Gene Quantification for Application in Wastewater Based Epidemiology.” Read more about CURO Symposium 2024
Grad Student Career Talk with Dr. Aisha Burton Friday, April 19 2024, 10am 217, Biological Sciences Special Information: Funded by the Graduate Retention and Inclusion Grants Type of Event: General Dr. Aisha Burton College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Cornell Univeristy Burton Lab Career Talk with Microbiology Seminar Speaker, Dr. Aisha Burton, on Friday April 19th, at 10 am Biological Sciences Room 217. Dr. Burton will share her career journey, graduate school experiences, and how she became a Provost New Faculty Fellow (2024 - 2026) and an incoming NIH Cornell Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology (2026). Following this talk, we’ll have a Q&A session to get to know our speaker better and get some great advice on grad school and beyond! Food and beverage will be catered for this event. Fill out this RSVP form for a headcount: https://forms.gle/oCxmWCvfuTWHi6RN8 Read more about Grad Student Career Talk with Dr. Aisha Burton
“Small but Mighty: Small Proteins and Bacterial Stress Responses” Thursday, April 18 2024, 11:10am 404D, Biological Sciences Type of Event: Department Seminars Dr. Aisha Burton Assistant Research Professor Cornell University Sponsored by the Microbiology Graduate Student Association. Read more about “Small but Mighty: Small Proteins and Bacterial Stress Responses”
Regents' Teaching Excellence Award for Department or Program The Microbiology Undergraduate Program was recently awarded the Regents' Teaching Excellence Award for Department or Program. This award is designed to showcase an outstanding department or program that promotes, supports, and recognizes excellence in teaching and innovative approaches to serving students. Each faculty and staff member have contributed to the programs success over the last twenty years and therefore have all earned this award. Dr. Jennifer Walker, Undergraduate Program Coordinator, took the initiative to apply for this award. Read more about Regents' Teaching Excellence Award for Department or Program
CURO Symposium Monday, April 8 2024, 4pm The Classic Center Type of Event: General CURO Symposium Website The annual CURO Symposium highlights excellence in undergraduate research at the University of Georgia by offering an opportunity for students to communicate their research to the broader community. All undergraduates pursuing faculty-mentored research may apply to present their research at the CURO Symposium. We welcome presentations in all disciplines, from undergraduates in their first years to their last years, who have a lot or just a little experience, whether their status is Honors or non-Honors, and whether or not they have been enrolled in CURO coursework. We also encourage students to present projects at all stages of completion, from proposal, to in-progress, to finished product. The 2024 CURO Symposium will be held April 8-9, 2024, at the Classic Center in Athens, Georgia. Presentations are either a poster or a 10-minute oral presentation. The poster session for all poster presentations will be Monday, April 8, from 4-6 p.m. Oral presentations occur Monday, April 8, and Tuesday, April 9. Microbiology Department Participants: Posters Victoria Clifton - Investigation of Mitochondrial Inhibitors for Improved Chemotherapy Against Toxoplasma Gondii Kevin Richmond - Sequence Polymorphism and the Role of Multiple Copies of the var2csa Gene in Plasmodium falciparum Connor Norris - Exploring Campylobacter phylogeny using publicly available genomes Kiana Pillay - Effects of Environmental Parameters on Biodegradation of Malathion Ayden Mamaghani - Studies into the Metabolic Origins of an Alternative Coenzyme B12 Intermediate, α-ribazole in Salmonella enterica Maggie Abboud - Examining the role of Helicobacter pylori HP0420 on flagellar motor function Kayla Dechkampu - Creating Hybrid Strains of Cryptococcus neoformans to Understand Mitochondrial DNA Uniparental Inheritance Caroline Smith - Probing the role of YggS in PLP homeostasis in Salmonella enterica Grant Quinn - The Effect of Dark Septate Fungi on Sweet Sorghum Biomass in a Drought Condition Julian Bolanos - Immunodominance of non-protective Bordetella bronchiseptica antigens contributes to the ineffectiveness of Kennel Cough vaccines Oral Presentation Tuesday, April 9, at 12:45 - 2:00 pm, Room H: Jayla Andrews - Determining the Effects of Heat Stress on Thyrotropic and Somatotropic Gene Expression in Breast Muscle of Fast and Slow-growing Broiler Lines Read more about CURO Symposium
Expansion of aromatic compound catabolism in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1: Strategies for the design of modular synthetic pathways Expansion of aromatic compound catabolism in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1: Strategies for the design of modular synthetic pathways Thursday, April 11 2024, 11:10am 404D, Biological Sciences Type of Event: Student Seminars Alyssa Baugh Neidle Laboratory UGA Department of Microbiology Dissertation Defense Seminar by Alyssa Baugh, Neidle Lab. Read more about Expansion of aromatic compound catabolism in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1: Strategies for the design of modular synthetic pathways
Campylobacter jejuni chemotaxis to L-fucose Campylobacter jejuni chemotaxis to L-fucose Monday, April 8 2024, 2pm CCRC Auditorium Type of Event: Student Seminars Bibi Zhou Szymanski Laboratory UGA Department of Microbiology "Campylobacter jejuni chemotaxis to L-fucose". Dissertation Defense seminar by Bibi Zhou, Szymanski Lab. Read more about Campylobacter jejuni chemotaxis to L-fucose
Dr. Diana Downs to deliver Charter Lecture on March 27, 2024 Dr. Diana Downs to deliver Charter Lecture on March 27, 2024 Wednesday, March 27 2024, 11am University Chapel Type of Event: General Dr. Diana Downs Department of Microbiology Charter Lecture to feature UGA’s newest Regents’ Professors by Mike Wooten The university’s 2023-2024 Regents’ Professors are Diana Downs, left, Distinguished Research Professor in the department of microbiology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and Amanda Murdie, right, Georgia Athletic Association Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs and head of the department of international affairs. (Submitted photos) Two distinguished faculty members at the University of Georgia will discuss their pace-setting research in the fields of microbiology and international affairs during the 2024 Charter Lecture. Diana Downs, Distinguished Research Professor in the department of microbiology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and Amanda Murdie, Georgia Athletic Association Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs and head of the department of international affairs, will deliver the Charter Lecture at 11 a.m. on March 27 in the University Chapel. The lecture is free and open to the public. Both Downs and Murdie were named Regents’ Professors this year, an honor bestowed by the University System of Georgia on distinguished faculty whose scholarship or creative activity is recognized both nationally and internationally as innovative and pace-setting. “Dr. Downs and Dr. Murdie reflect the breadth and quality of research and scholarship at the University of Georgia,” said S. Jack Hu, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “They are most deserving of the Regents’ Professorships, and I encourage the university community to take advantage of this opportunity to gain insights from their highly influential work.” Downs has made transformative contributions to the field of microbiology by using genetic analysis to help solve important biochemical mysteries of bacterial life. A key theme of her research is that pulling one thread of metabolism reveals interconnected threads in unexpected ways. She has published 126 peer-reviewed papers and her work has been funded through 30 years of continuous grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and industry and private foundations. Murdie has distinguished herself in the field of international relations as a preeminent scholar on the behavior of international non-governmental organizations. She has published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters focusing on topics including human security, human rights, conflict processes and development. Most recently, Murdie won the Karl Deutsch Award from the International Studies Association. This award is widely regarded as the most prestigious in the field of international relations. Sponsored by the Provost’s Office, the Charter Lecture series was established in 1988 to honor the high ideals expressed in the 1785 charter that made UGA the birthplace of public higher education in America. The event is part of UGA’s spring 2024 Signature Lecture Series. Requests for accommodations for those with disabilities should be made as soon as possible but at least seven days prior to the scheduled lecture. Please contact Stacia Fink in the Office of the Provost at 706-542-04 Read more about Dr. Diana Downs to deliver Charter Lecture on March 27, 2024
Dr. Diana Downs Named Regents' Professor Downs, Murdie named Regents’ Professors February 2, 2024 by Hannah Gallant UGA faculty members honored for their innovative and pace-setting scholarship Read more about Dr. Diana Downs Named Regents' Professor
2023-24 OTA Award Winners The Microbiology Department is proud to announce that we have 4 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award recipients for the 2023-24 Academic Year! Read more about 2023-24 OTA Award Winners