News | College of Biological Sciences

Discovering Curiosity: Art at the Zoo

Before delving into the world of endocrinology, Assistant Professor Rebecca Calisi Rodríguez, wasn’t following the path of a traditional scientist. She’d studied studio art and psychology at both Skidmore College and Boston College and thought she wanted to pursue the artist’s life.

Gail Patricelli Honored with Distinguished Teaching Award

Awards and Recognition

A big congratulations is in order forProfessor Gail Patricelli, Department of Evolution and Ecology, who will receive a Distinguished Teaching Award from the UC Davis Academic Senate and Academic Federation.

UC Davis Researchers Talk Science and Society

Campus and Community

In a Q&A style article appearing in The Conversation, UC Davis researchers, including Professor Susan Williams, Department of Evolution and Ecology, talk about science and public engagement.

Investigating the Molecular Defense Tactics of Plants

Food, Agriculture and Plant Biology

In a study appearing in Cell Host & Microbe, UC Davis graduate student Neeraj Lal, Professors Savithramma Dinesh-Kumar and Andrew J Fisher and their colleagues reveal the versatility of plants’ molecular defenses. The findings provide a strategic map revealing how plants allocate resources and have the potential to help bolster crop immune systems and improve their development and growth.

Neelima Sinha Honored with Fellow of American Society of Plant Biologists Award

Awards and Recognition

For her long-term contributions to the plant biology field, Sinha was recently honored by the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) with a Fellow of ASPB Award, which recognizes distinguished members who have contributed to the society for at least 10 years.

Stacey Combes and "Why These Bumblebees Are Wearing Itty-Bitty QR Codes" in Wired

Ecology and Environment

Assistant Professor Stacey Combes and colleagues put tiny QR codes on the backs of bumblebees to reveal their social lives. Combes' research with former Harvard graduate student James Crall, published in Nature Communications, is the subject of a new Wired article, "Why These Bumblebees Are Wearing Itty-Bitty QR Codes."

Plant Biochemist Is UC Davis’ Top Teacher

Awards and Recognition

For Judy Callis, teaching is about helping students make connections. Those connections led to Callis, professor and vice chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology in the College of Biological Sciences, being awarded the UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement.

Rebecca M. Calisi Rodríguez: "The Special Challenges of Being Both a Scientist and a Mom"

Campus and Community

In an article appearing in Scientific American, Assistant Professor Rebecca M. Calisi Rodríguez, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, gives a firsthand account of the difficulties facing working mothers in the science community.

Investigating the Seagrass Microbiome

Ecology and Environment

Seagrass carpets the seafloor creating a unique and vital ecosystem in shallow marine environments. Sea turtles graze on seagrass leaves while smaller organisms seek refuge in the green fields but, on the microscopic level, seagrass is also home to microbial communities. Such microbes compose the seagrass microbiome and potentially play a role in seagrass ecology.

Cholesterol Research from UC Davis Highlighted in PNAS Blog

Human and Animal Health

Distinguished Professor Jodi Nunnari, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Marina Besprozvannaya, a postdoctoral researcher, recently published a new study on the movement of cholesterol transporters and other molecules in the scientific journal eLIFE. Their work, along with three other studies, is synthesized in a new blog post on Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' website.