The culture shock hit Marwa Zafarullah right away. The native of Pakistan landed in the United States for the first time just four years ago, knowing little English and not having any family or friends to lean on for support.

GradeR works simply. Instructors upload a Canvas grade book to the app, which then generates statistical and visual summaries of their grade book data, allowing them to track individual student and overall class progress.

For 30 years, the Biology Undergraduate Scholars Program has created opportunities in life sciences education and research for over 1,500 students. Over the Picnic Day weekend, BUSP friends and alumni celebrated the program.

Designed with data collection in mind, iNaturalist acts like a pocket repository for all things wildlife and will be used during the upcoming City Nature Challenge, an event held from April 26 to April 29 that encourages people to explore and record the natural world around them, from the city streets to the riparian woodlands.

“Sharing discoveries with heart and humor.” That’s the philosophy behind Assistant Professor Rebecca Calisi Rodríguez’s science communications work. And now, she’ll bring that passion to the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences as the faculty assistant to the dean for science communications.

At UC Davis, we’re not just interested in science research. We’re interested in sharing it with the world. Outside of the classroom and the laboratory, our students have ample opportunities to practice their #scicomm skills and publish written works thanks to the various student-run life science journals and blogs on campus.

Social activities, de-stressing events and community service are the essential ingredients that have helped make the student group HOME, Where Friends Become Family, an Aggie Hero. Best friends Awais Khan and Chun Kit Ho started the group shortly after transferring to UC Davis in fall 2017.

Plant Biology Graduate Group student Katherine Murphy took home the title of UC Davis Grad Slam champion following the UC Davis Grad Slam Finals on March 13. Her three-minute talk on corn stress resistance earned her the $2,500 prize.

Since transferring to UC Davis in fall 2017, Timur Katsnelson has gone all in on the Aggie experience. He’s a member of the UC Davis ice hockey club team, has worked as an undergraduate researcher in a chemistry lab and volunteers as a junior editor with The Aggie Transcript, a student-run life sciences journal.

On Thursday, Feb. 28, the College of Biological Sciences will host the Nara Institute of Science and Technology Mini-Symposium, which will feature talks on parasitic plants, chimeric animals and the molecular mechanisms of central nervous system formation, among other topics. The symposium will be held in Life Sciences 1022.