Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology Graduate Group

“Tireless” Advocate Sam Arcement Wins 2024 Outstanding Graduate Program Coordinator Award

Sam Arcement—Director of Graduate Academic Programs for the College of Biological Sciences, and the program coordinator for the Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology (MCIP) Graduate Group—has been honored with the 2024 Outstanding Graduate Program Coordinator Award from the Office of Graduate Studies. This year saw a record number of nominations. “Sam tirelessly ensures that our needs and concerns are heard and addressed,” said one MCIP student, who praised Arcement’s dedication to student advocacy.

CBS Graduate Group Faculty Among Those Recognized for Commitment to Grad Students

Commitment. Passion. Empathy. These descriptors were just a few of the plaudits the winners of the 2024 Graduate Program Advising and Mentoring Award received in their nomination letters.

“[This professor’s] mentorship is always the perfect balance of pushing you to your full capacity, while also supporting at a level that fosters independence, creativity and self-ownership.”

“[This professor] combines a deep sense of empathy with a steely commitment to student development.”

CBS Welcomes New Faculty in the 2022-23 Year

The college is very pleased to welcome the newest members of its broad and diverse faculty. With appointments in the Departments of Evolution and Ecology, Plant Biology and Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, the new faculty are poised to make an impact on their respective areas of expertise, and on the classroom and laboratory experience of our students across the college.

 Anya Brown

Assistant Professor
Department of Evolution and Ecology

Understanding Healthy Function of Tau, Protein Associated with Dementia

In Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative dementias, proteins that normally play a role in healthy brain tissue turn bad, clumping together to form insoluble plaques and tangles as neurons wither and die. Exactly how these proteins are connected to disease — and whether they can be targeted in some way to slow, stop or reverse its progression — remains a challenging problem.