Aldrin Gomes, a professor in the Departments of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, and Physiology and Membrane Biology, can still recall the reality he faced when he came to the United States to conduct postdoctoral research. Growing up in Trinidad and Tobago, Gomes was accustomed to the cultural diversity of the island. But shortly after stepping on American soil, he started experiencing things he didn’t understand.
All three of the Science, Engineering and Math winners at this year’s Norma J. Lang Prize for Undergraduate Information Research are College of Biological Sciences students. Barry Nguyen, a biochemistry and molecular biology major, won first-place, and the second- and third-place winners, Katherine Hand and La Rissa Vasquez respectively, are neurobiology, physiology and behavior majors.
While drugs help patients mitigate the most extreme conditions of mental illnesses like schizophrenia or depression, they often don’t address the cognitive deficits many diseases cause, such as memory loss, low attention span and impaired decision-making.
Mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE) professor Steve Robinson, assistant professor Jonathon Schofield, and Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior (NPB) associate professor Wilsaan Joiner are teaming up in a new four-year, $1.3 million NASA-funded project to study different visual and haptic strategies to help astronauts more safely and precisely operate robotic arms in space.
A $1.5 million grant from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) will help UC Davis Professor Lee Miller, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior and the Center for Mind and Brain, expand his lab’s research on hearing loss, an issue of relevance to both aging populations and military personnel.
One of the recipients of both this year’s Ronald and Lydia Baskin Research Award and the Undergraduate Student of the Year award is Caroline Liu, a graduating senior majoring in neurobiology, physiology and behavior.
The recent murders of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others have sent shock waves throughout the country. In a recent interview, UC Davis professors Dr. Crystal Rogers and Dr. Wilsaan Joiner offered their thoughts, feelings, and recommendations for ways UC Davis can support our Black community members during these scary and uncertain times.
