During her second year of undergraduate research in the lab of Aldrin Gomes, Emily Eijansantos felt ready for a solo project. She’d spent her sophomore year learning the lab’s techniques and shadowing more experienced undergraduates. She felt prepared. But like many things in life, the project—studying ibuprofen’s effects on heart cells—had its hurdles.
Hearing loss is a substantial problem for society. It’s the third most common physical condition after arthritis and heart disease and about 30 percent of adults between ages 65 and 74 and nearly half of people over 75 experience some difficulty hearing. It’s a social problem, one that can lead to isolation and depression.
Last year, UC Davis undergraduate student Kelsey Klein began a project close to her heart. With assistance from the National Society of Leadership and Success, her idea to create a nonprofit organization benefiting prostate cancer research took shape. For her outstanding community service, research activities and scholarship, Klein is recognized with the College of Biological Sciences Medal.
UC Davis Health's Department of Emergency Medicine serves approximately 80,000 patients each year. Through the UC Davis Emergency Medicine Research Associate Program, undergraduate students are getting hands-on experience in the Department of Emergency Medicine.
Soon-to-be-graduate Connor Grant will leave UC Davis with one of its highest honors, the Veloyce Glenn Winslow Jr. Award, which recognizes a graduating male student for outstanding leadership and scholarship.
For anyone struggling with the decision to double major, UC Davis undergraduate Harris Niazi has some sage advice. “Don’t ever ask yourself what if,” he said. “Just go for it. Even if it doesn’t pan out, you’re at least stuck with one major that you love.”
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.
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."
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.
As healthcare professionals, pharmaceutical companies, patients and families grapple with the opioid crisis, researchers are rushing to design safer opioids. Center for Neuroscience Associate Director Jennifer Whistler believes drug development is headed in the wrong direction when it comes to opioids. Her solution: design a better drug that mimics the body's natural pain reliever, endorphin.
