March Newsletter
In this monthly newsletter, GSPA is featuring accomplishments from the Biology Department and announcing exciting upcoming events!
Department Happenings:
The Bergland lab publishes a paper in Genetics showing that a cosmopolitan inversion underlies rapid adaptive evolution at Carters Mountain Orchard (read here). Congrats to Joaquin Nunez, Adam Lenhart, Alyssa Bangerter, Connor Murray, Giovannia Mazzeo, Yang Yu, Taylor Nystrom, Courtney Tern, and Priscilla Erickson for the heroic team effort.
Erin Scott, 2nd year PhD student in the Gibson and Brodie labs received a research grant through the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology to support her work on the wood-feeding cockroach Cryptocercus and its microbiome. Congratulations, Erin!
Sarah McPeek accepted a postdoc position at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany working in the department of Insect Symbiosis. Congratulations, Sarah!
Marta Grannonico, a research scientist in the lab of Xiaorong Liu, was awarded a Knights Templar Eye Foundation Career Starter Grant Award, one of the most acclaimed awards in the field of vision research. The Awarding Ceremony was held on Friday, Feb 23. Congratulations, Marta!
Postdoc Caroline Amoroso and former DMP student Leila Shepard have a new paper out on the evolution of parasite avoidance - "Genetic variation in parasite avoidance, yet no evidence for constitutive fitness costs."
"Do biological control agents adapt to local pest genotypes? A multi-year test across geographic scales" coauthored by Mandy, former postdoc Fabiane Mundim, graduate student Abbey Ramirez, and USDA collaborator Patty Timper is out in Evolutionary Applications.
The GSPA is selling new merch!! UVA beanies (designed by Madison Karram) are available while supplies last. Pick up is in PLSB 436. You can pay in cash, Venmo (@Juliana-Jiranek), or Paypal (link here). Email Juliana for more information.
March Events:
Prospective graduate student reception: March 22, 6:00-9:00 PM
The Biology Department will soon host prospective graduate students, and you all are invited to the reception Friday, March 22nd. This year the Department’s Reception will take place at Kardinal Hall! If you plan on attending, please SIGN UP so that we can get a headcount.
Recurring Events:
Seminar: Friday, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Hybrid - Gilmer 390 & Zoom
Coffee Hour: Thursday, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, PLSB 4th Floor Lounge
Take a break from your desk for coffee and afternoon snacks with your fellow biologists. All are welcome, just bring your own mug!
GSPA Meeting: Monday, 3/25 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Location TBD
PALS community: Mondays March 25 - May 6, 12:00-1:00 PM
Join our Virginia-wide PALS community. Our Learning community welcomes all Virginia institutions postdocs. During our online community meetings, we will be discussing succeeding as a Postdoc and you will have the opportunity to network with postdocs across different institutions.
Looking Ahead
NIH K99/R00 Workshop: April 11th
Join us for a day full of insightful information! Workshop with two experts on NIH training awards and career development. Learn how a study section works during our ‘Mock’ study section. Ask your questions in our panel discussion with recent K99/R00 awardees that are now in UVA Faculty positions! More information here.
UVA Postdoctoral Research Symposium: May 20th
The UVA Postdoc Association and the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs are hosting the 2024 UVA Postdoctoral Research Symposium. Join us for a day of engaging interdisciplinary talks and networking opportunities with postdocs at UVA. Call for Abstracts and Registration is open!
Brain Symposium: May 21-23
The Brain Institute is hosting the 2024 UVA Brain Symposium at the Contemplative Commons building. Below please find information regarding specific opportunities for trainees to participate in the symposium. We hope to see you there!
Have a question or concern that you would like to see addressed by GSPA? Please use this form to submit anonymous feedback.
Have an announcement you'd like featured in the next newsletter? Contact Isabelle Sajonia.