Our faculty 'lead with the lab'
5/4/18

The instructional philosophy, 'lead with the lab', allows our students to develop critical thinking skills while providing broad, deep, state-of-the art training in all life science disciplines.

We cultivate an active community of inquiry
5/4/18

Faculty teaching and research connects academic programs and experiential labs to cultivate an active community of results-oriented inquiry.

Our faculty are global leaders in FoxG1 research
11/2/20

Two UB scientists work to find a cure for daughter's rare disease. These neurobiologists and parents are now global leaders in FoxG1 research. 

Our alumni shape the future
5/26/21

We take great pride in the achievements and success of our alumni, many of whom enjoy distinguished careers in the Biological, Biomedical and related fields. Pictured at the UB CAS graduate commencement, May 15, 2021 (left to right): Haniam Maria (PhD graduate), Laura Rusche (faculty), Paul Cullen (faculty), Aditi Prabhakar (PhD graduate), Rupkatha Banerjee (PhD graduate), Shermali Gunawardena (faculty). 

Our students learn by doing
3/4/21

Our curriculum provides students broad and deep training at the cutting edge of modern biology through a learn-by-doing philosophy. Our approach to teaching cross-disciplinary life sciences prepares students for today's accelerating pace of discovery in biological sciences.

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APPLY TO ONE OF OUR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS
SPRING 2022 UNDERGRADUATE COURSE REGISTRATION
APPLY TO ONE OF OUR GRADUATE PROGRAMS
SPRING 2022 GRADUATE COURSE REGISTRATION

SPRING 2022

Events 2022.
SEMINAR SERIES

THURSDAYS at 4:00 p.m.
*Location: 228 NSC

February 10 (Zoom)
Tanja A Godenschwege, PhD
 Florida Atlantic University; Attraction: A link between metabolism, behavior, and neurodegeneration

February 17 (In-person & Zoom)
Dae-Kyum Kim, PhD
 Roswell Park Cancer Center; Environment-dependent binary protein interactome of a cell

February 24 (In-person & Zoom)
Research Showcase: Current work by graduate students Crystal Tomlin (Lindqvist) and Petar Pajic (Gokcumen)


March 3 (In-person & Zoom)
Naoki Masuda, PhD
 UB Mathematics; Gene network analysis: Revealing adaptive structural variants and quantifying omnigenic models

March 10  (Zoom)
Robert Last, PhD
 Michigan State University; The tip of the trichome: Evolution of metabolic diversity in tomato and its relatives

March 31 (In-person & Zoom)
Derek Daniels, PhD
UB Biological Sciences; Glucagon-like peptide-1 and the control of thirst and salt appetite

 

April 7 March 10  (Zoom)
Robert Last, PhD
 Michigan State University; The tip of the trichome: Evolution of metabolic diversity in tomato and its relatives

April 7 (Zoom)
Adam Frankel, PhD
 The University of British Columbia; Methylarginine formation and metabolism in baker’s yeast

April 21  (Zoom)
Lorenz Hauser, PhD
 University of Washington; Evolution at the rear edge of distribution shifts in marine fishes: Implications for adaptation to climate change

April 28  (Zoom)
Mattias Jakobsson, PhD 
Upssala University; Archaic and modern humans in Island Southeast Asia


May 5 (In-person & Zoom)
New Frontiers Distinguished Speaker
Harmit Malik, PhD
 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Genetic conflicts shape meiosis, centromeres, and species

May 12 (Zoom)
Claudio De Virgilio, PhD
 University of Fribourg; Metabolic Control of TORC1

——————

*EVENT NOTES:
-Events are subject to change.
-Seminars held in-person are also streamed via Zoom. Selected seminars held only via Zoom are indicated.
-UB community members: log in for Zoom details here.
 -Community-at-large: to access the seminars please contact Dr. Laura Rusche,  lrusche@buffalo.edu

Faculty News

  • Gunawardena study finds GSK3β can act as a stop switch for the motor protein, kinesin 1
    1/24/22
    “Our publication details how GSK3β attaches a molecular tag to kinesin 1 motors, which causes the motors to stop without detaching from microtubule tracks. We are super excited, since now we know how to control the ‘engine’ while it is moving on a track,” says senior author Shermali Gunawardena, PhD,  associate professor of biological sciences. The findings — based on laboratory experiments, including some in the neurons of fruit fly larvae — could open the door for future research on pausing motors as a mechanism for treating diseases. Read the news article by Charlotte Hsu.
  • Victor Albert analyzes “reference genome” to trace evolutionary traits of Litchi chinensis
    1/5/22
    Victor A. Albert, PhD, Empire Innovation Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, along with a large international team from China, the U.S., Singapore, France and Canada, are co-authors of a study recently published in Nature Genetics. Their research not only adds new chapters to the history of the lychee, it also provides an in-depth look at flowering time, a hugely important trait in agriculture. “Early-maturing lychees versus late-maturing lychees came from different places and were domesticated independently,” says Dr. Albert, “This, by itself, is an interesting story, but we also wanted to know what causes these differences. Why do these varieties fruit and flower at different times?” By comparing the DNA of many lychee varieties, the team identified a genetic variant that could be used to create a simple test for identifying early- and late-blooming lychee plants. Read the news story by Charlotte Hsu.
  • Zhen Q. Wang examines ways of transforming sugar into hydrocarbons found in gasoline
    1/5/22
    "Making biofuels from renewable resources like glucose has great potential to advance green energy technology," says biochemist Zhen Q. Wang, assistant professor of biological sciences, College of Arts and Sciences. "Glucose is produced by plants through photosynthesis, which turns carbon dioxide (CO2) and water into oxygen and sugar. So the carbon in the glucose — and later the olefins — is actually from carbon dioxide that has been pulled out of the atmosphere.”  The research project, led by Wang at UB and Michelle C. Y. Chang at UC Berkeley, marks an advance in efforts to create sustainable biofuels. “We combined what biology can do the best with what chemistry can do the best, and we put them together to create this two-step process. Using this method, we were able to make olefins directly from glucose." Read the news story by Charlotte Hsu.
  • Lynch Lab analyzes gene duplication to translate research discoveries into benefits for human health and wellness
    11/22/21
    “In the Lynch Lab, we can stress the cells out in ways that are associated with aging and see how well they resist that distress. And it turns out that the Galápagos tortoise cells are really, really good at killing themselves before that stress has a chance to cause diseases like cancer,” says evolutionary biologist Vincent Lynch.  Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences. One major focus of Lynch’s work is understanding the biological mechanisms that help big animals like Galápagos tortoises live long and prosper. The research is driven by simple curiosity. But the findings could have practical implications, too. Read the news release by Charlotte Hsu.
  • Vincent Lynch works to advance the emerging synthesis of evolution and medicine ('evolutionary medicine')
    11/22/21
    “We just want to know how evolution works. We’re humans, so we want to know why humans are the way we are,” states Vincent J. Lynch, associate professor, Department of Biological Sciences, about the study, Evolutionary transcriptomics implicates new genes and pathways in human pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes. The research was led by biologists Katie Mika and Mirna Marinić at the University of Chicago; Manvendra Singh at Cornell University; and Lynch at UB. Co-authors include Joanne Muter and Jan Joris Brosens at University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire and the University of Warwick. Read the news article by Charlotte Hsu.
  • Gokcumen studies possible functions of GHRd3
    10/18/17
    “It is an exciting time for doing research on human evolution, where it is now possible to integrate data from ancient genomes, gene-editing technologies and advanced mathematical approaches to tell the human story in all its messy glory,” says UB evolutionary biologist Omer Gokcumen. Read the news article by Charlotte Hsu.
  • Krabbenhoft wins award from American Fisheries Society
    9/3/21
    Trevor Krabbenhoft has won the American Fisheries Society Genetics Section Early Career Award. This annual award recognizes early-career researchers in the field of fisheries genetics. The goal of this award is to promote innovative and particularly applicable genetics research, increase interest in fisheries genetics careers, and enhance professional connections among fisheries geneticists.
  • The Genetics Society of America appoints Laura Rusche to editorial board of its journal, GENETICS
    9/2/21
    The Genetics Society of America (GSA) announced the appointment of Laura Rusche, PhD, as associate editor on the editorial board of its journal, GENETICS, in the Gene Expression Section. Since 1916, GENETICS has published high–quality, original research presenting novel findings bearing on genetics and, more recently, genomics. The journal publishes empirical studies of organisms ranging from microbes to humans, as well as theoretical work. Rusche has published several of her own papers in GENETICS and says she is honored to be selected for this editorial position. Rusche looks forward to helping colleagues share their studies on gene expression. Read GSA's announcement, here.
Department News

Student and Alumni Highlights

SPOTLIGHT

Great Lakes.
NPR features news story on the enduring work of Kenton Stewart

Professor Emeritus Kenton Stewart’s legacy continues. Climate change has contributed to a loss of ice on northern lakes and ponds, and that has consequences for local ecosystems. In the 1980s, he needed volunteers to help collect data. For many years, Dr. Stewart used public-involved science to monitor a changing climate. His approach foreshadowed our current ‘big data’ world, collecting lake freezing and melting dates from the public. Listen to the news story on NPR: Citizen scientists help to document changes to lake ice in the northern U.S.

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