Biology

Jack Putz, Distinguished Professor of Biology, has been awarded a Jefferson Science Fellowship for 2017-2018.  Administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the Jefferson Science Fellowships were established in 2003 to engage academic expertise in the formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign policy and international development programming.  Jack is one of 14 […]

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Biology assistant professor Emily Sessa is featured on the podcast In Defense of Plants.  You can listen to the interview in which Emily describes her research on, and her fascination with, ferns and lycophytes:  Ep. 122 – Understanding Ferns and Lycophytes  

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Elizabeth Gordon is the first student from the new UF Bioscience Scholars Program to transition to our graduate program. The Bioscience Scholars Program provides a pathway to a five-year, combined BS and MS degree for low-income students pursuing careers in biotechnology or other STEM disciplines.  The summer following her junior year, Elizabeth graduated Summa cum […]

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Distinguished Professor Emeritus Walter Judd and his son Graham have a new book, Flora of Middle-Earth: Plants of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Legendarium, published by Oxford University Press.  Walt provides the botanical expertise and son Graham, who is a professional artist and printmaker, provides wonderful, hand-drawn illustrations in the style of woodcut prints.  To see some of […]

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Dr. Rosana Zenil-Ferguson received the E. Mayr Award for her Ph.D. research, which was presented at the Evolution Meeting 2017 in Portland, OR. The Ernst Mayr Award is given to the presenter of the best student talk in the field of systematics at the annual meeting of the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB). “This is […]

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Biology Professor Robert Holt received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Helsinki. He was chosen for this honor by the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Helsinki for his pioneering work in theoretical ecology.   “Through the honorary doctorates, faculties wish to recognize professors and significant social and cultural figures with exceptional merits […]

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Biology graduate student Mark Sandfoss (Lillywhite Lab.) was awarded the Seahorse Key Fellowship for 2017-2018.  The fellowship will support Mark’s doctoral research on the unique behavior, ecology and physiology of insular Florida cottonmouths (Agkistrodon conanti) within the Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge, including Seahorse Key.

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Mike Gil, a recent Biology alumnus (PhD 2015), has been named a TED Fellow.  He is one of a very diverse group of international experts chosen to attend and speak at this year’s TEDGlobal2017 conference in Arusha, Tanzania. TED recognizes fellows for “remarkable achievement, their strength of character, and on their innovative approach to solving the […]

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  Distinguished Professor of Biology Doug Soltis was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).  Membership in the NAS recognizes “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research” and is a widely accepted mark of excellence in science.  It is considered one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive.  The NAS […]

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Biology Graduate student Robert Johnson was awarded the Best Student Oral Presentation at the Annual International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology.  His talk was entitled, “Green turtles and blue carbon: effects of grazing on seagrass meadow carbon dynamics.” The Symposium was held 15-20 April in Las Vegas, NV with 800 sea turtle biologists attending from […]

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Congratulations to Distinguished Professors of Biology Doug and Pam Soltis who have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  The American Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1780 and is “… one of the country’s oldest learned societies and independent policy research centers, convening leaders from the academic, business, and […]

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Evolutionary Developmental Biology, ZOO3603C, was selected to receive the 2017 Online Education Excellence Award from UF for their innovative approach to online teaching. This award recognizes the team effort required for quality on-line course development. CLAS Associate Dean Brian Harfe coordinated the course that included Biology faculty Malcom Maden, Martin Cohn and Keith Choe.  They […]

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Derek Cummings and colleagues have published a landmark paper in understanding Dengue transmission in Science last week, revealing that most Dengue infections are transmitted in and around the home. Outbreaks of the dengue virus appear to be largely driven by infections centered in and around the home, with the majority of cases related to one another […]

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Please join me in congratulating Department of Biology 2017 Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants recipients: Leslie Kollar (advised by Stuart McDaniel), John Pfeiffer (advised by Larry Page), and Jerald Pinson (advised by Emily Sessa), Sharon Holte (advised by David Steadman), and  Xiaoxian Liu (advised by Doug Soltis and co-advised by Brad Barbazuk).  Great work, all!!!

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Biology Preeminence Professor Derek Cummings will help lead the Southeast Regional Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, recently established by a $10 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This collaborative program will bring together researchers from the University of Florida, University of Washington, University of Miami, Florida International University, and University […]

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José Miguel Ponciano, associate professor in Biology, received special recognition from F1000Prime for a paper he co-authored with colleagues from the University of Idaho, “Evolutionary Paths That Expand Plasmid Host-Range: Implications for Spread of Antibiotic Resistance” (2016 Molecular Biology and Evolution 33(4): 885-897; DOI: 10.3410/f.726014860.793526600). The paper was recommended by the F1000Prime faculty as being of “special significance” to […]

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Nicole Gerlach, Lecturer in Biology, has been chosen as CLAS Teacher of the Year.  The CLAS Teacher of the Year award recognizes excellence, innovation, and effectiveness in teaching undergraduate students.  Congratulations to Nicole! 

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Inspiring: UF alumni Gloria Tavera honored by Forbes magazine as one of “30 Under 30” people to watch for her work to make medicines accessible to developing countries.  Gloria was a double major in IDS Neurobiology & Political Science and spent a lot of time here in Bartram-Carr. She is currently enrolled in medical school at […]

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Ten Biology majors were selected to join Phi Beta Kappa from the class of 2016.  These students have exceptional GPAs as well as significant breadth of study in the liberal arts and sciences outside their major discipline.  Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest (founded Dec 5, 1776) and most prestigious academic honor society.  Congratulations […]

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Three Biology faculty were elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science by the AAAS Council:  Alice Harmon, Jack Ewel and Robert Holt.  This award recognizes these scientists for their distinguished research, teaching and service careers and for their many contributions to the fields of plant physiology (Harmon) and ecology (Ewel and […]

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