Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory and Department of Biology Professor Dr. James Liao for winning the 2024 Ig Nobel Prize in Physics at a ceremony at MIT! Ten new Ig Nobel winners (https://improbable.com/ig/winners/) were introduced. Each winner (or winning team) has done something that makes people LAUGH, then THINK. Prize winners are selected from over 10,000 […]
Watch it here: https://youtu.be/j0brfn8UcXs?si=Jj14sKgmIcqX_rYD
Department of Biology Professor Charles Baer was part of a study led by Texas A&M University Chemical Engineering researchers that documented in vitro evolution of breast cancer cells in response to natural selection imposed by the mechanical stiffness of the extracellular matrix. The response was driven by rare genetic variants, highlighting the importance of accounting […]
Read more "Charles Baer’s work published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"
Assistant Professor Juannan Zhou has received the prestigious R35 Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) worth $1.25M over the next 5 years. The MIRA awards provide support for early stage investigator’s whose research falls within the mission of The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). The study of […]
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Congratulations to Dr. Hannah Vander Zanden who has received a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award “Turtle or egg: Characterizing sea turtle reproductive strategies”. From NSF: The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the […]
Department of Biology Professors Rebecca Kimball and Edward Braun were part of a study led by University of Michigan researchers that has identified important changes in birds’ genomes sparked by the mass extinction, called the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event, that led to the extinction of dinosaurs, ultimately contributing to the incredible diversity of living birds. […]
Read more "Rebecca Kimball and Ed Braun’s work published in Science Advances"
Associate Professor Gareth Fraser has received a Colonel Allen R. and Margaret G. Crow Term Professorship for a three-year term (2024-2027). These professorships were created by Colonel Allen R. and Mrs. Margaret G. Crow to recognize faculty who demonstrate excellence in scholarship, teaching and service. Congratulations Gareth!
Dr. Zepeng Yao, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology, was awarded a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant to study the neural circuits linking food sensory detection to endocrine and feeding control using a fruit fly model. The project aims to investigate the neural circuit mechanisms that integrate external and internal food sensory […]
Read more "Zepeng Yao Awarded NIH Grant to Study Neural Regulation of Feeding"
We are pleased to announce that Biology Faculty members Dr. Ana Longo and Dr. Hua Yan have been granted promotion to Associate Professor of Biology with tenure by the University of Florida Board of Trustees. Ana and Hua are now tenured faculty in the University of Florida, Department of Biology. Promotion is effective August 16, […]
Read more "Ana Longo and Hua Yan promoted to University of Florida Associate Professors with Tenure"
UF ecologists Amanda Subalusky and Chris Dutton reveal the critical impact of animals on ecosystem health through their role in nutrient cycling, emphasizing the interconnectedness of life within natural habitats. Ecologists uncover the hidden power of animals in shaping ecosystems
Read more "Ecologists uncover the hidden power of animals in shaping ecosystems"
By screening over 40,000 compounds, a team led by Biology’s Keith Choe, discovered that a novel metal homeostasis protein in C. elegans functions as a resistance mechanism to pre-clinical anticancer fungal toxins. The team also made the cover of the journal: ACS Chemical Biology: In vivo screening of 41716 compounds in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans identifies pre-clinical anticancer […]
Read more "Novel Metal Homeostasis Protein in C. elegans Functions"
University of Florida led consortium of scientists have been awarded a $12.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish a Polyploidy Integration and Innovation Institute to study the wider context of polyploidy throughout the tree of life; a phenomenon affecting agriculture, cancer, biodiversity and more. The award titled, “Polyploidy: Integration Across Scales and […]
Read more "UF Led Consortium of Scientists Awarded $12.5 Million Grant"
Congratulations to Department of Biology Professor Karen Bjorndal who was elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) as a Lifetime Fellow for the 2023 Class. The Lifetime Fellows program celebrates Karen’s many accomplishments, mentorship and acknowledges her professional impact in marine ecology and sea turtle conservation. https://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-welcomes-502-scientists-and-engineers-who-join-ranks-fellows
Biology Department undergraduates presented their scientific research on Friday, April 12, 2024 at the department’s annual Undergraduate Research Assistantship Program (URAP) Symposium. The students, representing 5 labs in the department, presented 12 posters and fielded questions from and audience of faculty, post-docs, and graduate students. Their research encompassed conservation biology, animal physiology, genetics, and medicine. […]
Read more "Undergraduates Present Their Research at the 2024 URAP Symposium"
Congratulations to Ed Braun, publishing related manuscripts in both Nature [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07323-1] and PNAS [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2319506121] on the same day – April 1st! Ed’s PNAS paper is entitled “A region of suppressed recombination misleads neoavian phylogenomics”. Ed and his colleagues found that it is possible use computational methods to detect a strong signal of chromosomal rearrangements that […]
Read more "Ed Braun publishes in Nature AND PNAS on same day"
UF Biology Assistant Professors Amanda Subalusky and Christopher Dutton received some popular press coverage for their overall research programs in ACS Central Science, a print publication of The American Chemical Society.
A study by Todd Palmer and colleagues published in Science (January 25th), makes the link between invasive big-headed ants and an ecological domino effect that has led to the disruption of important mutualistic connections that unite native ants, acacia tress, elephants, zebras and lions, in the complex savannah ecosystem. Read more below: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg1464 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn3484 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/25/how-invasive-ants-are-impeding-lions-hunt
Please consider supporting the Department of Biology’s efforts to provide experiential learning opportunities through research and Immersion courses with a gift on Gator Nation Giving day!
UF Biology researchers, Postdoctoral Associate J. Aaron Hogan and Professor Jeremy Lichstein, published a new study on the response of US forests to climate change in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Department of Biology had a bumper quarter for research output at the end of 2023. Congratulations to all contributors! Click for a list of the research articles published October through December 2023.